My analysis (better than HMT's)

Well, how ****ing frustrating was that? It honestly gave me an idea of how frustrating it must be to play us sometimes, as they did what we often do. Despite wave upon wave of attack, their defence just locked us out and stopped anything getting through.

To be honest, even with the numerous shots on target, it just never felt like we were going to score, and from 20 minutes in it started to feel like 'one of those games'.

Just some stats here of how one-sided it was:

Possession: Newcastle 57% - 43% Swansea
On target: Newcastle 6 - 0 Swansea
Off target: Newcastle 11 - 3 Swansea
Corners: Newcastle 9 - 1 Swansea

That's 17 total shots to Swansea's 3 (which were all off target) and 9 crosses from corners, yet we couldn't convert any of them into goals. That's testimony to a mixture of Swansea's great defensive effort, Swansea's game plan, and a general day off frustration for us. As the game wore on, we got a little frustrated and the number of intelligent planned attacks started to dwindle.

This is the type of game we need to avoid in future, as putting in such effort without a goal can be very demoralising to the players. After all, it's all about working hard for a reward.

Pardew's subs

Pardew's major problem seems to be that he chooses subs based on attitude and effort instead of actual ability. Regardless of how good of a footballer you are, if you put effort in training and act like a nice bloke, he's going to give you starts.

It sounds like decent logic, but it can quickly become detrimental to the team's performances and the number of points we pick up. However nice and professional Shola or Sammy act, they simply shouldn't be started ahead of those who can put in more ability. The aim is to pick up points, and I'm afraid that's just football.

Whilst bad attitudes should be addressed to an extent, making substitution choices which end up costing us points and positions on the table is just going way too far. If you don't play our best or most appropriate players, then not only does the team drop points, but the player gets agitated and eventually wants out - therefore losing some real star talent.

I personally think that Pardew needs to get the **** over himself and get on with the job. Some players are high maintenance, just deal with it instead of expecting every player to lick your balls.

HBA

Simply put, we needed HBA on, but it never happened. Swansea had a gameplan and simply stopped any of our tall forwards being able to do anything when it came to crosses, so we should have changed our gameplan to rely less on crosses and more on direct agile play from playrs like Ben Arfa. We may have won with him on.

Player ratings:

Krul - N/A - I can't actually score him as he didn't have anything to do...

Simpson - 7 - Did reasonably well, but Swansea didn't really pose much of a threat, so you know.

Perch - 6 - See above. However, I was disappointed with his long balls. It just smacks of last season and smacks of a player who simply doesn't have the confidence to play it with a bit more intelligence.

Coloccini - 9 - Superb once again. Nullified any Swansea attacks and was unlucky not to score. The way he latches onto opportunity just oozes class.

Santon - 8 - Finally, Santon is here. Great defender and great going forward. Looks like a real threat. I wasn't sure if we would see him for months yet as it seemed like he was struggling to get used to the league, but he started and made the most out of it. He needs to stay in that spot now as first choice.


Obertan - 6.5 - Had some good moments and one cracking cross, but he was very wasteful once again and just didn't have the composure on the ball to do anything.

Cabaye - 8 - Played well with some good corners. Just did what he does best.

Tiote - 7.5 - Looked a little rusty but he played well and dispossessed a fair few players. Probably one of the main reasons why Swansea had uncharactaristically poor possession. Btw, did anyone notice what looked like Tiote having a go at Pardew when he was subbed off?

Jonas - 7 - Worked well with Santon and went forward a little more than usual, but there was a lack of end product. Most of the advancements forward seemed to come down the right hand side.


Ba - 7 - He tried and tried, but just couldn't get anything. Some real acrobatic attempts at times but none of them paid off.

Best - 6 - A bit anonymous really. I can't remember him doing much. Should have been HBA over Best and we might have got something out of this.


Sammy Ameobi - 6 - Sammy needs a loan move, it's as simple as that. He isn't ready for this league yet and he's just a little too raw. He shouldn't be 2nd choice attacking sub in a team like this.

Shola Ameobi - 5 - If Sammy shouldn't be 2nd choice then Shola DEFINITELY shouldn't be 1st choice attacking sub. It's a joke. Anyway, he barely did anything as per usual, and I just knew that the guy wouldn't pose any real threat.

Vuckic - 7 - Didn't see much of him, but he played well and seemed bright.


Overall, the scores reflect the game. We played very well, but just couldn't grab a goal.

 

HBA - 10 - Came off the bench to - oh wait. That didn't happen.

 

This! Really pissed me off. We have one of the best central midfields in the country dropping deep to receive the ball from him and he just humps it forward, straight to their right back who was under no pressure from a striker. Same thing two or three times. Not flagging this up out of hatred for Perch (we're gonna get this from Willo as well), just that it made me seethe during the game and everyone else thought he did well.

Great thread.

 

We did not play hoofball until the last 10 mins, up until that point we had been passing it around very nicely, we just could not provide that cutting edge today. Frustrating game in which we dominated but all teams have them.

Players that most impressed me:

Colo - So good to have him back.
Santon - Reminds us all what it is like to have a quality fullback again. Also worked well with Jonas and allowed him to be more attacking again.
Perch - Did not put a step wrong.
Cabaye/Tiote partnership - It is just so good, they complement each other so well.
Obertan - People just like to bash him but today, especially in the first half he was very dangerous, his final ball needs improving but if he can improve that then he will be a very good player.
Ba - Tried pretty much everything to score and came very close on more than one occasion.

 

The majority of Perch's long balls went straight to our strikers...

 

My ratings:


Krul - 6 - Didn't have a save to make. One good catch. Inconsistent distribution.
Simpson - 7 - Not a lot to do defensively. Put in several good crosses. Tidy performance.
Perch - 6 - Had barely anything to do. Managed a couple of crunching tackles which was good to see.
Collo - 8 - Well, what can I say, he was Colloccini.
Santon - 8 - Massively impressed. Seems to have adapted very well and put in a few crunching tackles. Made some great forward runs and almost set up the winner.
Obertan - 6 - Positive in the first half, anonymous in the second. End product as poor as usual.
Tiote - 6 - Extremely sloppy at times but broke up play well.
Cabaye - 6.5 - Inconsistent from set peices, but still played some glorious passes from open play. Has played better.
Gutierrez - 6 - Ran his socks off but didn't produce much. Was absolutely knackered at the end.
Ba - 8 - Brilliant performance in every department apart from scoring.
Best - 6.5 - OK return. Held the ball up well but never looked a threat on goal.

Shola - 5.5 - Disappointing, especially given how well he played vs Norwhich and Chelsea.
Sammy - 5 - Too raw. Needs a loan.
Vuckic - 5.5 - Didn't do too much to affect the game.

Pardew - 6 - His overall game plan was spot on. We pressed high up the pitch and didn't let Swansea pass it out of defence, meaning we won the ball back easily. However his subs were baffling, and this let him down. Unfortunately we had run out of steam by the 80th minute because of the intensity we had been playing at, and the subs didn't do enough to impose themselves on the game.

Fans - 6 - Brilliant tribute to Speed, atmosphere during the game was OK, but not brilliant given the fact it was near enough a full house.


Overall thoughts - A bit disappointing, but it was just one of those days where things didn't go our way. With a bit of luck we could have gone in at half-time 2 or 3 goals to the good. I think people are overreacting if they think this is a terrible result as Swansea are a hard team to break down and we, in reality, aren't as good as our unbeaten run may have indicated. The biggest positive is Santon's performance, Jose who? Finally, gutted about Cabaye being suspended. Will Raylor be back for next week? If so I would consider playing him alongside Tiote, he's done a good job in CM before.