[2013-04-14] Danny Rose - Newcastle United vs Sunderland

Paolo Di Canio became the third Premier League manager that Danny Rose played under in the space of a year. With a fourth tracking his progress in North London, Rose's next club is as uncertain as Sunderland's next division. The left back will be playing for more than the professional pride of not being relegated: he is playing to impress. As mentioned in a previous Danny Rose blog, he feels that he is ready for first team football, be it at Tottenham or elsewhere.

With his side needing three points against their fiercest rivals, Rose was looking to replicate his form from a similar occasion on Sunday afternoon, as his side travelled to St James' Park. Despite the managerial upheaval at Sunderland, Di Canio's team, on paper, is quite similar to that of O'Neill's side. Rose continues at left back in a 4-4-1-1, with James McClean ahead of him on the left flank and John O'Shea as the left sided central defender. For Newcastle, Sylvain Marveaux played as the right attacker in a 4-3-3, with Mathieu Debuchy the opposition right back.

Rose was terrific throughout the game, defensively solid throughout. As a winger-cum-defender, playing his first full season in a new position, it was doubly impressive. After Di Canio's first game in charge against Chelsea, the Italian commented on Rose's rawness, feeling that there was room for improvement in his defensive game. Against Newcastle, Marveaux tended to drift inside from the right, leaving full back Debuchy with the responsibility of running the flank to provide some width. Rose was almost flawless against the French international, constantly using his pace and strength to shield the ball and shepherd it out of play.




Rose not only defended well on his own flank: he also covered for his teammates on a couple of occasions. His best moment of the game came when his blistering pace foiled a Newcastle counter-attack from a Sunderland free kick.


He also showed some good awareness in other instances, tracking players well and also showing some good aerial ability.



In the second half Sunderland faced few threats down their left flank, with Newcastle instead looking to the returning Ben Arfa on the opposite flank for the last half an hour. The hard-working James McClean also offered good protection to Rose throughout the match.

But if the two linked up well in defence, they offered little as an attacking threat. Against Manchester United, the duo also failed to combine well in attack. With a classic touchline hugging winger ahead of him (Di Canio implored McClean to use his right foot more in training this week), Rose, an inexperienced full back and former winger, seemed unsure about how to contribute when attacking. Today however, it seemed as though Rose was simply told not to go forward (as was Bardsley on the opposite flank), with Di Canio preferring to use the pace of his wingers and Stéphane Sessègnon on the counter instead. It took Rose until injury time to even cross the halfway line, taking on a couple of players and earning a corner.


The only blemish on Rose's game was when he dived in for a tackle on Debuchy in the first half. It was a rash tackle, committed in a part of the pitch where it wasn't necessary. Rose stood still for a good 20 seconds after the tackle, probably having flashbacks of his red card for a similarly reckless tackle on Alan Hutton last season at Villa Park. He only received a yellow this time.


It was a moment that could have undid all his previous good work and put his team under immense pressure. Hopefully, his decision making will improve with more games, as other than that moment his performance was fantastic. If he finishes the season as strongly as he played today, there'll be more than a manager in North London monitoring his progress.