What Went Well: Demba Ba scored his league leading 7th goal from a flick on from Shola Ameobi. A run from Hatem Ben Afra led to a shot by Sammy Ameobi which deflected off Papiss Cisse for the injury time winner. Tim Krul made some fantastic saves.
What Did Not Go Well: Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson had a long day against Romelu Lukaku. Not quite sure why Shola Ameobi was playing on the right wing.
What Else: Fortune shone on the home team at St. James' Park as a deflected shot to a lucky winner. A draw may have been a fairer result and some could argue that West Brom should have fun. Lukaku was unplayable and Newcastle was happy when he was substituted.
This was another Newcastle lineup that I was unsure about. It looked like 4-4-2 but for some reason it drifted to a 4-3-3 with Shola Ameobi on the wing. Though he put in a great cross for Ba, there was no reason for him to be there. He actually played Lukaku onside for the goal showing his lack of positioning. Why not play Gabriel Obertan to reward him for his Europa League efforts?
This was also another game where Newcastle changed formation during the match. Though it is good to be able to change tactics, too many games have started with Newcastle falling behind. Not having a set formation also does not give the players a set way of playing. I was not happy with Alan Pardew using the Europa League as an excuse for poor Premier League performances. Newcastle played at home and made 9 changes to the starting lineup. The biggest teams in all of Europe have to balance domestic and continental fixtures. If that is where Newcastle wants to be, they need to be able to strike that balance.
Now What: After 9 games, roughly quarter of the season, Newcastle are in 10th place but only 4 points out 4th. I don't expect Newcastle to finish at the heights of last season, trophy please, but I expect a top 10 season. Three fortunate points against a team in good form helps. Next week they are in a high profile game against Liverpool, a team that is not better than Newcastle but is considered better because they were really good in the 70s and 80s. Though Newcastle has a bad record at Anfield, I can see them getting a draw if they start the game well. No Europa League game this week so there is no excuse there. A win over Liverpool will put Newcastle in a good position as they move towards a favorable November schedule on paper.
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