Suspensions for these Newcastle United players are now inevitable

The Newcastle United players tasted victory on Saturday night.

After the thrills of the 5-1 against Aston Villa, it was a trio of losses, but back to winning ways against Brentford.

However, there was one negative.

Another three Newcastle United bookings, that is 17 already after just five matches!

The 2023/24 Premier League leaderboard for Newcastle United players and yellow cards:

4 Gordon

3 Bruno

2 Tonali

1 Joelinton, Barnes, Botman, Lascelles, Trippier, Schar, Targett, Wilson

So already 17 yellow cards in the opening five Premier League matches and the breakdown is (in brackets how many bookings the opposition received) Villa 4 (4), Man City 4 (1), Liverpool 1 (2), Brighton 4 (4), Brentford 3 (5).

These were the final totals last season for the Newcastle United players…

The 2022/23 Premier League leaderboard for Newcastle United players and yellow cards:

12 Joelinton
6 Bruno Guimaraes
6 Fabian Schar
5 Kieran Trippier
5 Dan Burn
4 Jamaal Lascelles
4 Callum Wilson
3 Alexander Isak
3 Nick Pope
2 Sean Longstaff
2 Sven Botman
2 Miggy Almiron
1 Anthony Gordon (plus 6 for Everton last season before joining NUFC)
1 Allan Saint-Maximin
1 Ryan Fraser
1 Matt Targett
1 Joe Willock

Last season, a total of 59 yellow cards in the 38 Premier League matches, but already seventeen in the opening five games.

At this average, we would be looking at 129 yellow cards over 38 matches this season, more than double last season!

The new rules certainly appear to have helped increase the number of yellow cards, not just at Newcastle. As evidence by the fact that whilst NUFC have picked up 17 yellow cards, in the same five matches the opposition have totalled 16, just one less.

The way things look, suspensions for these Newcastle United players are looking inevitable, just a case of how many (suspensions) and how soon?

For midfielders and defenders in particular, putting in tackles / challenges is key to their game. Not an awful lot Eddie Howe can do about that. Though no doubt he will be impressing on his players not to give any daft needless bookings away.

I thought all three on Saturday for Gordon, Wilson and Bruno were a bit daft, in terms of how the Newcastle United players acted.

Anthony Gordon has been Newcastle’s best player this season but to be sitting on four bookings already and only one away from a one game suspension, when it is only mid-September, is ridiculous.

Bruno already on three, Tonali has two despite only 286 Premier League minutes played, suspensions are looking all but inevitable for these Newcastle United players and potentially / probably others, unless something changes.

According to the Premier League rules, any player picking up five bookings from their side’s first 19 Premier League matches will serve a one match ban in the same competition.

Then looking beyond this, players who end up with 10 yellow cards in Premier League matches, up to and including their team’s 32nd fixture, will serve a two match suspension in the competition.

Joelinton picked up these bans last season, missing three Premier League matches due to his 12 cards.

Indeed, at one stage it looked like the Brazilian was on his way to another three game suspension, which is triggered by 15 yellow cards in a Premier League season.

Unless match officials relax a bit with these new rules, all kinds of records could be broken at Newcastle and elsewhere.