Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has come under fire for his tactical tinkering this season. Adam Bate assesses the validity of Pardew's explanations for his team's faltering form.
Monday 3 December 2012 08:38, UK
A look at the problems facing Alan Pardew as he struggles to accommodate his stars.
Everyone loves a strike partnership. Number 10s are one thing but the thought of two out-and-out strikers battering defences is irresistible. Just think of the maths. If you have two forwards each capable of scoring 30 goals a season then you'll be fine won't you? But it's clear the equation is not that simple. At Newcastle the fact that Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse are both from Senegal appeared to add its own lustre to the prospect of the pairing. But the statistics are emphatic. Demba Ba scored 15 in 19 before the arrival of his compatriot. After scoring in Cisse's debut game, Ba failed to find the net in the next 14 matches. When the goals did start flowing again for the former West Ham man, somebody turned the tap off at chez Cisse. The January signing from Freiburg scored 13 in first 12 games for the Magpies but managed just one fortunate goal in the next dozen. To an extent there is no mystery here. Ba was shifted out wide shortly after Cisse's arrival and could not be expected to produce the same goal return from his new position. "How could you put your best striker with full confidence on the left wing?" came the rhetoric from Alex Gontran, Ba's agent. "The choice to put Demba on the left last season was good for the club, because Cisse scored 13 goals. But there was a lack of recognition for Demba. It is more difficult to play well when you don't have the confidence of your staff." Ba's ego had been pricked but the rumoured summer exit did not emerge. And manager Alan Pardew appears to have hoped the break would somehow solve the riddle when the new season began in August. Under pressure to accommodate his star names, the perception is that Pardew's solution has been to switch to a 4-4-2 formation. Not that the manager himself sees it that way. "We have not changed the system," he told reporters. "Demba played many games defensively out there but then Demba would join him as a pair during the games. I don't think that's it. I think Cheick has had this disjointed season. Cabaye has a groin problem and that has meant he has not been at full capacity, so that's been a big thing behind Cisse. "Last year, we coped no problem with having two in midfield. We could play two strikers. Sometimes we asked one of the strikers to defend the full-back when the opposition had possession. We coped with three central midfielders with Cheick and Cabaye. And quite rightly because they are world-class players. This year though, the midfield is an area where we haven't controlled it." Perhaps mindful of Ba's discontent, Pardew has occasionally asked Cisse to drift to the right flank in much the same manner as his countryman was asked to occupy the left wing towards the end of last season. In the defeat to Manchester United in October, Cisse received the ball 19 times and only one of those occurrences was on the left side of the pitch - that was the kick-off. It has seldom been an authentic double act. As for the midfield issue, there is some evidence to support Pardew's praise of his key duo. Although different in style, Tiote and Cabaye were among the top 10 midfielders in the Premier League for tackles and interceptions last season. Whatever the nuances regarding the positioning of Hatem Ben Arfa and Ba, there is a persuasive case that the midfield pair were doing the defensive work of three players.Tackles/Interceptions (midfielders) - PL 2011/12 | ||
Player Name | Team | Number per game |
Lee Cattermole | Sunderland | 7.0 |
Scott Parker | Tottenham | 6.8 |
Alejandro Faurlin | QPR | 6.8 |
Yohan Cabaye | Newcastle | 6.0 |
Youssouf Mulumbu | WBA | 5.8 |
Stiliyan Petrov | Aston Villa | 5.8 |
Sandro | Tottenham | 5.6 |
Michael Carrick | Man Utd | 5.4 |
Cheick Tiote | Newcastle | 5.3 |
Joe Allen | Swansea | 5.2 |