With the first 2 months of the Premier League season now over, Newcastle United are undoubtedly the surprise package of the campaign thus far, sitting 4th having gone unbeaten in their opening 6 matches.
Many feared for the club following the departures of Andy Carroll in January and former captain Kevin Nolan in the summer, but resolute defending has led the club to their current standing, despite an apparent lack of firepower throughout the squad.
Having conceded just 3 goals to this point, Alan Pardew's side have the best defensive record in the league, helped in no small part to a strong spine to the side. Newcastle's success thus far could be down to the fact that they soak up pressure and avoid getting exposed at the back. Just 22% of their play comes in the opponents half, which is a figure that only places them above Swansea in the league, despite their high position thus far.
After Demba Ba netted a hat-trick last weekend his manager will be desperate to see the summer signing kick on if the club are to maintain their status in the top half, but the sides eventual problem may be a lack of contribution to goals anywhere else on the pitch. Only the aforementioned Ba and strike partner Leon Best have netted for the Magpies in open play this season and the duo are two of just 3 players to lay on any assists for teammates - the other being tireless midfielder Cheik Tiote.
Key Player – Yohan Cabaye
The Ivorian's central midfield partner Yohan Cabaye has proven to be Pardew's best piece of business this summer and is likely to be crucial to the team's success with Joey Barton now also having left St. James' Park. 45% of Newcastle's play has been in the central third of the pitch - a figure only trumped by passing masters Man City, Arsenal, Spurs and Swansea - proving their willingness to keep the ball in the middle.
Cabaye has been key to this improvement with an 82% pass success rate from an average of 44 passes per game. He has supplied 2.3 key passes per game, more than any teammate, and is desperately unlucky not to have a single assist to his name, also completing another team high of 2.2 crosses per match, due mainly to the Frenchman's set piece responsibilities. Cabaye also leads the way, spectacularly, for tackles per game with 4.5 ahead of Tiote's 3.7 - proof that their workmanlike displays have been key to Newcastle's defensive success.
Problem Areas
It should be noted that centre-backs Coloccini and Steven Taylor have been superb to date, but Newcastle are lacking creativity in wide areas, with mainstays Jonas Gutierrez and Gabriel Obertan yet to sufficiently impress. Despite having striker's with a real aerial threat to aim for, Gutierrez and Obertan have failed to pick up a single assist between them, with Obertan laying on 9 key passes over the season to Gutierrez's 5. The new signing has also completed 9 dribbles to Gutierrez's 7 but the standout figure lays in the duo's crossing.
Just 1 successful cross between the pair has seen them fail to pick out a striker time and again, preferring to run at defenders and cut inside which doesn't play to the strengths of their front men. In contrast the respective full-backs - Taylor and Simpson - have delivered a total of 14 successful crosses between them.
Right-sided Weakness
While the Toon have attacked down Gabriel Obertan's right more than any other area (38%), unbelievably they have mustered just 1 of a total of 60 shots at goal (excluding blocked shots) from that flank. A massive 75% of Newcastle's efforts have come from central areas, with Best and Ba the main culprits, while 14 shots have been fired in from Gutierrez's left.
The right side of Newcastle's team, backed up by Danny Simpson, has also conceded far more shots than the opposite flank. Obertan's tendency to drift infield, and lesser effort when it comes to defending when compared to Gutierrez, could be attributed to his side's total of conceding 21% of shots from opponents from the right. Though this doesn't sound much it is the 3rd highest percentage of shots from this flank of any team in the league. In contrast, Pardew's left flank concedes just 11% of the shots from opponents, which is the 3rd least in the division.
Newcastle vs Blackburn Winger Analysis
A look at Newcastle's game against Blackburn (above) last time out shows just how little threat they carried on the right, despite most of their attacks (42%) coming from this side. Obertan's (25) average positioning during the game shows just how exposed he leaves Danny Simpson (5).
Simpson's tendency to attack from right full-back also sees him occupy a position just past the halfway line and ahead of opposite full-back Ryan Taylor (16). A look at Jonas Guiterrez's (18) shows that he and Taylor run a tighter ship on the left, with the Argentine way back on Obertan's forward thinking position, with the former United man further forward than the weekend's strike partnership.
Newcastle Balance vs Arsenal
With Joey Barton in the side against Arsenal in the season opene, Newcastle were far more balanced in their line-up than with Obertan on the right. A look at the playing positions from last month's tie (above) shows Barton's (7) position in line with Gutierrez on the left was key to ensuring an excellent clean sheet and point against the Gunners. Simpson and Taylor were both well balanced at full-back, keeping a solid defensive line back in August.
However, a similar trend appears when looking at their shot directions, with none of their 6 efforts in the match coming from the right. The attack sides for the game show that Newcastle looked to use all areas of the field equally in Barton's presence, with the controversial midfielder's role, cutting inside when defending, allowing Yohan Cabaye more freedom, which could be important in the Toon's upcoming matches.
While many will say 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', or in this case analyse it, when Newcastle face tougher opposition than they have to date, especially when playing teams with good left wingers, they could become stretched on that right flank. Next up for Pardew is Wolves, with left-winger Matt Jarvis, followed by the hosting of Gareth Bale and co. as Spurs make the trip North!
