Newcastle United 2012/13: From prosperity to Possum Pi**

This is not my personal thread to bash Alan Pardew, the board or the Ligue 1 imports but just a thread to highlight the problems within the club right now which frankly lie beneath the surface.

2012/13 started with a little optimism. Prior to the current season the team achieved a top 5 position and a handful of players had really put some shifts in. Not to mention our 3 recruits that season (Cabaye, Ba, Cisse) looked as good as most of Premier League stars and nobody needs reminding that having just missed out on Champions League football, we qualified for the Europa League for the first time season we qualified through the UEFA Intertoto Cup in the 2006/7 season.

Alan Pardew almost looked a miracle worker, after keeping the already strong team spirit intact, that was built by Chris Hughton and model professionals such as Kevin Nolan and Fabricio Coloccini. Alan Pardew began his successful start at Newcastle by taking the team out on team bonding exercises such as Rafting and Paintballing. This touch seemed magic and gave the team a strong sense of unity.

Things looked interesting at the start of season 2011/12 season with hopes of possibly a mid table finish on the horizon. Although we lost influential players such as Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique we replaced them with Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba and Davide Santon whilst adding Cisse to our ranks in January. Some had tipped us for immediate relegation whilst many others watched on with an open mind but that season went absolutely fantastic, whilst the majority of our wins where a little ugly at times and we did suffer the odd clattering from Fulham and Spurs in particular we really did brilliantly. With a 4-5-1 then a 4-3-3 adopted when Cisse had joined we did half look like we where well organized and reasonably prepared and achieved a top 5 position.

Then season 2012/13 kicked in and we had the Europa league to look forward to. We did little business for the first team just the seemingly 5ft4 and 65lbs defensive midfielder Vurnon Anita. We started off in a throwback to the 90's 4-4-2. Demba Ba and Pappis Cisse spearheading the attack. Our form started off a little poorly but no alarm bells had started obviously because there was a way to go before the seasons end. The front 2 although supposedly close and both talented seemed like, at least on the pitch where complete strangers. Neither looked to support the other and only Demba Ba of the 2 looked likely to drop deeper and graft a little to help keep position. Goals for Cisse where scarce as he was outshone by his countryman Ba and up until January Ba's goals and Cisse's humble contributions on top of a defense held together by soon to be want-away defender Fabricio Coloccini kept our heads above the Premier League basement water. January came and Chelsea had exercised Demba Ba's release clause and Demba had chosen to leave for Chelsea leaving a colossal goal burden on the shoulders of Pappis Demba Cisse. The powers that be where targeting a replacement for Ba which led to the acquisition of Yohan Gouffran aswell as other new recruits Mapou Yanga Mbiwa and Moussa Sissoko. The honeymoon was an enjoyable one to which, new recruits inspired victories over Chelsea and Villa. With Sissoko pushed a little more forward than expected, looked like a right Patrick Viera Mk 2. But then things started to go to pot. Coloccini got injured during an acrobatic clearance whilst Moussa Sissoko's hot streak of form immediately disappeared after being converted into a right winger Yohan Cabaye's form suffered as rumours of him becoming depressed began to surface and France international Mapou Yanga Mbiwa looked like the task of adapting to the tempo of the BPL might take a while. This was just the start of the last few awful weeks for Newcastle United having been whacked 3-0 by a determined Sunderland side led by a League One manager with a swastika tattooed to the side of his head and a lightening shaped "S" tattooed to each bollock and then on top of that mini catastrophe we where butt plugged and roasted 6-0 by the celebrity crib looters from the North West.

With Newcastle 3 games away from the end of the season lying 17th just above Reading, Qpr and Wigan things are looking bleak with Wigan having a game in hand and QPR's players looking to put themselves in the shop window and pull one over us just like 20th place Reading and 18th placed Wigan did this season. A lot of fans have been asking questions and most appear to have come to a conclusion that the fault lies solely at the feet of Alan Pardew. I have more than just the lapses of Alan Pardew which explains the situation we are currently in and for starters:

Leadership: Without Colo we are without a leader on the battlefield and Yohan Cabaye or Jonas Gutierrez don't fit this mould at all. Without a Chief our troops have been slaughtered.

Integration: Joining the BPL from a League like Ligue 1 or the Dutch Eridivisie is seldom simple. The likes of Gouffran, Sissoko and especially Mbiwa and Anita have to re-learn their timing of passing movement distribution etc all over again because this league is fast paced and unforgiving. We have simply signed just too many players unacquainted to this league to really pick up right off the bat.

Injuries: What was it now? 70 or so separate injuries for this season alone? that is far too many and is all down to the next problem I'm going to highlight which is...

Squad depth: A new season with Europa League football on top of League games and 2 other cup competitions can potentially demand an extra fixture dilation of at least 100% and can we really expect the same players to acclimatize to 60+ games in a season without picking up wear and tear in their bodies and low fatigue which will all combined annihilate the spirits of the players?

Quality: Let's not kid ourselves, some of our first team players are passengers and really do lack talent and should be shipped out. Those being Jonas, Obertan and Shola Ameobi and it's not just them, Amilfitano, Abeid, Gosling, Perchy, Elliot, Inman, Tavernier have all failed to show themselves as potential Premier players.

Excuses: When the Mid-Week "Europa League football was really taxing" cliche had stopped after our Quarter final elimination by Benfica,the excuses didn't stop. After Sunderland, things where blamed on the Previous game and then after Liverpool Pardew obviously had no excuse at all and just lumped the blame to the players who where in fairness outright terrible but these guys are not all bad players, some are really talented.

Tactics: Completely predictable, 4-2-3-1 with Cabaye and Tiote protecting the defense and Jonas out wide doing more helping out Haidara than supporting Cisse and Sissoko with a free role (mostly moving to the right hand side to no avail whatsoever) this is our biggest issue, playmakers playing anchor man and box to box players playing playmakers?? Gouffran who is a decent striker but worse than Obertan out wide completely nullified by Pardews scrapbook tactics. The long balls... we are top of the league for long balls, but we have flair all over the park?? Our lone Striker can not hold the ball, he is not a target man so that alone should rule out obsessively direct football completely regardless of the fact that our players are stylistically best suited to counter attacking carpet football. Besides the long ball game keeps rendering Cisse 25 times per game too and it just wastes possession.

Set Pieces: Somethings doesn't compute in this department. Most teams score from more set pieces than our lot's effort beat the first man! Sure we have guys left and right footed who can play a good ball, (ie) Marv, Cabaye etc but yet we score zilch from set pieces and also concede many from set pieces. When defending we don't have the size advantage over pretty much anyone so why not go for zonal marking to get a little more leverage in aerial duels? simple tactical awareness right there! Attacking wise, our set pieces look like we don't try them whatsoever which I'm sure is not the case. Why not try and mix it up? short crosses, near post deliveries if the opposing defenders are a bit big? This too ought to be addressed.

Some of you may not bother reading and some may think it's insightful or just complete bollocks or both. I just thought I'd try and shine a little more light on things as a whole and hopefully get some good feedback/opinions.

 

You didn't replace Ba. Sends the wrong message to the players and fans


Demba Ba Played 19 Scored 13
Papiss Demba Cisse Played 32 Scored 8

Was gutted when you beat us to Cisse's signature. Seemed like a snip but I'm so glad we didn't get him, needs 5 chances and always off side. We've got our own striking problems I know. but you can't sell your star striker and not replace him (you don't give him cheep arse release clauses in the first place) and it's costing you, could even cost you a place in the premiership the year it's going to become so lucrative.

If either of us go down it's been brought on ourselves. That t.v money does have me salivating but it's sods law one of us could go.

 

Gouffran came in as for a replacement for Ba, probably not long term but for up until the end of this season.

I can't remember the last time Newcastle created 5 chances in one game to be honest. So the five chances to score comment does confuse a little. In fact Cisse has 10 BPL goals this year and half of that season was out wide so nobody can really criticize his goalscoring prowess. I think I somewhat explained his knack for being offside but just in case it's because he is not a Striker suited to the obsessively direct route of football. If a long pass/ball is played to him he has little chance of holding the ball up or timing his runs like he would if a ball was played precisely. He is a goal poacher who can score from various positions hardly the Christophe Dugarry or Duncan Ferguson mould of forward at all. No matter what Alan Pardew thinks.

 

A mighty fine post my friend

 

"I just thought I'd try and shine a little more light on things"

Thanks, you mean add even more doom & gloom!

Just kidding. A very good post.

Lots wrong at the club right now.

 

More fool them gouffran goal ratio was pony before he joined,decent player but not a like for like with ba
[




QUOTE=Lieutenant;4675877]Gouffran came in as for a replacement for Ba, probably not long term but for up until the end of this
season.

I can't remember the last time Newcastle created 5 chances in one game to be honest. So the five chances to score comment does confuse a little. In fact Cisse has 10 BPL goals this year and half of that season was out wide so nobody can really criticize his goalscoring prowess. I think I somewhat explained his knack for being offside but just in case it's because he is not a Striker suited to the obsessively direct route of football. If a long pass/ball is played to him he has little chance of holding the ball up or timing his runs like he would if a ball was played precisely. He is a goal poacher who can score from various positions hardly the Christophe Dugarry or Duncan Ferguson mould of forward at all. No matter what Alan Pardew thinks.[/QUOTE]

 

ok mate, looks like you need more stats to prove my point

Positions Cisse has played this season cause he hasn't been played out of position as much as some of you make out.

This includes games in europe.

Position Apps Goals Assists
FW (Forward - Centre) 31 8 2
FWR (Forward - Right) 4 1 0
AMR (Attacking Midfielder - Right) 2 1 0
MR (Midfielder - Right) 2 1 0
Sub (Substitute) 2 1 0
ML (Midfielder - Left) 1 0 0

Half the season out of position? don't think so.

Stats from whoscored.com

Goals to Shots ratio

Cisse
played 42
Shots 97
Shot on target 39
Goals 14
offside 40

Ba

Games 20
Shots 89
Shots on target 37
Goals 13
Offside 10

Fletcher

Games 34
Shots 65
Shots on target 35
Goals 11
offside 20

Sats from espn and Whoscored.

I'm not saying Cisse has ****ed you over. He's worked bloody hard and from what I've seen he's the model professional. But he's not good enough to be your main striker. Ba wasn't replaced with any real quality.

 

Ba wasn't replaced with quality indeed. Gouffran is a mid-table/top 8 striker... certainly not a top 10 BPL player.