Newcastle welcome Watford to St James’ Park on Saturday, who defeated Swansea City in their last outing. Ahead of the game, our team of writers have selected the line-up they would like to see Steve McClaren start with against the Hornets.
Thomas Bore
4-2-3-1 is not the problem – the midfield is. In our first few games, we’ve lacked the ability to cut open defenses, with McClaren favouring cagey approaches instead. While I understand his reasoning for doing so, against West Ham we were allowed so much possession that our safe approach was our downfall.
The defense picks itself, but the midfield and forward areas need major changes. Gini Wijnaldum replaces Colback deep in midfield, with De Jong filling in at number 10. Ayoze Perez up front, in place of Cisse, with Thauvin and Sissoko either side. I think I would rather see Maggie and Monty upfront than Cisse as a lone striker.
Many will probably question my decision to keep Moussa, but he’s a game-changer when he’s on it. He was poor against West Ham, and if he’s poor on Saturday, McClaren shouldn’t be afraid to take him off early, but he has to start – in my opinion.
Marcus Shearer
If the past few weeks weren’t evidence enough, Monday night at Upton Park showed Ayoze Perez HAS to start regularly going forward.
I’ve said it before and will continue to say it, Papiss Cisse isn’t a quality enough all round footballer to justify a place in the starting XI. Whilst he tended to make the right runs on Monday night without the service, outside of the 18 yard box Cisse offers little to the team.
As soon as Ayoze entered the fray he was drawing fouls, beating players, stretching play and overall being a nuisance to West Ham. His link up play with De Jong again showed glimpses of their combined flair, initiative and leadership in the final third.
I would suggest dropping Sissoko, but this is a player McClaren intends to build the team around. If that’s the case, I’d far rather see his physique used to break up play in the midfield and drive forward then left isolated on the right wing. Let Aarons and Thauvin switch wings to cause problems for Watford’s full-backs.
It’s imperative for Steve McClaren to get 3 points this Saturday at home to Watford come hell or high water. Dropping Cisse and Anita, moving Sissoko alongside Colback and starting De Jong & Perez would go a long way to achieving that.
Michael Brown
After Monday’s shambles I couldn’t possibly stay with the same team, Cisse was absolutely shocking. Yes, he didn’t get much service, but when he did, his first touch hit it 20 yards away and in the Premier league that’s not good enough.
Enough of the negatives! Perez looked class when he came on just a shame he didn’t have longer on the pitch, De Jong also impressed me with some neat touches, good passes and was always looking forward. We need to win this game and do so with a good performance to match it as the fans are slowly starting to get irritated.
Lee Wilson
It has to be 4-2-3-1. Drop Sissoko, Colback and Cisse because they were woeful on Monday night. Colback offers next to nothing, Sissoko is incredibly lazy and getting carried away with his own hype, while Cisse might as well have stayed at home.
Evin Grant
I feel that McClaren needs to start with a team full of attacking intent. I’m not a fan of playing 4-2-3-1 with Cisse up top, as I don’t think he’s good enough to be a lone striker. I’d have Colback at left-back, as Haidara’s performances haven’t been good, and neither have Jack’s in midfield. Young Aarons comes in, and deservedly so. Perhaps surprisingly, I’d have a centre-midfield partnership of Gini and Sissoko. I don’t like Moussa out wide and him & Gini could cause Watford multiple problems with their pace and power. I hope we partner Ayoze with Cisse up top, as I have a feeling they could become somewhat of a ‘deadly duo’ in the near future.
Michael Oliver
4-2-3-1 needs to go, with the diamond replacing it. Ayoze partnering Cisse up top could be deadly, especially with De Jong and Wijnadum pulling the strings behind. Janmaat has the freedom to roam down the right in this formation and cause problems like he did against West Ham on Monday.
