‘I was the bad guy' Newcastle United man cites abnormal help as key reason for Chelsea bounceback

Last week, Nick Woltemade hit rock bottom.

His own goal cost Newcastle United the Wear-Tyne derby against Sunderland, and he felt he owed supporters a reprieve. That came on Saturday, with two goals in the final match of 2025 at St James’ Park against Chelsea. It was an extremely impressive way to bounce back.

With the Magpies leading, in full control at half time and Woltemade squandering a chance for a hat-trick, it felt as though a huge victory was in reach. Newcastle were back to their best; fast, purposeful, energetic and so difficult to live with. But Chelsea turned the tide after the break to secure a draw; the number of points dropped this season rose to 13, embodying the very issue Eddie Howe’s team can’t seem to shake: consistency.

Nick Woltemade: 'Newcastle supporters' response is not normal'

Woltemade has now scored seven league goals this season and nine in all competitions; his popularity with the fans is growing. That was proven by the response to his mistake at the Stadium of Light; he was inundated by messages of support on Instagram and hopes he has repaid that.

“On Wednesday [against Fulham] everyone was singing my name, I knew today, I wanted to give it back,” Woltemade said.

“I’m really happy to play in a club like this. There were so many positive messages, I’m really thankful to the fans; I just want to say thank you.

“I had to deal with [the own goal]. In football, this can happen, it is part of the game. Now I’ve scored two goals, last week I scored an own goal and was the bad guy. I want to keep going, you saw that in my reaction; I was happy with the fans’ reaction and we did quite well.”

Woltemade added that the level of goodwill was not “normal” and has taken him by surprise, but that it sums up the “Newcastle family”.

“It is not normal that they respond like this. You hope for it, of course, and I wanted to score the goals and say thank you. You saw I had confidence today, part of the confidence was because I knew the fans were behind me.

“My Instagram was full of messages. I think you saw today, if you are good with a player, you’ll get good back.

“It is surprising, but it is the Newcastle family. After the game, team-mates spoke really well with me.”

Analysing Woltemade’s start to life at Newcastle has not been straightforward. Individually, he has performed well. Everybody knows that he is a rather unique footballer, praised more for his guile and skill than his ability in their air despite standing at 6ft 6in. He doesn’t run in behind and stretch defences in the way his predecessor Alexander Isak did, and he is not seen as a “fox in the box”. Although on Saturday’s evidence, he certainly can be.

There was a humorous moment after the game when he met Peter Crouch, part of TNT Sports’ punditry line up, and confessed his nickname back in Germany was “Crouchy” as they posed for a photo.

But that uniqueness has caused problems for Newcastle’s attacking structure that have not really been solved. Yoane Wissa scored on his first start in midweek and there have been calls for the pair of them to play together, something Woltemade is open to. So far, they have only replaced one another.

“I was hoping [to have this impact]. It is quite hard in a new league and new part of my life. I want to score goals; scoring seven in the league shows I feel really good here and this is the right place me.

“We have a lot of games, every three days. We need quality players and he is one. We can play together; we are both fit, hopefully it stays that way and we can see what happens.”

In isolation, there wasn’t much to be upset about from a Newcastle performance perspective. The second half saw Chelsea come back with a vengeance and the introduction of Enzo Fernandez helped them gain control in midfield, which was non-existent until then. The referee was far from helpful for Newcastle either; Alejandro Garnacho should arguably have been sent off for a challenge on Jacob Ramsey, and Anthony Gordon wasn’t given what looked to be a clear penalty after being brought down by Trevoh Chalobah.

But there is no getting away from more dropped points from winning positions for Newcastle and similar reasons contributing to each example. For the second week in a row, they conceded just after half time, instantly changing the dynamic and momentum of the game, something they have struggled to handle all season, particularly away from home, but at St James’ Park too.

Howe’s Newcastle are still very good at making teams uncomfortable at full throttle, but it has rarely lasted a full 90 minutes, and they look too easy to play through when not at their best.

While European commitments and a chaotic schedule are mitigating circumstances up to a point, there are legitimate questions to be asked about the team’s direction and lack of dynamism, especially when over £200 million was spent in the summer, largely with Howe leading recruitment.

Nick Woltemade has once again shown himself to be a shining light in an increasingly frustrating season on Tyneside.