BIG MATCH REVEALS LITTLE FOR NEWCASTLE

There. We've played somebody.

Now if only it had proved anything.

On one hand, key absences all over the pitch provided a ready-made rationalization for a next-to-inevitable loss. Though we've chided Gabriel Obertan on this blog, his pace would've been just the prescription for what ailed Newcastle during its quiet stretches against Manchester City on Saturday. As lethal as Hatem Ben Arfa looked, imagine if Sylvain Marveaux or Cheick Tiote had been nearby. And it turns out we can't do without Steven Taylor for one minute. Literally.

On the other hand, this club may have to get used to key absences. Newcastle was asking for it in June when they went to the bargain bin for an attacking midfielder with enough chronic medical issues to fill the last act of an Italian opera; don't expect Marveaux as a regular anytime soon (if ever), and we hate to say we told you so, but we told you so. Speaking of Italy and medical histories, where is Davide Santon, and how bad do the outside backs need to look before we find out? Alan Pardew is warning Chelsea that Tiote won't come cheap this January, which is kind of like telling King Kong to bulk up.

On one hand, take away the penalties and Newcastle generated more solid-gold chances than what looks like the Best Club On Earth at this moment. Delete this match fast from the DVR. The nearer-than-near misses from Ba and Ben Arfa are enough to give a fan a mental issue the second and third times around.

On the other hand, if chances were goals, Newcastle would've ceased to be unbeaten long before Saturday. Let's face it: The soccer gods were due to shun the Toon for a day. 

On one hand, Newcastle didn't look out of place relative to its spot on the table.

On the other hand, its spot on the table looks about to be downgraded.

In the end, Newcastle United emerged from Saturday's loss looking like a young but dangerous club, giving its fans reason for both hope and concern, needing to build in the transfer window ahead on the foundation being laid to maintain its European dreams. Unfortunately for supporters who were waiting for more out of this match, that's pretty much the same Newcastle club that went in.

Comments

[Jooonny]

We cant blane raylor for one bad game, without that four minutes of madness we were fine, i would havestarted santon instead of sammy though, even though sammy did well

[Bob]

I sort of agree on Raylor, he's been game so far, though here we are playing the kind of club that can expose players who are outside their natural roles and I thought that happened. Simpson is another story.

[Ocorious]

I felt the same way immediately following the game. But our coaching staff is proving to be a factor and they'll no doubt be pulling lots of good information from the game. Any time you get to see fringe or youth player for a full 90 minutes there's something to be gained (How about Sammy?! Watch out Obertan.). This game, whether won or lost should not be something we should have extreme feelings about had it gone any which way. A victory would have been phenomenal but we'd be all the more guarded about crashing our confidence at a more inopportune time then again half a billion in players. A lost was the right result on the day and allows the bubble to pop at the "right time" against the right team. I'd want it to be against the most in form, top of the league team. It'll do far less to our form then had Raylor not put that one goal in against a certain rival of ours.

[Rob Moyer]

If we sell Tiote anytime soon I will be inconsolable.

Also, I want to see Santon at LB because Raylor is playing out of position. Put him up at RM to provide help to Simpson on the right side.

Starting XI

KRUL
SIMPSON, SAYLOR, COLO, SANTON
RAYLOR, TIOTE (IF NOT BACK THEN GUTHRIE), CABAYE, JONAS
BEN ARFA, BA

Both Jonas and Raylor would provide solid defense while the Hatem/Demba combo up front had some bright moments on Saturday.

[Ryan]

Agreed on the points you mentioned Bob. Every team has to deal with injuries. When healthy, I think we can threaten anyone in the league. While we have some bright young players, this match should show the powers that be that we still need some depth given Newcastle's yearly injury problems (let's keep our fingers crossed we stay relatively healthy this year).

Honestly, despite Man City dominating possession for the most part, I thought we showed pretty well considering the pieces we were missing. Although it would be nice to convert every goal opportunity, on any other day we could have had 3-4 goals. So it's not like we got beat from post to pillar and never made the match competitive. We got a few great looks against one of the best teams on the planet. That's more than most teams can say. We created quality chances against a great side. I will take that result at this point in the squad's development. Had a couple of the early opportunities gone in, it could have been a draw easily or even a win. If we play well like this vs. Manchester United and Chelsea, I think we have a chance to take 4 points, if not 6. And hopefully Tiote and Best should make this week's match.