Form and formation

It may be tempting fate, but I thought it might be worth taking a moment to reflect on the upsurge in our fortunes since the nadir of our season so far, that defeat down at the Dark Place. A hat-trick of Premier League victories is never to be sniffed at, especially not when those fixtures include the visit of Chelsea and a trip to White Hart Lane. So, what's behind the transformation in our fortunes? As the title of this post would suggest, I think it essentially comes down to form and formation.

One of the most alarming things about the last campaign was the way that players who had performed brilliantly during our unanticipated but ultimately unsuccessful push for Champions League qualification in 2011/2 suddenly lost all semblance of form, all at the same time. Tim Krul wasn't the worst case, but he could have had a better season all the same. Now, though, he's back to his best - as that staggering display in repelling Spurs amply indicated. Mathieu Debuchy may have been suspended against Norwich, but he's at last starting to show why we paid £6m for his services and why he's a fixture in the French national side. More notable is the current form of Mr T and Dreamboat, both shadows of their former selves last season but now once again near the high levels they set upon arrival at the club.

Last term, such was the extent of the issue that the Silver Fox had no option but to continue picking out-of-sorts players. This time around, however, he's been able to drop Papiss Cisse to the bench for the benefit of the side as a whole. What's more, we've also found that when replacements have been called upon, they've stepped into the breach admirably. Few of us would have thought the much maligned MYM and Mike Williamson would be in the side on merit, but they genuinely are at present.

And then there's the formation. While the 4-3-3 line-up held the promise of an attacking style, too often it wasn't working, the three-man midfield overrun and Dreamboat forced into a more defensive and less creative role than we'd like. Cisse wasn't leading the line well enough, and a couple of experiments with HBA in the so-called false nine role didn't work offensively either. The switch to 4-4-2, with Loic Remy playing in a mobile role off Big Lad, has given us greater solidity, Mr T firmly anchoring the midfield so Dreamboat can concentrate on doing what he does best, namely picking passes.

Admittedly, we don't have the width in midfield that a 4-4-2 formation would reply - we're sometimes a bit narrow, with no natural wingers. Obertan Kenobi has rarely looked up to that job, and it's doubtful that Spidermag would step back into the role he served when he first arrived on Tyneside, so perhaps the mooted loan move for Man Utd's Wilfried Zaha would indeed be the answer.

As it stands, though, we're not suffering too much - certainly Goofy's workrate on the flank (and his habit of popping up with timely goals) is much appreciated. HBA, frustratedly kicking his heels on the bench having declared his desire to win the Ballon d'Or, is undoubtedly a more talented player, but he can also be a bit of a luxury, peripheral to the action in the same way that Cisse has been all too often this season.

I'll finish by identifying three areas for improvement. First, I think we could be expecting more from Moussa Sissoko, though in his defence he's being asked to play in a slightly unfamiliar role to allow Mr T and Dreamboat to operate centrally. Second, the over-reliance on Remy is of increasing concern, with still no guarantee we'll be able to sign him permanently in January. He registered in all three victories, and with each goal his value nudges a bit higher and his list of suitors gets a bit longer. Goofy has done reasonably well in this regard, but we need other players to contribute too. Third, and relatedly, our full backs could give us a bit more going forwards, particularly in terms of delivery into the box. That our revival has taken place with Big Lad back in the starting XI is no coincidence - he's been doing an excellent job up front, especially against Norwich - but he needs to add goals, and to do that he'll be counting on better service from wide areas.

Shorter and sweeter

Interesting stuff in the Guardian, who have analysed the stats from our impressive back-to-back victories against Chelsea and Spurs and concluded that a significant change of style has taken place. Gone (thankfully) is the aimless hoof 'n' hope of last season, and in its place a shorter passing game that relies on swift counter-attacks. That's certainly been a noticeable feature of our three away wins so far this season, and is perhaps attributable to the presence of Loic Remy in the side (not that hoofball was perfectly tailored for Papiss Cisse, mind).

One person who's no doubt delighted by the change is Dreamboat, who initially signed up after discussing footballing philosophy with the Silver Fox and who must therefore have felt somewhat betrayed by last season's tactics. The new approach (or, rather, reverting to the old approach) suits him far better, and is probably one of the reasons why his performance levels have been so much higher this time around.

Demba disillusioned by directness

It seems that missing out on the African Footballer Of The Year award isn't the only reason Demba Ba's not a happy bunny. Eleven goals so far this season would suggest that our tactics are suiting him well - and yet he's grumbling: "I’m not happy when the team does not create anything. Fans come to see beautiful games with beautiful actions and not long balls from the goalkeeper to the striker."

All of which is unlikely to do anything to dampen the fires of speculation surrounding a possible move away from St James' Park in January, should any club activate the clause in Ba's contract. In that same interview - given to the French media, as these loose-lipped interviews usually are - he described potential suitors Arsenal as "a very attractive club", though he did also suggest that it's all just idle rumour: "They know Arsenal need strikers, they know a release clause is inserted in my contract, so they make speculations."

If our top scorer is to be sold, then the same rumour mill has it that we already have a ready-made replacement lined up in the form of Loic Remy. The French striker has fallen out of favour with Marseille, but not long ago was being pursued by Chelsea and Spurs, amongst others. Interestingly, the suggestion is that it wouldn't be a straight cash deal, with one of our Frenchmen moving to the south of France as well as a sizeable transfer fee. Watch this space, as they say.

The Becks factor

Following his intimation that we were interested in the loan signing of one David Beckham in the Wigan post-match interview, it seems Alan Pardew has come up against a brick wall. Asked about the potential signing yesterday, he commented: "I think it is unlikely. We have targets elsewhere which give probably more chance of fruition than that one." That brick wall has in all likelihood been erected by 'Appy 'Arry, who appears to have muscled himself into pole position.

To be honest, I won't be too disappointed if we miss out. Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of Beckham who feels his qualities have often been understated and undervalued. But even if he'd add something to the playing squad and be a positive and vastly experienced presence in the dressing room, I'm not sure marquee signings of past-their-prime players are really what we need (or what the parsimonious Jabba would permit). We'd presumably have to pay a substantial proportion of his wage, if not all of it, and with a tight budget we'd probably be better served investing the money in more than one player, and with an eye to the future rather than the past. The recruitment of Sol Campbell - not currently looking like it's paying dividends - should perhaps be a cautionary tale...

Of those "targets elsewhere" mentioned by Pardew, one or more may well be sold to us by 'Arry 'imself - Robbie Keane, as previously reported, but perhaps also David Bentley and/or Jamie O'Hara. Pardew admitted: "I can't say we haven't spoken to Spurs, because I was speaking to them last week, and we talked about players. I think they want some movement, and we want some movement. Whether we take a player from Spurs is a question I can't answer, but we're looking at the market, and we want to bring an offensive player in."

According to the Daily Heil, another attacking player on our radar is PSG's Benin international right winger Stephane Sessegnon. The reported interest in Beckham, Bentley and Sessegnon certainly doesn't bode well for Wayne Routledge and also perhaps suggests that Pardew would like to see ASBO operating more centrally rather than out on the flank, as part of a five-man midfield. That's his natural position, but we wouldn't reap the full benefit of his crossing ability.

I also think that, in general, we look better with a fairly traditional 4-4-2 set-up rather than 4-5-1, regardless of whether the latter is supposedly fluid so it can swiftly tranform into a 4-3-3 when we're on the attack. That said, we do need reinforcements and Pardew also needs quality personnel to be able to be flexible with his line-ups - sticking too rigidly to a preferred formation can be as costly as switching it for each game.