2010 – Arsenal 0 Newcastle United 1
2011 – Newcastle United 4 Arsenal 4
2012 – Newcastle 3 Manchester United 0
2013 – Newcastle United 2 Chelsea 0
2014 – Newcastle United 2 Chelsea 1
2015?
When Newcastle United punch their true weight in The Premier League, it is usually with powerhouse Cheick Tiote playing a dominant role in the middle of the park whether nullifying Wayne Rooney or smashing in a late equalizer and its no coincidence Newcastle’s best results each season feature him.
Serial winner Tiote certainly is only poison to the chances of Newcastle’s big game opponents beating The Magpies when he is fit and raring to go. A reigning African Nations Cup champion with Ivory Coast and four-time title winner at Anderlecht and FC Twente, Tiote knows what it takes to win football matches and trophies. And as the only Newcastle United player not to taste defeat this season and a victory from his only start, he is the man right now to show his team-mates how to shrug off any “loser” tag and capture that winning feeling in the Premier League.
Seven games without a Premier League win has left Newcastle in an unacceptable 19th position in the table – exactly where whoever designed the hardest fixture list start wanted them to be. Yet with Tiote in the side, Newcastle won 4-1 against Northampton in The League Cup, and drew with Southampton and Man United after he came on as sub to see out games and seal vital points, stats and performances which suggest Newcastle are a more successful and professional outfit with their no. 24 playing.
A more encouraging first hour on Saturday against Chelsea by The Magpies was nevertheless followed by a late collapse against the reigning Champions and a more solid midfield with experienced heads and powerful bodies would have known how to ensure the three points.
At 2-0 up, the quickly-taken short free-kicks from good areas, instead of hitting one of the best headers of the ball in the game, Aleksandar Mitrovic, having just scored from a corner were wasteful. And the feeling post-match was that if Jack Colback had remained on the pitch with his intelligence and battling qualities, Newcastle would have won and certainly Tiote’s indomitable will would have seen them over the line.
Vurnon Anita has made an admirable start to the season – if aesthetic football or possession stats are your bag rather than victories yet its time for the main man Tiote to reclaim his defensive midfield throne or Newcastle will continue to falter. Ever since Anita came to the club, he has been better in a super-sub capacity providing injections of pace and energy in the final 30 minutes as he did on his debut against Spurs in a 2-1 win and memorably in the win over Chelsea in which he was involved in setting up the second goal with Gabriel Obertan for Loic Remy. He can occasionally as the fifth midfield man in a 4-5-1 a la Old Trafford in which he has played in two draws and a win with Tiote and Yohan Cabaye in attendance.
Yet more presence, power and physical strength are needed for the majority of matches starting at The Etihad on Saturday against Manchester City and that means Cheick Tiote and partnering him with Moussa Sissoko in the engine room if Colback is out injured. The Anita-Wijnaldum midfield axis was ineffective against Sheff Wed and more muscle is needed especially with ‘Gini’ performing better attacking.
Last season, Newcastle beat both the 2013/14 champions Man City 2-0 in the Capital One Cup and the incoming 2014/15 Champions Chelsea, ending their 23-game unbeaten record. In the latter, Tiote was dominant in a three-man midfield alongside Jack Colback and Moussa Sissoko
Man City were misfiring when Newcastle played them in cup last season following Champions League entanglements and a league defeat by West Ham and a tough midfield of Colback, Mehdi Abeid and Ryan Taylor was the hard-tackling trio that won at The Etihad.
In the 5-0 loss in The Premier League, by contrast, Anita started and gifted City a penalty inside two minutes as The Magpies were crushed with Alan Shearer labelling them “pathetic”:
“They didn’t fancy it. They were pathetic. It was embarrassing, from the first minute to the last.”
If football is a dog-eat-dog world, in a high-stakes Premier League where Newcastle are in a relegation dogfight at the bottom right now, its time to unleash the biggest dog in the kennel, Tiote, against Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, both physically big players this time around.
Newcastle need Tiote’s bite in the tackle, his desire, his never-say-die attitude, his forceful presence and intensity not to mention his 5ft 11in height in the middle for aerial challenges. He brings vital experience, plus at 29 years old and with over 100 Premier League games under his belt, he is a Newcastle veteran along with captain Fabricio Coloccini and Tim Krul having seen it all at St. James’ Park.
Of course, Steve McClaren is familiar with Tiote’s qualities – he played 28 times for him as FC Twente won the 2009/10 Eredivisie and quickly dismissed any talk of problems on Tyneside for his midfield hardman:
“There’s been no problem with Cheick,” said McClaren. “He’s not a bad egg at all. I know Cheick well, I obviously had him at Twente, and he’s no trouble. He doesn’t cause trouble, he just wants to play.
When Tiote was made stand-in captain in Autumn, 2013, he led Newcastle to a great point in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool’s eventual runners-up then a 2-0 win against Chelsea with the same inspiring, forceful example. He has captained Ivory Coast on occasion, no mean feat when his opposite number on Saturday, Yaya Toure, is in the ranks and the extra incentive for Tiote to beat Man City doesn’t end there.
In January, 2014, Tiote’s 25-yard thunderball volley at The Leazes End was inexplicably disallowed against Man City by referee Mike Jones, denying Newcastle the lead in the game and ultimately the three points to the disgust of Alan Pardew, a packed St James’ Park and astonished football world.
Every other Premier League scalp – Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool et al is in the Tiote locker and completing the set at The Etihad on Saturday would kick-start Newcastle’s season in memorable fashion.
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