Comments on: Tactical analysis: Stoke 1 Newcastle 3 in 5 key points

By: Andy Mac

Andy Mac — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:16:52 +0000

Yo RD looks like Smithy got his homework done in the preview. As I said we needed to get at Stoke, especially the full backs, and he targeted Wilson as a weak link which was pretty much spot on for the first goal.

As we said previously this was likely to be a tough test for us and so it proved but Raylor’s comment about playing with no fear says a lot about the current team and its lofty position in the league. Winning games is the best confidence builder for a team and remaining unbeaten gives you that extra feeling of invincibility to a certain extent.

I think the main reason for our performance on Monday night, apart from those mentioned above, was down to every one putting in a shift and I include the somewhat erratic Obertan and the unspectacular Best in that list. When you have all eleven players stepping up to the plate it’s a lot better than having two or three “passengers” in the team which has sometimes been the case in the past.

As you rightly pointed out Obertan’s pass completion rate was a marked improvement on previous games and Best, although not an obvious goal threat, managed to put himself about and covered defensively just as the boy wonder used to do

Jonas needs a special mention of course for his non stop running and harrying as does Krul for standing up, most of the time, to the physical test that Stoke seem to be able to get away with when playing at home.

Finally, because the team were all singing from the same hymn sheet for almost the entire 90 minutes, I have to give credit to Pardwho and the backroom boys, for organising the team in a relatively simple but extremely effective manner.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:11:35 +0000

Nothing much more to say, another cracking analysis and covers just about everything. Fantastic result and keeps us in a strong position going into the 3 tough games.

I became a bit frustrated with all of the comments about us not facing a difficult team as yet and had to vent it somewhere. So i wrote this:

It is in line with the last few paragraphs of this article and just describes why the start hasn’t been as easy as everyone thinks and the massive improvement from last season.

http://www.itsroundanditswhite.co.uk/2011/11/01/newcastle-united-and-their-easy-start/

By: nufc.net

nufc.net — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:51:09 +0000

Speaking of Gutherie, it wouuld be nice if you could add the distance run by each player as Gutherie ran none stop all game. Something I didn’t know he could do and for that reason alone I’d offer him a contract extention.

By: RD

RD — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:09:26 +0000

Cheers for the comments all. I’d agree with the comments saying that Guthrie had a good game deputising for Tiote. In him, Gosling, Abeid and Vuckic we have some hungry youngsters willing to step up in central midfield if needed, although Vuckic may be better suited to the number 10 role..

By: stavros

stavros — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:12:33 +0000

good analysis. thought it was another great show by jonas. guthrie deputised well for tiote and showed good poise on the ball when he had the chance to. obertan was a constant out ball for the defence and best and ba worked their socks off. i thought cabeye was a bit sloppy with his passing but was incisive at times. it’s hard to fault the overall display as a team. roll on everton.

By: billyjoelismint

billyjoelismint — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:10:06 +0000

Quick mention for Guthrie who had a pretty solid game.

It gives you a bit of confidence in the strength in depth of the squad (at least in midfield) when you get a performance like that from someone who is unlikely to be more than a bit-part player over then season.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 07:49:48 +0000

Very good write up.I competely agree ..Jonas stood out for me with his back tracking performance.If , and its a big if , we beat Everton and dare i say get something from City, I think the man u game will be something to watch because believe me we will be playing that game like a cup final!

By: steve

steve — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:53:27 +0000

loved it when simpson waited for a towel to dry ball then when he got it he did,nt even wipe the ball and gave a nice little 3 yard throw in lol

By: PeterASchubert

PeterASchubert — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:03:15 +0000

These “5 Key Points” articles are fantastic. So much written is just stating the obvious (ie who scored, who fowled, etc) or venting opinion (usually biased, mostly pointless and often without any justification or substance to back it). We certainly don’t need more of that!.
These articles really stand out as “professional sporting journalism” at its finest. They do a great job of analysing the game, explaining the rationale behind why what-is-being-done-on-the-pitch is being done, and giving evidence-backed reasons for why it is (isn’t) working, as well as solidly based opinion on future prospects for team and player(s).
I’ld love to have the same solid analytical treatment of the club’s player recruitment & development, especially linked in with analysis of the best formations and set ups, weakness to address, and strengths to exploit, particularly as the Jan window approaches.

By: nufc.net

nufc.net — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:17:13 +0000

Our closing down and marking in pairs worked really well. i hope we can do that a lot more, as it forced them into errors or long balls.