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Tyne Talk

Newcastle United – Keep On Running

12 years ago
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The latest EA Sports Player Performance Index makes interesting reading, amongst the information they provide is the distance covered during matches by individual players and as a team.

Of course you have to do something with the ball as well but the distance covered is a decent indicator as to the energy and stamina in your team.

At the start of the season Newcastle United were the team covering the most distance in matches, now United are in sixth (coincidence with our league position?) with a total of 1811 miles in Premier League matches so far. The team out in front is Norwich City who have covered 1879 miles so far, clearly our players will have to match the visitors’ workrate or else it could spell trouble.

At The Emirates on Monday Newcastle actually outran Arsenal by 50.15 miles to 48.75 which backs up what we saw with our own eyes, it wasn’t a lack of effort that failed to bring any points home.

Any idea which player covered most distance for Newcastle against the Gunners?

That would be Yohan Cabaye with 5.27 miles.

I’ve noticed some fans questioning his recent contributions but these figures support my view that as against Arsenal, Cabaye is being asked to do a more defensive role than earlier in the season and I thought the workrate he put in trying to counter the Arsenal midfield was exceptional.

The challenge for Alan Pardew and Newcastle United is to bring in extra quality players that will allow Cabaye to play further up the pitch and give the opposition something to think about.

 

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