Rafa Benitez knows that if he is to keep Newcastle in the Premier League then it will be built on defensive diligence and organisation.
For that reason, he has been reluctant to give his players too much freedom to play with this season. Nevertheless, the current signs are that it will work.
One thing Benitez's style of management, which focuses largely on team cohesion and collective responsibility, doesn't allow for much of is dribbling.
That requires a break-out of individual flair and Benitez is notoriously reluctant to offer that to his players, even the ones that might be able to go and win him a game.
With that in mind, Football FanCast have taken a look at Newcastle's most prolific dribblers so far this season.
We wanted to see who would come out on top and also how much freedom they've been given to complete take-ons.
Click to find out who topped the rankings...
Merino - valued at £9m by Transfermarkt - enjoyed a bright start to his Magpies career before tailing off slightly but Benitez will hope he can recapture his form by the end of the season.
The Spaniard is a highly rated player but maybe doesn't offer as much defensive solidity as Benitez would like.
That is somewhat reflected in his place on this list; I get the feeling that Rafa doesn't want his central midfielders taking on too many opponents.
Yedlin is valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt and has developed into a solid right-back under Benitez.
He has blistering pace, that he is clearly not shy about utilising to break past opponents and push the Magpies forward from wide areas.
With Matt Ritchie often ducking inside ahead of him, he is often free to scamper down the outside and that attacking thrust will be of great use to Benitez in the relegation dogfight.
Perez is often charged with linking Newcastle's midfield and attack, which can involve a lot of shuttling up and down with the ball, in tight areas.
He's an underrated player, capable of operating in tight areas, scoring, assisting as well as carrying the ball forward.
Benitez needs him to keep it up between now and the end of the season.
This Newcastle team lacks a lot of outright pace but Atsu is capable of providing it, especially on the counter attack.
He helps this Magpies team claw their way up the pitch and that means they are not forced under the cosh for too long at a time.
He doesn't play every week and Kenedy is now giving him very stern competition for his place but he still has a big role to play.
Murphy was the subject of a protracted transfer wrangle with Norwich City in the summer but Benitez was desperate to get his man and did just that.
Despite that, he hasn't been able to nail down a starting spot. However, it is clear from these numbers that the Englishman is doing his best to catch the eye when he gets on the ball.
I wouldn't expect him to start much but he might just be the perfect impact sub to have.