Slightly worrying that the player likely to fill Daryl Janmaat's undisciplined boots is the man who played almost as bad in that position as the Dutch defender minus the double yellow. Chancel Mbemba is a centre half and does not have the pace or technical attributes to impact any game from right-back but Newcastle's options are limited. The other choice is to play Vurnon Anita at full-back and bring Cheick Tiote or Georginio Wijnaldum into the holding midfield position but given that the lucky man who plays in Janmaat's position is up against Memphis (who scored two beautiful goals against Club Brugge mid-week) it seems too much of a gamble.
Paul Dummett still isn't fit so Massadio Haidara has another chance to prove his worth to Steve McClaren. If the defender continues to play in the way that he has during the first two games of the season then unfortunately it will show he is still a long way from a permanent slot a left-back. The 22-year-old has had a hard job having to mark, Dusan Tadic and Andre Ayew over the last month and will have a similar task against Juan Mata on Saturday but he needs to remain composed and demonstrate the strong performances that he showed pre-season.
NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.
