Five Things We Learnt: NUFC 4-2 Southampton

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Harry Savill (Editor) in Top 5s // 3 Comments

After a fantastic win in Europa on Thursday, Newcastle United were able to keep up the momentum in a 4-2 win at home to Southampton. Despite Southampton taking the lead early on, the team were able to rally round and pull back four goals in superb fashion. Here, we take a look at the five things we can take away from the game:

1. Defence still needs to improve

Firstly we need to sort ourselves out defensively; we gave Lallana far too much room & Southampton got too much of the ball on Santon’s side. Santon is a top footballer but he must be pushed forward as a winger, as we argued earlier this week.

2. Elliot is a decent 2nd keeper

2. Robbie Elliott had a really tough start conceding after just 3 mins. But he recovered extremely well; he made a wonderful save from Rickie Lambert’s free kick on the hour. His kicking gives a lot to be desired but his overall game was excellent.

3. Moussa Sissoko

This bloke seems to get better & better every game. Every time he has the ball in the final 3rd, I think we have a chance of scoring! He is the type of player we have been craving out for years. He is to Newcastle what Frank Lampard is to Chelsea – we just hope he’ll be staying at the end of the season!

4. Cheik Tiote, back to his brilliant best

Cheik Tiote was my Man of the Match today. I thought he was outstanding; he was a tyrant in midfield. A fantastic block on the edge of the box prevented what would have been a wonderful goal. Furthermore, his haircut was brilliant. The commitment he displayed was reminiscent of his early years at the club. His recent performances have not really been up to scratch, and several questions have been raised regarding his place in the starting XI. But when he puts in a performance like he did on Sunday, he is an invaluable asset

5. Is Cisse’s confidence back after wonder strike?

What an unbelievable goal Papiss Cisse scored today. We have to hope the Cisse of last season is back. An amazing strike that gave us a 2-1 lead. It seems Papiss is so much better when he doesn’t need to think about it and instinctively kicks he ball. Is Papiss back? I for one very much hope so!

By Paul Milloy (@Milloy11)

Cisse’s cracker the highlight as Newcastle beat Southampton 4-2 (101greatgoals.com)

Craig // February 25, 2013 at 10:12 am // Reply

Tiote seems to boss the midfield as he has done before i think its more to do with the arrival of Sissoko him and Cabaye are playing a bit further forward and tiote is just sititng back and doing what he does best.

Santon is not a left back, he can do a job there but positionally you can tell hes not a natural, Play him maybe more advanced but who does he replace?

Harry Savill (Editor) // February 25, 2013 at 10:19 am // Reply

I very much agree with you, Craig.

Regarding Santon, there are several convincing alternatives. In the 4-2-3-1 formation that we’re currently using, Gutierrez doesn’t really seem to warrant a place in any of the five midfield positions. I would love to see him perhaps in a more attacking role, such as left wing, or even right (he is right footed!)

If we were to remove Gutierrez from the midfield five, and have Tiote and Cabaye in a central midfield role, tiote being the more defensive of the two. And then have Santon out on the left, sissoko in the middle, gouffran out right, and then Cisse up front. And then of course, Hatem ben Arfa will be returning soonish. Really starting to look like a strong squad, opposed to a paper-thin team with gaping holes.

We did an article on it: https://thespectatorsview.com/2013/02/22/can-we-utilize-davide-santon-in-a-better-way/