Newcastle: 10 Major Mistakes Pardew Has Made In 2014

9. Playing Vurnon Anita In The Wrong Role Entirely

A lot has been said of Pardew's tendency to play square pegs in round holes, or just forcing the pegs where there's no hole in the first place, but it is an accusation that absolutely rings true in his use of a couple of Newcastle players. Persisting with Yoan Gouffran out wide gives Newcastle hard-work, but robs the Frenchman of his goal threat; playing Moussa Sissoko out on the right stops him putting in the kind of performance he did against Spurs, and most importantly, relying on Vurnon Anita as a defensive midfield enforcer fundamentally misunderstands what type of player he actually is. Unfortunately for Pardew, Anita is not Cheick Tiote: he will not bleed and make others bleed to stop the other team play, he is far more technical, far more creative, and completely unsuited to being a breaker in front of the defence. That is why he looks like he hasn't settled, as the manager so elegantly, and unnecessarily said before the Spurs game, and why fans insist on complaining about his height and weight.