Excuses come easy: it was Man City, a key man was missing, there haven't been any signings... But the truth of the matter is, even with those considered and disregarded, Newcastle United should have performed better against Manchester City in last night's season opener. Regardless of context or competition, one shot on target in 90 minutes is a dismal return, and the manner in which City sliced through the Magpies on the break should be as much a matter for concern as it will be a positive for other teams looking to counter-attack in subsequent games. The defeat was not necessarily hard to take for Newcastle fans, who remained in reasonably good spirits after the game - having written the fixture off as something of a foregone conclusion - but as with all games, it is the manner of that defeat that should provoke thought. Once more Newcastle players were employed in positions that looked occasionally alien to them, and the overall shape of the team was not conducive to any agenda - too focused on attacking to protect the defence on the counter, when the attacks invariably failed outside City's box, and too flat and uninspired to take Joe Hart's mind off his Head & Shoulders sponsored haircut. And in amongst the disappointments and the cutting inevitability of the defeat, there were a number of performances that warrant singling out for their impact on the result. Now, I'm not for one second saying that Newcastle would have won if the following were different, but the manner of the performance may well have been different, and less stinging for Toon fans.
Dishonourable Mention
Joe Kinnear Though Newcastle strengthened in January (and that business is being called "early summer business,") Newcastle remain a painfully thin squad. There is precious little cover and competition, and even with Loic Remy waiting (slightly hobbled) in the wings, the need for another striker is hugely obvious, and as is the need to sign a left midfielder who will offer some competition to the now injured Jonas Gutierrez. Kinnear was presented with the promise that he could be judged on his signings - which is odd if there are to be none as seems to be the suggestion recently - and while Remy is a huge bonus (provided he is fit and not locked up,) if judgement were welcomed at this stage, Kinnear's appointment could only be deemed a failure by his own qualifications. Had Newcastle had more players to choose from, things might have been different, but that is all just speculation at this point - which is oddly appropriate given the nature of most of Newcastle's "business" this summer so far. So, now on to the real business of this article...
