OF all the things Mike Ashley has done at Newcastle United, the decision to diminish the importance of the two cup competitions has arguably angered supporters most.

Kevin Keegan’s dismissal caused ructions, while the St James’ Park name change even had local politicians up in arms bemoaning a loss of heritage as the Sports Direct Arena was briefly born. To a large number of supporters though, it is the abandonment of the pursuit of silverware that causes most pain. If you’re not going to try to win something, what is the point of merely existing to exist?

So it is hugely ironic that, on the back of three successive wins, it is the diktat to make wholesale changes for the Capital One Cup that has played a pivotal role in helping to transform Newcastle’s season.

Suddenly, the decision to freshen things up and give new faces a chance to impress doesn’t look quite as ill-advised. And when Newcastle travel to White Hart Lane for their League Cup quarter-final in mid-December, don’t be surprised to see plenty of supporters urging Alan Pardew to stick to his guns and ‘play the kids’. How things change.

Having seen off Gillingham in the first round of the competition, September’s trip to Crystal Palace provided the first real test of Pardew’s attitude towards knockout football.

Judging by the response on social media, most fans weren’t particularly impressed with the side he sent out at Selhurst Park, yet by the end of extra-time, with Newcastle having run out 3-2 winners despite going down to ten men, there weren’t too many complaints about the personnel or performance.

Crucially, the promotion of Gabriel Obertan to the starting line-up had a major effect, with the previously-forgotten Frenchman’s pace enabling Newcastle to cause a succession of problems on the counter-attack.

With Sammy Ameobi surging down the opposite flank, the Magpies’ cup side had a distinctly different look to the more pedestrian line-up that was struggling in the league, and the vibrancy of Newcastle’s attacking at Selhurst Park appears to have convinced Pardew that changes were needed when the Premier League programme resumed.

They didn’t happen immediately, with the following week’s 1-0 defeat at Stoke City following a grimly familiar pattern, but Obertan came into the starting line-up at Swansea five days later and has not been out of the side since.

Ameobi has played a more prominent role from the substitutes’ bench, as evidenced by his second-half goal at Spurs last weekend, and with Papiss Cisse injured, Pardew has felt emboldened to thrust Ayoze Perez into the starting line-up, having watched the Spaniard produce a couple of successful League Cup cameos.

Remy Cabella’s demotion to the substitutes’ bench has been justified, as while the Frenchman possesses undoubted skill, he has so far been unable to match the pace of the Premier League and Newcastle’s attacking has slowed as a consequence. Obertan might be nowhere near as creatively talented as Cabella, but at the moment, it is hard to deny he is the more potent attacking option.

Would Pardew have made the switch if he hadn’t effectively been forced to do it by his superiors in the League Cup matches? It’s unlikely, but the injection of some much-needed pace into Newcastle’s attacking game has had a major impact.

Don’t underestimate the confidence that flows from an extended cup run either, something that highlights the extreme folly of the board’s stance when it comes to the knockout competitions.

When Newcastle travelled to Palace, they were desperately in need of any kind of win to boost morale. A first win of the season over Premier League opposition steadied the ship, and laid the foundations for the subsequent league victories over Leicester and Spurs.

So what will the effect of Wednesday night’s triumph at Manchester City be? Football being football, it’s impossible to know. But if nothing else, Newcastle’s players will at least head into tomorrow’s league game with Liverpool in a positive frame of mind and, for once, the mood in the stands will be celebratory rather than seething.

The Northern Echo:

The course of the narrative has changed, which is significant, and in Obertan, Rolando Aarons and Moussa Sissoko, who scored an excellent solo goal on Wednesday, the Magpies boast attacking players brimming with confidence.

Pardew must be sorely tempted to leave Yoan Gouffran out of the starting line-up and play all three, and from a position where it looked like he did not possess a single centre-forward worthy of the name, the Newcastle boss suddenly finds himself presented with a choice between Perez and Adam Armstrong, both of whom are coming off the back of fine displays.

Clearly, major issues remain, and it would be wrong to suggest that everything in the garden is rosy. But things certainly look much brighter than they appeared three or four weeks ago, and while it sticks in the throat to say it, the League Cup alterations have aided that change.

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SOMEWHAT implausibly, Newcastle find themselves three victories away from their first trophy in 45 years, but one North-East side is already celebrating some silverware after a hugely successful season.

Having justifiably kicked up a fuss about their exclusion from the first round of Women’s Super League licences, Sunderland Ladies found themselves under considerable pressure to perform after they were offered a place in the first season of Super League 2.

Six months on from their opening WSL game, and they are preparing for life in the top-flight after suffering just one defeat from 18 matches as they won the WSL 2 title by a two-point margin.

The Northern Echo:

The Lady Black Cats were magnificent all campaign, and it will be fascinating to see how they perform in the top-flight next season. They will find themselves up against clubs with far deeper pockets than their own, but given the strength of their academy and the spirit that has been engendered under long-term head coach Mick Mulhern, not to mention the goals of England youth international Beth Mead, I strongly suspect they’ll be okay.

Having watched so many of their leading talents head elsewhere to win silverware and play for their country, it is great that Sunderland can finally hold on to a player like Mead. Watching her terrorise top-flight defences will be a treat in 2015.