Newcastle lost 2-0 with goals from Dimitri Payet securing the win for the Hammers, as the Magpies continued their winless run and now sit bottom of the Premier League table.
Following the game, here’s my thoughts on what we learnt from the match.
Papiss Cisse is not good enough
Cisse started in place of the suspended Mitrovic and boy did tonight’s performance show how much the Serbian could do for Newcastle. Cisse couldn’t hold up the play. He couldn’t lead the line. He didn’t bully defenders. Actually, come to think of it, what did he actually bring to the team? Believe it or not, I’m actually a fan of Papiss, but tonight we massively missed Mitrovic.
Is 4-3-3 the wrong formation?
Though it didn’t work under Pardew or Carver, McClaren is electing to play the same formation with Newcastle which is currently causing us issues. We lack any real threat up front and, call it old fashioned, I would much prefer to see two strikers. McClaren has stated that he would be willing to adjust his tactics if need be. I would recommend he does it before fans turn against him.
Why did McClaren leave it until the final 10 minutes?
Newcastle only seem to show up in the final ten minutes of games when losing it seems and it happened once again tonight. We played relatively well and pressed West Ham in the dying embers of the game, but why leave it so late? Why not play like that from the off? I know you see a lot of losing teams pressing in the closing stages, desperate to claw themselves back into a game, but why not do it from the start?
The positives?
Yes, we lost 2-0, but surprisingly there were a few positive things I saw. Perez came on in the second half and looked superb. His slick touches were a class apart to any other Newcastle player on show. In future, Ayoze has to start instead of Cisse – if not alongside him. His impact was great but too little too late. Mbemba and Coloccini seem to have a pretty decent understanding and their partnership is improving. I also feel De Jong has to be given more game-time, but who would he replace?
It’s vital that Newcastle get a result against Watford at the weekend before their confidence gets damaged beyond repair.
