Vurnon Anita

Good article on little Vern.
A top, top player for us.

http://www.squawka.com/news/2013/12...es-newcastles-strength-in-depth/2013121744565

Goalkeeping howlers, scuffles on the bench, and the referee getting a slap in the face – for the neutral, Newcastle vs Southampton was a very entertaining 90 minutes. The Hampshire side travelled to St James’ Park looking for their first win in five game and were buoyed by the fact that Alan Pardew’s side would be without Yohan Cabaye as the Frenchman served a one-match suspension, but the man who filled the void, Vernon Anita, did brilliantly to ensure Newcastle didn’t get run over in the middle.

Southampton did edge the game in terms of possession, but the Netherlands international did everything in his power to break up what Mauricio Pochettino’s side were trying to do. A criticism of Anita’s game has been that he’s overzealous in his tackling, but when playing alongside Moussa Sissoko in the middle of the pitch – a player who has won almost 60% of his tackles this season – you can afford to modify your game and focus on your strengths.

Going into the game Pardew needed a midfield who were willing to run themselves into the ground to limit what the visitors could do in position, as Southampton’s desire to knock the ball around the pitch with pace often exposes the looser sides in the league. They don’t come more eager than Anita when it comes to covering the pitch, and his Heat Map showed just how much work he put in.

He left the gritty part of the game to his midfield partners and concentrated on getting in the faces of the opposition, forcing them to release the ball quicker than they would’ve liked and squeezing them into areas where they couldn’t function.

What players do off the ball is often as important as what they do on it, as Andre Villas-Boas and his Spurs side found out again at the weekend, and Anita is someone who you can rely on to enhance the shape of the side when in the defensive stages.

Anita made two interceptions, one at the start of the game and the other in the latter stages, and was efficient with his distribution. From the 28 passes that he attempted, the 24-year-old completed 23 and played with his head up throughout the entire game.

So far this term Anita has made 29 Defensive Actions, 15 of which were clearances, and he continued his trend of being in the right place at the right time as he completed three in the tie with Southampton.

Though he doesn’t carry the creativity of Cabaye or the ability to change the game with a spark of magic, Anita is a resolute midfielder who solidifies the team as a unit. The energy he provides benefits the less mobile players that he’s surrounded by and he has shown that the direct style of football that the Magpies play with doesn’t affect his performances. But whether or not that will be enough to keep his place this weekend as Cabaye returns from his suspension.

 

Best used as a third wheel in a 3 man midfield, IMO. Gifted and underrated player, but we'd have beaten So'ton with Cabaye playing instead. I do wonder why we don't persevere more with a 4-5-1, given how fcking awful the 2nd striker tends to be in a 4-4-2. Especially since we worked out we can house Sissoko in that right mid role.

Krul/Debuchy-Willo-Colo-Santon/Sissoko-Anita-Tiote-Cabaye-Gouff/Remy....best XI for me, and options everywhere from the bench.

 

The guys a workhorse, perpetual motion, gives it everything he's got and doesn't seem to slacken. He might not have some of Cab's silky skills but he makes up for that with his tireless efforts.

 

great read, until it mentions our 'direct style' of play. I thought we had the fewest long balls of any team this season (or has that changed with shola now playing???)

 

TBF guys you were missing Cabaye but we were without three of our best players. Wanyama and Morgan would have snuffed out Cabaye.

 

Team bias. In my opinion, Cabaye would of made them look foolish. However none of them were playing so its a moot argument!!

 

You guys were lucky Obertan didn't play. He would've torn your wingbacks to shreds had he started.

 

We'd have won by a landslide if Dan Gosling had been included and making his late runs...

 

Isn't it his first name Vurnon?

 

It is, but everybody knew who we were talking about.

 

Aye just a cheap dig based on one game where we were quite direct against Southampton. It was quite effective at times but I'd have rather seen us stick to the mixture of the first half rather than bombardment of the 2nd half which played into their hands.

 

Thing I like about anita is he passes and immediately looks for space to stand / run to. I think he brings the level of others ability to do the simple stuff up around him.

 

There are pros and cons to this I feel. I would actually prefer , when he has space to hold onto the ball a bit longer and perhaps look for a better option at times. This is largely due to seeing him pass the ball to less-creative players like Tiote/Willo and in turn results in a misplaced pass or a long hoof upfield.