Newcastle United: 10 Areas the Toon Army Can Improve Next Season

For a top six club, it's always hard to outline weaknesses and to criticise the operations of a team, especially considering that just two seasons ago that very team was trying to get by in the Championship.

Still, it's important to look at exactly where a team could improve. Based on that, I have compiled a list of 10 areas that Europa League-hopeful, Newcastle United, can improve to maybe move into the top four come the 2012-13 season.

Defence as a Whole

The Toon defence has been nowhere near perfect in recent months, despite starting the season as one of the very best in the Premier League.

An array of costly mistakes and an injury to home-grown centre-back Steven Taylor have been major setbacks for the unit, and to compete with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United things will have to improve drastically.

Newcastle certainly have the talent, with two promising young full-backs, and an international quality centre-back and captain, in Fabricio Coloccini, but some depth and time to gel are well-needed.

Goal Scoring

Demba Ba's scoring outburst this season has been somewhat of a cover up for Newcastle's hidden inability to actually score goals.

Outside of Ba, not a single player on the team has scored more than five goals this season, with Leon Best leading the rest of the pack with four. Ben Arfa has looked dangerous in limited action but, again, his three goals this season simply aren't enough to get by.

The signing of Papiss Cisse is looking to pay dividends early on and he could well be the fix that the Toon were looking for. Still, it could take until next season for Cisse to fully adjust to Premier League football and some extra scoring from midfield and the bench could be very useful.

Getting Players on the Same Page

Part of the problems Newcastle have had recently is that there simply isn't enough connection between the players.

When Cheik Tiote left for the African Cup of Nations, the team seemed to fall apart and their play was dysfunctional at best. Chemistry was an issue without his presence and, even when he has been there, things have been far from perfect.

Newcastle's best player could well be Hatem Ben Arfa, but his inability to work well with the rest of the team has carved out a place for him on Alan Pardew's bench.

If only the players could get themselves on the same page, we could see some more of the world-class potential on this squad shine through.

Consistency

The idea of "consistency" may be the biggest cliche in sports, but that doesn't reduce its importance.

It's hard to believe that any team could beat Manchester United 3-0 and lose to Fulham 5-2 in the same season, with a similar team trotting out on the pitch. Something must be corrected to make sure a high level of performance is achieved in every game.

Of course, international tournaments and nagging injuries can hamper a team's consistency, but on the whole there have been very few players who have played consistently on a game-to-game basis.

A great example is Demba Ba, who had been challenging for the Golden Boot all season but disappeared against Sunderland and eventually missed an important penalty late on.

Similarly, goalkeeper Tim Krul made his fair share of howlers and unbelievable saves during the campaign, at times looking like a world-beater and at others looking like just another keeper. 

Avoiding Major Injuries

There aren't many things in sports that hurt a team more than injuries, and Newcastle United are a perfect example of how just one injured player could turn a season around.

Of course, in this case I'm taking about the injury-prone Steven Taylor, who once again finds himself injured for an extended period of time during the most important stretch of the season.

The defender's injury has not coincidentally been followed by a number of poor defensive performances, including the two games against Fulham and Spurs whereby five goals were conceded in each.

Obviously, injuries are a very hard thing for Newcastle to actively try and avoid but maybe if they're more cautious (and they replace the pitch's grass with four-leaf clovers), they'll find the luck to keep their important players in shape all season long.

Discipline

Newcastle's discipline has come under question both on and off the field this season.

The off-the-field struggles of starlet Nile Ranger have been well-documented, to say the least, and finding a successful method of discipline for the striker has been a struggle. There is no doubt that Ranger's behaviour has cast a shadow over the club's recent performances and given the team a bad reputation but not a single punishment has taught him a lesson.

As for on-the-field discipline, the Magpies currently sit 16th in the Fair Play table, having amassed 48 yellow cards and two reds. The two red cards can probably be handled in the long run, but the yellow cards add up as the season goes on in terms of suspensions.

Also, we must remember that the winner of the Fair Play League gets a shot at European football, something that isn't necessarily a given for Newcastle next year, even at this point in the season.

Add Quality off the Bench

I didn't really want to get into bringing in new players in this article, as that is a topic that has been much discussed elsewhere, but Newcastle do need to start bringing on quality players from the bench.

Having Ben Arfa in place to come on has been a luxury, but outside of him there haven't been many players of equal value to the starting XI to play.

Danny Guthrie has been solid as well, but the likes of James Perch and even Leon Best and Shola Ameobi (how dare I after his goal on Sunday?) shouldn't be receiving as much playing time as they have.

Instead, Newcastle should invest in some better quality players from elsewhere in the transfer window, to add depth and to give Pardew a range of realistic options when it comes to selecting his match-day squads. 

Stop Changing Core Players

Just over a year ago, Newcastle United were built around the performances of Kevin Nolan, Andy Caroll and Joey Barton, three players who have moved on to mixed results elsewhere.

Pardew's plan to switch the core of this team from Nolan, Carroll and Barton to Ba, Coloccini and Cabaye/Tiote has certainly payed off with Newcastle's much-improved positioning in the table this season, but it's a method that won't work every season.

Newcastle now have a squad set for the long-haul and the core should no longer be tampered with. The most successful teams in the Premier League have been around each other for a while and the same needs to be able to be said about Newcastle for them to seriously challenge for a Champions League spot. 

Developing Young Talent

Ever since their fall to the Championship, an influx of home-grown youth has been an important factor for building success on Tyneside.

The transfer of Andy Carroll a year ago was an example of how raising players can pay off, but now Newcastle need some of this talent to actually help Newcastle on the pitch, rather than bringing in massive transfer funds.

At the moment, Newcastle's premiere "prospects", so to speak, are Sammy Ameobi, Shane Ferguson and Haris Vuckic, who have all seen at least a little bit of first team action this season.

Next season, the trio should see a lot more time playing with the big boys and they need to be up to task as they haven't made too much of an impact so far.

I can't fault the players for not being greatly impactful in their first few senior games but, come next season, expectations will be lifted and there will be a real need for contribution from them.

Make a Decision Regarding the Stadium

The final area of improvement may be trivial to some, but for many is an important step that Newcastle ownership must take next season.

The name change of Newcastle United's home stadium from St. James' Park to the Sports Direct Arena has been a controversial topic since its announcement in 2011 and for good reason.

What Newcastle now need to do is please their fan base, either by reverting the name back to the one it had had for the best part of 120 years, or by following through with the plan and bringing in a full-time paying sponsor of the stadium.

The free advertising for Sports Direct needs to be stopped, as it doesn't help the club financially and it goes against more than a century's worth of tradition all in one swift move.