Three Points: Norwich Win

Three excited-but-relieved takeaways from Newcastle United's 2-1 win over Norwich City at St. James' Park in a game that included the unthinkable — a Newcastle goal off a corner kick:

The 4-4-2, in all its glory
Formations are important, don't get me wrong. But the simplistic view with which some folks analyze them is out of control. These days, fans tend to react to a 4-4-2 with automatic groans. Sure, a static, bland 4-4-2 is bad. So is a rigid, uninventive 4-5-1, 4-3-3, 3-5-2 or anything other alignment you can come up with.

The 4-4-2 look Alan Pardew employed for the first 74 minutes or so today — the third straight Premier League game he's opted for that setup — was anything but dull. It shifted in the attack, with Yoan Gouffran pinching inside to add a third option in the box. Shola Ameobi dropped into midfield to sew plays together, while Moussa Sissoko tucked inside as needed to help out Yohan Cabaye and Cheick Tiote.

The truth is, formations are more important when it comes to defending and transitioning into attack. Once a team is in possession and attempting to break down an opponent, though, it's more about movement and understanding than starting positions. So, even though today was a drastically different game than the previous two — the onus was on Newcastle to drive the game, rather than defend and counter — Newcastle's movement up front made the 4-4-2 work just the same.

On the defensive
Of course, then Pardew shifted to a 4-2-3-1 after bringing on Papiss Cisse for Ameobi in the 74th minute, and Newcastle played more defensive — in part because Norwich naturally had to push forward.

That strategy would have fared better had Newcastle taken advantage of the multitude of opportunities it had on the counter attack and shown more composure defending balls into the box.

Loic Remy, for all of his positive contributions in the first half, too often made selfish decisions when Norwich left gaping holes at the back.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Newcastle simply didn't look self-assured and was fortunate Norwich failed to create pressure earlier on. That seemed odd, considering captain Fabricio Coloccini was back in the middle of the backline. To accomodate Coloccini's return and cover for the suspended Mathieu Debuchy, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa shifted out to right back and, while he was solid going forward, he struggled with balls played over the top behind him and looked scared to get too close to Norwich winger Nathan Redmond.

Pardew will justifiably take some flak for having his team sit back as the second half wore on, but Remy and the backline should have done better. The latter's performance begs the question: Given Coloccini is once again pining to return to Argentina, would Pardew be best served to stick with Mike Williamson and Yanga-Mbiwa at center back moving forward?

Big performance from the big man
Enough negative thoughts. Let's talk about something fun, like Ameobi's continued resurgence.

The big, affable striker was tremendous in the first half, setting up Gouffran's goal and combining left and right with Remy and the midfield. His performance merited a goal.

Remy has looked dangerous all season, but his play has gone up another level since Pardew paired him up front with Shola, whose physical presence has added a different dimension to Newcastle's attack.

Of course, we've been here before with Shola. He produces these sort of stretches, only to run into injury or inconsistency. It's hard to see this time being different, particularly now that mighty Shola is now 32. But he does have a World Cup to look forward to, and if he keeps it up, Newcastle will have a decision to make: Shola's contract runs out in June.

Comments

[Jaeger]

honestly, i would keep willo and yanga-mbiwa in until their form drops. yea it looked poor this match because mapou isnt a full back and debuchy wasnt available. i'd be ok getting a CB in january and trying to make some money off of coloccini while he's still worth it.

shore up the defense this year... and then in the summer go for forwards after they show how they do in the world cup.

[David Belshaw]

You can't keep Willo always (no matter how good he has been lately) because that is a death wish. The fact we had to play Mapou Yanga-M'biwa at RB is proof we need a cover RB. we don't need a CB in Jan, not when we have Colo, Taylor, MYB, and Willo, and we can't sell Colo either because he is in the last 6 month of his contract I think which means he can go for free if he chooses, maybe next season I'm not sure.

In my opinion we need rid of Cisse and sign two good strikers, beacuase, lets face it, Remy aint staying with us.

[rob]

If the rumors about Cisse (and probably cash) going to QPR for Remy are true, we need to explore that option. I agree that we need another RB because Raylor is never healthy anymore and Pardew seems very hesitant to give Tavernier playing time in any meaningful matches. I can't believe we are actually entertaining the idea of giving Shola a new contract!