Why Newcastle Boss Alan Pardew Must Pin His Faith in Mehdi Abeid

What a turnaround it’s been at Newcastle United.

Alan Pardew has lifted the Magpies from the grasp of a seemingly inescapable nadir and re-imbued the side with a sense of optimism.

Having won none of their opening seven games (losing three and drawing four), the north-east club have now won their last four. They have conceded only one in their last four matches and haven’t lost a match since the end of September.

On the back of their revival, Pardew’s boys have moved up to eighth place in the Premier League. They currently sit ahead of Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, level on points with Manchester United and only one behind Arsenal.

Whisper it, but at the time of writing, Newcastle are only two points off the Champions League places!

“Crisis? What crisis?” asked The Guardian following the Geordies’ latest victory. 

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The side’s last two results have been among their most impressive. Admittedly, Liverpool have their own troubles at the moment, but to beat the Reds and keep a clean sheet would have been almost unthinkable for Newcastle fans some weeks previously.

Similarly, West Bromwich Albion have improved upon their early-season form and had lost only one in six before being defeated 2-0 at home by the Toon over the weekend.

The club’s turnaround has been driven by Pardew’s decision to introduce several young players into the team.

Twenty-one-year-old Spanish forward Ayoze Perez has been the stand-out performer; he has scored in his last three league outings and bagged a magnificent goal against the Albion. The back-heeled effort was described as “special” and “outstanding” by his manager, speaking to BBC Sport. 

Paul Dummett and Sammy Ameobi have come through the ranks at the club and are proving their worth, with the latter scoring in the October victory over Spurs.

Algerian midfielder Mehdi Abeid has played the full 90 minutes in Newcastle’s last two victories and, arguably, could be the pick of the bunch.

It’s been a long road to the Magpies first team for the North African, but now that he’s finally made it, the early signs look promising.

Some, including Algerian football specialist Maher Mezahi, question why it’s taken so long for Abeid to make headlines in English football.

“The real enigma is why it took so long for him to finally get game time,” began Mezahi, when I interviewed him about Abeid’s progress, “Then you had likes of Yohan Cabaye, Cheick Tiote, Dan Gosling, Vernon Anita and even Gael Bigirimana getting game time ahead of him, despite good performances with the reserves.

“His loan at St. Johnstone was successful, and again he returned to Newcastle hoping to get time. That didn't materialise last season despite a great pre-season.”

Mezahi believes that Newcastle’s struggles helped the midfielder make a mark in the Toon’s first XI: “In the end I think Newcastle's crisis helped him. Injuries and the fact that they got a result in the Cup away at City helped Pardew gain trust in some of his 'fringe' players.”

There’s certainly a case to make that the club’s struggles forced Pardew to look beyond his regular options for inspiration, but it’s important, perhaps, that Abeid was only named in the first team once things had started to go well. The club had lost only one of their previous six when he was named to face Manchester City in the Capital One Cup.

Had he been called up during the club’s listless early-season performances, there’s no guarantee that things would have gone as well for him as they had in the latter matches, once their rhythm and resiliency was established.

There’s no doubting, however, that Abeid has held his own since being introduced by Pardew.

As outlined by Mezahi: “He had a remarkably high number of tackles against Liverpool [seven according to WhoScored.com]. That's where he has improved most—his physicality. He wasn't fazed against Yaya Toure [in Newcastle’s Capital One Cup victory over Manchester City], and outmuscles a lot of attacking midfielders.”

In his last few showings for Newcastle, Abeid has played the Cheick Tiote role, replacing the injured Ivorian enforcer at the base of the midfield.

His discipline, energy and tenacity have allowed the other components of Newcastle’s midfield three, Moussa Sissoko and Jack Colback to flourish, and to impose themselves more creatively on games.

Pardew himself, quoted by the Shields Gazette, has identified “good strength, good discipline and a good mentality” as the player’s key qualities, while the Chronicle Live has given him the lovely moniker “the Engine-Room Entrepreneur.”

This, however, is not the limit of Abeid’s talents.

As Mezahi acknowledges: “At Lens, in the academy, he was primarily a right-winger, he was seen as a skilled and well-rounded midfielder that could score and assist.

“Operating in more holistic roles on loan helped him develop his skill too. He has a good touch, is very composed on the ball and has a high pass percentage. I think NUFC fans are yet to see his offensive contribution, but I think that'll come fairly soon.”

One suspects, however, that the ongoing doubt over Tiote’s immediate future may see Abeid making the defensive-midfielder role his own.

The Ivorian has been a crucial component of the Mike Ashley years at Newcastle—despite some off-colour spells—but is his time at St. James’ Park coming to an end?

The midfielder was unsettled in the summer, amidst rumours of a potential move to Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, and the Magpies may opt to cash in in January.

In the near future, however, Pardew may have a problem. Following his sterling showings for the Toon, Abeid has been called up by Christian Gourcuff for the Algeria national side.

The Desert Foxes have already qualified for the Cup of Nations, and as long as the tournament goes ahead, there’s every chance that Abeid will be present.

Pardew himself has expressed concerns [via the Chronicle Live]: “It’s interesting that Mehdi has a call-up for Algeria and he has a chance of making the Africa Cup of Nations. That’s something which is concerning me a little bit, because he’s done really well.”

In his last three showings, Abeid has demonstrated enough to indicate that Newcastle have been wise to keep faith with this long-term prospect. He has shown an aptitude for the “Cheick Tiote role,” qualities that may become particularly useful should the Ivorian depart.

Pardew has admitted as much, via the Shields Gazette: “He earned the right to play on Saturday, and hopefully he is one of the young players that could be a regular for us.”

One suspects, however, that there is much more to come from the North African talent—crucially, Pardew suspects it too.

All quotes used in this piece were collected personally by the writer, unless otherwise specified.