Newcastle United opened the 2015-16 season with a 2-2 draw against Southampton at St. James' Park, thanks to goals from Papiss Cisse and Georginio Wijnaldum.
The game in one sentence: An entertaining, up-and-down performance shows new-look Newcastle's promise and problems.
The lineup: Krul; Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haidara; Anita (Tiote 68), Colback; Sissoko, Wijnaldum (de Jong 81), Obertan; Cisse (Mitrovic 75)
What went right: There was a fresh energy to Newcastle's play in Steve McClaren's first match in charge. Jack Colback may not have been wearing the armband, but he put in the definition of a captain's performance. Wijnaldum showed flashes of being a difference maker in the midfield. Chancel Mbemba looked like a Premier League center back. Overall, McClaren got the balance right in his formation and lineup.
What went wrong: The back four looked like it hadn't played together before (because it hadn't!). Fabricio Coloccini wasn't up to the speed of the game after sitting out every preseason game. Massadio Haidara's defending and crossing once again didn't match his athleticism. Haidara and Gabriel Obertan lacked chemistry and understanding on the left wing. McClaren's substitutions didn't generate a winning goal.
The verdict: Considering how cavalier Newcastle looked at the back at times, 2-2 was a fair scoreline. That's not necessarily a bad thing — Southampton is a good team and Newcastle is in the midst of reinventing itself. Newcastle showed signs of building the possession-based style of play that McClaren talked up during the preseason. And between Aleksandar Mitrovic's batshit crazy first tackle, McClaren's corded phone and dashes down the stairs, Obertan's rise from the dead to set up Wijnaldum's goal and more, Newcastle looked like it just might be a bit more entertaining this season.
Next time out: Saturday, Aug. 15 at Swansea City
"Newcastle looked like it just might be a bit more entertaining this season."
Might?! 😁
I thought obertan had his best game in a long time, won a lot of balls, held it up well, kept offering a run even in the 85th minute. I really hope he doesn't get another bad injury and then disappear for another season because he just might be an asset to us this year.
It was also noteworthy how the midfield turned to poop once vurn went off. Let's hope his injury isn't as bad as it looked.
Gini and the chancellor were both excellent, especially the latter given his lack of pre-season with us or with colo (who is still doing his headless chicken routine).
Cautious thumbs up for me. A platform to build on and continued good will in the air.
Posted by: @leesibbald | 08/09/2015 at 10:26 AM
Agree with you about Obertan, Lee. I've always had a soft spot for him, because when he actually plays with some confidence, he's quite useful. And he always offers speed on the wing.
Great point on Anita. Tiote looked quite rusty, which I guess isn't too surprising. Got caught dawdling on the ball at least twice that I can remember and doesn't have the mobility of Anita.
Posted by: Tom | 08/09/2015 at 01:48 PM
Thanks for resuming the podcasts, boys! Keep it up. Maybe once a month?
Quite a second half, that was. Newcastle lost an opportunity to score first in the first half, and then blew their chance to get a winner in the second. McClaren's choices to start seem correct in retrospect. I don't think de Jong is ready to play 70 minutes, and Mitrovic needs to settle down. Next week will be entertaining yet again.
And how about the speed of the go-ahead goal? A running counter-attack followed by a stunning cross and header is shades of The Entertainers. We didn't see that last season. Maybe we saw it in 2012. Or 2010 in the Championship. It had been quite a while.
Posted by: Mister Sterling | 08/10/2015 at 09:33 AM