It would not be an understatement to say that the last two weeks have been an absolute disaster for Newcastle United on the pitch.
Decimated by Fulham and dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship Brighton and Hove Albion, the Magpies are enduring the most difficult period of their campaign since the winless streak that lasted for six matches from November to mid December.
However, Alan Pardew and his side have an opportunity to quickly turn things around, as they face Steve Kean's struggling Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
Overrun in midfield against Fulham and devoid of attacking spark at Brighton, Newcastle must find a way to protect their back four and rediscover their touch in front of goal.
Danny Guthrie has struggled to fill in for Cheik Tiote in the Ivorian's absence, while Leon Best and Shola Ameobi have been wasteful up front.
Still in spite of the failings of certain individuals, it has been the formation employed by Manager Pardew that has cost Newcastle in their past two contests.
Following a successful trial of the formation in their 1-0 win over QPR, Newcastle have operated with a 4-2-3-1 formation. However, the system has been an abject failure since the victory over Mark Hughes' side.
The formation has it's advantages, with Hatem Ben Arfa, who has been deployed on the right of the three, and Jonas Gutierrez, who plays through the centre in the system, free to rotate at will, giving Newcastle an added flexibility in attack.
However, the system's downfall has been the positioning of Leon Best, who works from the left side of the three in the formation.
Irish international Best is a tireless worker who will give 100% for the cause, but for all his upside in terms of effort and work rate, Best is not a left winger, and his inability to operate in the role and provide a creative force going forward has cost Newcastle in their last two contests.
In addition it's offensive failings, the formation also has defensive shortcomings, Guthrie and Yohan Cabaye have to cover more ground defensively from a deeper position and as a result they are unable to contribute more in an attacking sense. Cabaye is the prototype box to box midfield, and he has demonstrated this on many occasions, most notably in Newcastle's 3-0 win over Manchester United.
Guthrie, however, does not have the same stamina to replicate the defensive work rate of the absent Tiote. This much was obvious in the second half at Fulham, as Clint Dempsey, Bryan Ruiz and Andrew Johnson ripped through the heart of the Newcastle midfield.
To conclude my thoughts on the 4-2-3-1 formation, I believe it is a formation that can be employed by Newcastle, but not without their full strength personnel, and in particular Tiote. The system allows a team to maintain possession, but while Newcastle did this against Brighton, they struggled to create clear cut chances.
Whilst the formation allows a team to keep the ball more effectively, it leaves them open defensively if adequate midfield cover is not present, this is what Newcastle have discovered in recent weeks and this will continue to be case if they stick with the system minus Tiote. The Magpies do not possess a speedy backline and because of this they can be considered doubly vulnerable when operating with this formation.
It is my view therefore that Alan Pardew should abandon this formation until midfield general Tiote returns. Blackburn, despite their troubles, do possess quick players such as Junior Hoilett, Ruben Rochina and Mauro Formica, and they can hurt Newcastle if given time and space.
Switching back to a 4-4-2 formation would restrict the space available to Rovers' flair players and benefit Best, whose movement as part of a front two has been an asset to Newcastle in past encounters, as well as Shola Ameobi who enjoyed his best games of the season so far against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Newcastle played 4-4-2 on both those occasions.
Newcastle have more than enough quality to beat Blackburn, even without Demba Ba and Cheick Tiote, but they must play the right system in order to do so. Rovers are fighting for their lives at the foot of the Premier League, and will be motivated in front of their home crowd on a cold Wednesday night, for that reason, it may be best to drop the 4-2-3-1 to secure victory.
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