I have often thought that he would be best in midfield but as he has not played there regularly then who knows. He has masses of talent, can take on and beat people, retains the ball well and can tackle – he is also not too shabby on pace. However, our midfield is a little cluttered at the moment so we will just have to wait and see.

“Yes we will listen to your requests for players and buy none of them. We will sell any player for a profit at the drop of a hat. We will do anything to promote Sports Direct and do you mind working for an idiot? That’s wonderful, just sign here and we’ll pretend to offer you a long contract……..”

Sunderland were knackered with half an hour to go and yet there didn’t seem to be any great plan as to how to break them down.

Throwing Shola on had me shaking my head and sure enough Newcastle started to boot it long up the middle, final confirmation that any ‘tactics’ were out of the window.

Instead Alan Pardew came up with an ingenious way of bringing Ben Arfa back into the team and that was as a kind of centre forward, though not as the kind of centre forward we have ever seen.

Loic Remy will earn all the plaudits for his two expertly taken goals but it was Yohan Cabaye who really ran the game for Newcastle, his redemption from the summer transfer debacle now all but complete with the former Lille player looking back to his best and delivering one of his best performances in a black and white shirt.

Krul, Debuchy, Colo, Taylor (I know, but he is the only centre-back who carries a goal threat), Dummett; Anita (Tiote is always getting booked and is suspended missing far too many games); Santon (he is naturally right footed and good going forward but is no defender hence no promotion from Italy’s u21s. Also HBA is too much talk and hype and too little action), Sissoko, Cabaye, Goufran; Remy

It is well worth watching this video interview with Alan Pardew when he spoke just before kick-off, the manager explaining why he made these changes…

Both of Loic Remy’s goals came about from good awareness on his part and confident finishing. A damning statistic for Newcastle’s offensive efforts? Other than the two goals, Newcastle didn’t have a single other shot on target, despite 15 efforts

Should Cabaye be given a start he’ll have a lot to prove to the Newcastle faithful after allegedly refusing to play earlier in the season following a bid from Arsenal. Cabaye vs Anita could be a key choice for Pardew to make this season

Newcastle dominated possession but were far too reliant on Ben Arfa to provide any direct attacking impetus in the first 60 minutes. The introduction of Gouffran and Remy added to Newcastle’s ability to run direct against a Fulham side who were set out to try and get a point from Tyneside.