It was obvious from the kick-off last Saturday that Chelsea were attacking down their right wing, as they had picked out Ryan Taylor as the weak link in Newcastle’s defense.
Jonas Gutierrez – a big miss last Saturday
And Daniel Sturridge gave Taylor a terrible time of it in that first half, and it’s lucky that the 21 year-old England International missed a lot of the chances he carved out for himself.
And then of course there was always a certain Tim Krul, who has simply been magnificent in the Newcastle goal all season.
Usually Jonas Gutierrez helps out big time when Ryan is under pressure, but of course he was serving a one match ban for being sent off at Old Trafford the previous Saturday, and Peter Lovenkrands could not help out Ryan as much.
But some good news, among all the injury concerns this week, Jonas will be back out on the left wing tomorrow, and he’s been a big player for Newcastle this season.
In fact the 22 times capped Argentine International is playing the best football of his career on Tyneside, after signing a new deal that keeps him at Newcastle until the summer of 2015.
Pardew has no doubt that Gutierrez missing from the starting line-up last week, was a big problem for Newcastle:
“That was a big blow to us last week.” “He’s a big part of looking after that left side.”
“I think we got exposed a little bit against Chelsea, and he would have shored it up on that side.”
“There’s also what he offers us going forward. So I’m very pleased to have him back.”
The fact that Ryan Taylor has a tough job against fast and skillful wingers, tells us he is not the long term solution to the left-back position vacated by Jose Enrique, when he left for Liverpool in August.
But Ryan is a top professional and we expect him to have a solid game tomorrow at Carrow Road, especially since Jonas will be helping out as usual.
It’s anybody’s guess what the starting line-up will be tomorrow, but assuming that Coloccini is fit (we’ll keep our fingers crossed), here’s a possible starting eleven:
Krul
Simpson Coloccini (c) Perch Taylor (R)
Obertan Gosling Cabaye Gutierrez
Ameobi (Sh) Ba
That’s not a bad side at all, and we have a feeling that Alan Pardew may bring Shola Ameobi into the starting line-up in place of Ben Arfa, to give Newcastle more power up front, especially since Shola looked so good in the second half last Saturday.
What is your starting eleven for tomorrow?
Comments welcome.
158 comments so far
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:15 PM
Comment #81@ruddy no that is 2 amazing finishes against york from near the same area
and i did watch him vs forest and i also watched him on the america tour and he plays left attacking mid fact
mattyNUFC
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:17 PM
Comment #82left attacking mid…..hmm
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:19 PM
Comment #83The English style is centred on closing play down quickly, moving the ball quickly, stopping the other team playing by asserting your phyisical dominance in mid-field. It is about establishing a strong hold in possession and then creating chances from that possession. It is about smothering the other’s team so they can’t play but also being mindful of the other team’s ability to counter attack, and this is what Man U are so good at, they know exactly how high a line to keep, to stifle the other team’s ability to peg them back because they control possession, whereas Barca play free transitional football from defence to attack with fluidity, Alves could be mistaken for a winger the way he plays, you couldn’t claim that Patrice Evra plays that way, when it is time to defend he is quite simply the best full back in the world and this is where Barca and Man U differ
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:20 PM
Comment #84Left attacking mid…didn’t realise that was a position, are you saying winger?he is no winger bud
AP's Black & White Army
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:21 PM
Comment #85Chatting gonads is the order of the day it seems…..
mickybraham
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:21 PM
Comment #86a tear comes to my eye every time i watch tiotes equaliser against the gooners, never heard a stadium so loud as st james’ that day
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:21 PM
Comment #87Don’t like it then you know where you can go
Rotonda heights
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:24 PM
Comment #88Ruddy
I think the ironic thing in English football is that the sucesssful teams in English football over the last 40 years (the Arsenals, Manus, Liverpools, Notts Forests, Chelseas) have all been great PASSING teams.
We’ve had the blueprint for years but so many English teams still play a Sam Allardyce / Pulis physical, long ball, negative 100 mph type of football, where team mates all run away from the man in possession.
People like Cantona, Zola, Bergkamp, Ronaldo etc all played in ”footballing” teams where triangles were the order of the day like your Brazils, Hollands etc.
mattyNUFC
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:25 PM
Comment #89and a “fact” thrown in there for what? more credibility?
anyhow, mehdi is a CM/CDM through and through and that’s where he’ll shine for us either tomorrow or in the near future.
either way, can’t wait for the match tomorrow!
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:25 PM
Comment #90ofcorse its a position when you play 433 its known as left foward
but when you switch to 442 its left cm and he certainly does not hold back and break up play…His style is sorta like nasri’s..I rember reading somewere he is the next zinedine zidane comes from the same place an all
GeordieGerman
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:25 PM
Comment #91From 72 I’ve sensed a fight.
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:27 PM
Comment #92@matty your claiming he plays cdm from fifa12 or some manager game right? and im claiming he plays attacking mid from the games i have watched him play
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:32 PM
Comment #93http://www.nufcfans.co.uk/2011/05/i-have-agreed-deal-with-newcastle-18.html
Abeid is an attacking mid feilder he has also played as a 2nd striker
AP's Black & White Army
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:32 PM
Comment #94Ruddy takes everything so personally, what a bi tch flap.
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:33 PM
Comment #95There will be no fighting here haha you’re going to have to explain the theory that he is a left forward because Pards has only ever spoke of him in relation to centre mid and nowhere else.
@Rotonda when I say “English” i don’t mean Bolton long ball football, that is terrible football, Arsenal have played continental football since Wenger took over but what was his mainstay, a formidable back four and a midfield that could break down possession and counter at pace, that is English. Getting the ball down and controlling possession, that is English, playing high line defence to stifle the opposition, that is English
soundoid
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:33 PM
Comment #96http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16116940.stm
I don’t know if any of you have seen this get well soon Stevie.
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:33 PM
Comment #97Ap Black and White Army talking gonads now I see
mattyNUFC
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:34 PM
Comment #98im not gonna get embroiled in a spat with someone who in the years you’ve been on this blog is incapable of letting go of something or even conceding. he’s a midfielder, how bout that?! one who usually plays as a CDM 🙂 ….sorry, i couldn’t resist
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:36 PM
Comment #99Abeid is an attacking midfielder comfortable on the left side of midfield or through the middle. In the past, he has also played as a 2nd striker. Derek McKinlay, a writer on French football has described him as “pacy and full of trickery but untried and untested at the top level, he’s one for the future.”
He is an attacking mid end off maby he plays cm but he will be left cm and he is no holder im telling you now
niafron
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:38 PM
Comment #100@Rudy
All right. Well for me, “english style” is what Rotonda say about sam Allardyce. So you see, it’s very different.
Furthemore, i do not see Barca like you, for me, their main strenght is they are always all very high in the opposite side, when they lose the ball.
Anyway, my concern was not the way you defend or how high you’re on the pitch, but rather the way you attack.
Now, NUFC play is between air play and dual man against man on the wings.
Having a very physical pressur in midfield don’t forbid you to be more fluid with ball in the opponent side.
You like physical contest? Me too (i played rugby in high school!).
But once the ball is secured and the other team move back, you need a more sophisticated play to create chances in modern football than simply long air balls in the box.
About moving the ball quickly, well, it’s maybe the english style, but i think it’s uneffective. From my point of view, attacking slowly, and then, having sudden surge in the rythm of attack is the key in modern play.
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Comment #101Btw that was matty any1 else who keeps butting in
”you know where you can go”
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Comment #102And matty i will take one for the team because i dont care where he plays aslong as he is gona be a star for us
niafron
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:42 PM
Comment #103What about Abeid replacing Krull?
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:44 PM
Comment #104Hehe thats it niafron maby are new super strike partners can be elliot and harps…Well harps would prob lose a hip after a match 😉
mattyNUFC
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:44 PM
Comment #105kevy, if this is “left attacking mid” then it’s quite clear the kid has zero positional know-how. enjoy, lads, and here’s to a win v norwich.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhw4fgdrnj4
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:45 PM
Comment #106Niafron we agree that long ball football is totally ineffective, but I fear that we disagree on how we should attack, I believe intense pace in the counter attack once possession is won is how we should play whereas you prefer a more ponderous approach, teasing passes to unlock the defence, that is where the difference between the English and the continental come to a head I think. Both have their merits both have their downsides and to argue one against the other is a matter for personal preferences I think
GeordieGerman
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:45 PM
Comment #107niafron, New it. Jester. Now that would even make Ben Arfa laugh. Well maybe smile.
GeordieGerman
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:46 PM
Comment #108Knew
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:46 PM
Comment #109Kevy I dunno if you’re defendin what I said or mocking it haha I’ll take it as a defence just so we don’t fall out again 😛
mattyNUFC
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:46 PM
Comment #110man, that kid is impressive! between that video and the other few times i’ve seen him play, he deserves to start over gosling, imo
niafron
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:48 PM
Comment #111OK lads, this is what i call “suddenly changing the rythm of attack” (and what a masterpiece).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5W6vBI3mGE
The greatest advantage of this method is to secure ball control, to keep your players close from each others, and finally to not lose the ball deep in the opponent side.
And sure, it’s also the best way to find a weakness in reinforced defense.
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:48 PM
Comment #112Seems as if all the sources are pointing to Abeid as an attacking midfielder comfortable on the left, maybe Pards is beefing him up to be a ball playing CDM much like Yaya…mouth watering prospect!!
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:50 PM
Comment #113That kind of play, while being good to watch, wouldn’t last in the Prem, attacking players would never get that much space to pick a pass because defenders are hound dogs in this league, even the bad ones are on you like a rash
mattyNUFC
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:53 PM
Comment #114ruddy,
i disagree. in that video he clearly uses his strength to create just an extra second and an inch of space to get off a pass. most of his passes were off the back of smart movement and good reading of the play and usually with no more than a touch before releasing (minus the few runs he took down the channels or middle)
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:53 PM
Comment #115Personally i think gosling should get the start although ever since medhi joined us ive only heard great things about him …but for all we know vuckic could start
kevymartins
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:56 PM
Comment #116@matty in my video he was clearly playing attacking mid but who knows maby he is another perch..
In all the reserve highlights i have seen the stand outs are brad inman ryan donaldson and the we ginger fella richardson
niafron
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:58 PM
Comment #117About Real and Barca, last classicos were a perfect illustration of these two styles.
Barca played it’s typical play, when Mourihno choosed a very physical miedfield with quick ground attack after possession recovery.
Another illustration was 2009 CPL semi final between Barca and Chelsea.
2010 world cup final is also the same kind of tactical opposition.
Finally, the Toké (Argentina’s classical style, called tiki taka in spain) was always victorious.
The only exception in a great game was 2010 CPL semi final between Barca and Inter.
Anyway in the past 3 or 4 years, the conjunction of Spanish/argentine traditional play and Arrigo sacchi’s Tactical improvement in play with Milan AC proved to be a deadly combination.
mattyNUFC
Dec 9, 2011 at 4:59 PM
Comment #118in reguards to those three…
i feel donaldson will leave for L2 or L1. Inman i remember hearing great things about and now he’s not even a regular in the reserve side (he’s still plenty young though)
and richardson, it was a bit discouraging that he couldn’t really break through at Leyton Orient. Still into his first full year as a pro though
Would def not be opposed to Vuckic getting the nod, as long as cabaye and ben arfa knew to cover when he’d inevitably get forward
niafron
Dec 9, 2011 at 5:01 PM
Comment #119Well, i don’t even mention last CPL final… Wasn’t any argument about play in England after such a terrible defeat?
mattyNUFC
Dec 9, 2011 at 5:03 PM
Comment #120why are we arguing about styles of play? we obviously prefer the fast paced hustle of the EPL, that’s partly why we’re all here, right?