http://www.thehardtackle.com/2012/newcastle-united-in-need-of-new-tactical-outlook-following-poor-run-of-form/
Newcastle United In Need Of New Tactical Outlook Following Poor Run Of Form
By Paul Holland on December 22, 2012
One of the surprises of the season so far has been Newcastle’s failure to build on the promising foundations they laid down last term and their lowly league position makes this weekend’s encounter with QPR feel like something of an unlikely early season six pointer.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew rightly won last year’s manager of the season award largely due to the dynamism, mobility and tenacity inherent in his fluctuating 4-4-2/4-3-3 formation and it’s those exact qualities that seem to be missing this season. Their two centre forwards, Ba and Cisse, seem to spend much more time languidly hanging on the shoulder of the opposition centre half waiting for the goal scoring opportunity, rather than dropping deep to add mobility and help set the tempo.
The football Newcastle played last year was never necessarily the most attractive, but it was certainly effective. It involved a lot of long ball type ‘percentage football’, followed by pressing the ball hard up front, and getting as many men into the forward line as possible – particularly at home. It wasn’t necessarily a tactical masterstroke but it exploited the basic cut and thrust nature of the Premier League, at a time when Pardew’s managerial rivals were swarming towards controlled possession football and numbers in midfield.
Pardew’s determination to play with 2 and 3 up front had become distinctly unfashionable in the sense that it went against the modern ethos of packing out the centre of the park behind a lone forward, in the manner of a 4-2-3-1. It had seemed that old fashioned 4-4-2 type formations would leave the central midfield pair badly exposed; a weakness mitigated at Newcastle by the sheer tenacity of Cabaye and Tiote.
In the Premier League the ball is constantly in transition with relentless turnovers between attack and defence and Pardew built his philosophy around this idea; seeming to acknowledge that the English game is still something of a pitched battle. Last season, his team brimmed with enthusiasm when hunting down the second ball and chasing back after the opposition secured the turnover – Newcastle are much less energetic this term.
Hatem Ben Arfa is the one exception. He has become the driving force behind Newcastle’s current campaign and at times Newcastle have looked like a one man team. Indeed some might say that for too long this season Newcastle have become the Hatem Ben Arfa show, with the ball being predictably forced out to the mercurial Frenchman at every opportunity. Instead of his team mates purposefully milling round him and getting into dangerous positions they tend to go static waiting for him to change the game single handed.
The formational ‘fluidity’ that Pardew often talks about in the press has gone and this leaves Newcastle in the perilous position of having a couple of players lying dormant up-front and out of the game.
Pardew is now faced with a choice of whether to persevere with his 4-4-2/4-3-3 variations, or to sacrifice the energy and numbers up front for a more controlled passing game based around the midfield. Pardew seems to have the personnel for a more methodical passing game, especially with the emergence of impressive young midfielder Gael Bigirimana, combined with flashes of form from Sylvain Marveaux, and the slow emergence of recent acquisition Vurnon Anita – but the Newcastle manager still seems stubbornly reluctant to drop the misfiring Papiss Cisse.
Playing a formation akin to a 4-5-1 would be new territory for Pardew at Newcastle and it would demand a total paradigm shift away from his current philosophy. Pardew would no longer be feeding off the ‘blood and thunder’ nature of the Premier League and would have to instruct his players to build from the back; Newcastle currently play the most long balls in the division emphasising why this is such a big ask.
Newcastle’s upcoming fixtures could be the time for Pardew to prove to his critics that he has other dimensions to his managerial outlook. Newcastle have an unfeasibly tough Christmas programme which could well leave them lingering around the drop zone by New Year; fleshing out their midfield could be a way of reaping a few vital away points. If Ba leaves in the transfer window – as many expect – Newcastle may be wise to sign another decent central midfielder to beef out the centre of the park and trade off Ben Arfa.
Another option, if Ba stays, is for Newcastle to stick with their preferred 4-3-3/4-4-2 format and take a harder line with Ba and Cisse, who would be asked to perform similar duties to last season where they reluctantly but effectively (especially Ba), dropped back onto the left of midfield, giving Newcastle a far more fluid 4-3-3. Then, the front line was perfectly mobile in the sense that they’d take turns at tracking back and filling in; even Cisse could often be found tracking enthusiastically back into full-back positions. Conversely, Newcastle’s timid 4-3-3 this season is merely about how often Ben Arfa can cut in and join the attack from the wide right position.
Ba is Newcastle’s major source of goals but he and Cisse struggle to play in a rigid two, which has led to a seemingly irreconcilable impasse due to Pardew’s reliance on the direct game and domination of the second ball which demands bodies up front. Pardew needs to take a bold step in where he takes Newcastle next and naturally seems to take offence when people suggest he may be one dimensional in his tactical approach. He recently told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle: “Last year we did not have the problems with injuries and we were playing all sorts of systems and winning, nobody seemed to notice then”.
Fans with a keener eye will have registered that Newcastle have indeed played with a variety of formations this year including 4-2-3-1/4-4-2/4-3-3 and even spells of 3 at the back; but what certainly hasn’t changed is the style in which Newcastle have played, always consistently resorting to the direct route and playing their two out-and-out forwards whenever possible.
With all that said this weekend’s Newcastle v QPR game may not be the place to experiment. Newcastle should win this fixture building on the glimpses of form they exhibited against Man City; stick to what you know could be the best policy there – but their frailties may still be evident in the following fixtures against Man United, Arsenal and Everton and a more robust midfield strategy may be necessary. When Ben Arfa returns from injury Pardew may be best advised to drop Cisse and retain the services of Anita in those deep lying inside right positions where he’s beginning to find a home. Ben Arfa could then be asked to take a central role in Cabaye’s absence, at the head of the midfield.
Pardew recently signed an 8 year deal at the club but there is still a broad section of support that worries about the fact he has never really exhibited any kind of truly genuine tactical flexibility. Pardew’s management of Newcastle last year was brilliantly pragmatic and thoroughly modern in blending technical ability with relentless tenacity in key areas. He seemed to have pioneered a brand of football which epitomised a modern English style; but now the bubble may have burst and it may be the time to show that Newcastle can switch to a more conventional outlook with more players in the centre of the park and alternating the two forwards.
