I flew back to England, for the Christmas period, on Thursday - which, incidentally, is why I havent been about on here since Wednesday - and so I went to the Newcastle match today. Whereas I started the game quite happily, enjoying being at a match for the first time in over a year, by the end I was somewhat relieved at not having to go every other week, because the match turned out to be a supremely irritating, exasperating experience. And seeing a game in person didnt really change my perspective so much as it advanced the perspective I already had on Allardyce, our players and our season.
The initial team selection was the wrong one, of course, as it has been in every game so far this season. Taylor, if fit, should have started in defence ahead of Cacapa. Martins should have played up front rather than on the right - Martins is no right winger, his left foot is the stronger of the two and hes not great at crossing the ball, whilst when playing up front he is our best, most effective and dynamic player - and Smith shouldnt have been anywhere near the pitch. And Milner is never as good on the left wing as he is on the right, whilst N'Zogbia is pleading to be played in the midfield.
This, added to Barton and Butt in the centre, produced a dreadful performance. The two central midfielders dont gel, they both lack pace, neither creates. Barton is startlingly bad with the ball, and got caught with it on many occasions today. Butt was better - of all of him, Smith, Barton and Geremi, hes the only one who we should consider playing, and Id sell the middle two in January if we could find any buyers. Nevertheless, along with their lack of attacking ability, neither Butt nor Barton cover the back four well, and I thought this contributed to Derbys first goal. Rozehnal was poor for Derbys second, but besides from that he was probably our best defender, whereas Beye didnt have one of his stronger games and Cacapa was out of position a few times and didnt head the ball properly all game.
N'Zogbia was threatening going forward; Viduka was potent, added presence to our forward line; Martins grew more and more irritated as the first half wore on, but he still came close to scoring, was our most creative player, and he improved and helped lead to our second equaliser when moved up front. Milner had a very poor game and looked tired, though as I say, he needs to be moved to his proper wing. Smith was appalling, he literally didnt have one good moment all game, and it is a scandal that Allardyce kept him on the pitch. The essential problem was too many players playing out of position, players looking disenchanted and confused due to terrible tactics and team selection, whilst the spine of the team from an attacking perspective, in Smith, Barton and Butt, was entirely rotten, lacking in any brains or ability.
The sum is that its absolutely obvious that Allardyce isnt going to work at Newcastle, and for my part, I already loathe the guy and think he should be long gone. Ive not seen a manager who seems to have such a detrimental influence on all players, who makes so many obviously wrong decisions, who seems devoid of any positive ideas. His style of play is ridiculously limited, its not what the fans want, and its never going to bring a lasting or significant success to the club. We got what we deserved today in terms of Allardyces team selection and style of play - its a style that levels the field, so whilst it can sometimes lead to a scraped draw against a better team, it entirely neuters all flair and ability and so it makes us just as likely to lose or draw to a team who we should be much better than. The result is mediocrity.
Allardyce is ruining our good players by undermining their confidence and playing them out of position, amongst too much rubbish, whilst players like Smith and Barton are untouchable, which is the sign of a cheating manager. He is full of lies and nonsense. He constantly bemoans our defence when the fact is that we arent solid because we dont play a team capable of keeping possession; his team selections lack balance; and he has changed around the defence too much without warrant. I hear that after the game today he heralded our 'unbeaten run', which comprises a home draw against Arsenal, two hugely fortunate, undeserved victories against relegation candidates, and then a draw at home to perhaps the worst team ever to have played in the Premier League.
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