I saw 29-year-old player prove his incapability

Newcastle United were nowhere near good enough against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night, and had to rely on the lottery of penalties to stay in the FA Cup.

Martin Dubravka was the Magpies’ hero, making two saves in the shootout to put Newcastle United into the FA Cup quarter final.

The Slovakian stood up and delivered, on a night where various Toon players struggled. There were some really concerning performances, with Alan Shearer admitting that the display was worrying at times.

Eddie Howe made five changes to the team that lost to Arsenal, but still put out a strong starting XI. There should have been no excuses, but the players he picked really struggled to rise to the occasion.

And one of those was Jacob Murphy.

Jacob Murphy was really poor for Newcastle against Blackburn in the FA Cup

The 29-year-old was back in the Newcastle starting XI for the first time since the 4-4 draw with Luton Town.

Murphy was deployed on the right of the Magpies’ front three, taking Miguel Almiron’s place in the side. However, he certainly did not justify his selection.

It was an awful performance from the winger, who proved once and for all why he should not be a starter for this Newcastle United team.

The Magpies were really poor in the first half at Ewood Park, and Murphy was not the only player to underperform. But moves seemed to constantly breakdown whenever he got possession. Time and time again, his decision making was appalling.

Newcastle needed to move the ball fast and incisively, yet Murphy was slow and ponderous. So often he would slow the game down, while a pot shot from distance that went nowhere near summed up his night.

Eddie Howe’s side really struggle when they are dominating possession. We do not pass it quick enough, which allows the opposition to get into shape and keep us at bay. And we are only going to experience that more the better we become.

But in situations like that, there is no way that Murphy should be a starter. He is a decent option off the bench with his pace and directness, but he certainly should not be in the Newcastle United starting XI. The performance against Blackburn proved that.