1. Unshackle Cabaye of His Defensive Duties
By the Frenchmans own high standards Cabaye has had a shocking start to the season, theres no getting away from it. He was almost anonymous in all 3 of Newcastles opening fixtures but thats not solely down to a lack of fitness, also important is Pardews chronic misuse of him. Although he possesses an astounding work rate (when fully fit at least) and is solid at tackling, Cabaye should be Newcastles playmaker; dictating attacking tempo and making chances. The former Lille man is Newcastles equivalent of David Silva and yet Alan Pardew seems insistent on having him fight it out in the trenches; something inevitable when played in a flat 4-4-2 formation. He hit the ground running last season creating a quarter of Newcastles chances in the first 3 games (5/20) but in the first 3 games of this season has managed one solitary chance. Although fans may lambast their manager for his seeming tactical naivety, its important to remember that Newcastle went unbeaten in the first 10 games of last season playing 4-4-2. Since then though it seems managers have learnt that the best way to nullify Cabaye, and therefore much of Newcastles attack, is to flood the midfield and get him fighting a ground war he doesnt have the legs for thanks to a lack of pre-season fitness training. If Pardew continues with a 4-4-2 formation then the solution could be to deploy his midfield quartet in a diamond (something Aston Villa did against Newcastle to great effect). This would allow Cabaye to play in a more advanced role whilst Tiote, providing hes fit, can be his usual destructive self. The only problem would be that West Brom managed to shut down Evertons attack by defending with 2 rigid banks of 4 (including 2 defensive-minded central midfielders).