Three quick takes on today's maddening (but also somewhat encouraging) loss to Manchester City:
Tiooooooooooooot-oh no!
There's really nothing to say about the offside call that erased Cheick Tioté's would-be equalizer. It was an absolutely horrendous decision. If Alan Pardew's halftime tirade was accurate, the blame should be squarely on referee Mike Jones. Facing a daunting opponent, last year's Newcastle team would have crumbled under the weight of the injustice. Today, however, was different. Though the players and manager lost composure for a few minutes, they rallied to continue controlling the match. There are no points for moral victories. But today's resilience showed the team is mentally and physically capable of shaking off some poor results and making a run at Europe over the next few months.
The midfield swarm
Around this time last year, my co-bloggers started campaigning for a more physical presence in the center of the park. Their argument was that Newcastle's slight midfielders were incapable of the stereotypically English toughness required to make waves in the Premier League. My response was that small players can still be intimidating and disruptive if they press high up the field, forcing opponents into mistakes and hurried clearances. As proof, I submit today's performance.
After going down 1-0 in the first 10 minutes of the match, Newcastle's midfield absolutely dominated. And maybe the best performance of all came from its smallest, least physically imposing member in Vurnon Anita. Before being substituted for Papiss Cissé, Anita seemed to be just about everywhere, seizing on loose balls and never giving the City players a second to collect themselves. And because Newcastle only has the Premier League to worry about now, there's no reason why its midfield can't buzz around with this level of energy from here on out. Against a weaker opponent, it should produce plenty of success in the last 17 matches of the season.
Time to shuffle the front line?
Though the midfield is clicking at the moment, Newcastle's forwards seem to have gone a bit stale. Without a plethora of options to choose from, the best bet may be, as suggested in our last podcast, to shuffle around the existing players. Loïc Rémy (27 touches) seems to struggle when he's not involved early on in matches. When the ball finally did reach him in the second half, he really should have capitalized on the opportunities he got. Maybe the simplest solution is to start him on the wing, allowing him to run at defenders in the first 15 or 20 minutes, then slide him into the center after he's a bit more engaged in the match. If nothing else, it'll force Newcastle's opponents to adapt mid-match, which could work in its favor.
I'll declare my interest up front as a Man City supporter and, I'll admit I haven't a clue what is and isn't off side these days.
My point is, if a player is only 3 or 4 feet from the keeper, some 3 or 4 yards off side (if not more) and, has to really squirm to avoid being hit by Tiote's shot, how can he NOT be active? Hart must see him very large to one side of him, knowing he could quite easily divert the ball into the other side of the goal and yet we're told he's not active?
I accept that, Hart would never have got to Tiote's shot if he played from now until next January but, he was off side and active so, the ref was correct.
Posted by: Glowey | 01/12/2014 at 04:12 PM
I can't really articulate my frustration at the disallowed goal. Lots of post-match tittle-tattle regarding the letter of the law at play etc. but in real time it felt deeply wrong, deeply jaundiced and very unfair. Almost sinister. We were controlling midfield and taking the fight to one of Europe's most potent and lavishly assembled football heavy weights. It felt like the scene in a prison film when you find out the prison bully is being backed by a sadistic warden anyway, and even attempting to fight back is pointless. There is probably something technically debatable in the build up to half of all goals scored if you look for it, and this just felt like the obscuring of justice. Refs make mistakes but the back-peddling and overruling of his assistants gave Jones' decision a malevolent look n' feel.
From what we were able to glean from the other 89 minutes of play: Sissoko looked good in a central role after half-time. He's really not a winger guys, and whilst he's done well on the right during his transition to the league, his future lies in the centre. He is far too lumbering to really excel in the wide position in the long-run, and his overall play is characteristic of a box-to-box central midfielder.
Arfa came on too late... I get the arguments about his laziness, selfishness, decision making but my instinct still cries out that he adds more in terms of attacking threat, than he will detract in terms due to his defensive negligence. I like Pardew and continue to support him but his handling of attacking players is a bit of a problem for me. Too many are going off the boil, and we become too reliant on a rigid system.
Posted by: geordiepat | 01/12/2014 at 04:45 PM
Imagine a scenario in which a new manager were to come in to the club and pick an 11 for his first game based on the best players available on paper.. as opposed to the form they have shown over the past 18 months. Cisse would play and Ben Arfa would play. He would probably include Remy too on the left in a 4-3-3. And yet today 2 of those are on the bench and 1 is off the boil. Why at NUFC do we have a situation where our best attackers either aren't involved or aren't playing consistently?
Posted by: geordiepat | 01/12/2014 at 04:57 PM
Jones had a terrible game. Who knows what happens if Tiote's goal is allowed — maybe City ups its game in response and still wins — but it would have been nice to at least see. And Jones should have sent off Yanga-Mbiwa, no question about it.
Matt, definitely agree with you that the pressing in the midfield has been huge. I guess I'd point out that one of the keys to the central midfield's resurgence this season has been Tiote returning from the dead and adding that physical presence. Not to mention having Sissoko tucking in from the right and adding a ball winner.
Totally agree on the frontline, it looks stale. Pards needs some fresh blood in the attack.
Posted by: Tom | 01/12/2014 at 08:03 PM
The team is crying out for some new blood too. A spark is definitely needed.
Posted by: Phil L | 01/13/2014 at 07:24 PM