10 Problems Newcastle Need To Fix To Avoid Relegation

7. Stop Playing A Holding Striker With No Little Man To Play With

Emanuel Riviere has come in for a lot of criticism so far this season thanks to his perceived lack of a goal threat, which is at least partly fair given his tender shooting in front of goal. But there's a wider problem with the system Newcastle play, and the nature of the player that means he's fighting a losing battle from the first minute. Riviere is a hold-up player, who takes the ball down, passes it and moves into phase two - the style of attack that Newcastle played under Chris Hughton with Andy Carroll in attack. As such, he needs support from either a number 10 - which we've been robbed of thanks to De Jong's injury - or a little man partner like Ayoze Perez to take the ball past him. Riviere cannot play the lone striker, because he's set up to play with someone running beyond him, and because of the issues with the wide areas, nobody is doing it. In that respect, the system needs to be changed, or the players do.