Jack Colback (now a free agent)

[Mole_Toonfan]

If you look at Southamptons Davis, he lost the ball a fair bit but his passing is far more ambitious and in better areas. Wanyama lost it plenty and his passing was more cautious than Anita & Colback.

 

Yeah and i'd probably have Davis over Colback tbh, also Wanyama is shit at everything other than tackling so that doesn't surprise me.

[The College Dropout]

It's not about that and it never has been

 

Anita positions himself properly off the ball and makes himself away available for the pass constantly, Colback doesn't and slows down the build up where as Anita gets it to where it needs to go quickly instead dawdling on the ball like Colback does allowing the opposition to get into position.

 

Shock and horror as soon as Anita goes off we struggle to hold on to the ball for more than 5 passes, which has happened almost everytime he's been subbed off in his Newcastle career.

 

I have said before i don't want to see them both together, but there's more to it than where they pass the ball.

 

You're looking at that too simply. The primary reason for Southampton gaining control of the game is that our central defenders ran out of gas and started defending extremely deeply. Add in a Tiote who hasn't played at all, was totally off the pace and is Tiote (positionally awful, chasing shadows) and an ineffective NDJ and the pressure is on. It's more to do with the others being bad/tiring than any good work Anita did.

 

If Anita was always showing for the ball and Colback is always hiding - why do they always make a similar amount of total passes (given the time on the pitch)?

 

I don't want to see either of them together. But it's because neither are that good and they have similar weaknesses to their game. And I struggle to see either of them alongside Wijnaldum managing to protect the back four well. Although the sooner we try the better.

[mrmojorisin75]

aye him slowing things down by taking a touch, looking around, then passing it and standing still is a big issue....vurn has his issues but he can cover the ground faster and his entire game seems to be about moving the ball quickly and creating space to get the return

 

it's been said and will be said again but they just shouldn't both be in the team and anita has the better attributes for that specific role

[mrmojorisin75]

It's not about that and it never has been

 

Anita positions himself properly off the ball and makes himself away available for the pass constantly, Colback doesn't and slows down the build up where as Anita gets it to where it needs to go quickly instead dawdling on the ball like Colback does allowing the opposition to get into position.

 

Shock and horror as soon as Anita goes off we struggle to hold on to the ball for more than 5 passes, which has happened almost everytime he's been subbed off in his Newcastle career.

 

I have said before i don't want to see them both together, but there's more to it than where they pass the ball.

 

You're looking at that too simply. The primary reason for Southampton gaining control of the game is that our central defenders ran out of gas and started defending extremely deeply. Add in a Tiote who hasn't played at all, was totally off the pace and is Tiote (positionally awful, chasing shadows) and an ineffective NDJ and the pressure is on. It's more to do with the others being bad/tiring than any good work Anita did.

 

If Anita was always showing for the ball and Colback is always hiding - why do they always make a similar amount of total passes (given the time on the pitch)?

 

I don't want to see either of them together. But it's because neither are that good and they have similar weaknesses to their game. And I struggle to see either of them alongside Wijnaldum managing to protect the back four well. Although the sooner we try the better.

 

always, alway being contrary for the fucking sake of it

 

you're literally the only person on this board who doesn't acknowledge that anita going off changed things negatively for us, the other stuff was contributory of course, it all was, but losing the one guy who was pivotal in the way we were moving the ball was a disaster for us

[Mole_Toonfan]

It wasn't just Southampton game though, almost every time he's ever been taken off in his career we have lost any sort of control we may have had. It's because none of the other midfielders in the squad have a clue how to position themselves off the ball, Colback doesn't and Tiote certainly doesn't.

[Andymc1]

Lock the thread, TCD has spoken. #shuttler

 

[Jesse Pinkman]

He actually had one of the best games I've seen him play yesterday, can't remember any outlandish mistakes apart from his positioning before the situation where he had to pull someone back.

 

He reminds me of Nicky Butt plays it safe all game and does a couple of blocks and is seen as a MOTM.

 

Every time he gets the ball he does about 3 ball rolls maybe changes direction 3/4 times then passes it 10 yard sideways. He needs to be 2 steps further a head and know where to pass as he receives the ball.

[mrmojorisin75]

It wasn't just Southampton game though, almost every time he's ever been taken off in his career we have lost any sort of control we may have had. It's because none of the other midfielders in the squad have a clue how to position themselves off the ball. Colback doesn't and Tiote certainly doesn't

 

 

helps to see this stuff with your eyes i suppose

[Hanshithispantz]

"You're looking at it too simple"

 

You're wrong anyway TCD, the real reason Southampton got back into the game can be found within the following Euler's formula:

 

e^{ix}=\cos x+i\sin x

[triggs]

I wouldn't mind him passing it sideways at all if he did it a bit quicker

[The College Dropout]

He has some positional discipline. Yes. When he's subbed, it's usually for someone who doesn't possess that quality.

 

But his own game - yesterday was bang average. No better than Colback. When I watch him, I just don't think he gives enough to the team generally. Although the last couple league games he's started he's imposed himself more defensively.

[Lotus]

"You're looking at it too simple"

 

You're wrong anyway TCD, the real reason Southampton got back into the game can be found within the following Euler's formula:

 

e^{ix}=\cos x+i\sin x

 

Did you nick that from The Imitation Game?

[Mole_Toonfan]

It wasn't just Southampton game though, almost every time he's ever been taken off in his career we have lost any sort of control we may have had. It's because none of the other midfielders in the squad have a clue how to position themselves off the ball. Colback doesn't and Tiote certainly doesn't

 

 

helps to see this stuff with your eyes i suppose

 

Think the best way to describe it is you don't realise how important he is until he's no longer on the pitch, isn't the first time him being subbed off caused the entire structure of the team to go to shit and it certainly won't be the last.

[themanupstairs]

It's not about that and it never has been

 

Anita positions himself properly off the ball and makes himself away available for the pass constantly, Colback doesn't and slows down the build up where as Anita gets it to where it needs to go quickly instead dawdling on the ball like Colback does allowing the opposition to get into position.

 

Shock and horror as soon as Anita goes off we struggle to hold on to the ball for more than 5 passes, which has happened almost everytime he's been subbed off in his Newcastle career.

 

I have said before i don't want to see them both together, but there's more to it than where they pass the ball.

 

This. End of, really.

 

Also, from the stats TCD posted, Anita barely crosses the halfway line. Colback found himself in advanced positions a lot more often. How some still don't get the difference between the two when it comes to the sideways passing is beyond me. The heat maps illustrate it perfectly.

[KaKa]

Still waiting for an example of one forward pass from Colback.

 

Even McClaren was urging him to switch play late in the game when he kept passing it to the left side after it had become congested.

 

The guy doesn't use the ball with any intelligence at all. He's not thinking about what he's doing at all.

 

What a stupid comment. If he wasn't thinking about what he's doing, he'd gave the ball away all the time!

 

 

 

There's no way I am responding to this. You're ridiculous. 

[Hanshithispantz]

"You're looking at it too simple"

 

You're wrong anyway TCD, the real reason Southampton got back into the game can be found within the following Euler's formula:

 

e^{ix}=\cos x+i\sin x

 

Did you nick that from The Imitation Game?

I must have

 

Was in my head from somewhere when I decided I needed a nonsensical ending for my post.

[Mole_Toonfan]

He has some positional discipline. Yes. When he's subbed, it's usually for someone who doesn't possess that quality.

 

But his own game - yesterday was bang average. No better than Colback.

 

Never denied that, but that's not important. His role in helping the entire team to excel is much more important, even when he's not playing great individually we are much better off with him on the pitch then we are with him off it.

 

There are certain players who just by being on the pitch make those around them better irrelevant of his own performance and he's one of them.

 

 

[KaKa]

Just seen the maps.

 

Colback is in the opposition half far more, as he should be, and still passing backwards and sideways. Why?

 

On the rare occasions Anita is in the opposition half, he plays a higher percentage of passes forward.

[Marmoset]

If Colback had gone off injured for Tiote instead, we'd still have struggled in the same ways as when Anita went off.

[KaKa]

He actually had one of the best games I've seen him play yesterday, can't remember any outlandish mistakes apart from his positioning before the situation where he had to pull someone back.

 

He reminds me of Nicky Butt plays it safe all game and does a couple of blocks and is seen as a MOTM.

 

Every time he gets the ball he does about 3 ball rolls maybe changes direction 3/4 times then passes it 10 yard sideways. He needs to be 2 steps further a head and know where to pass as he receives the ball.

 

This post is as damning of the man as any. This form a supporter of his.

[mrmojorisin75]

Just seen the maps.

 

Colback is in the opposition half far more, as he should be, and still passing backwards and sideways. Why?

 

On the rare occasions Anita is in the opposition half, he plays a higher percentage of passes forward.

 

 

kudos to TCD for helping to settle this argument

[Hanshithispantz]

You didn't highlight the best part:

 

"He actually had one of the best games I've seen him play"

 

[Mole_Toonfan]

If Colback had gone off injured for Tiote instead, we'd still have struggled in the same ways as when Anita went off.

 

Not quite to the same extent but yes considering how shit Tiote is. It's more of a indictment of how this happens pretty much every time Anita is subbed than anything.

 

I can't remember one single game when he was subbed off and the team was still in control.

[Wallsendmag]

If Colback had gone off injured for Tiote instead, we'd still have struggled in the same ways as when Anita went off.

 

Not quite to the same extent but yes considering how s*** Tiote is. It's more of a indictment of how this happens pretty much every time Anita is subbed than anything.

 

I can't remember one single game when he was subbed off and the team was still in control.

 

Anita had had far more bad games for us than he has good and other than West Ham at the end of last season (his highlight as an NUFC player) I can't really remember us controlling many games, definitely not under Carver and very rarely under Pardew as we generally played on the back foot under him.

[Mole_Toonfan]

Well it always got worse put it that way.