17 Things We Learned From Newcastle Vs. Club Atlas

2. The Players Are Still Adjusting To The New Formation

One thing that was painfully evident during the first half was the gap between striker Papiss Cisse and the rest of the midfield. Siem de Jong, who did show a few bright touches during the 90 minutes as well as coming painfully close to the equaliser, was lost for large spells and failed to do his job of offering plenty of support to Newcastle's number nine. Hopefully an understanding will develop over the coming weeks, if Papiss remains at the club of course and if the Dutchman's lungs don't explode before the start of the season... Newcastle did get better after the break as their hold on the game became a lot stronger, and that fluidity Steve McClaren wants to see should come as the players get to know each other a lot more.