Newcastle: Rating Pardew's 10 Games So Far This Season

4. Selections

For a lot of the season, Pardew has been criticised for persisting with Yoan Gouffran, whose industry is no doubt useful when Newcastle are looking for possession above all else. But his attacking thrust isn't what it was when he first signed, and he looks a far less useful wide man than Sammy Ameobi, Gabriel Obertan, Rolando Aarons and Remy Cabella at the minute. The decision to take him out of the first team was a good one, but you have to suspect he will be back because of what he represents to Pardew. Likewise the decision to bring in Steven Taylor, and keep him in the team has proven smart so far. The decisions to bring in Ryan Taylor for Man City, Mehdi Abeid for City and Liverpool, and the use of Obertan, Sammy Ameobi and Rolando Aarons have been brave and rightly rewarded. In the past, the manager might have resisted those choices, but with injuries and a lack of squad depth he has been forced to choose between braveness and stagnation, and he has - to his credit - gone with braveness. Rating: 7/10