Ryan Taylor says Newcastle are up and running, urges Livramento to be patient and reveals striker concerns

Ryan Taylor spent seven seasons with Newcastle between 2008-15, scoring 10 goals in 102 appearances in all competitions.

In an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes, the former left-back talked about the Magpies’ Carabao Cup success against Manchester City, Tino Livramento, the fourth-round clash with Manchester United and his concerns with Eddie Howe’s squad.

Magpies up and running after Brighton and Liverpool defeats

When I saw the team sheets last night, I thought Newcastle had a really good chance of getting a result. I just know there are loads of players on the fringes of that first team who are just absolutely chomping at the bit to have a piece of what’s going on up there.

You introduce Lewis Hall and Lewis Miley, and you’re saying to those lads ‘you’ve earned your chance’. You’re putting them in with some talented lads anyway – it’s not like you’re just throwing a load of kids in against Man City.

The result did surprise me a little bit, because I always fancy Man City to score, but when Erling Haaland stays on the bench, you always think you’ve got half a chance of getting something.

I just looked around the stadium and thought the place was absolutely rocking. After the disappointments against Liverpool and Brighton recently, I feel like Newcastle’s season is actually up and running now. The 8-0 win at the weekend was obviously a freaky one, but as an ex-player and now a fan, it’s like ‘wow, this team have got something going here’.

Man City would have gone into the game knowing it was going to be hostile. The owners are constantly putting messages out on social media to the fans, telling them to bring their flags and scarves; they want to create something special up in Newcastle. Last season they managed it, but they’ve got to keep pushing on – it’s not good just doing it for one season.

The result was massive, because City don’t really lose many games, especially with the team they put out. Even when Pep Guardiola puts out a young lad, you still know he’s going to be amazing. And that’s the level Newcastle are aiming to reach, and hopefully, one day, they get there.

Patience the key for young gun Livramento

Eddie Howe is obviously very clever and he’s got lots of intelligent people behind him, doing all of the hard work behind the scenes, if you like, which no one ever sees.

There were always going to be question marks on the club taking a risk on a young lad like Tino Livramento who had been out of the game for so long. He’s come back from an ACL injury, but the club will have looked at him during his medical and recognised he’s at a good enough level on all fronts.

As for his own development, he won’t find a better player to learn from than Kieran Trippier, and if he’s watching what Trippier is doing constantly, every single day in training and in matches, then he’s learning from one of the best right-backs this country has ever produced.

All Tino has to do is just be patient. He’s probably going to play every cup game, and if Tripps gets injured, then the manager knows he’s capable enough of coming in straight away and replacing him. He’s also capable of playing on the left-hand side, which is another option for the manager.

To be able to keep City’s key players out of the game was so impressive; his stats came up in that City game and he just looked like a perfect fit for that Newcastle side.

Howe should stick with winning formula for United trip

There were some incredible performances across the board last night, but particularly in defence. Not just Tino, but Paul Dummett and Jamaal Lascelles as well. These players have barely kicked a ball this season. To produce a performance like that would have been purely off adrenaline. I’ve been there, I’ve experienced it, when you’re out of the team. You’re not getting a game and the team are doing well. But when you get thrown in, on a night like that, at home…alright, you’ll start cramping up after 75 minutes, but you just get through it.

I think it’d be very harsh if Eddie Howe made changes to the team when they take on Man United in the next round at Old Trafford, particularly after they all did so well on Wednesday against City. Why can’t they go to Old Trafford and win? Man United, right now, are so inconsistent, you just don’t have that fear factor going to United away now, because you know you’ve got a chance of beating them.

Look, this could be a long old season for Newcastle United if they can stay in these cup competitions, so their squad players are going to get a lot of game time, and Eddie will need to manage things well, because it’s a demanding campaign when you’re trying to climb up the table, but you’re playing European nights and going strong in the domestic cups.

Eddie’s got his first 11, 12 or 13 players he’ll choose from as his starting group, but he has to make sure his bench is match-ready, because of the volume of fixtures, but also in case any of his key players get injured.

It would just be really harsh if the likes of Matt Targett, Tino Livramento, Paul Dummett and Jamaal Lascelles missed out on that United game in favour of someone else. If that’s not the back four at Old Trafford in the next round, I’d be amazed, because not one of them put a foot wrong on Wednesday night.

They’ve had to essentially just sit and watch Newcastle all season really. It was a good chance to give the main back four a rest, but Eddie’s asked a question of his back-up players and they’ve answered it. They’ve shown him what they can do.

I know Paul Dummett. I’ve been going to their home games and I see him quite a lot when I’m there. I’ve asked him if he’s fully fit. He said he is, but he just can’t get anywhere near the bench, let alone the starting line-up. So for someone like him, that win against Man City is huge. He’ll have woken up on Thursday morning feeling like a part of things.

I’m sure he’d have been thinking he’s got no chance of getting involved this season, purely because of the amount of quality players around the place, with the manager not really giving him a chance. But he’ll walk into that training ground this week feeling like he’s a part of things again.

I think that the way Eddie is, he’ll stick with the same team in the next round, so I’m expecting to see those lads get a game against Man United. But at the same time, it’s a difficult one for a manager. Do you go with the same team who put you in the next round or do you go and put out your strongest team, get to Wembley and try to win the cup?

Eddie will be after revenge against United, for sure, when you look at what happened in the final last season. But he’ll also be keeping an eye on the games in and around that United fixture, and that will also play a part in his team selection, I’m sure.

Keeping strikers fit key to Newcastle success

The biggest concern for me, in this Newcastle team right now, is keeping those strikers fit. Defensively – Brighton aside – you’re talking about a really solid team.

There have been some crazy results so far this season…8-0 with eight different scorers is just something you never see, for a start. But it will have given Eddie confidence that there are a lot of goals in the team.

Newcastle are so defensively sound, it’s the other end of the pitch which they have to manage. Callum Wilson sat out on Wednesday night with a knock, and then Alexander Isak came off – that’s where Newcastle’s season will be defined, I think. You can have the best defence in the world but you’ve still got to put the ball in the back of the net.

Eddie could reassess things in January. He’s obviously got the funds to do it if he wanted to bring in another striker – I don’t see why the club wouldn’t do that. But all across the pitch now, they’ve actually got a really big squad.

They’ve got central midfielders for fun. They’re all international footballers now and it never really used to be like that. I wouldn’t fancy playing against this Newcastle midfield. First of all you’ve got Joelinton –  the guy is absolutely huge! He’s transformed his game completely. They’ve just signed Sandro Tonali, they’ve got Bruno Guimaraes…that’s some midfield. But then you can flip it and say Sean Longstaff is a key player for them too. They’ve just got so many options, it’s just about keeping that attacking part of the team fit, healthy and hungry for goals.