Blame individual mistakes not tactics - Nolan
Sep 28 2010 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
KEVIN Nolan has blamed individual mistakes and not the team’s formation for Newcastle United’s poor home results.
The Magpies were unbeaten all season in the Championship at St James’ Park, but have lost two out of three on home soil so far this season following the back-to-back defeats to Blackpool and Stoke.
That has raised concerns about Chris Hughton’s preference for a lone striker, with Nolan tucked in behind Andy Carroll in an advanced midfield role.
But Nolan has dismissed the debate about systems and set-ups as he argued it was a problem defending set-pieces which allowed Stoke to take all three points on Sunday.
“People make a massive thing about it, but every Premier League team play like this,” said Nolan, whose first-half penalty on Sunday took his tally this season three goals in seven games.
“Manchester United and Chelsea play like it at home, so why can’t Newcastle play it at home? Why are we always a 4-4-2 side? I’ve never understood why Newcastle have to play two up front.
“We’ve got two wingers who ran riot in the first half (against Stoke). Even when we put Shola (Ameobi) on in the second half, it didn’t change anything.
“We’ve got to be adaptable and I think we are. We can play different formations, but we’re living in an era and a league of 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 if you like.
“You know, last week we were brilliant at Everton and nobody moaned about playing 4-5-1 then.
“We started off well against Stoke in a 4-5-1, but we let sloppy goals in and suddenly the formation is being questioned. The formation wasn’t the problem, the little mistakes at set-pieces were the problem. They were costly.”
Nolan will always look to maintain an equilibrium at Newcastle, refusing to be too disheartened by a defeat or over-confident after a victory.
It is part of his job as skipper and, despite his frustration at seeing Stoke overturn a 1-0 half-time deficit, the former Bolton Wanderers star looked to ensure the disappointment does not fester.
