8 Areas Newcastle United Must Improve Upon To Cope With Papiss Cisse's Suspension

7. Emmanuel Riviere Needs The Ball To Somehow Fly In Off His Own Backside

One player who has received a barrage of criticism from Newcastle fans is Emmanuel Riviere - it simply hasn't gone for him since he arrived from Monaco for £6million last summer. No goals from nine starts (and 16 appearances in all) makes for poor reading. However, there remains a certain amount of sympathy for the Frenchman - he was thrust into an unfamiliar lone striker's role at the beginning of the season, then unceremoniously dropped, and has since only received fleeting opportunities to show what he is capable of. Two starts in the last two games haven't brought any goals yet, but the endeavour is certainly there - and he should have scored with his head against Aston Villa and then on two occasions against Manchester United. Riviere has never been prolific - he ideally plays on the left of a front three, not up top by himself - but he had a record just worse than a goal every three games for Monaco (17 from 50 appearances) and needs something to break for him. If the ball just smashes off his backside and then balloons into the back of the net - excuse the cliche - then hopefully the confidence will return.