Three Points: Chelsea Defeat

Our rapid-fire reaction to Newcastle's dull 3-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge:

Just as expected
Chelsea is a really good team, blessed with three lightning-quick attacking midfielders, a rock-solid defense and a world-class (and arrogant) manager. Newcastle is a mediocre team, having sold its best player and lost its best attacking player to a suspension. And Alan Pardew isn't Jose Mourinho.

So how did you think this game would go?

Newcastle actually played OK in the first half. Pardew's undermanned team created a few decent chances, but didn't have the skill to finish them off. Chelsea, on the other hand, got two otherworldly sequences from Eden Hazard. That ended any hope Newcastle harbored of grinding out an unlikely point, and the visitors faded in the second half.

But, realistically, this was never a winnable game, so it's difficult to draw too many big-picture conclusions from it.

Crunch time for Ben Arfa
With Yohan Cabaye off to Paris and a bigger bank account, Hatem Ben Arfa has a chance to make himself the centerpiece of Newcastle's team (and earn himself a contract extension; his runs out in the summer of 2015). He's blowing the opportunity at the moment.

Ben Arfa had several silly giveaways in Newcastle's own half today, but that's nothing new. Those plays are the tradeoff for his unpredictability in the attack. The most worrying part of Ben Arfa's performances the past two weeks has been how invisible he's been for long stretches.

A segment of the fan base often trumpets Ben Arfa as an elite gamebreaker. It's time for him to either back up that reputation or leave.

On the bright side
OK, enough with the negativity. At least this week there were some signs of life from Newcastle. Sammy Ameobi showed the combination of speed, skill and length that made him look like a real prospect two seasons ago. If he can continue to fill out and toughen up, he still might turn into a legitimate Premier League player.

Luuk de Jong was again active, which is about all you can ask for from a player who hadn't started a game all season. Davide Santon actually faired OK in an unfamiliar holding midfield role, although he failed to track Hazard's run on the opening goal.

Moussa Sissoko, captaining Newcastle for the first time, blew a one-on-one chance with a heavy touch, but made a couple of tremendous runs and was generally involved in Newcastle's best passages of play.

At this point, a few bright spots qualifies as an improvement. Hopefully there will be a few more on Wednesday.

Comments

[jaeger]

Sissoko's 1 on 1 with cech was the most important part in my mind. If he puts that in, its 1-1 and the squad gains back some confidence. A minute later chelsea countered and it was 2-0, essentially game over.

I thought we came out with good spirit and Sammy and HBA both were playing/passing well. I did not like santon at a holding mid, seemed a little too slow/agile to be a ball winner.

I think a 4-4-2 diamond formation with gouffran and de jong up top and sissoko right behind them will open up more chances against spurs... it will come down to who can control the wings better. 1-1 draw for me.