A Discussion On Tactics, Styles And The Qualities Our Players Have

Firstly, rest in peace to Graham Taylor, man who I had the pleasure of meeting when I was a child and even then he had the time and patience to talk football with me.

Although some people may not know, Graham Taylor was very found of our club and could often be found in the crowd at St James', according to reports.

The man who currently occupies the post of Newcastle manager, is of course, Rafa Benitez. Benitez is a man who commands respect worldwide, within the sport, having won almost everything that he could possibly have.

However, this has not stopped him from being questioned from Newcastle fans in recent weeks.

Many fans have already written off his summer signing, Matz Sels, due to a number of errors, while many feel that another of his signings, DeAndre Yedlin, is one of the sides most crucial player.

As always, I am here to offer an alternate view.

I think Sels has great potential, he has some great qualities and in my opinion he is just taking time to adapt to the physicality of the English league.

He is excellent at time-wasting, having an ability to kill the game when needed, as we saw away to Bristol City. He is also comfortable receiving the ball.

There is no denying that he must improve, but David De Gea and Edwin Van Der Sar took up to two years to reach their potential, so to write Sels off after a few games seems very premature to me. Instead, I think we should be patient, accept that there will be errors along the way, and encourage him to reach his undoubted potential.

Speaking of potential, not many in our squad have more of it than DeAndre Yedlin, but it seems that the American will be forgiven for any mistakes that he makes by the fans, very unlike Sels.

Many feel that Yedlin is crucial if Newcastle are to be promotion, because of his pace, energy and aggression. The one problem with this, is that if Yedlin plays, Vurnon Anita does not.

Yedlin may have the potential to be better than his Dutch competitor, but currently, I feel that Anita has a better positional sense and possesses more calmness and composure.

Rotating them appears to be the best option, which is something that Benitez is doing fantastically well.

One player who is rotated very rarely, is the captain Jamaal Lascelles.

If Lascelles is to continue his run in the side, without a challenge, then he also has some things that he must improve.

In South America, defenders are very comfortable defending one against one and are extremely happy in possession of the ball.

The central defenders who do this, often play outside of the traditional defensive structure and alternating between pressing high up the pitch and sweep up behind their defensive partner, David Luiz is probably the best example of this in England.

This is something that I think would improve Lascelles' game. The Newcastle captain is strong, quick and great in the air, but if he could learn to be more comfortable on the ball and happier to be one against one with attackers, he could reach the very top of the game.