Where Does Anita Fit In?

At long last, Vurnon Anita is officially a Newcastle United player.

Now comes the fun part: Seeing exactly where the Dutchman fits into Alan Pardew's team.

Pardew has made it clear that, while Anita has the capability of filling in at left back, he sees his new signing as a central midfielder. Anita clearly shares that view, which is why he sought assurances from Newcastle before signing a five-year contract.

That United's first major signing of the summer - all apologies to Romain Amalfitano, Gael Bigirimana and Curtis Good - would be a central midfielder who likes to sit deep is fairly surprising on first glance, given the esteem in which Yohan Cabaye and Cheick Tiote are held. There is always the caveat that players get injured or struggle for form throughout the course of a given season, particularly one that could include an extended stay in the Europa League for Newcastle.

But would United really fork out nearly £7 million for merely a secondary option? I'm not convinced. There's still the chance that Cabaye or Tiote is sold in the remaining two weeks of the summer transfer window, of course, but there haven't been any creditable rumors of interest from other clubs this summer. And considering how much either would cost, that's understandable.

So let's assume for the moment that Pardew still has Cabaye and Tiote at his disposal when the calendar flips to September. My hunch - based on Anita's price tag and Pardew's oft-repeated desire to have his team control games through the midfield - then is that we'll see a fair amount of Cabaye, Tiote and Anita all playing together.

That would give Pardew all sorts of options in terms of formations and tactics. He could utilize the 4-3-3/4-5-1 look he favored for parts of the second half of last season - like Cabaye and Tiote, Anita appears to possess the right mix of mobility and passing skill to survive in the heart of that formation. (Despite his praise for Danny Guthrie, Pardew never seemed inclined to utilize United's former No. 8 alongside the other two.)

Anita could also sit deeper alongside Tiote, allowing Cabaye to push forward and connect with the likes of Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse and Hatem Ben Arfa. Perhaps Tiote will be given license to venture a bit further upfield as well, with Anita acting as a fulcrum of possession play between the center backs and the midfield.

At this point it's anyone's guess, which is the main source of intrigue with Anita's arrival. We likely won't get a definitive answer tomorrow, either, since Cabaye and Tiote are both question marks for Newcastle's season opener against Spurs.

For all of United's progress last season, it still didn't consistently control possession in games - Newcastle was below the 50 percent possession mark for the season - and at times got overrun in the center of the midfield.

Perhaps Anita can remedy those problems. Once again we'll have to wait and see.

Comments

[Sean/Ameritoon]

good write up... but you're right. it's going to interesting to see how Pards uses everybody. especially since we're not quite deep enough to field 2 separate squads - 1 for Prem & 1 for Europe...

[geoff777]

I heard he's so small he'll fit in a suitcase.

Handy for saving money on those European flights - Clever boy Ashley.

[Vipers_Kingy]

I think he displaces Guitierrez in the 4-3-3 or forms the left side of a 3-5-2. In a 4-4-2, with everyone fit, he's playing left back or left wing. He's not displacing Tiote or Cabaye when fit (and not in ACON or suspended in Tiote's case) in my opinion and he hasn't come here to play in the 2nd team for the cups.

Slight aside, why bust a gut to get into Europe then phone it in? Prioritise EL and PL, half-arse both cups is what I'd do.

[Jonas Gutierrez]

I think the question should really be "Where does Jonas fit in?"

[JJK]

Tiote and Cabaye spent parts of last season suspended or injured. Anita may be seen as a replacement for Danny Guthrie. Because of his versatility he could replace Santon (who could move to the right), or Jonas in the 4-3-3.

[JJK]

That should be "...he could also replace..."

[ArfurGlassfull]

TK says he'll link defence to attack.

So Cheick and Vurnon as holding MF's with three mobile, dynamic MF's supplying one of the two Demba's

[Richy]

Santon, Guttierez, Tiote, Cabaye, Anita, Bigirama, Marveaux to fill 2 full back and 3 midfield positions - others like Simpson, R Taylor will be players able to come in for injuries and/or rotation with cups if still here. I'm happy with any 5 from 7 excellent players plus 2 spare and other kids to break in at any time. All 7 could play with one up to overrun MU at Old Trafford.

[nwfc]

If anita & marveaux remain fit and play to their full potential till jan i believe spiderman will be in trouble or will be moved to LB wit santon on right and bye bye simpson

[BeeGuy]

Anita will come right in and start vs. Spurs. If Tiote injured, Vurnon is the man. Or hi will do Canaye're role.

[Steve (Yank in Geordieland)]

I don't think Anita is a bench man, rotate, or a Europe man. I do think however, this might be the end for Simpson (pushed to new club for funds to sign Debuchy in January). I believe one of the previous posters is correct. Where does Jonas fit into things?

My lineup (and strongest in my opinion) would be:

4-3-1-2

Krul
Santon - STaylor - Colo - Jonas
Cabaye - Tiote - Anita
Ben Arfa
Ba - Cisse

Subs: Harper, Marv., Shola, Gosling, Obertan, Willo, RTaylor

Cabs would push forward more and provide another creative outlet with Ben Arfa, who can be swapped with Marv. easily enough as I believe Marv. has quality there as well. This also puts Ben Arfa down the middle, which again as the lads suggested, is his better option, although working out wide works well too. I think one of the lads also discussed this possibility. This also accommodates Ba playing in the middle which Pardew promised. I'd push Santon to RB, and Jonas to LB even though it's not natural. Anita and Tiote could provide cover to Jonas and Santon who could bomb forward to provide crosses into the box as well. I don't think Pardew would drop Jonas as his work rate is exceptional. To be honest, it sounds like Pardew has two squads virtually in the works. One for the league, and another for Europe and Cups, mostly full of youngsters and a few other seniors such as Shola, and RTaylor. Only thing about it is Ben Arfa would need to improve his work rate again, he looked to go back when playing for France a bit, as he'd be the link up between midfield and strikers.

Only other idea is 4-3-3/4-5-1 flexi formation, but this takes Ba out of equation or puts him on left, which Pardew said he wouldn't do 90% of the time, even though it was lethal towards the back end of the last season.

Just my views :)

[Rob]

I agree with Steve but I think Simmo will stay at RB and Santon will go at LB. Hatem would have a ton of attacking freedom in this formation and his creative nature would be allowed to be put on display. The only question is how will the crosses come in as Ba and Cisse both are capable of scoring with their heads and their feet.

[Steve (Yank in Geordieland)]

Rob,

I think Simmo will stay there as well if I'm honest, but then I'm not sure how Anita fits in, and if he does, where does Jonas go? This is what the interest is about. The crosses would come from the full backs. Simmo leaves a lot to be desired for crossing ability though, and Debuchy would of been the answer if we signed him. Like I said, in the formation I posted Anita and Tiote would help provide cover for the forward runs of the full backs. This formation is fairly narrow when put onto paper, so the use of full backs would provide the width. The use of Tiote and Anita, two defensive minded midfielders, would also allow Cabaye to push forward from his RCM position (right side, but still central if that makes sense) to put cross and creative passes to the strikers, although this means Cabaye would need to "learn" a new position in theory (although not really). As suggested by one of the lads I believe, Cabaye was seen playing this role towards the end of last season, and the role was being played in the preseason by others.

I'd assume the CAM (played by Ben Arfa in my formation) position would virtually be a roaming role along with the two striker positions as well. This would mean the CAM could drift to either side and provide crosses or one of the strikers as well.

Hope that clears up some more. It's going to be interesting for sure though. I just wish Ba was happy on the LW i a 4-3-3 because I honestly think 4-3-3/4-5-1 flexi is the way to go with the talented squad we have, although I think this 4-3-1-2 could work as well if used properly. The scariest part of our team is the defense, and I'm glad we have a Krul between the sticks.

[MarsMve]

Would not the 4-3-1-2 convert well on the fly to a 4-3-3 if we play Ben Arfa behind the 2 strikers..then moving one of the strikers wide with Ben Arfa filling the other wing? I understand Ba prefers to stay center, however perhaps the two strikers can share the duty?

The three defensive midfielders seem to have some of the same flexibility to adjust on the fly and cover for each other. I do prefer Anita as a sweeper-type centermidfielder with Tiote/Cabaye splitting the second third

Just want that Debuchy transfer to finilize..too many matches ahead to the current depth. Any word on a quality CenterBack?

Thoughts?

Great site by the way, glad I found it.

[Steven Fowler]

Yes it could. Looked as if it was very free flowing today even in the 4-4-2. Ben Arfa was all over the pitch and even Ba was out far left as well.

Erik Pieters was spotted at SJP today...there's a picture floating around.

P.s I love this site as well. One of the better ones that actually offers insight. I love tactics and the previous site I used to go on stopped doing tactical previews/reviews and this seems to be the only one that does something close now. Been a long time reader, but this is my 2/3 post.

I'm from Michigan (Grand Haven) originally, but moved to Gateshead in 2010 to be with my now wife (and 4 month old baby boy now too). Wife calls me her "Yankee Geordie" as I have taken to the Geordie language (although I get told I sound Irish by almost everyone who meets me here now haha).

[Tom]

Hey guys-
Thanks so much for all the great comments and good discussion on here. This is exactly why we started the site - to connect with other fans and generate discussion.

Steve, great to know you're representing the Midwest over in Geordieland.

Interesting news on Pieters as well. I'm not sold on him because of his lengthy injury history.

-Tom

[Steve Fowler (Yank in Geordieland)]

Tom,

I agree. While I like the prospect of him, I'm not too sure about him overall. He's very injury prone, and in the friendly against England that he played in back in March, he looked very uncomfortable against speedy opponents (Walcott, etc.) which worries me a bit. He'd be a nice addition though as he's versatile as he can play LB and CB. If he's brought in, I'd have a feeling Simpson would be sold due to not renewing his contract, although there's reports of him saying he loves the Toon and doesn't want to leave (if that's the case, sign the bloody contract offer then!). Pieters would play LB, and Santon pushed to RB most likely I'd think.

- Steve

[Steve Fowler (Yank in Geordieland)]

This just Tweeted by Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas):

"Don't read too much into Pieters appearance at #nufc yesterday. Interest in him but no contact with PSV & nothing imminent. Not fit"