Is This Newcastle's Best Team To Play QPR?

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Newcastle are finally starting to play a bit of football (or are at least winning games), the media are falling over themselves to accuse us all of having expectations of Europe now that our unreasonable expectations of not getting relegated are done with, and Christmas is in the air. Unfortunately, because it's November, and the busiest part of the season is coming up, Newcastle have been hit with yet another injury crisis. Steven Taylor, Mehdi Abeid, Fabricio Coloccini and Rolando Aarons have joined the walking wounded list, with Cheick Tiote's fitness uncertain, Davide Santon and Emmanuel Riviere possibly getting close to fitness and a host of longer term injuries (in Gabriel Obertan, Siem De Jong, Curtis Good and Jonas). With a full team's worth of players now out, Newcastle are currently joint top of the Premier League injury table - along with Everton. Those sorts of numbers are deeply unhelpful when you're facing a run of games like Newcastle have in December, and even the prospect of playing supposedly lesser teams like QPR, West Ham and Burnley is made infinitely more difficult with no bloody players to put on the pitch. So what does Alan Pardew do now? Does he blood more youngsters? Does he rely on returning injured players to go straight back into the first-team? Can there be any other alternative? At the minute, Newcastle have just four fully fit defenders - provided Mike Williamson is indeed match fit - and have had to recall Remie Streete from his loan at Port Vale as times are so tough. In midfield, the return of Cheick Tiote might be a boost, but there's nothing certain as he's still a doubt, and the wide up top have been decimated by injuries to two of the most creatively valuable players this season. For QPR, then, Pardew has pretty much two options. So sparse are his available options that there isn't a great deal of wiggle room in his selections, and only two positions are potentially up for debate - the second defensive midfield role beside Jack Colback, and the wide right. The first possible line-up would protect returning injured players, and keep them on the bench for now. That would see Ryan Taylor deputise for Cheick Tiote in defensive midfield - an enforcer role that Vurnon Anita simply cannot play, which would at least add some longer and more creative balls to the mix - and keep Ayoze Perez in his striking role to allow Papiss Cisse a softer return to the first team. Positives Taylor might seem a strange choice, but he played well in the position against Man City, despite his manager saying he was "hidden" in the position to just get him on the pitch, but he would be a good solution to the need to protect the back four. And he could play balls out wide as well as getting Moussa Sissoko forward. Keeping Ayoze on as a striker would also make sense given his impact so far, and that incredible goal against West Brom. Negatives Williamson will always be a concern, especially against someone as handy as Charlie Austin, and it's going to take a Herculean effort by Paul Dummett to pick up the slack. Meanwhile, Sammy Ameobi wasn't exactly great against West Brom, looking disinterested for too long, and his role will require maximum effort and concentration. So what's the alternative? Well, the second possible line-up would bank on Cheick Tiote and Papiss Cisse being fit enough to start, and going with experience to fill the holes left by the newest round of injuries. There'd still be a place for Ayoze, but in the wider role he played at times (to great success) for Tenerife last year. Positives Having both Cisse and Ayoze on the pitch might mean more goals, which is never a bad thing, and Tiote plays the reductive midfield role well. Negatives Tiote takes way, way too much time on the ball, and Newcastle's success depends on fluidity in transition: it isn't enough to just keep the ball, it has to be used quickly to take advantage on the break, and passing in small triangles will only allow the opposition to close up their lines. There's also the chance Pardew could simply play 4-4-2, and have Ayoze and Cisse side by side, with this same line-up, but don't count on a dramatic change in system after four games.