Joelinton sat down with NUFC TV for a chat ahead of the Fulham game and spoke of his relationship with the fans and how much Eddie Howe has helped him.
Brazilian, Joelinton had a tough start to life on Tyneside, arriving from Hoffenheim for a club record £40m, he arrived as a striker and given the prestigious number 9 shirt. The trouble is, Joelinton wasn’t a striker, he was a left-sided wide forward, so when he was thrown up front with little support, things didn’t really go well for Big Joe.
His goalscoring record was abysmal and he drew a lot, and I mean a LOT of criticism from fans with many even questioning if he was genuinely even a footballer. Fans couldn’t wait to see the back of him even knowing that we’d have to make a massive loss if we were to sell him.
Then one fateful day under Eddie Howe, Ciaran Clark got himself sent off against Norwich forcing Howe into a tactical change that would change Joelinton’s destiny forever. Howe asked Joelinton to drop back into a holding midfield role and a star was born. Showing himself to be adept in that position, Howe stuck with it going forward and suddenly, Joelinton moved from the group of failed strikers amongst the likes of Stephane Guivarc’h, Jon Dahl Tomasson, Andreas Anderson, Albert Luque …. wow we’ve bought some pants strikers haven’t we? …. and up into the ranks alongside David Batty.
Suddenly the Toon Army were singing Joelinton’s name in the stands, Hawaiian shirts plastered with his adorable cheeky face where everywhere and one fan even got his face tattooed on his chest. Now if you even dare to criticise Joelinton you will get icy stares from his die-hard fans.
This upturn in fortune is not lost on the man himself. When he was asked what difference Eddie Howe has made to his career he said: “A lot. he changed my position, I started to play well. Since he’s come here he’s changed a lot of things, he’s helped every player. I think the confidence he’s given me since day one is very good”
Joelinton has a great relationship with the fans, meeting them whenever he can and speaking about that said: “It makes me feel good to make someone happy just to see me or say a few words to me. I meet fans every day. It’s a good feeling.”
Last year’s Player Of The Season still holds out hope of breaking into the Brazil national team, but has said he’s focused on his job at Newcastle above all.