1. Morgan Schneiderlin
Jefferson Montero and red cards aside, the other main reason why Newcastle lost so dreadfully away to Swansea was because they lost the midfield battle. The central midfield two of Jonjo Shelvey and Jack Cork were everything that Newcastle United's pairing of Jack Colback and Vurnon Anita want to be. The Swans' pair displayed the perfect blend of industry and flair and throughly outclassed United's double act, who couldn't get anywhere near their counterparts. Yes the Toon's 'pivot' had their backs against the wall for the majority of the game, but they looked utterly lost for the first 40 minutes of the game when it was 11 vs 11 and couldn't do anything to effect it. Colback and Anita were miles off the pace during the entire 90 minutes and their willingness to implement McClaren's brand of passing football landed Newcastle in trouble on more than one occasion. We're not saying that they should have lumped the ball forward, but it was clear to see that 'fighting fire with fire' simply wasn't working so a change could have rescued the result. Schneiderlin has slotted into the Man Utd midfield with minimal fuss, proving that he belongs at the very top of the game following a
£25 million move from Southampton this summer. He is a far superior player compared to what Newcastle faced last week, so keeping him quiet and not allowing he nor Michael Carrick to dictate the game is a must. Vurnon Anita, Jack Colback, and Georginio Wijnaldum need to be up for the battle and work a lot harder than they did last week. If they don't, The Magpies will be picked off with ease, and the home side's central midfield paring will supply the likes of Memphis and Rooney with plentiful ammunition. This potentially is where Newcastle could potentially take the game (as far fetched as that sounds). Stopping the United midfield playing and then hitting them on the counter, like they did to such good effect for their second goal against Southampton during the opening weekend, may be the most successful plan Steve McClaren could implement.