Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur - The Official Build Up Thread

I'm probably naive but if it was me I'd play 4-2-3-1 and play to our strengths, for me we're at home and our main strength is our attacking play so we should go for the win rather than focussing on their strength's. HBA (if fit) is our version of Bale, although they have different attributes their main abiliity is to beat a man and create, I imagine AVB and spurs would be delighted to see him on the bench.

By going with Raylor on the right to counter Bale is simply inviting pressure for me, Raylor will play a more conservative game and double up with Simmo, which could easily mean we end up playing with more or less two RB's just like France against Spain at the Euro's. We're at home, it's first game of the season and probably a full house, I say f*ck it, we're Newcastle Utd and with Ba, Cisse, HBA & Cabaye we can cause anyone problems. I'd love us to really go after the top teams at home this season and let the shackles off rather than worry about their threat. I accept you need a game plan but Bale would have a field day against Raylor and Simmo, at least with HBA we'd be giving him/spurs something to think about going the other way.

 

We tend to fill the visitor quotient, and even manage to match you guys song for song, which is quite a task!

The atmosphere is always rocking, certainly every time I've been.

 

Well it's technically a 4-2-1-3 we were playing, but I get what you mean.

But I just think Bale will rape our full backs If they don't have support, Santon especially.

If we have mids in front of our fullbacks, we can counter their wing thread. They have pace on each side, not just with bale.

If we go forward and require a fullback to make and overlapping run, we can get the mid to cover.

HBA is no good defensively.

What I like about our 4-2-1-3 is the defensive mids, Tiote and Jonas staying back to cover, but I think against a team with such strong wings, that It would be wise to play 4-4-2.

 

That is the difference between you guys and Arsenal, you make a lot more noise.

 

Krul

Perch Taylor Coloccini Santon

Tiote Anita Cabaye

Ben Arfa

Ba Cisse​

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Perch because hes better than Simpson, rest of the back 4 picks itself.

three man central midfield of Tiote Anita (wishful thinking) if not Gutierrez for him, and Cabaye.

Ben Arfa in a free role behind the strikers.

Cisse and Ba up top giving them both the central role they so obviously need/crave.

 

Perch would be better if we needed someone to just stay back and defend, but since we'd have no wingers, we'd need our fullbacks to make runs. We'd need someone on the wing to cross, or to just offer some width.

In that formation we'll literally have nothing on the right offensively.

For that formation to be able to counter Spurs threat, we'd literally have to stay back and play defensively. If we went forward and tried to attack that much, we'd be totally exposed on the wings where Spurs have a number of very quick players with quality.

 

You do realise that, even though the formation seems narrow, players can break from their positions if they are disciplined and well drilled, just because say Cabaye is playing centrally it doesn't mean he cant break position if the team supports him and we defend or attack as a unit.

As for Perch's attacking abilities, they aren't anything special, but hes much more comfortable on the ball than Simpson is and is a lot quicker, not to mention better defensively. Simpson offers absolutely zero going forward, whereas Perch offers a bit more than that.

Debuchy would have been ideal for this formation. I can see why we were after him.

 

Newcastle to win 7-1

 

About 15 years too late with that one.

[video=youtube;X96DeMz3mfY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X96DeMz3mfY[/video]

 

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Hope these two beauts are definitely fit.

 

Bale and Lennon are quick, but Lennon's end product is poor. I think sometimes there comes a point when you have to accept the opposition has good players, in this instance Bale, VDV, Lennon, Sig etc and if you worry about nullifying their threat too much you can take something away from your own game.

For instance if we were playing Barca, you wouldn't set up a game plan to stop Messi, you'd simply have to accept that at some point in the game he's more than likely going to produce a moment of magic that you're unable to stop/prevent. I think we should go with that philosophy against Spurs, they are a good attacking unit, but so are we. My stance would be to play an offensive line up, and see which attacking line up can produce on the day.

Currently our front 4 of:

HBA-----Cabaye----Ba
----------Cisse--------

Is not far off/just as good as there front 4 of:

Lennon-----VDV/Sig-----Bale
------------Defoe----------

Hope Pardew goes for it!

 

I know that mate, I'm quite often arguing to people that players are not rooted to their positions, and one thing we're getting better at is players making space for each other, and movement off the ball. It's like when we play our 4-2-1-3, It would seem, by looking straight at the formation, that our wingers would be very advanced, leaving the fullbacks by themselves, but our DM's are there to cover and defend our back four, while our attacking players are up the pitch.

But I believe for this game, a 4-4-2 formation would be best, having a structured formation, one that can counter spurs thread and offer a larger variety of attacking threats.

And Perch is not quicker than Simmo. I've got no idea where you got this idea from at all. Perch's reactions and possibly his speed off the mark are quicker, but for pace over a distance, Simmo is quicker.

Simmo crossing is bit inconsistent, but he makes great overlapping runs, and sometimes does deliver a good ball. I mean apart from Raylor, we don't have anyone on the right side that can deliver a better cross, which is scary. HBA's crossing on his left foot is good, but not on his right, and he opts to cut in most of the time anyway.

Even if Simmo doesn't deliver a good ball into the box In a move, he does make good runs along the wing, and can get us up to the pitch. If he offered nothing going forward, then Pards and Hughton would have just asked him to remain behind. But instead, he's normally in a more advanced position, ready to make a move forward, which, in my opinion, he's been asked to do so by Hughton and Pards.

I think Simmo has gotten quite a bit of undeserved stick, and I know I do say that a lot. But think about it. Perch, Raylor, Santon, whoever has played at LB for us has had Jonas In front of them, and Colo to the side of them. Our LB's have had great cover.

Last season, apart from a few games where Raylor played RM, Simmo had Obertan and HBA In front of him. He had no where near as much support, and was often left to do it by himself. Obertan and HBA are **** defensively.

 

I disagree about Lennon's end product being poor. He should be picked over Walcott for England IMO.

He's not a good finisher at all really, but his crossing and passing are better, plus his first touch is fantastic.

Lennon isn't in the same league as Bale, but he should not be taken lightly. As long as he can get behind us, he can cause damage.

 

That's the key point, he can cause damage by getting in behind just as Bale can,but by playing Raylor and Simmo on the right we're not going to get in behind them down that flank, taking away a major goal threat from our right hand side.

 

That's why I said it, I want a repeat. You even managed to outdo our 6-1 against them

 

We did them 6-1 under Sir Bobby Robson.

 

We should defintely force them narrow and be defensive along the wings.

According to them, they have no strikers fit? And they need to rely on a youngun.

 

We'd fine it hard to get past their right, if we're defending heavily and not committing our right side forward much, but at least we'll be cutting out a major threat!

Walker and Lennon are two of the quickest players in the league, both can provide a real danger.

Best just to force them narrow, where we are strongest, and they are weakest. Not that they don't pose any threat down the center, but we have more quality in the central area, and they are lacking a proper striker.

 

First game of the season for both teams. Personally, I think we've got one the best front 3/midfield combo's going...We know their strengths, we know theirs...If everyone was fit and ready I'd have played 4,3,3 with Ben Arfa up front...As it is, I don't htink he'll feature and therefore I don't have a clue what we'll do?

 

Ref for Saturday is Martin Atkinson supposedly. Can anyone recall any shockers the yorkshireman has had with us?