16 Things We Learned From Newcastle Vs. Sacramento Republic

10. The Two Central Midfielders NEED To Be Great On The Ball

As mentioned beforehand, Steve McClaren's double-six formation puts a lot of pressure on the two central midfielders in a 4-2-3-1. And the way United have started to play this pre-season, it is clear that whoever plays there needs to be fantastic on the ball. They also need to have eyes in the back of their head and feet that can move quicker than most top-division footballers can think. This is because they received the ball from the centre-halves with their back to play, and Sacramento, to their credit, cottoned on to this early on and didn't allow either Jack Colback nor Vurnon Anita settle on the ball. Newcastle didn't really have an answer to the high press of the home side so resorted to playing a dull keep-ball game with not too much in the way of purpose. This is where they'll be hoping their new Gini will come in handy...