Three Points: Aston Villa Win

Three takeaways from Newcastle United's encouraging 2-1 road win over Aston Villa at Villa Park:

The power of positivity
Alan Pardew's pre-game quotes about being content with his squad came off as obnoxiously positive, considering how trying the past year has been for Newcastle fans. Not to mention how Pardew spent the summer campaigning for another attacking signing.

But wouldn't you know it, Pardew's troops went out and backed up their manager's talk with one of their better all-around performances in quite some time. Loic Remy and Hatem Ben Arfa gave Newcastle balance on the flanks, Yohan Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko and Vurnon Anita solidified the midfield, and Fabricio Coloccini and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa were oustanding at the back. And when you thought Newcastle might crumble after conceding the tying goal, it showed some backbone.

Remy and Ben Arfa will understandably grab most of the attention, but Coloccini and Yanga-Mbiwa's center back partnership continues to look better with each passing week. Villa's monstrous striker Christian Benteke scored — on a corner where Sissoko failed to mark the Belgian, Yanga-Mbiwa didn't track Libor Kozak and Tim Krul couldn't reach the ball — but didn't shake free too often in open play.

Gabriel Agbonlahor should have scored for Villa early in the second half, but the hosts didn't create many other threatening chances (Newcastle finished with an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal).

One good performance doesn't negate fans' concerns over the lack of summer additions — the quality of Newcastle's depth will still be tested at some point — but it does reaffirm the widely-held belief that Newcastle's starting lineup is at least pretty good.

Lovem or Hatem
Ben Arfa can test observers' patience with his decision-making and over-dribbling. He can make you question whether his skill and creativity outweigh the deficiencies. But one thing is clear: He can make the difference between a loss and a tie or a tie and a win.

Ben Arfa tortured Villa left back Antonio Luna by not only cutting inside, but darting to the byline. After scoring a rare tap-in for the opening goal, his shot set up a straightforward finish for Yoan Gouffran on the rebound for the go-ahead strike.

Ben Arfa also tracked back as well as he has in any game since arriving in England. At this point, the biggest concern with Ben Arfa is whether Newcastle is overly reliant on him to generate offense.

And then there's Cisse ...
All players go through slumps, particularly strikers. But at what point does an extended slump reveal that the player simply isn't that good? And have we reached that point with Papiss Cisse?

Cisse wasn't downright terrible, but he still failed to provide Newcastle with any sort of a presence in the center of the attack. Ben Arfa put in several dangerous crosses that a Premier League-level, out-and-out No. 9 should have turned into scoring chances. Cisse couldn't get to them.

Cisse is looking more and more like the sort of poacher who could and should be an impact substitute off the bench when Newcastle is chasing a goal. He simply doesn't impact the game in enough ways to justify trotting him out for starts week after week.

Which brings us back to the transfer complaints. Imagine if Newcastle had brought in a more well-rounded striker? Or a left winger who would allow Remy to play through the middle?

Yes, Newcastle paid a fairly substantial fee for Cisse. And yes, Cisse started his Newcastle career by firing in goals left and right. But at what point should he be judged by his current play? I'd say it's about time.

Comments

[bottes palladium urban]

Many thanks a whole lot for sharing! I will definitely be back.