Newcastle 0-0 Stoke - The 'Index 6'

Newcastle trudged to a 0-0 draw at home to Stoke, leaving them in the relegation zone with the possibility of propping up the table by the close of play on Monday. Steve McClaren made one change, bringing in Vurnon Anita for the injured Jack Colback. Daryl Janmaat also departed with an injury late on.

That Stoke left Tyneside with a point is a testament only to their goalkeeper, who pulled off a series of saves in the second half to deny Sissoko, Mitrovic, Perez and Lascelles. If any of those had hit the net, we’d be talking about a convincing performance. As it is, we’re left with feelings of discomfort. Charlie Nicholas, famed for stealing a living on the Sky Sports sofa, predicted us to go down this season. Naturally, we all rebuffed such a suggestion. But Stoke, who were horrendous, should have been a team to collect three points from. Instead, it’s another weekend of regret.

To the Index 6:

Jack Colback not a great miss

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Newcastle are desperately lacking in central areas. The heart of their midfield is packed with pedestrian, sideways players that seem to contribute very little offensively. Having said that, I did worry about losing Colback – his work ethic alone makes him important, even if he is guilty of fumbling around possession. Speaking of fumbling around, Cheick Tiote appears to be the “answer” to McClaren’s midfield gap, having started the last three games.

Now, I’m setting the bar very low, but I didn’t see much today from Anita or Tiote that make them any worse than Colback. In other words, Vurn and Cheick are probably able to do the job. Until January that is, when hopefully big Mike opens his chequebook.

Empty seats!

It’s hard to make a valid judgement about the atmosphere in a stadium when you’re sitting on a sofa in Canada watching via a laptop. But the ambience was subdued, akin perhaps to a particularly raucous game of cricket rather than a match in the Premier League. There appeared to be a significant number of empty seats. More than usual, anyway. To that I say: hang your head in shame, Newcastle. Such a protest is more significant than one might think. You’d expect to see a drop in attendance levels at Villa Park or the Stadium of Light. Such clubs are laden with fair-weather fans.

For Newcastle fans not to show up is indicative of an entrenched, deep-seated angst that extends beyond this season’s poor start. This frustration developed from the summer of 2012 when the only player through the door was Vurnon Anita. Newcastle are slowly, gradually, sucking the life and joy out of the fans. For a team with a set of fans desperate to support them, it’s sad to see.

Ayoze Perez a breath of fresh air

One player who has deservedly remained immune from fan criticism is Ayoze Perez. I’m desperate not to invoke the ‘if only we had 11 player x’s’ cliché, but in Perez’s case I’d make an exception. McClaren’s press conferences have been filled with comments about the need for equal effort in every game. Unfortunately, some players just don’t have that sort of regular work ethic in them. Not in Perez’s case, who just seems to enjoy playing football. And, he seems a decent guy to boot. Give him the armband!

Siem de Jong? Florian Thauvin?

What has happened to these guys? Thauvin’s rapid demise could perhaps have been foreseen. He was voted in Ligue Un’s worst XI last year, and yet Newcastle still sought fit to shed 13 million for him. A remarkable piece of business for a club run by the ancestry of Ebeneezer Scrooge. It seems we should put this transfer down to the unhealthy influence of Graham Carr, who appears to be more concerned with finding the next ‘gem’ than signing players with proven Premier League experience.

De Jong, on the other hand, I had high hopes for. Ajax captain, obvious talent, he looked like an ideal replacement for Cabaye. His luck with injuries is rotten, but he had a full preseason to attain match fitness. Clearly, he is nowhere near that – and I am left scratching my head. Perhaps he too is another one demotivated. But Newcastle’s squad is too shallow, and de Jong’s ability is too great to not intergrate him into the team. It’s up to McClaren, and Siem himself to work out how to do it.

What is Mike Ashley’s breaking point?

Since the days of Chris Hughton, Mike Ashley’s ethos – echoed by the various minions that have worked for him – has been stability in the face adversity, patience in times of crisis. Both Alan Pardew and John Carver benefitted from this approach, and assuming that avoiding relegation is the only genuine aim of the board, it has paid off thus far. One does get the feeling, however, that if the next ten games look similar to the first, Newcastle will be tipped to go down. Should things progress this way, will Newcastle make an uncharacteristic panic appointment? Everybody breaks eventually…

“Captain” Coloccini

Leaving aside Colo’s up and down performances over the last few years. Leaving aside his persistent angling for a transfer. Leaving aside his accumulation of red cards, all of which seem to come at spectacularly disastrous times. Leaving aside all of that, the one role that surely isn’t too hard to fill is the one of captain. Pardew, Carver, McClaren, Ashley, Carr, Llambias, Charnley all, in their own ways, are responsible for Newcastle’s problems.

But none of them are responsible for rousing the troops on the field, keeping them motivated throughout matches, stepping in on their behalf to talk to referees or protect them from confrontation. That is the job of the captain. And Coloccini does none of these. His lack of leadership on the field is explained away by players and coaches. “He leads by example”, they say. “He’s a voice in the dressing room”. The former isn’t true, and who knows about the latter.

But more importantly, if you don’t think he can be a presence on the field, why make him the captain? Look at today’s game when Mitrovic was tussling with that oaf Shawcross. Mitrovic clearly needed somebody to step in and calm him down. Nothing. How many points, I wonder, could have been won had Newcastle had a leader to inspire some bottle and resilience in the players? Until Coloccini leaves, or hands off the armband, we’ll never know.