The final whistle has been blown on the eason and, as is the case for every club, it's time to reflect on what the hell happened.
For Newcastle, it's time for the club as a whole to learn the lessons of a perplexing campaign, and what to do with it.
It does feel bizarre that a year ago, while Roberto Mancini's Man City were doing the best to mess up their Premier League title before nabbing a winner in such circumstances, we were having a lazy kick-out at Everton which could have been more meaningful if Spurs and Arsenal had both lost.
We entered the last game of last season knowing if we won, Spurs lost to Fulham and Arsenal lost at West Brom that we would have taken 3rd and a spot in the Champions League.
Nevertheless, 5th place and a place in the Europa League was a brilliant achievement. So, presumably back in summer 2012 we would have strengthened and made a push to try and either keep a spot at the top of the Premier League or give a crack at winning the Europa League, or hell even both.
Sadly, in summer 2012, we didn't.
In fact the squad was arguably weaker, with Leon Best, Peter Lovenkrands and Danny Guthrie - all first team squad players - allowed out the door.
The only two summer signings to make the first team were £6.7M Dutchman Vurnon Anita and £1M youngster Gael Bigirimana. At the time it was seen as good we'd held onto all the key men from the 2011/12 campaign, and to be fair it would have been a lot harder without them, but some players - most notably a pair of extra defenders - were still needed.
They have played a similar quantity of games, but it is most baffling Anita has struggled to get a game despite at times looking better than his more esteemed colleagues. Both him and Bigi however offer options for the future, assuming Pardew doesn't try them as wingers.
The first few weeks of the campaign were strange. We noticed things were not quite as fluent as they were last season but the results weren't too far removed from one another, with one draw replaced by one defeat by the end of September. But at this point, the seasons began to diverge.
The philosophy of not spending big on our defence bit us badly when Manchester United came to town against a defence missing Krul, Simpson, Coloccini and Steven Taylor - 4 of the previous season's first choice back 5. Three goals were duly dispatched into the black and white net.
A lack of defensive thinking has hit Newcastle hard this season. 67 goals have been put in the back of the Newcastle net, with only 6 clean sheets.
Last season the club's solid defence was a bedrock of it's success. 15 clean sheets were recorded, which meant that, while the club still posted the odd defensive collapse, it was a strong unit.
Not so this time around. There has been a very flaky feel to the back 5, with a lack of consistency and an attempt to play defensive football when we don't seem able leading to trouble.
Tactical decisions all season have been utterly baffling. Moussa Sissoko and Yohan Cabaye seem to be played the wrong way round, but Sissoko has been played as a winger, which is a position his abilities do not fit in with.
Sissoko arrived in January. He was one of five French signings made, and at £2million looks like he could well be great value. But after a great early burst, he seemed to run out of steam. Time however could well lead us to see we have a good player.
Three defenders joined. Lille right back Mathieu Debuchy and Montpellier skipper Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa are the two with the most international pedigree, costing £11.5million between them. In keeping with a frustrating season, both have been hit and miss, although Yanga-Mbiwa has looked better at full back in the absence of Davide Santon.
The over defender was £2million full back Massadio Haidara, who has offered glimpses of quality despite spending time out following Callum McManaman using his knees as a boot cleaner.
Final signing Yoann Gouffran, at £1.2million, has been an interesting one. He has provided promise in the front three but Pardew doesn't seem to rate him from a fitness point-of-view, given his frequent and unneccessary substitution of him.
At one point though the French connection looked to be giving us a platform, with the team accumulating many home wins and progress in the Europa League.
But then a sudden mauling by Sunderland saw everything collapse, and the club soon aimlessly drifted towards the finish. Somehow things were then worsened in the ineptitude stakes by a catastrophic and painful mauling by Liverpool.
A final win at QPR one week from the end ensured no relegation jitters on the last day, but it did not keep up the feeling of a wasted year. After all, fifth place to fifth bottom is a gob-smacking collapse in form.
People will argue long and hard over what it was that led to this perplexing collapse in form. The injuries, tactics, form, extra games and badly timed investment are all parts. But at the end of it all is a hugely disappointing season ultimately forged in that bleak midwinter with regular defeats to teams supposedly worse than us.
For next year, we have to figure out what is acceptable. Expectations were raised with the 2011-12 finish, then lowered just as quick following poor results against the likes of West Ham, Southampton and Reading. While Pardew and the fans continue to squabble, we all have to see where we can go from here.
Anyway, a few thoughts...
Player of the Season: James Perch. This could've gone to Ba, whose goals helped despite his departure. But Perch has been the most consistent of those who managed a whole year, and duly gets it for that.
Most Improved Player: Sylvain Marveux. Injuries gave us very little glimpses of the winger in 2011-12 but he delivered some canny performances and remains a good looking option to possess.
Most Regressed Player: Cheick Tiote. Picking this is incredibly hard as a lot of the squad has struggled this season, the odd game aside. All run and no product meant Jonas Gutierrez was a shout, while the error-prone Mike Williamson could've fit. But Tiote has often looked a waste of a shirt, and even he has admitted he has not performed to the high standards. With any luck he'll find his potential over the summer.
Best Signing: Moussa Sissoko. This is purely for his early displays against Chelsea and Southampton. But he has looked a lovely player with huge flashes of potential, and could be a workhorse for the future.
Team Of The Season:
T. Krul - J. Perch, S. Taylor, F. Coloccini, D. Santon - Y. Cabaye, M. Sissoko, S. Marveaux - H. Ben Arfa, P. Cisse, D. Ba
Best Goal: Papiss Cisse vs Southampton. The magnificent execution to volley home the ball from the back with such precision makes it a worthy victor. The bullet from Ben Arfa against Villa gets an honourable mention.
Best Game: The 3-2 win over Chelsea. This was a great tactical performance as the Toon outwitted the European Champions, and bounced back from two great goals to secure a priceless victory.
Worst Game: 6-0 vs Liverpool. The surprise mauling at the Emirates and the pummeling at home by Sunderland were bad enough but this display was staggeringly inept on every level.
Best Moment: Alan Pardew's crowd diving at the end of the Fulham game. The thrill of the 93rd minute winner was a great enough rush but the delight on the faces of players and manager was sheer joy.
Worst Moment: The feeling of being cheated out of points by an unwitting collusion of Wigan Athletic and Mark Halsey. Watching Massadio Haidara depart on a stretcher after an unpunished assault was hard enough before an illegal goal that, had results gone a little differently, could've relegated us was hard to take. From a pure football view, the last minute defeat at Old Trafford despite dominating was also painful.
What Do We Need For Next Season: All sorts. A new striker - maybe two if Shola leaves - a new winger, a new CB if Coloccini leaves and an additional full back are the most urgent.
What We Will Probably Get: It's difficult to know. Andy Carroll is a fair shout and we will probably land some of our targets, but it's doubtful we'll land all.
What Do We Aim For: Finishing much higher than the tragic 16th place finish 2012-13 served and maybe a good domestic cup run. Time and time again so called smaller teams get there so surely one day it will be our go...
No matter what happens, next season is sure to produce more memories, talking points, drama, emotions, and the like. All we can do now is try to forget this mess before waiting until August 16th and then the madness shall return.
No comments:
Post a Comment