“Florian Thauvin’s 45mins were the worst I’ve seen from a professional footballer.”
– The words of the Daily Mail’s North East football correspondent Craig Hope as he bestowed upon Florian Thauvin the dubious honour of a 1/10 in his player ratings for Newcastle United’s 1-0 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of the Capital One Cup last night.
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The Frenchman, who arrived from Marseille for £12m in the summer [fee reported by BBC Sport] gave the ball away eight times from his last nine passes and was hooked by Steve McClaren at half time.
Thauvin scored on his full debut and assisted three more goals as Newcastle thrashed League Two club Northampton Town 4-1 in the last round, but things have gone dramatically downhill since.
That’s the first time I’ve awarded a 1 in merit marks. But Florian Thauvin’s 45mins were the worst I’ve seen from a professional footballer.
— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) September 23, 2015
Newcastle have lost their last four matches and Thauvin was widely panned for his display in the 2-0 defeat to West Ham United, in which ex-Marseille teammate Dimitri Payet shone for the opposition.
The 22-year-old has been accused of being too lightweight for the Premier League and the statistics support this theory – he has managed just two tackles in four games and conceded only two fouls.
His attacking play also seems to have suffered. He is averaging 0.8 passes and one dribble per game compared to 3.5 and three respectively from his two Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille this term.
And yet he still has enough talent to merit links to Barcelona, according to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo. More performances like this and Accrington Stanley is a likelier next destination.
SEE ALSO:
League Cup 3rd round Wednesday video roundup: Chelsea wonderkid shines as Liverpool scrape through
Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal: Mathieu Flamini goal video and match report as Frenchman bags double
Wayne Rooney Ipswich Town goal: Man United star produces smart finish
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