I saw Newcastle United's 'go for broke plan B' - and it's ready-made for one man

Newcastle United are used to teams coming to St James' Park with the aim of sitting deep and looking to hit on the counter-attack, but Saturday's defeat to Brighton marked a new and potentially worrying shift.

The tactic is usually reserved for those in the lower half of the Premier League table - those who know they can't match the Magpies when it comes to attacking talent and so they look to stifle, frustrate and take advantage of any opportunities on the break. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, by the way, you do what you need to do to pick up points at the top level.

However, seeing Brighton adopt those tactics last Saturday was something of a surprise, and should be a concern to Eddie Howe. Really, it had been coming. While United usually have the craft and guile to break down basement scrappers, they enjoy themselves more when the 'better' sides come to Tyneside to attack.

Think Aston Villa at the start of last season, or Tottenham, Chelsea, West Ham . . . games where Newcastle's stars such as Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak get space in which their pace and power can come to the fore. Even against the elite, United usually enjoy more freedom, although it comes with the caveat that they are more capable of causing their own problems, the home defeats to Man City and Liverpool last term the prime examples.

Brighton were taken apart by Chelsea a few weeks back after trying to defend high, and Fabian Hurzeler certainly learned his lesson. He set his Seagulls up to sit deep, doubling up on Gordon and Isak and giving playmakers Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali little to no space to exploit. They took their only chance to score and made the trip back to the south coast with three points and a tactical plan perfectly executed.

It means Howe will have to come up with new ways of breaking down defences on home turf, but the United head coach will relish the challenge. Indeed, we briefly saw a change of formation against Brighton that we could see a lot more of in the future.

When an equaliser didn't come early in the second half, Newcastle switched to a 4-4-2 set-up, with Gordon partnering Isak through the middle, Joelinton switching to a left-hand side role and Tonali and Bruno occupying the centre of the pitch. It almost worked too, with Gordon played in on a goal from a central position, only to get the finish wrong.

It was a chance Callum Wilson would have loved. The No 9 has not played this season after picking up a back injury in the summer, but could soon return to action. It has prompted questions of how he would fit into this side, with a bench role most likely, offering an alternative to Isak up top.

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However, the Brighton switch illustrates that Howe would be open to both Isak and Wilson operating as twin strikers. It would free up Isak to drop into space and play a more No 10 role, doing what he does best with the ball at his feet.

It needs Wilson to be fit, of course. The striker has only played six times in 2024, with only three goals in the last 12 months. But would you back against him scoring the two one-on-ones Isak and Gordon spurned against Brighton?

His fitness remains an issue, but the sooner he returns, the sooner Howe will have some much-needed options up front.