Some fans, myself included, thought Jack Colback may have been the fall guy for Jonjo Shelvey's arrival. But the continued absence of Vurnon Anita through injury and Cheick Tiote's impending switch to China meant that McClaren didn't have to drop the ginger haired grafter from Killingworth. Whilst watching the game yesterday, it was hard to determine which of Shelvey and Colback were playing deeper as the defensive rock. If anything, they were lined up side-by-side as a formidable twosome who not only enjoyed getting involved in the physical battle but were also comfortable on the ball and liked to pick out a pass. Shelvey's presence made Colback look calmer and less under pressure than he has all season. Unlike when Anita or Tiote plays, the short pass to Colback to Sissoko is no longer the only play, Colback could pass to Shelvey and know that more often than not the play would be switched confidently. Colback's Opta stats had him at 1000% for passing yesterday. You could argue he didn't put a foot wrong. Shelvey's addition to the team may add three years to Colback's career as here he was huffing and puffing less; his tank of energy was 1/3rd less empty than it had been in recent weeks. When Paul Dummett came off and Colback had to be switched to left-back, you could sense in Newcastle's midfield that Henri Saivet, understandably being thrown into the fire on his debut, made Newcastle feel a little more vulnerable in the middle, a testimony to how well Colback had played up until that point. Colback himself did a good job at left-back, serving his team well under-pressure... if fortunate that his obvious trick of falling onto the ball to win a foul when trapped didn't fool referee Neil Swarbrick and if not for Rob Elliott, would have afforded the Hammers an equaliser. Colback, like us, will be hoping Dummett or Kevin Mbabu are fit for the trip to Watford next week so he doesn't have to play there again.
Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.
