Big day for Wijnaldum. Haven't seen the goals, but I like him as a midfielder because he's good at getting in the box and scoring. Looks like he was lining up out wide though.
He did play wide left, and as long as he's not under orders to hug the touchline, the role suits him and the team well. After all, if he played centre mid in a 4-4-2 the defensive responsibility would weigh on him, and giving him a free role behind a lone central striker would step on the toes of Perez, who is the team's most intelligent and bravest forward, and who has a happy tendency to score important goals.
Four goals in a single game is an extraordinary achievement, but I'd have appreciated a little less grandstanding in his celebrations. (For an explanation, see the league table, and then search for Newcastle's name in the league cup draw).
Still, Sunday was a heap of fun, and cathartic in the same way the 8-0 over Sheffield Wednesday was in 1999.
Its a game best not thought about too long, mind. All the defenders who played were terrible. Its just that seven had the consolation of not being Sebastien Bassong, who distinguished himself as the worst of the worst.
The centre of midfield was little less accident-prone. The first time I remembered Tettey was playing was in the 84th minute, when he was subbed. Graham Dorrans was every inch the West Brom discard. For the home team, Steve McClaren took inspiration from Mary Shelley, trying to make a competent midfielder by grafting 45 minutes of Tiote onto 45 minutes of Anita. It was a droll idea, but the result was a monstrosity on a par with Frankenstein's creation. Jack Colback looked a paragon of virtue, by dint of hitting a couple of nice passes and desperately throwing his body around near his own goal.
The game marked the return to competitive football of Moussa Sissoko after a nine month absence. He found space smartly, experimented with passing rather than running fast in a straight line, and discovered that the method had its uses. He only watched his man for Norwich's first goal, which was abominable, because Janmaat was having enough trouble as it was (not least marking an inside forward who didn't exist in the build-up to the second goal, when there was an undefended real-life opponent outside him).
Mitrovic's goal was beautiful and Sheareresque. At 4-2, Perez was still willing to be clattered to help the team score, and his quick mind and execution were as vital as ever.
Whether four players can carry seven for long remains to be seen. If Newcastle find more naive opponents than Norwich this season, it'll likely be by looking in the mirror. But the old enemy- hope of better days to come looms on the horizon.