Newcastle Transfers: 7 Problems Andy Carroll Would Solve

2. A Reason To Play Long Balls

There are no justifications in Pardew's lexicon of deflection and distraction that have ever sufficiently why Newcastle's default response to failing to score or going behind is to defer to long-balls played out from Mike Williamson or Fabricio Coloccini. The simple reason for that is that long-balls have no justification in the modern game: particularly at a club that keeps buying possession playing footballers. Why buy Remy Cabella if you're not going to give him the ball deep so he has space to take people on? Why have Vurnon Anita at the club if you're going to play him in a system that makes him look ineffectual? Without a traditional English style target man (last seen when Carroll was at the club), the long-ball approach is inevitably fruitless, and at least having him would mean someone could be on to the end of the long-balls that will inevitably continue as long as Pardew stays around.