Newcastle United recently found themselves grappling with an injury crisis that tested the depth of their squad. Amid this challenging period, Eddie Howe turned to the Magpies’ highly respected academy and put his faith in one of their own.

Lewis Miley is the young, dynamic midfielder who has seamlessly stepped up to the challenge of playing for Newcastle United’s first team amid a recent injury crisis. Faced with the daunting task of filling the shoes of more seasoned players, the young midfielder embraced the challenge with a maturity beyond his years. His performances have demonstrated his technical prowess and an innate understanding of the game’s nuances.

Howe’s first show of trust in the 17-year-old came with his inclusion in Newcastle’s Champions League squad to face Borussia Dortmund in November. Miley was subbed on for a ten-minute cameo late in the game. Following this, Miley put in an impressive performance against Chelsea in the Premier League and exhibited a level of composure and creativity that belied his age in the next European clash against PSG.

The prospect of facing such formidable opponents on the grand stage would be daunting for any player, let alone a teenager thrown into the spotlight. The Newcastle man not only held his own against established midfield maestros but also contributed to Newcastle’s valiant effort against the star-studded PSG lineup.

This tactical analysis piece will take the form of a scout report where we look at how Lewis Miley has slotted seamlessly into Eddie Howe’s tactics. We will highlight his individual skillset and find out just what makes the 17-year-old such an exciting prospect.

Attacking positioning

Eddie Howe has hailed Miley’s ‘brilliant brain’ on several occasions, and it is clear why the manager is so impressed with his young midfielder’s tactical intelligence. Miley typically lines up as the right-sided central midfielder of Newcastle’s 4-3-3 formation.

The heatmap shows us where the 17-year-old is most active on the pitch. We can see that he operates in the right half-space and moves out to the right-wing area quite frequently. Operating in the half spaces, the areas between the central and wide area, allows Miley to exploit spaces that may be less congested. This intelligent positioning enables him to receive the ball in areas where he has time and space to assess the situation and dictate the tempo of play.

Furthermore, Miley’s ability to operate in wide areas widens the team’s attacking options and stretches the opposition’s defensive structure. By drifting towards the flanks, the midfielder creates overloads and numerical advantages on the right side, forcing opponents to adjust their defensive shape. His very strategic movement not only opens up passing lanes but also provides opportunities for him to deliver accurate crosses into the box or link up with teammates.

Another valuable aspect of Miley’s movement into the wide areas is simply that it occupies the opposition defenders. In this scenario, he receives the ball from Joelinton and carries it forward before laying it off to Almirón on the right.

Almirón carries the ball inside but finds his path blocked, and as a result, possession is moved back out to Trippier on the right. All the time, Miley maintains his position out on the right wing. This forces Dalot to stay further wide, which, in turn, leaves space for Joelinton to run into the area to receive Trippier’s pass.

Moreover, Miley’s intelligent movement also creates opportunities for intricate link-up play with wingers, full-backs, and other attacking players. His positioning in this scenario means the midfielder could engage in quick combinations, one-twos, and overlapping movements, creating spaces in the opposition’s defensive structure and leading to goal-scoring opportunities for teammates.

Newcastle’s build-up tactics revolve around creating overloads in the wide areas, which, of course, leaves spaces for runners in central areas or creates opportunities for a switch pass to the opposite flank.

We can see here that Miley plays an active role in this when Newcastle are overloading the right side. He draws opponents out of position, ensuring he still has enough space to receive the ball. The young midfielder has an excellent first touch and is calm when controlling the ball in tight spaces, allowing his team to retain possession and sustain their attack.

We can see here how Newcastle’s attacking overloads in wide areas also complement the team’s full-backs and wingers. By forming overloads on the flanks, Miley can provide additional support for the wide players, creating triangles and passing options that enhance ball circulation and retention.

This facilitates the progression of the ball into advanced areas of the pitch and allows for intricate interchanges of passes, which can bypass multiple opposition defenders in one swift passing sequence.

Chance creation

As the play progresses, we can see how Eddie Howe’s tactics work to create space for Miley on this occasion. Gordon recycles possession and plays it to Joelinton, who passes it to Miley. However, if we look at Isak’s positioning, we can see he is occupying the central defender to prevent him from stepping out and pressing the ball.

Plus, Trippier’s advanced position means that Cucurella must be constantly scanning in case Miley looks to bring the Newcastle right-back into play. This is similar to what we saw him doing in the first section of this analysis.

Miley has an eye for a pass, and whilst Tripper is the more obvious option, the young midfielder opts to play in Isak, who can turn and calmly place the ball in the net. With an average pass accuracy of 84.2% Miley is mostly reliable in possession and makes good decisions when to release the ball to a teammate. He averages 8.18 forward passes per 90 and consistently looks to be a positive influence over Newcastle’s build-up play.

Furthermore, Miley possesses the vision and decision-making required to navigate through congested areas. His football intelligence allows him to read the opposition’s defensive structure, identify openings, and exploit spaces that might seem minimal to others. His capability can be particularly crucial in breaking down compact defences where intricate passing is necessary to create goal-scoring opportunities.

In crowded midfield zones or around the opponent’s penalty area, the Newcastle midfielder can thread precise passes through defensive lines, providing teammates with scoring chances, as we can see above.

Moreover, Miley is very proactive in terms of carving out shooting opportunities for himself within games. Here, he adopts a good position between the Fulham midfield and defensive lines, allowing him to receive the ball in an intelligent area.

Lewis Miley has highly proficient dribbling skills. He can effectively force the opposition’s defensive line back, offering a range of advantages that can significantly impact his team’s attacking strategy. The 17-year-old can dribble with precision and purpose, adding an unpredictable element to Newcastle’s play.

We can see in the example above that as he receives the ball, turns and carries it forward he automatically forces the Fulham defensive line to drop back. His close control and ability to change direction at speed means defenders tend to stand off him rather than marking him closely.

By forcing the opposition’s defensive line back, the midfielder opens up space in front of the defenders, creating potential goalscoring opportunities for himself. This strategic advancement can also lead to increased numerical superiority in the attacking third, allowing Newcastle to outnumber defenders and create goal-scoring situations via their ability to overload.

In this scenario, Miley carries the ball forward and unleashes a powerful shot from range on target. The dynamic nature of his style of play means he is a midfielder who can carry the ball and create shooting opportunities, contributing to the team’s overall offensive fluidity.

By bypassing opponents with dribbles and taking the initiative to shoot, he certainly injects a sense of urgency into the attack, catching defenders off guard. His aggressive approach disrupts the opposition’s defensive structure by forcing them back and creates uncertainty among defenders.

In this instance, we can see how Miley’s off-the-ball movement down the right helps to facilitate Newcastle’s quick transitions from defence to attack. Two Everton players have been drawn out to Trippier and Almirón on the right. This leaves an abundance of space for the central midfielder to exploit.

He carries the ball forward and gets into an excellent crossing position. As the defender closes him down, Miley switches back onto his slightly weaker left foot and plays a cross in towards Gordon. On this occasion, Everton clear the danger but the willingness of the Newcastle man to get into these positions and then use his weaker foot shows his confidence and willingness to create opportunities for others.

Defensive duties

His intense work ethic means Lewis Miley is as committed to carrying out his defensive duties as efficiently as his attacking duties. He tracks back well, which proves to be very important in this situation. With Tottenham on the attack, Miley recognises the danger from the incoming cross as there is space available in the Newcastle area. He gets into an excellent position and is able to make a vital interception.

Miley averages 4.79 interceptions per 90, and he is a player who prefers to use his tactical intelligence to get into the correct positions rather than go to ground to make tackles. This means he is less likely to give away free kicks in dangerous positions, and his teammates know they can rely on him to make the right decisions when his team are under pressure.

With a PPDA of 10.07, Eddie Howe’s defensive tactics see Newcastle switch between strategically pressing their opponents high and adopting a compact defensive structure. We can see here that as soon as he realises Leno is going to play the ball out to Robinson, Miley sprints across to press him.

By applying pressure in the opponent’s defensive third, he contributes to the team’s collective effort to regain possession quickly. He disrupts the opponent’s rhythm in addition to limiting their ability to build up play comfortably from the back.

This can be instrumental in creating turnovers in advanced positions, and as a result,  Miley averages 6.55 recoveries in the opposition half per 90. When he aggressively closes down opponents in their defensive third, it forces hurried passes, mistakes, or turnovers. Winning the ball in these advanced areas provides Newcastle with immediate opportunities to launch quick counter-attacks and capitalise on the opponent’s defensive disorganisation.

He is incredibly tenacious when pressing an opponent and battles to regain possession, averaging 6.19 defensive duels per 90. One area for improvement in his game is his body positioning when pressing. In his eagerness to get a foot on the ball and regain possession, he sometimes gives the opponent too much space to manoeuvre around him.

Here, he allows Robinson to shift the ball onto his right foot and create enough space to pass the ball to a teammate. A better option would have been for Miley to use his positioning to close off the passing lane and give him no way of playing out.

Additionally, when Newcastle are looking to transition into their defensive structure, Miley can be a little overeager to step out and press, which does leave spaces open. Here, he tries to put pressure on Dalot, but as he is the only Newcastle player who steps out, the Manchester United man retains possession and carries it into space, away from Miley’s press.

This is in no way a detriment to the young midfielder’s game, most likely nothing more than his youthfulness showing through, which is very rare. He plays with a surprising maturity, given his young age.

It is worth noting that he does recover well; just a few seconds later, Miley is back in the defensive shape and scanning to ensure he is fully aware of his opponent’s positioning. Although not the most rapid of players, Miley tracks back very well and makes intelligent decisions regarding his defensive positioning.

Conclusion

Lewis Miley has stepped up throughout Newcastle’s injury crisis in midfield and has not looked out of place for one second. The 17-year-old plays with a level of calmness and intelligence that makes you forget how young he is.

This analysis shows how he has confidently adapted to Eddie Howe’s tactics with relative ease. We have also seen how his attacking positioning, both in and out of possession, proves very effective when Newcastle are on the attack. This scout report has also shown how Miley can be relied upon as a creative outlet, which adds another dimension to his dynamic attacking play.

Finally, we have seen that he does not shy away from hard work defensively and actively participates in Newcastle’s strategic press, which has proven very effective for them in recent times.

2024 will undoubtedly be a breakout year for Lewis Miley; he is already an incredibly accomplished player. There is no question that with game time and Eddie Howe’s guidance, he will go on to be hugely important to Newcastle United in the future.