Gottlob

I'd start Perez too. I've just had a quick check and 15 of our 19 points this season have come in games which he started. I know he was a regular until early November, but still for me he's one of the hardest working members of the team defensively, does an important job closing down the lines between the opposition defence and midfield, and for all his flaws and despite his weakness on the ball he is one of the few players we possess who can take up intelligent attacking positions and has the nous to link the play.

I think the majority of Newcastle fans appreciate that Rafa was stymied by Ashley in the summer, and like and respect Rafa and realise the likely alternatives would be so much worse. But I also think it's hard to argue he's been getting the best out of what he has over the last couple of months. We know that he didn't get the money needed in the summer, and that he was misled to some extent over the budget while the other promoted clubs Brighton and Huddersfield were able to invest. On the other hand our recent history in the Premier League gave us a wage bill £30 million in excess of those clubs last season, while the sales of assets like Sissoko and Wijnaldum among others have allowed Rafa to spend almost £100 million gross, even while making a net profit for us in the transfer market. That's more money to spend on players than Brighton, Huddersfield, and even Premier League clubs like Burnley, Bournemouth, West Brom, and Stoke, and as woeful as our squad undoubtedly is, I don't think it's far and away the worst squad in the league. Half of the first team squad is made up of players Rafa signed. Like others, I'm surprised that Rafa has moved away from his trusty 4-2-3-1, which seems especially unlike him because it's obviously providing us with less cover, less possession, and less control without reliably boosting our goalscoring. Our defence usually does look more organised than it did under Rafa's predecessors, and that structure extends to the attack, but we're as poor as ever when it comes to possession and movement through the midfield and in the final third of the pitch. Players like Mbemba, Mitrovic, Aarons, even Murphy have probably been underutilised. And I don't think you can always affirm the effort of the players, because against Manchester United, Watford, and even yesterday for instance, the players' heads have dropped or they haven't looked fully committed. I don't doubt the players' fondness or respect for Rafa, but the approach probably isn't hugely motivating when you're not grinding out the results. I also think that Rafa plays politics too readily without being particularly good at it or having anywhere to go, and that the takeover has negatively affected our season. I'd like to see us back to a 4-2-3-1 with Perez in the hole behind the striker, Atsu and Murphy starting on the wings, and for me the priorities in January should be a striker and a central midfielder, because at the moment - with Saivet something of a wild card - we don't seem able to muster a competent pairing in the centre of the pitch. A functioning left-back and an improvement or at least competition for Perez would be next on the list. I also think Mbemba warrants a run in the centre of defence at some point, though we seem to have regained our composure at the back since Lascelles returned from injury.

One way or another the Luiz, Hamsik, Sturridge, and Slimani deals appear to be happening, and it wouldn't surprise me at all, wonderful man that he is, if Rafa managed to revive moves for Loftus-Cheek, Townsend, and Abraham, despite a couple of them being mid-way through loans. With all of that pretty much done and dusted, it gives Rafa the whole of January to look for a keeper, that'll be his focus, and whoever he gets will be a damn sight better than what we had and I'll be grateful for it. The problem is that at left back that still leaves the horrendous Javier Manquillo and the barely fit and none too appetising Paul Dummett.

Granted we had a run of opportune fixtures, but the statistics show 3 wins out of 5 when Shelvey was out or coming back from suspension, and 1 win out of 8 in those games he has started. I do think we relinquish the midfield too often when he is playing. He doesn't press or cover properly, and I think his creativity is overstated: his long passing game is excellent, but how often does he create clear chances, and how often do even his good balls get cut out or lead only to crosses which are also relatively easy to defend against? He doesn't have the pace or footwork to influence the game in the final third, it always has to be from a deep position, and that's a huge limitation no matter how many runners he has around him.

We're still in a decent position in the league, so today's poor performance and result shouldn't cause us to wail or panic, but however much we're lacking firepower up front our problems and deficiencies extend throughout the team. The wide players are mediocre at best. Manquillo isn't good defensively but just like Dummett before him, he's showing that full backs with technique and a capacity to attack are a necessity rather than a luxury. And without Merino, we're getting nothing from the centre of midfield, no pace or ball retention or penetration in the final third, a lack of sharp short passing, and thanks to Shelvey little defensive cover. We know that our squad isn't great, but I do think we should be reintegrating or making better use of the likes of Mbemba, Aarons, and Mitrovic.

We've scored ten goals this season, and Perez has been involved in at least four of them: he helped Ritchie win the ball back before Joselu's opener against West Ham, and played a lovely flicked pass to assist Mitrovic for our third, then he was tenacious down the left in the build-up to Hayden's goal against Southampton before scoring the second. Three of our other goals have come from corners, and I think it was against Swansea that Perez made a basic but still fairly useful run off the front post before Lascelles' header. He goes to ground far too easily and loses the ball too often, and his final ball is too often poor: he seems to be hitting most of his shots and crosses low and first time, and he's scuffing them and there's little subtlety. His control is inconsistent. But he's still the only player both tasked with and capable of receiving the ball in tight spaces, he's the only one who does look for quick flicks and one-twos, and when they come off he is willing to surge with the ball into space. Generally I think even in an attacking sense he's involved in most of our best stuff from open play, while he's surely doing everything Rafa asks of him closing down the lines defensively. He's also playing in the most difficult role in our side. Our central midfielders sit very deep, and the wide players stick to their flanks and have plenty of defensive responsibilities, so it's not like he has options when he does receive the ball or receives much support in that crucial role really between the centre circle and the opposition penalty area. For me he's still a useful member of the squad, who is receiving a bit of excessive criticism as the fall guy for our attacking deficiencies and because in that position, we have no other viable option.

Excellent play by Perez only for Shelvey to boot the ball away as usual.

All summer I've wanted someone with similar characteristics to Gayle, who could serve as a like-for-like replacement and compete for that starting spot. One game against West Ham hasn't convinced me that we won't spend much of the season sitting deep and hitting balls over the top: whether in the vicinity of Gayle our out wide, it was the thrust of our attacks last season, and it requires someone with pace who can stretch the opposition defence. Do we have the attacking midfielders to score goals behind a less clinical target man? As superbly as Joselu played on Saturday, even in that game he didn't look like a finisher, just in time for our first but looking least sharp in front of goal. Without an immediate replacement, selling Gayle would leave us without a goalscorer and reliant on a very different style of play.

Perez for all the criticism had a hand in two of our goals, helping Ritchie win the ball for the first and providing the assist for the third. He also forced a good save out of Hart in the first seconds of the second half, and I thought worked his way into the game. Joselu and Merino really impressed and with their movement and ball retention, made our attack look more fluid than it has in years, admittedly against a very poor West Ham. Hayden and Merino have surely played themselves into starting slots, and Mbemba's made a strong case for his inclusion somewhere in the team. A really good performance all round.

'He passes and he passes, He passes and he passes, He loves Jonjo Shelvey He's wor Jonjo Shelvey Du dududu *click click*'

It's not the formation so much as the way we play it, with the wide attackers fairly fixed and having to get through plenty of defensive work, while of the central midfielders only Hayden is capable of carrying the ball forward - and even then, it's a bit hit and miss as to whether he does that or simply sits deep splaying passes. We're not very good at keeping the ball, moving off the ball, or bringing the number 10 into play.

I've heard that to secure his signing we're going to have to nick his papa Vasily too.

I like De Jong because my impression is that he's good technically and a quick thinker in the final third, but I struggle to see how he fits in our system. I still think the number 10 role was a really difficult one to fill last season, with the central midfielders tending to sit deep, and so many balls going long either out wide or over the top for Gayle to chase. How does De Jong contribute to that process? Diame was often preferred as a sort of battering ram, to chase and battle for loose balls, and Perez is at least mobile.

If Chelsea are after Gayle we could do worse than use the money to sign Batshuayi and Ross Barkley.

I'm sure that some of it - my guess is a lot of it - rests on his shared name and the extent to which his languid style resembles Shola's, but I think there's a huge discrepancy between the quality of Sammy's performances for us and his reputation as a comic no-hoper, a bit of light relief if only he wasn't such a catastrophic parasite. He's no world beater obviously, he's always struggled with his stamina when asked to play ninety minutes, and he's seemed disinterested and struggled to fit in whenever we've sent him out on loan. But I thought in the one season he featured regularly for us he didn't look entirely out of place as a Premier League player. He was certainly no worse than our other admittedly poor wide options in Gouffran and Cabella, he tended to stick to his position, showing a decent relationship with Dummett and never shirking the need to help cover for the full-back, and I think he has talent in the final third, capable of whipping in a dangerous cross, able to go past people even if its in a fumbling fashion and despite his lack of quickness, and with a lot of patience on the ball and the ability to find a through-pass. McClaren came in and his inclination was to toss the youngsters: Abeid was sold, Sammy loaned, and although they were the only performers in the pre-season, Perez and Aarons started the season on the bench. I don't think Sammy deserved to lose his place in the squad then, and I think this season he could have really contributed in the Championship. He's looked good to me, confident, composed, even classy, in his precious few substitute appearances, including for a few minutes last night. Tall too, which shouldn't hurt.

Last season wasn't a fluke, but Ranieri and the players managed to get the most out of limited resources. I think only Kante and Mahrez looked like exceptional footballers, but Leicester found a counter attacking style that helped protect their slow defenders, and Vardy was hitting everything first time and routinely finding the net. This season they had nothing to play for in the league, and plenty of distractions in the form of the Champions League and the inevitable criticism and speculation once their league performances faltered. It is one thing to feel that you're part of a project, that you're striving to improve or that scrapping against relegation will constitute a successful season. But when you've so clearly peaked it must be hard to find motivation, and when you're unable to replicate last season's form you'll start questioning yourself and your teammates and your manager. I don't think Ranieri bought well in the summer. Slimani was almost too rational, a strong, all-round forward who hasn't suited their style of play, although that has dissipated through formation changes and now that teams sit back and allow them more possession. They certainly needed some younger, quicker defenders. But Leicester could have scraped survival last season and it might well have been regarded as a relative success, and their position this season would then have been met with little hysteria. Last season was simply exceptional. And Ranieri's sacking is a real shame for football, because it seems to reassert messages like 'Be careful what you wish for', 'Don't get ideas above your station', 'Europe is a distraction', etc., all those perspectives which rob fans of hope and excitement and which provide a fertile ground for managers like Allardyce and Pardew.

There's no questioning Benitez's diligence, experience, ambition, or integrity but there are plenty of things to criticise him for so far this season. Our summer transfer window was impressive for the extent of our business rather than for its quality, and though some have argued he successfully purchased a strong squad of players, for the most part he has been reluctant to use those on the fringe either to give key players a rest or to shake things up. As it stands we recycle the ball a lot around the defence, but tonight for instance only ever utilised three players, with the ball always ending up at Yedlin's feet because either as a strategy or through force of habit we rarely want to involve Dummett. Ritchie is too busy preempting a long diagonal from Shelvey to offer support, and Shelvey and Hayden aren't mobile enough in the centre of the midfield. When the ball does reach Shelvey he serves as our only method of attack. He either hits one of the wide players, who preferably have already reached the byline, or he places a pinpoint pass onto the foot of the striker. Otherwise we offer very little: we don't retain possession well in the final third, we lack pace and dribbling, the movement off the ball is poor, our crosses tend to be overhit or swing in to the keeper. So in short we are too reliant on Shelvey even when he is playing, and in that sense it sometimes feels like he's as much of a curse as a blessing, especially given his temper. Ritchie too is always in a radge about something, and as two of our most experienced and high profile players, I don't think they're always bringing out the best in those around them. I don't know whether the solution is a change of formation. Personally I think the 4-2-3-1 does suit our personnel, but there's no reason why we can't be more flexible. We looked better tonight when Ameobi came on for Murphy. Gouffran and Perez stretched the opposition defence, while Ameobi added width, dribbling, and a bit of composure: his languid style earns him plenty of criticism, but he is patient on the ball and can find a pass. I think he has to be a real option for the rest of the season. I'd also question who plays at left back, and whether the likes of Anita and Mbemba are worth a go in the middle. That focuses on the attacking side, ignoring the fact that even up against some abject forwards, we are conceding goals and far too many chances. And whatever happened over the transfer window, our failure to spend hasn't just left a flawed squad and robbed us of the chance to bed players in before next season - it has cast a pallor over an already tense campaign.

Perez is having a poor season, and I agree with those who suggest he looked best for us a few seasons ago playing up top. It's such a strange one because when he arrived, it was remarkable how someone so slight and without exceptional pace was able to go up against opposition defenders and consistently come away with the ball - he was determined, but he also showed good feet, and while he's always played too much with his head down he still seemed to have a decent awareness for his teammates. So I'm not sure it's so much a physical thing as a lack of interest and a lack of confidence stemming from a long run of poor form. His performances so far this season don't warrant a place in our first eleven when everyone is available, but our style of play also isn't conducive to bringing out his best, because with Shelvey we rely on long passes out to the wings or over the top, and without Shelvey we have no midfield, so either way the number 10 is bypassed. And at least for the next few games with Shelvey out and Diame away, Anita and Hayden with Perez in front seems like the obvious choice.

He put in some promising performances earlier in the season, but I think he's on a poor run. His inclination seems to be to drop deep and pick up the ball from the centre backs, but even when Shelvey's playing we are desperate for a more progressive midfielder, who can carry the ball and play short passes higher up the pitch. Perhaps Rafa's system comes into it too, and Hayden can sometimes look less comfortable in more attacking areas, but I think he's much more effective when he does push further forward. As it is he's hitting far too many long passes, and his all-round game has become sloppy. He's certainly someone to persist with in the long term, but I'd have gone with Diame and Anita in the middle yesterday, and if they're generally needed elsewhere a new central midfielder is a must.

We don't have a style of play. We've been heavily reliant this season on Shelvey putting the ball into dangerous areas, and Gayle making the most of the chances while conjuring some of his own through good movement and hard work. Otherwise what are we good at? Our pressing is okay, but we lack the sort of pace and athleticism which would allow us to press with intensity and capitalise consistently on defensive mistakes. We don't have anybody particularly adept at crossing the ball. Counter-attacking in this league isn't really an option. Our movement off the ball is poor. There's nobody in the squad capable of changing games via stunning strikes or mazy dribbles. And through the midfield we often struggle to retain possession, never mind building pressure through a sharp and and proactive short passing game. Mitrovic adds presence up top, but again we don't have the players to provide him consistent service, and it seems to me that especially after the Blackburn game, he lacks Rafa's trust. Otherwise I think the best short-term solution - in Shelvey's absence and without a big signing at the start of January - is Anita alongside Hayden in the middle, and Yedlin at right back. It gives us more pace out wide, and while Anita isn't creative, his short passing is sharp and accurate and can encourage us to build moves rather than lofting it forward and hoping for the best. I wonder though whether - despite valuing his diligence - Rafa insists on someone with more physical presence in the midfield. It's surely also worth trying Lazaar or Haidara instead of Dummett.

After going down it was always likely that we'd end up with a weaker first eleven. But in all we got good value for the players we sold, we now have a deeper, more balanced, and more competitive squad, and I think we have the players who should win us promotion, so in that sense it is job done plus a sizeable profit. I do think the window has been good rather than great however. We don't know what goes on behind the scenes, and it seems churlish to suggest it would have been nice to know about the players we failed to sign simply for the sake of the knowledge we were at least trying. But in the last promotion campaign, we relied on a body of players who had been more or less awful for us in the previous season, yet could still boast established careers in Europe's top leagues - players like Coloccini, Gutierrez, Enrique, Nolan, Lovenkrands, even Harper and Taylor. Then we were boosted by the emergence of Carroll and Guthrie, made a key signing in Routledge mid-way through the season, and bolstered the squad with a few loans. It feels like we have fewer established players this time round, and have focused more on Championship experience, which I don't think is always the best way to go about getting out of the division. The players we have kept, like Mitrovic, Perez, Mbemba, and especially Lascelles, still have a lot to prove. Ritchie looks like a fantastic signing, Hayden seems really promising and can provide a base for us in the midfield, and Diame and Gayle should be effective in this league. Without knowing enough about the two players, I'm excited by the addition of pace at full-back. With Shelvey and Colback still around I think it's a stretch to suggest we've got rid of all the dead wood or bad characters. And I'd have done without at least one of Clark, Hanley, and Gamez, plus Murphy, and given an opportunity to our own youngsters in Mbabu and Armstrong. There's a sense that we should have gone for a big attacking signing, but I think we've got just about enough given that we'll likely play with one striker, use Diame solely as an attacker, and consider Perez a potential wide option.

If we're not willing to give Armstrong a proper chance this season it's hard to see us ever giving him an opportunity should we return to the Premier League. What would it take? A record number of goals on loan somewhere in the Championship? A sudden growth spurt and a junkie's appetite for weights? There will always be an excuse, a reason to take a safety-first approach by signing someone more proven. Loan spells are often poor judges, and given that Armstrong made the best of his experience last year - and that we're the overwhelming favourites now only one league further up - he deserves a chance in a settled environment and should be shown a little faith.

At the moment Anita is pretty much our best player and should be the first name on the teamsheet given his ability and consistently high level of effort. He's intelligent and diligent and Rafa seems to trust him. Shelvey's supposed creativity is woefully limited. He can hit a well-weighted long pass if somebody has already made the right run. But he does nothing through clever movement or sharp and consistent short passing to conjure opportunities. And in that sense he's completely different to someone like Guthrie who had an excellent short passing game, and twisted and turned through the midfield despite his lack of physical qualities. Guthrie also played very well for us in the season we finished fifth. Perhaps we could look for that one creative midfielder who will be able to switch defense swiftly into attack and conjure goals out of very little. Otherwise we need a coherent system that allows all of our front players a bit of space and time on the ball. Part of that for me lies in us having at least one attacking full-back. I like Dummett and think he should have a part to play this season, but as competition at centre-back. I certainly don't like the idea of him at left-back and Gamez at right-back. The wide midfielders need some support.

I was the right age for it, nine years old when he signed, but I'm sure Ginola will always be my favourite player and his goal against Ferencváros my favourite goal: three different techniques, pushing the ball into the air with his knee, allowing it to drop before delicately lifting it with his right foot, then hammering a volley with his left, but all so seamless and instinctive. Beardsley and Ben Arfa could be surrounded and still beat their men, but nobody managed it as elegantly as Ginola. And as Odin says, I'm not sure I've seen anyone play as regularly or as effectively a long cross-field pass.

Shelvey's sole talent is the ability, given plenty of time and space, to spot and then hit crisply and accurately a long pass. It's a considerable talent, and we don't have anyone else in the squad who is similarly capable, but it's barely enough to make a footballer never mind a team. His short passing in the midfield is sloppy because, as with everything he does, it is compromised by slow thought and slow feet. His long range shooting is nothing special, and he doesn't have the legs to get into good attacking positions - in the last couple of seasons, having played the same number of games, Jack Colback has scored more goals than him. Defensively he doesn't have a clue and puts in zero effort, but infuriatingly points at others telling them to do what he won't. For me he's our worst central midfielder by some margin, an absolute drain in terms of his attitude, and comparisons to Danny Guthrie's success in our last Championship season miss the mark because their games couldn't be more opposed, Guthrie's all about recycling the ball and proactive short passes, Shelvey's about halting the play and hoping a long punt pays off. His appointment as captain was McClaren shamefully clutching at straws, Swansea restructured but never looked back after he left, and of all the inept, disinterested, and underperforming players in our squad this season, Shelvey and Taylor were the only two Benitez dropped.