Newcastle United player ratings 22-23: ‘Unsung hero’ among 9/10s — others get ‘disappointing’ 5s
Newcastle United player ratings from the 2022-23 Premier League season so far.
It’s been quite an unimaginable start to the 2022-23 campaign for Newcastle United, who currently sit third in the Premier League table and remain in the Carabao Cup.
Eddie Howe’s men have lost just one of their opening 15 league matches, and even that was a controversial last-minute defeat at Liverpool.
In total, the Magpies have collected 30 points so far, sparking early hopes of potential European qualification, and progressed into the last 16 of the League Cup.
And when United return to action in late-December after the World Cup, Howe will no doubt ensure his players are ready to go again.
“Talking too much about permutations and results and where we are in the table is wasted energy,” Howe said after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Chelsea. It’s about whether can we improve the team with our performance, what areas of the team we need to improve.
“My job is then to devise training sessions to try and implement that and help the players develop individually as well. I don’t think looking at targets or where we are in the league table is healthy. We’ll just continue to focus on our process.”
So, reflecting on the first half of the campaign for now, which players have impressed the most? Here, our writer Jordan Cronin dishes out his Newcastle player ratings from how they’ve performed so far:

1. Matt Ritchie - 5
Ritchie hasn’t featured in the matchday squad recently due to a calf injury but holds an important voice in the dressing room.

2. Ryan Fraser - 6
It’s been a frustrating start for Fraser. He hasn’t started a Premier League game since September due to the form of others and goes into the World Cup break injured.

3. Jonjo Shelvey - 6
Shelvey, who underwent hamstring surgery in August, returned ahead of schedule before the World Cup break and started against Palace in the Carabao Cup. Will have a big role to play in the second half of the season.

4. Alexander Isak - 6
Isak’s debut against Liverpool shows exactly what he is capable of when he returns from a thigh injury. It’s been a frustrating start following his club-record move in the summer but things can only improve from here.