Steven Taylor is an easy target: his comical fist-pumping and over-enthusiasm make him look a clown when things aren't going right, and make him the inevitable subject of opposition mockery (particularly from Sunderland). But when he is on form, he is twice the player Mike Williamson is. He is committed and strong, and clearly happy to "put his body on the line" as he stated in his post-match interview, and while his decision making can leave a lot to be desired at times, his positional sense and heading are far better than Williamson's. Perhaps he's not as good at reading interceptions, but he's faster and more capable of recovering, at least. And of course not having Williamson on the pitch means Newcastle are forced to abandon Pardew's ludicrously enduring model for set-pieces, which can only be a good thing. Who is to say Jack Colback wouldn't have knocked it to the centre-half rather than have a shot on target in the second half? It wouldn't have been at all surprising.
