When Ben Arfa and Tiote went off, I was expecting bad things to happen, and it did.
Why were they taken off? Ben Arfa was quiet, yes, but wasn't Nolan more? All he did was score a pen, then went off to his usual laziness! Ben Arfa should have slotted there, Jonas to the wing, and we have a lively and decent team.
And Tiote? He was the most dynamic of our midfield by a mile in both attacking and defending! Take him off, and you have a Newcastle defense prone to throws and set pieces. We couldn't clear the ball, conceded many throws and corners and free icks, from which Stoke scored. And taking him out also hampered our supply to the strikers.
And Perch? Ryan Taylor over him anyday. With no games up in the midweek, this is our chance to slot him in.
Terrible decisions by CH.
Jonas-Barton-Tiote-Ben Arfa
Ameobi-Carroll
or
Routledge-Barton-Tiote-Jonas
Ben Arfa
Carroll
