Marveaux Can Reignite Newcastle’s Dormant Goal-Machine

Papiss Cisse has cut a forlorn figure in the Newcastle attack this season and that is proven by his goal return of 9 in all competitions. However, one player that can bring Cisse to his best is Sylvain Marveaux.

Sylvain Marveaux, as things stand, is at the top of the assists charts at Newcastle having provided 6 of them in the premier league and 2 in the Europa League. Now that is an impressive statistic; what makes it even more impressive is the fact how little game time he has seen, which has been further reduced after the excellent January transfer window.

These statistics call for the player to be given increasing time on the pitch, in a position we believe would increase the efficiency of Newcastle’s No. 9 Papiss Cisse. In my eyes Marveaux’s patience-till-opportunity style of play can provide exactly the type of service on which Cisse can thrive. He can thread that killer, eye-of-the-needle passe that Cisse can pounce upon.

Sure, Newcastle have other creative players that can provide ammunition as well but they are different to Marveaux.

Yohan Cabaye has more recently been deployed as one of two deep lying midfielders focusing more so on the wide players than long-ball passes up to Cisse which have thus far failed; on occasions that he has tried to find him with some long balls, Cisse has been found wanting with his technique to make the most of it.

Moussa Sissoko on the other hand is more of a runner with the ball and even though he did find Cisse in his debut game at Aston Villa, his over all game is slightly different. 

I will go with the following formation from now on for all the games involving Newcastle United, whether it is in the premier league or in the Europa League. Evidently alterations need to be made depending on injuries, suspensions and eligibility but this is the general blueprint, that I believe would be most effective. 

Some of the fans have been critical of Marveaux defensive duties and have claimed that he is not a winger and as the formation shows he would be playing as one of the attacking three behind the sole striker. This would not require too many defensive duties to be performed and allows the player the freedom to express himself and as aforementioned can bring out the best in Cisse too.

Even though there may not be enough in terms of league places to play for, there is still a lot to play for. Sylvain Marveaux is one of those players who needs to prove his metal to Alan Pardew and, given the right environment, I firmly believe he can do so. In the process he can help Cisse rediscover some of his form and confidence and lay down a marker for the next season.