Lineups Vs. Cardiff: Pardew's Last Stand?

Despite the brief swirl on Twitter following Monday's loss to Everton, Alan Pardew is still the manager. For how much longer remains to be seen. But for now, he still has to put out a lineup for the match against Cardiff City. The good thing for Newcastle is that the Bluebirds lack a player like Romelu Lukaku, whose performance on Monday night prompted some metaphysical tweets from my co-bloggers. That will hopefully mean an easier ride for the back four, which has looked awful the last two weeks.

As always, I'll pick the starting XI I want to see tomorrow, then conclude the post with who I think Pardew will actually select. And if Joe Kinnear happens to be reading this, and he's thinking about making a change at the top, I am available to pick these lineups for real!

Keeper and back four: Tim Krul; Mathieu Debuchy, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Fabricio Coloccini, Davide Santon

Yes, it's unchanged from the Everton match, even though Yanga-Mbiwa was so bad he was yanked at halftime, and Coloccini and Santon weren't much better. On the Mapou front, it's purely a matchup decision: I don't like the prospect of Cardiff's Peter Odemwingie having a free run at Mike Williamson all afternoon. But his place in the team is definitely at risk.

Coloccini simply needs to show a captain's resilience after a poor showing on Monday, and given his track record at the club, he likely will. Santon, on the other hand, is in an interesting spot. He was pretty poor defensively for the entire 2012-13 season, but improved drastically this year before a nightmarish first-half display against Everton. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and see if he can find his feet again. If not, Paul Dummett is an awfully tempting option in the weeks to come.

Midfield: Moussa Sissoko, Vurnon Anita, Yohan Cabaye

A silly article in the wake of Monday's debacle criticized Pardew for not starting Cabaye at Goodison Park. There are plenty of things you can lay on the manager's doorstep, but it's hard to knock him for wanting to be careful with an injured player. Especially when it's a groin injury for Cabaye, who missed huge chunks of last season with groin injuries. But after a sharp performance in the second half, and another few days of treatment, he's likely well enough to start.

After Cheick Tioté's turnover which led to the second Everton goal, I wouldn't entertain the possibility of starting him for a nanosecond. This midfield trio has potential if it's given time to develop a rapport, and hopefully Pardew will show some faith in it. I've got a nagging feeling that Tioté may start again, though, sadly. Call it a hunch.

Forwards: Loïc Rémy, Yoan Gouffran, Hatem Ben Arfa

So close. That's a good description of Gouffran's near-miss right after halftime. It also fits Pardew's decision to finally start Gouffran with Rémy and Ben Arfa - only in the wrong positions. The manager stuck my idol on the right wing, expecting him to help deal with the threat of Leighton Baines. Mission accomplished on that front. But that meant moving Ben Arfa to the left, where he's not nearly as dynamic or effective, and limiting Rémy's movement by keeping him in the center. To make matters worse, Ben Arfa had a shocker: though the official stats say he was dispossessed three times in the first half, it felt like 30.

Played the right way, this front three can be dangerous, and Papiss Cissé gave Pardew no reason to break it up in his 20 minutes off the bench. Rémy on the left, Gouffran in the center, and Ben Arfa on the right needs to happen. Start those three players in those positions, then sit back and wait for the magic to happen.

Who Pardew will choose: Krul; Debuchy, Yanga-Mbiwa, Coloccini, Santon; Tioté, Sissoko; Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Gouffran; Rémy.

Comments

[Jaeger]

while i understand your points, i feel that keeping Yanga-Mbiwa and santon out of the starting XI will show that pardew is serious and has expectations. play well or you'll lose your spot right away. they're grown men and should be able to handle that criticism professionally.

not that it matters that much, but i would like remy more on the left and gouffran in the center...granted they could switch every thirty seconds if the situation presents itself. just that gouffran can make runs for both HBA and remy if he's in the center... also he can move back into the midfield when defending giving a little more defensive strength.

[sidekick]

For an away game at Everton Pardew decided to start with a two man defence . Mbiwa and Colo. They were completely overrun.
The back four against Cardiff should be Mbiwa - Williamson - Colo - Dummett.
I will go with your midfield choice but for me the front 3 would be Remy , Cisse and Gouffran.
Ben Arfa is our 'luxury' player and should only be on the pitch when the rest of the team can allow him to play as such.