It’s staggering to think that Dan Gosling has been at Newcastle United for 15 months. In that time he’s spent about 10 minutes on the field and has yet to start a game for the club due to a knee injury suffered at the tail end of the 2009/10 whilst playing for former club Everton. A calamitous 120-second cameo at the Stadium of Lightin January, which was supposedly, the start of his ‘comeback’ ended up with him crocked again and ruled out for the rest of the season.
As a season ticket holder I’ve yet to see him trot out onto the St James’ Park turf. Now back in the fold and fighting fit he is also vying for a place in the most competitive area of the Magpies squad. Gosling has laid down the gauntlet to boss Alan Pardew pledging to deliver goals from midfield and offer an energetic presence in the centre of the park. Is it time he was given a chance?
Vitality is certainly something that has been absent in Newcastle’s midfield and attack so far this campaign and Gosling would provide that in abundance. He would supply an extra dimension than the patient and measured approach adopted since the signing of Yohan Cabaye, which has wielded only three goals in four Premier League games.
The loss of Joey Barton forced Pardew into adopting a 4-4-2 formation against QPR on Monday, which saw Cabaye and Cheick Tiote over loaded and unable to attain any space which would allow them to link up with the front line that was starved of any real service and barely able to examine Paddy Kenny’s goalkeeping capabilities. Long story short the side was crying out for an extra midfielder to take the burden away from the first choice pairing.
When in possession passing the ball out wide was the only option with QPR having the extra man in midfield making it difficult to reach a pair of strikers who are limited in their abilities. Off the ball Newcastle struggled to contain the home sides three midfielders as they came forward as a unit. Pardew admitted he made an error with his tactics at Loftus Road and it’s likely he’ll revert to the 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation against Aston Villa on Saturday, a system that worked to great effect last season and for a number of games in the current campaign. If he does go with three then Gosling has to be given a chance.
With the likes of Leon Best, Shola Ameobi and Demba Ba vying for a place up front it’s plain to see that Newcastle have strikers who are limited in the way they play and in all honesty aren’t the best in terms of hitting the net. The team is crying out for a midfielder who can fill the box-to-box role that Tiote and Cabaye are incapable of providing.
At 21-years-old Gosling has the legs, fitness and enthusiasm to perform in that role to a very high standard. However one thing that could count in his favour is the fact Pardew inherited him and has brought his own playmaker of sorts in Cabaye. The midfield is at it’s most competitive level in recent season and Gosling’s cause hasn’t been helped by the fact he’s the treatment room has been his port of call for a majority of the managers reign.
Did you not watch the Villa match? I’m going to assume you didnt, since Cabaye pushed forward and performed admirably, disproving every one of your points in this article.
Also, Gosling will get a start on tuesday.
What a seriously ill informed article. Forgotten man? Pardew has already stated that he will be integrated again over the next 3 or 4 games after yet another setback. As for the incapable Cabaye comment, you clearly weren’t there yesterday, to see one of the best performances in a black and white shirt in a long time. Cabaye good enough to play for most teams and had an impact at both ends of the pitch. A box to box player you might say
Firstly, even for a website like futbol, this article is still a shocking one. If you haven’t done your homework, why write a piece of article which is clearly totally inaccurate and with points which are based on nothing? Other than an attempt to wind up Newcastle fans, what else can this article achieve?
The previous two replies have already indicated how inaccurate this article is, and also what I have in mind as well. The bottom line is, Dan Gosling is not a forgotten man, far from it in fact. Please do some research prior to writing another piece of article like this. Much appreciated.
The lad is a toon fan through and through & wrote this on Football Fancast almost a week ago before Pardew’s comments about re-integrating him & Gosling’s promise to score goals if he plays.
It’s just that this particular website has chosen to repost this now (bad timing, especially after the Villa game I know).
Also to the above accurate posts please look back at last season’s records. We started with 4-5-1 early but the majority (ie over 50%) we played 4-4-2 and also gained more points per game from the latter, not sure where it’s come from but there is this myth that we played 4-5-1 exclusively last year, Nolan scored most of his goals from a central 2 with Tiote and Barton on the right of midfield
First of all I wrote the article before Saturday’s game and It was evidenced by the defensive minded performances that Cabaye & Tiote have put in this season. No criticism, just fact.
Second of all, my OPINION is that Gosling isn’t favoured by Pardew as he was an inherited player. Judging by his form in pre-season he should have been making strides as a regular in the first 11. Has he? No. If he’s just going to be a Carling Cup player & substitute then what does that make him?