A Derby Lesson For Pardew, Starting Role For Ben Arfa?

It was a Tyne-Wear derby packed with emotion and exasperation. A day for the black and red sides of the North East to curse their rivals and scream, "why?" As a Newcastle fan, it is easy to laugh now, as Shola Ameobi once again denied Sunderland with a timely goal. It has gotten to the point where you wish there were some sort of virtual reality system to make Shola think he was suiting up against Sunderland every week. The Wearside rabble probably knew they were sunk as soon as they saw the fourth official put up his number. (As an aside, he should have taken the penalty. For all his faults as a player, the man is world-class from the spot.)

From Newcastle's perspective, the pleading questions will be directed at Alan Pardew. Why do so many of the club's performances look like today's turgid first half, and not the sublime second? First, we should give the manager his due. Over the last few weeks, the grumbling toward Pardew has painted him as tactically rigid and unable to change a game positively in the second half. He was neither today. Instead, Pardew set the tone by bringing on Hatem Ben Arfa, and the team responded with a dominant, suffocating approach.

Let's start with the bad. In the first half, Newcastle looked for all the world like a team petrified of getting embarrassed in the derby. By playing passively, they managed to do just that. Sunderland were far from Barcelona themselves, but the home side seemed content to hoof it out of the back, or let Jonas Gutierrez get hassled and trapped until he turned the ball over. Mike Williamson made a silly error to concede a penalty. Though it's not often called, he's risked penalties in the past by pulling players' shirts, and today was the day he paid for it. Just as we feared, Sunderland won the majority of possession duels in the first half, a testament to their aggressiveness in midfield.

But starting at about the 40 minute mark, Newcastle belatedly decided to show up. The three of us have been crying out for more possession play through the midfield, and finally our prayers were answered. The final tally was 63.1% for the game, which means about 75% possession in the second half. Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye should dominate Lee Cattermole and Craig Gardner in midfield, and their class indeed showed through after halftime. Pardew's side completed more than twice as many passes as shellshocked Sunderland, with the central midfield pair first and second in that category.

And of course, there was Ben Arfa. The last two weeks should have dispelled any remaining concerns about making him a fixture in the starting lineup. Against Wolves he was selfish and sometimes aimless, but still produced Newcastle's only chances to win. Today, well...Pardew should tie Ben Arfa to a chair and force him to watch this performance until it sinks in. He did give away the ball, of course, but he was engaged, accurate with his passing (24/26; 92%), and Kieran Richardson will probably be having nightmares about him tonight. Along with all the fancy dribbling, he also chipped in a gorgeous pass that Demba Ba was a whisker away from latching onto with a volley.

The club finds itself in an enviable position right now. There is no bottom to fall through; Newcastle are well clear of relegation, and probably even assured of a top-half finish. European qualification may be a tough ask, but it's certainly within reach. In other words, now is the time to gamble. Pardew needs to start Ben Arfa, Demba Ba, and Papiss Cisse together. He needs to tell Cabaye and Tiote to push up into the attack and pass with confidence. He even needs to tell Tim Krul to play the ball short instead of lofting it into the fray. Play that way from the opening whistle, and he won't have to rely on Ameobi to save him in stoppage time.

Comments

[GeordieDan]

Great analysis.

I agree with every word of that mate.

[Nick Reid]

Pardew had the team very worried about the mackems supposed ability to counter attack and as a result we never ventured down the wings and played a totally negative first half - we were diabolical.
Being frightened of the mackems is a disgraceful attitude to have and is not acceptable.

We were far better in the second half we attacked and Ben showed his undoubted class which should NOT be left on the bench again.

Mackems are nothing special and we could have really sorted them if Pardew's tactics had allowed us to play from the start.

To be frightened of any team gets you no where - to be frightened of the mackems is discraceful and is totally unnecessary.

Nick Reid.

[Jaeger]

impressed with ben arfa and to be honest, danny simpson. he came out from the start with intensity and wanted to show his toughness. tough call for the willo penalty...it was the right call but the ball was soaring over their heads anyway so it wouldn't have mattered. shola should have taken ours, he's automatic at those. its tough because i like having raylor in the side for his accuracy so im tempted to do this...

-------------Krul-----------
Santon/Simmo---Colo--Willo---Raylor
----Cabaye---Tiote---Jonas---
---HBA------Cisse----------Ba

[the mackem]

A good article. not a derby for the feint hearted today. Sunderland showed a lot more passion and turned up at long last for derby game after our recent meek showings and maybe caught you out a bit. dont think you were scared of us one bit. pardew showed passion, maybe over doing it to try impress the locals? Tiote and Cabaye are not the class players you think they are, they only managed to get on top with a man advantage when we sat back to protect a lead. ameobi should have started with his record, where does he go for the other 36 games?

[Zack]

Pardew actually said in post game comments that he wants to find a way to get Ben Arfa involved in the last 11 games, because he thinks the team needs that kind of technical player.

[Bob]

Comes the dawn.

[Richie]

Raylor--willo--collo--santon
---Cabaye-Tiote-Gutierrz---
-------------Hatem------------
-------Cisse-------Ba---------
4-3-1-2 sorted!

[M]

Give Pardew credit for making EXACTLY the right call at half-time. Santon had to come off and Raylor is a rather limited right mid - he solved both probs in one decision.

Here's the thing about Santon - despite being both athletically and technically gifted he's actually deficient both in defence and attack.

Defensively he gets caught out of position and sometimes makes poor choices that cost the team. Going forward... his crossing, final ball and general decision-making in the final third isn't actually all that good. (the man just doesn't see cut-backs)

I like him as a footballer and hope that as he matures and gains experience he can improve these aspects of his game. For now though, we should revert to Raylor at LB (if we're going to play 4-4-2)

[M]

and re. BenArfa, here's an encouraging post-match quote from Pardew -

"I have to find a way of getting him in my team."

[Belton]

Am I the only one who felt that we were still severely lacking in the 2nd half? Yes HBA brought a sorely-need sense of creativity and activity to the match, but I still felt the team looked way too tentative throughout. Despite being a man up, nothing about that goal felt inevitable to me - just pure relief. Very little crispness in passing, slow decision-making - it all points to a lack of confidence in their attack. Don't get me wrong, I was relieved to finally get something out of it at the end but overall I was left feeling as though we stole a point rather than got one we deserved - unthinkable for a home derby match. Not a good mindset heading to the Emirates though perhaps HBA will be allowed to play a more immediate role against the Gunners. Seems like the perfect kind of game for him?

[MnToonArmy9]

I think Ben Arfa is easier to start on the pitch when you have Tiote and Cabaye in-form. HBA is still a bit of a defensive liability and it's not like Simpson is a rock (despite his goal line clearances). Still if the plan is to win 3-1 or 4-2 rather than try for 1-0, that could be a viable model.