Is Steve McClaren Newcastle's Only Hope?

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There are few more memorable collapses in Premier League history than the one experienced by Newcastle United after the departure of Alan Pardew last season. Nineteen games into the season, Newcastle has amassed 26 points under Pardew’s management. Had he stayed and sustained Newcastle’s first half form, it would’ve been enough for a 10th place finish.

Though that would not have been the greatest return, it certainly better than what came under the management of Pardew’s replacement, John Carver. He managed a meager 13 points in the last half of the season, only narrowly avoiding relegation in the process.

His inevitable departure at the season’s conclusion freed the club to pursue outgoing Derby manager Steve McClaren. The move represents something of a gamble for the northeast club. Since his parting of ways with the England national setup, McClaren’s done stints in the Eredivisie (twice) and Bundesliga. Such international experience is unique among English managers. Indeed, before McClaren won the Eredivisie with FC Twente in 2010, no English manager had won any league (including the Premier League) since Bryan Robson won at Porto in 1996.

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The style and tactics with which McClaren won at Twente have stayed with him. He still plays the modifiable 4-3-3 Twente was fielding even before his arrival. That formation so dominates McClaren’s thinking of the game today that he’ll often field it even if injuries or suspensions to key players might make it less than ideal. It’s that fundamentalist approach to an increasingly pragmatic sport that helped cut his tenure at Wolfsburg in Germany short and compromised his ability to get Derby promoted over two years with the Championship side.

All that said, Newcastle have reason to greet McClaren’s appointment with some enthusiasm. What limitations he usually encounters from his tactical rigidity could be offset by Newcastle’s relatively more robust roster compared to his former clubs. The northeast club’s depth chart is not lacking in quantity, and indeed features a considerable amount of versatility for a midtable team. McClaren should be less hurting at Newcastle when his preferred starters are unavailable compared to elsewhere.

His fortunes are further buoyed by the amount of confidence owner Mike Ashley has thus far displayed in him. Ashley’s financed the purchase McClaren’s targets: PSV’s star attacking midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and Anderlecht’s promising striker Aleksander Mitrović.

Let’s see how they’ll fit in McClaren’s 4-3-3.

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Wijnaldum will play in a role pivotal to McClaren’s system. Derby’s Will Hughes is probably the best analogue to what we can expect from the young Dutchman next season. He should settle in to be the primary link between a midfield pair and the front three, shuttling and distributing the ball between phases of play.

Another characteristic of McClaren’s system is the lack of a classical holding or defensive midfielder. He prefers additional passers and box-to-box types over hard tacklers or tight markers. This puts a good amount of pressure on the backline, and therefore the system relies heavily on talented centre-backs and disciplined fullbacks.

That latter point might be a point of concern for Newcastle. As great as he might still be, Fabricio Coloccini is rapidly aging out of the game. What’s worse, his frequent partner at centre-back, Mike Williamson, tends to underwhelm. If there’s some glimmer of hope here it’s that Jamaal Lascelles will be returning from a successful loan stint at Nottingham Forest. Though he’s only 21, there’s a chance he finds himself in a starting role sooner rather than later.

Midfielder Jack Colback was arguably the best – and certainly most consistent – player at Newcastle last season. He should be joined in midfield by Moussa Sissoko, though it’s conceivable that Cheik Tioté slides in there if Newcastle’s defense can’t operate without proper cover.

It’s ahead of the midfield where the effectiveness of McClaren’s system is really hinged. Those wide players – here predicted as French winger pair of Remy Cabella and Yoan Gouffran though youngster Rolando Aarons will almost certainly find a way into the starting XI eventually – need to be especially versatile in their transitions between attack and defense. With the ball, the pair should push up and join Mitrović in attack. Off the ball, they should drop back to form something closer to a 4-4-1-1, with Wijnaldum staying advanced of the midfield to provide an additional outlet once the ball is retrieved.

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For all the talk of McClaren’s stubborn approach to fielding his starting XI, there’s a lot to like about a system like this. McClaren’s 4-3-3 is in fact something of a chimera, embracing the best parts of several styles almost simultaneously. While it relies strongly on some talented players with high work rates, it’s flexible enough to cope with all but the highest expressions of other tactical formations.

The three-man midfield crowds out the central midfield pair in an opposing 4-4-2, easing the process of maintaining possession. Wijnaldum is essentially in a more or less free role, helping not only to set up and score goals but also to drag opposing centre-backs back and thus make rooms for the runs of Mitrović and the wide players. In defense, the formation can be easily adjusted to shore up men behind the ball and put further pressure on the ball in midfield.

McClaren’s return to the Premier League might be one of the better untold stories of this off-season, especially from a tactical perspective. His dogmatic approach might set him apart from a league that has increasingly embraced pragmatism. Whether that will be for better or for worse remains to be seen.

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Is Steve McClaren Newcastle’s Only Hope?

By Ryan Wrenn | Jul 23, 2015

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