It's hard to tell quite which formation Newcastle actually start games with these days: Sky Sports claim one thing, while nufc.co.uk claim an entirely different one, and so does the official NUFC Twitter account. For any given match, that means that 3 formations are suggested, which wouldn't be so much of a problem if it was evident from how the team were set up on the pitch. The trouble is, Newcastle's formation is fluid in all the wrong ways, and the only two certainties are attack and defence, with too little linking the two. Yesterday with the unfairly criticised Vurnon Anita playing in the deeper lying position, he could link up play, which allowed Sissoko more freedom ahead of him to link up with Gabriel Obertan and to a lesser degree Yoan Gouffran. But even with those aspects improving in the 4-2-3-1 that NUFC.co.uk had suggested was the starting model, Jack Colback was a little off sorts and Papiss Cisse remained painfully isolated, as he always does when playing as a lone striker. And then, when Newcastle changed to 4-4-2, with Anita off and Sissoko dropped back, the strike-force worked better, with Leicester's defence pinned back a lot more. Unfortunately, without the deep-lying midfield cover, Leicester enjoyed more of the ball in key areas, particularly down the right-hand side, where Paul Dummett ended up looking particularly vulnerable. The solution is not immediately obvious, but playing at least one deep-lying midfielder to cover the defence, and then two more typical midfielders would seem the effective compromise. So too would playing someone alongside Cisse to stop him from being completely isolated. Clearly, that would mean reverting back to the 4-3-3 set-up that worked so well for Pardew at the end of the 2011/12 season. And the best starting line-up (taking into account form right now, and allowing for short-term injuries to sort themselves out swiftly would look like this... The alternative of course would be to play two up top, with Perez or Riviere alongside Cisse, and a diamond in midfield with Sissoko at the front (or Cabella if he's ever fancied again) and Aarons and Gouffran in the wider positions with Tiote, Colback or Anita covering the defence. But it seems unlikely that Pardew would even consider choosing between Tiote and Colback if both are fit and available. So 4-3-3 it should be, until Siem De Jong comes back at least, as it is inevitable that Pardew will return to a model designed with a number 10 in mind once that happens. Which formation do you think Newcastle should play? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.
The alternative of course would be to play two up top, with Perez or Riviere alongside Cisse, and a diamond in midfield with Sissoko at the front (or Cabella if he's ever fancied again) and Aarons and Gouffran in the wider positions with Tiote, Colback or Anita covering the defence. But it seems unlikely that Pardew would even consider choosing between Tiote and Colback if both are fit and available. So 4-3-3 it should be, until Siem De Jong comes back at least, as it is inevitable that Pardew will return to a model designed with a number 10 in mind once that happens. Which formation do you think Newcastle should play? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.