Manchester United 3-0 Newcastle: Sublime Scholes dictates the game
The starting line-ups
A comfortable victory for Manchester United – the winning margin could have been greater, but Newcastle were not without their opportunities.
United fielded Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov upfront together, in a fairly traditional 4-4-2 shape with two natural wingers.
Newcastle played their expected 4-4-1-1 shape, with Kevin Nolan deployed in behind Andy Carroll, the lone striker.
The away side started reasonably well – closing down well in midfield, getting into the faces of Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes early on, and breaking with some purpose. The most notable thing about their attacks was that the two wide players, Jonas Gutierrez and Wayne Routledge, made direct, diagonal runs towards goal rather than straight down the flanks – Newcastle lacked width on the break, but got players around Carroll early on.
Manchester United’s shape was as traditional a 4-4-2 as you’re likely to see from any of the ‘top’ Premiership clubs this season. Dimitar Berbatov was generally slightly deeper than Wayne Rooney, and Scholes generally deeper than Fletcher, but these two partnerships were fluid, and frequently switched around. Sometimes Scholes would make runs into the penalty area, whilst sometimes Rooney would come towards the ball and Berbatov would become the frontman. All four players are experienced and intelligent enough to make the fluidity work, and take advantage of the freedom to drift around as they pleased.
Scholes dominates
The key man was Scholes, as he was in last weekend’s Community Shield contest. Newcastle started by getting Nolan (and sometimes even Carroll) back goalside of him, pressuring him and forcing him into fairly simple sideways and backwards passes. Newcastle’s forwards dropping so deep meant that United had two centre-backs doing little, and it was noticeable that Nemanja Vidic moved forward into a slightly advanced position to distribute the ball. From this unchallenged position he completed 60 passes (from 61 attempted), 15 more than his central defensive partner, Jonny Evans.
As the game wore on, however, Scholes got more and more time on the ball, as Nolan was caught too high up the pitch trying to support Carroll. He exploited this space in two ways – most obviously in taking a bit of time before knocking some incredible long-range passes into wide zones, but also making a surprising number of forward runs to link up with the two strikers – he was nearly on the end of a Berbatov knockdown at 0-0, and soon after was hacked down by Alan Smith when winding up a 25-yard shot.
The gradual decline in pressure on Scholes was replicated elsewhere on the pitch, as Newcastle seemed to tire extremely quickly. This was evident both when defending and attacking – when without the ball they were slower to close down and sloppier in their defensive positioning, and when they looked to build attacks, the likes of Carroll and Barton both charged forward to find the rest of their teammates simply trying to catch their breath.
Scholes creates opener
It was no surprise that Scholes created the first goal – a simple through ball towards Berbatov wasn’t cut out properly by Jose Enrique, and Berbatov powered the ball in. The second followed soon after, when Patrice Evra typically marauded forward and smashed a cross that found its way to Fletcher, who scored from the edge of the six-yard box.
By this stage, there was relatively little tactical interest. Manchester United’s 4-4-2 remained intact for the duration of the game. They were able to press higher and more intensely, and Newcastle’s defenders weren’t confident enough on the ball to play their way out of trouble, often hoofing the ball long and aimlessly towards the end of the first half. Their best chances throughout the game came from the threat of Carroll in the air, but this happened relatively little in open play.
The major question is why Newcastle allowed Scholes such time and space on the ball for much of the game, considering (a) they had a numerical advantage in midfield, (b) they had Nolan well-placed to perform a disciplined, near-man-marking job, and (c) they’d done it so well for the first 15 minutes. The final point would suggest it wasn’t a tactical error by Chris Hughton, so perhaps it had more to do with either tiredness, or Nolan’s determination to not leave Carroll isolated, which left him out of position.
Little changed from either side after half-time, with the home side putting together some fantastic moves – mainly orchestrated by Scholes, and a couple of times ending with poor Berbatov finishes – the Bulgarian had a good game overall, but should have scored more than once.
Scholes creates clincher
Scholes was the main man, but the performance of his midfield colleague, Darren Fletcher, should not be overlooked. He consistently made diagonal runs into wide areas to support the wingers and make overlaps, creating space in the centre of midfield for Scholes, and for United’s full-backs to move into more central areas. His energy is probably vital if Scholes is to be deployed successfully in a two-man midfield – you need someone to charge around and drag the opposition out of position in order for Scholes to work his magic.
No prizes for guessing who grabbed the assist for substitute Ryan Giggs’ goal which finished the game late on. It was the sixth time Scholes had hit a long diagonal ball into a left-wing position, and the left-footed Giggs provided the finish that the right-footed Nani might not have been able to.
Conclusion
A thoroughly enjoyable performance from Manchester United, who combined style and substance – and also provided a good advert for the 4-4-2 formation that has taken such a battering in the wake of England’s World Cup exit. How often they will play that shape remains to be seen – Ferguson opted for variations of 4-5-1 in ‘big’ games last season, and especially away from home.
Elsewhere, little has changed. Antonio Valencia hugs the touchline and gets crosses in, whilst on the other side Nani cuts in and allows Evra forward on the overlap. This taught us little we didn’t know about United, and in the end served as a bonus pre-season friendly.
Maybe that’s what Newcastle were treating it as – nothing to lose on the first day of the season, and they gave it a go rather than lying down and waiting to be beaten. They manufactured some decent opportunities for Carroll, who missed a glorious chance early on, and their basic shape was OK. They paid the price for not dealing with Scholes, however, and were deservedly beaten.
Manchester United 3-0 Newcastle: Sublime Scholes dictates the game
no credit for Hernandez on the steal?
i think United would have put more on the scoreboard if O’Shea would have gone forward more. but i can understand that he felt Jonas was very dangerous, and i think the most offensive player on Newcastles side.
im also wondering what United is going to do when Scholes isnt there anymore
Well yeah, he intercepted the ball, but not sure it was particularly noteworthy…
It’s been a general trend for United’s right-back to be more defensive than the left-back, to a give balance and because of the differences in Nani and Valencia’s play.
@ ZM:
after watching the game last night, the system used by manutd felt more on the side of a 4-2-3-1,especially since berbatov came deep quite a number of times, and rarely it felt as if both the strikers were in direct confrontation with the centre backs…..hope you can clarify me on this,….
balanced?
but Valencia and O’Shea are more defensive than Nani and Evra
it seems unbalanced the one side is more defensive than the other
can you elaborate please?
Agree Fletcher is important to ManU. His distribution is sometimes a wee bit sloppy – he’s almost guaranteed to gift the opposition at least one pass per game because of not taking a look up. However, he is an excellent reader of the game and always offers himself as an outlet. He never hides.
When I heard the Manchester United line-up I assumed their shape would be more of a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 (similar to how they often played in preseason and to the Arsenal side that went a whole season unbeaten http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/02/12/teams-of-the-decade-9-arsenal-2001-04/ .)
However, I didn’t see much of the game, so I’m assuming that, as you’ve suggested, this wasn’t the case. I find that slightly curious and I think that that shape would suit their players very well (especially with Rooney or Berbatov able to drop deep, Nani cutting inside and Scholes and Fletcher playing fairly deep.)
The main downside I see to such a formation, however, is that Scholes should get less space than he would in a 4-5-1 (as, assuming the opposition field a 4-4-2, the two opposition CMS will marks the two MU CMs, leaving Scholes “free”.)
Anyway, given the amount of attacking options Ferguson now has at his disposal, it’ll be interesting to see it he plays such a system (or, at least, uses this sometimes and switches to a 4-5-1 in the really big matches.) Bebe should give Man Utd the option of creativity from the wings or for a physical presence up-front while Hernandez has pace to burn and seems to work well with Berbatov.
I look forward to seeing how/ if Ferugson changes things from last season
Good call on the comparison with that Arsenal side.
Though for me, the Invincibles played essentially a 4-2-2-2.
After seeing this game, I think Newcastle will not go down this year.
I think the main reason why Scholes got so much space and time on the ball was the poor collective pressure from Newcastle’s side, not really because of Nolan being too high up on the pitch. Newcastle dropped too deep, leaning on its static organisation and with the lack of any pressure.
It’s extremely difficult to mark a player like Scholes, Not only is he a very intelligent his ability to play 1-Touch, 2-Touch passes makes it almost impossible to get near him. Even if a player manages to get near him the ball will be gone.
15mins of “chasing” Scholes was all Newcastle could manage
Actually, Fletcher was the main playmaker in the first 15 minutes. After that, he little by little lost protagonism on the ball, in favour of Scholes. With Fletcher constantly making tireless runs forward (thus creating space for Scholes), he became a pain in the ass for Newcastle.
Scholes dominated possession, but Fletcher’s and actually the whole team’s (showing great movement) contribution off ball was very important too.
Good evening,
First I would like to underline I read all your articles and improved a lot my understanding of the game (even if I have been playing and watching football for a long time) and it is all about your skills. Thank your very much for sharing your experience and skills.
I noticed you pay attention very often to the number of players in the midfield area. So, when I saw Fletcher and Scholes without Carrick or someone else, I wondered how it is going to work as Manchester plays quite often with 3 central midfield players and usually manage to choose the best option for the deeper one (and usually free one). Fletcher impressed me as he made plenty of good runs leaving space for Scholes as you said perfectly.
I would like to ask you if Ferguson put O’Shea to mark Carroll for some crosses? Routledge was the only one who could have good positions to cross as Evra (my dear Evra, I am french by the way. He wasn’t expected to play tonight) is going often forward. As usually on a cross, the central defender goes to the first post, the second central defender would be in one on one with Carroll. As Jonas didn’t go forward very often, I think Ferguson put O’Shea to mark Carroll with Vidic. What do you think?
I liked the second goal because I think it was a typical Manchester United goal. In France, Manchester is well known for putting a lot of players in the box as soon as possible (I mean at least five especially with Scholes on the field). There were four in the box so when Nani had the ball on the left dealing with 2 Newcastle’s players, Evra read very well the situation and saw the space between the full back marking Nani and the closest central defender who were supposed to cover him but busy in the traffic right in front of the goal. That space was “tactical” because I saw it in many occasions throuthout the game. Obviously, on the other side, O’Shea is not the kind of guy who could get this space. But it is all good for Evra who is used to make this kind of runs. For me, Newcastle clearly left the full backs on their own (helped by the wingers Jonas or Routledge) when Nani or Valencia had the ball on their sides in a position to cross. They forgot Evra’s offensive impact.
In that kind of game, the first goal is the most difficult to score I think. For me, the key moment was at the 30 minutes mark because Newcastle got tired and defended deeper and deeper. Then they lost a ball in front of the box for the first goal and had a “traffic” goal for the second.
Alex from France
(sorry for my english!)
Scholesy gave a masterclass performance. As long as Scholes is limited to one game per week, i think he will be fine for the season.
John O’Shea is not United quality. He gives possession away like he’s santa claus. He will struggle to get into any top side in the Premier League.
4-4-2 will always be Fergie’s default formation until United face a top side and they get overrun in the midfield.
As an amateur my team play 4-2-3-1 against 4-4-2 due to the fact that I want to overrun the opponent mid-field+always have 2 players in front of the back4.
We won a alumni league this year with that fact.
but!!!
for me 4-4-2 can be very annoying if they have 2 fast natural dribble wingers (left/right leg) + great WB and become 2-4-4
our 3 midfield have to spread out and. the 4-2-3-1 turn to be a 4-4-1-1 which make us lost the advantage at the midfield.
and since we don’t have a real winger like them time to time we lost the match.
Anyway as long as the media focus more on a player like Ronaldo/ Robben/ who look like a winger instead of GIG or Valencia who is the real deal (John Barnes is my favorite winger) ^_^
4-4-2 will lose it magic ( most of the winger in my league love to cut in like the way superstar does)
(sorry for my English)
I’m afraid you’ve got it the other way round!
4-4-2 was what killed the winger to begin with since it forced him to convert into (or be replaced by)a wide midfielder.
Robben is as pure a winger as one could hope to find; an outside-forward should never be subjected to the industrial hell of 4-4-2.
I see your point ^_^
for me a winger is a player who can cross a precisely ball to a striker while he is dribbling at full speed one foot away from the side line. (left foot on left wing right foot on right wing)
What about those wingers who dribble into the box (between the 6-yard and 18-yard lines) and pull back a low diagonal ball? Or else shot at goal themselves.
A player who has played over 350 games for United isn’t United quality? Madness.
John O’Shea is a good defender and due to his versatility would fit into every squad in the Premier League and would be a regular starter for almost every team.
John O’Pie is a mediocre defender. I have been supporting United since Honest Abe signed the papers that freed slaves so i know a lot about O’Shea. He cannot make a 5 yard pass without screwing it up. Sometimes i wonder if he’s got a brain. Furthermore, O’Shea offers nothing offensively on the right side and he’s one of the reasons Valencia wasn’t on top last night cos O’Shea offered no support throughout the game.
Don;t think you have to be hinest.
In any case, O’Shea not being as forward thinkingas Evra is jkinda the whole point, it gives the team balance, which tends to be more important that symmetry.
At times United looked almost 3-4-1-2 last night
This adds nothing to our conversation. And it’s blatantly wrong if one actually looks at the stats. I picked a couple random games (the first ones I found where O’Shea played) on Guardian’s chalkboards and found the following regarding O’Shea’s passing:
against Blackburn on 10.31.2009 he was 52 for 60
against arsenal on 8.29.2009 he was 34 for 41
against Tottenham on 9.12.2009 he was 39 for 42.
But clearly he “cannot make a 5 yard pass without screwing it up” because you’ve been watching Man U since before they even existed…
The Newcastle right back was positionally awful.
I totally agree with you, I was at the game and the amount of times Nani found himself in lots of space out wide was shocking, United could have exploited this a lot more if Nani was a left footer and didn’t have to cut in
4-4-2 overcomes 4-5-1 again. With the extra man in midfield, Newcastle really shouldn’t have let Scholes have so much time on the ball. In the first half of the Charity Shield, the same happened, and Scholes controlled the game then too. And Spurs showed that it can be done too, largely dominant against City when their three centre mids sat very deep and allowed Modric and Huddlestone time and space to feed the wingers. The strange thing is that all three teams seemed so happy to let their respective opponents have time on the ball despite having the numerical advantage.
Newcastle’s 4-4-1-1 wasn’t enought to test Man Utd, regardless of numerical superiority; when you retain and distribute the ball with the ease of Paul Scholes it is much easier to overcome this patently inferior set of players.
Kevin Nolan didn’t really turn up, did he? I thought he had zero impact on both sides of the ball. Newcastle should have had the extra man in midfield, but fortunately for the home side, that man was Nolan.
Barton and Smith seemed to play very deep. It looked to me like Houghton was most intent on preventing passes into the feet of Rooney and Berbatov, so Newcastle ’sandwiched’ the forwards with a centre-back behind and a central midfielder in front. Perhaps this contributed to allowing Scholes all the time and space he could have asked for.
Having said all that, I felt that Newcastle’s biggest problem was their tendency to give the ball away in their own half. Sure, the way that Carroll dropped deep meant he perhaps wasn’t immediately available to hit as a target, and Manchester United’s pressing was relentless at times, but at least clear your lines! The first goal arrived because Newcastle lost possession in their own half on a string of consecutive occasions, it was inevitable that they were going to be punished sooner rather than later.
Good point. I noticed at the end of last season The Ginger Prince™ would give the ball up a lot in midfield if pressured – especially against the top teams. He is getting slow you know and often seemed to lose the ball trying to pivot in midfield against a younger/faster opponent. I expected Nolan and Barton to be all over him but I suspect they were pulled hither and yon by Fletcher’s tireless running and freaking out about the Evra/Nani combo which seemed to pull them wide to provide cover for Perch. Still, if Nolan/Barton had more discipline they could have made a difference re Scholes.
Excellent article, but I disagree twith the statement that it wasn’t a tactical error by Chris Hughton. Newcastle should never have tried to press Man Utd in the midfield; they’re technically much better on the ball, especially with Scholes playing as well as he is, and as a result tire too quickly. Instead, they should let Scholes have the ball in deep areas, defend with a bank of solid three in the middle, and force play into the wide areas. Man Utd will be forced to cross, and Berbatov and Rooney are not very good in the air.
I’m not sure if standing off would be the best thing. As you saw, after the first 15 mins, scholes’ strength is in that deep area. He’s passing is just too good to let him have space on the ball as he did. Even if Newcastle stood off and reduced space in the lines, all he needed was a little bit of movement from rooney, berbatov, the wingers, evra or fletcher and he’d serve it on a plate for them. even when it did get congested, he would seem to go for the 1-2 pass option with rooney or berbatov to create that space by dragging players towards himself and creating space elsewhere. It seems a bit catch-22, stand off/sit slightly deeper, and the defence is more static and prone to interchanging and the movement of the forwards and scholes’ ridiculously good passing. Press the midfielders and they will play around them via the wingers and find more space in the hole behind the pressing smith and barton. Mark scholes out of the game, and Fletcher/A deep Berbatov will pop up to keep the ball moving. Personally, i think Nolan should have stayed tracking scholes as he did in the first 15 minutes. I also think that Houghton missed a trick, lining up Routledge on the right. Jonas seems more (just about) disiplined a player than routledge and may have cut off evra, nani’s outball, in a devensive situation and routledge’s pace may have caused o’shea more problems (i’m sure he did a few times on the right). He does have little end product but at least the chances would have been there… right?
Surprised at how well Berbatov did in the slightly withdrawn role last night. In his first season at the club Ferguson used him deeper as well and then spoke last summer about how he was wrong to do so. Berbatov’s a natural front-man despite the magic first touch. Problem is, while Rooney is great ‘in the hole’ he’s more productive up-front – 34 goals tell the story. It’s Berbatov’s problem, when United play two up front he’s normally the man who is sacrificed for the team. When United play one up, he’s on the bench.
On another note – why is the Guardian giving Scholes’ assist for Berbatov’s goal as an unsuccessful pass. Harsh.
I think there’s an important difference between this year and the first year Berbatov was at United: Ronaldo. His propensity to make runs through the center channels rendered Berbatov’s desire to drop into those same positions problematic. In contrast, Berbatov this year, and at times last year, tends to drop into the space created from Valencia playing as a fairly orthodox winger. Also, with Nani looking like he’s nailed down a consistant role on the left wing, there is also space for Berbatov to drop into the center and slightly to the left, space that was not as available two previously when Ferguson often deployed Anderson or Giggs in that center-left attacking midfield role. Maybe I’m being optimistic but I think Berbatov is going to play a very important role for United this season and I think he is going to continue to play in this deeper role with Rooney staying high up the pitch.
‘The major question is why Newcastle allowed Scholes such time and space on the ball for much of the game, considering … (b) they had Nolan well-placed to perform a disciplined, near-man-marking job, …’
As I read this I was thinking about deep playing playmakers. 20 years ago, Nolan would have been the playmaker and Scholes would have had the man marking job.
Nice point.
But then I guess that 20 years ago he would have looked up and seen two forwards ahead of him and not one, and then it might have been slightly different: you wouldn’t want to be giving him time on the ball to pick the passes. As it was, Carroll had a thankless task against Evans and Vidic and Nolan went AWOL.
two forwards ahead? probably!
To come back to what i wanted to say: On sunday I watched a game of my amateur hometown team (which i played for as a kid). second game this season and they were promoted (how to use this word exactly?), this means that they are one of the teams you don’t expect much from.
I haven’t seen them play in years, they lost 0-2 but that is not important (early goal after a freekick …). They played two man-marking centre backs and a sweeper (would not call him a libero). Of course I was not believing my eyes the first minutes of the game, but that is not the point.
what i want to say is: ZM was writing about a man-marking-job for a striker like it is nothing. If a small, low skilled team starts to man-mark the opponents striker, okay! but a deep playing forward marking a holding midfielder? that would show a lot of respect (or a great tactician).
Ferguson had Park do just that against Pirlo last season.
I haven’t been able to watch Soccernet features like average positions and heat maps in the last few days. They just don’t show up when you select those options. Has anybody had this same problem?
i have problems with the Guardian Chalkboards. i asked friends, they have no problem.
same on Soccernet, old matches work. ManUnited – Newcastle not!
Sorry if this is off-topic but I’m very excited on what shape will Real Madrid use since the signing of Ozil is completed.
So I guess below is their first team
Casillas
Carvalho
Albiol/Pepe
Arbeloa/Marcelo
Ramos
Alonso
Khedira
Kaka
Ozil
Ronaldo
Higuain
i never watch la liga before but im reli excited whatmore with Mourinho coaching such team. so do you think what formation would suit this?
Bad news for Canales, I’m afraid. Oezil will take Kaka’s advanced central role for the time-being (and maybe on a more permanent basis?).
i don’t know what to think about this.
1. public in Germany is not happy about how Özil was talking the last weeks (first it was a dream to play for a club like Barca, now a dream to play for Real, and of course ‘I have a contract in Bremen…’). Özil’s father and managent have shown their low class. (if you compare it to the Khedira deal, who was great). sometimes it’s better to make the deal and start talking when it’s fix. But we know how Özil + familiy are working since he left Schalke.
2. a lot of people think Özil is non-constant and Real Madrid is the wrong club for him. Özil will be eaten alive if he doesn’t perform every game. And with Kaka he has big competition. (assuming that van der Vaart will leave).
Maybe Mourinho has faith in Özil and he will play. But to be honest, I don’t think that. Havn’t seen much from Canales, but is Real able to throw away a talented player, again?
I think there is one great club in Europe that would be a better choice for Özil. And I don’t know if they were making an offer. (I’m not talking about Barca or Arsenal.)
the wizard of Öz (as he has been named before and i demand we from now on call him) has had his off-days, that’s no question. but that’s because he is still very very young, his genius/off-day ratio has been radically improving with the experience and age he gained. Mesut will work wonders at Real. He’s an artist. he brushes the ball, this boy has a ductus. plus he now has players to support him that are on his level – and he has Khedira as another German as his sidekick. they can help one another adapt in Spain.
what bothers me is that Reals late move leaves Werder (who I like) stranded in their match against Genova which is pivotal in the Bundesliga vs Seria A UEFA competition for four CL spots. Werder have practically no chance to replace the wizard of Öz with another #10 in time for these games. I rate Marin, but Marin is not a #10. oh well.
I have to apologize for my late night english as well
and Zonalmarking – thanks. reading your posts makes me understand matches i haven’t even seen better than ones i did watch. all the while my watching and understanding matches skills are improving dramatically. football is so much more fun with zonalmarking around. keep it up. one day you will cover an 1860 match and i will be a happy man.
Of course he is great. And he has the quality to become one of the best players of the 2010s.
But Real is not an easy club and “… he now has players to support him…”, can change to: players making his life harder. (or the media making his life harder.)
It is good that there is another German player, and Mourinhos style of football will suit Özil.
I don’t think Bremen will play much different without Özil. Maybe not that often 4-2-3-1, and more often 4-4-2. but they need a center back (Naldo is injured, and they need a backup anyway), they need better full backs, and they are in talks with Wesley (a central midfielder). Of course they will miss Özil in some games, but Werder has always been a club able to compansate the leaving of a playmaker. Over the last years Bremen developed a style that doesn’t depend on one player. As long as Marin, Hunt, Pizarro, … play the way they are able to, Bremen will have a good season.
If anybody is interested in an “in depth look” of Özil’s game:
>http://timhi.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/mezut-ozil-a-in-depth-look-at-his-game/
not my website.
owh ya i forgot di maria. kaka could go to bench then
———-iker————
ramos—ricky–pepe–albiol
—–kedhira—-alonso
dimaria—özil——ronaldo
—- -higuain
4-2-3-1 okay?
You said that Man Utd played a traditional 4-4-2 but I disagree. Nani wasn’t really a traditional winger, he cut inside and drifted inwards on to his stronger foot. He didn’t hug the touchline and put crosses in from out wide. Fletcher and Scholes were deeper than the two wide players. I’d say it was a sort of deep-lying playmaker/box to box player combination, with Fletcher generally a little higher up. Berbatov pretty much had a free role. He dropped deep, he went left, he went right and he was in the box. I think to emphasise the point of Berbatov’s free role he’d be on a different line to Rooney. I think it was more of a 4-2-3-1 to be honest. I would like to hear other’s opinions on this.
read my post above…i also put the same proposition / idea for ZM’s coomments….;)
*comments*
Dear ZM,
“…and also provided a good advert for the 4-4-2 formation that has taken such a battering in the wake of England’s World Cup exit.”
Yes I was thinking that too, since I sorta stood up for the 442 a little when it was being blasted during the WC… so can we say it works in English football but not on the international stage?
I really enjoy what you write here, very insightful and smart. One thing though, I’m running Firefox on Linux and parts of your content are a little off. I realize it’s not a common setup, but it is still something to keep an eye on. Just tossing you a heads up.
What do you mean by ‘a little off’ ? But thanks.
Hi there, long time reader, first time commenter (as it’s the first time Newcastle have featured!).
Newcastle’s game plan was fairly good for this game and for the first 15 minutes as you mention it worked well. Unfortunately Kevin Nolan is, and has been ever since he joined the club, shockingly immobile and unfit, such that even the aging Scholes managed to out pace and out last him.
To ask him to do this, as well as provide the only real close support to Carroll was a mistake on Hughton’s part that I saw coming as soon as Nolan’s responsibilities became clear. He doesn’t really have the legs to man mark someone, let alone try and support the striker as well.
Because of this issue he hasn’t ever really contributed to open play for Newcastle. This was okay in the Championship, and was offset by a decent goal return, due to his knack of finding space in the box, but I don’t think we can afford it if we want to stay in the Premier League.
It’s unsurprising that Newcastle have been linked with a central creative player in Hatem Ben Arfa, and various destructive central players such as Alvaro Rios and the Feyenoord player whose name escapes me (Fer?), as despite this being the area we have most depth in terms of bodies, the quality is shockingly poor. And funnily enough, after relegation two of our strikers went to Champions League clubs (Martins and Owen), two defenders went to Champions League pretenders (Bassong and Beye), yet not a dime went on any of our central midfielders.
Whatever we think of Barton as a person, he’s crucial for us if we’re going to stay up, along with whoever Hughton brings in. Luckily, he seems to realise where the squad is weak (although I worry he has too much faith in Danny Simpson), and providing Mike Ashley’s sphincter tightening exercise doesn’t stymie him too badly in recruiting another two or three players, I think we’ll stay up.
Generally, from the match:
+ Carroll dominated aerially against one of the strongest defenders in the league in Vidic
+ The players’ heads didn’t drop at any point
+ Jose Enrique looked a class above our other defenders
+ Barton’s set piece delivery was generally good
- Nolan still isn’t fit
- Routledge and Jonas want too much time on the ball (hopefully they’ll get used to that though)
- Coloccini still looks a bit headless (perhaps Campbell will help)
- Perch was about what I expected from a bit-part Championship player
Good comment about no-one snapping up your midfielders…
I think you’ll have enough too. The bottom half of the Premiership was atrocious last year, I don’t think it’s a particularly hard time to stay afloat.