There's something in the joke that Alan Pardew's Plan B is to change his left-back, and it all comes down to the fact that he currently has six players currently at the club who can play or have played at left-back in the past. As well as the first choice threesome of Paul Dummett, Massadio Haidara and Davide Santon, the club has Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (now surely unlikely to return), Ryan Taylor and Vurnon Anita, and of all of those options it's the young local lad who gets the nod at the minute. Can that really be true? Is Dummett better than Santon - the former Inter Milan man called the "next Maldini" at one point - or Haidara, whose athleticism is phenomenal? Or is his selection more to do with the fact that he's just a local kid with some heart? It can't be based on his positional sense or his willingness to go forward, as both are particularly weak aspects of his game. His tackling too can be a little underwhelming, and his ability to contain and press is far from top level. Yes, he is enthusiastic - as shown when he was briefly the only player willing to take any set-pieces - and his passing is okay, but for too much of the game he is pulled out of position when defending and stands silently on the touchline when attacking, when he should be bombing forward. But with Santon injured mysteriously and Haidara not in the squad for Stoke, it seems Dummett has once again been pushed to the top of the options list. And Newcastle fans will have to accept his selection when there's little other option. But do you think Dummett is actually good enough?
