Newcastle United manager John Carver has admitted that he tried to outfox opposite number Alan Pardew with his team selection ahead of the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening.
Carver, who was Pardew's assistant during his stint as Magpies boss, decided to play two strikers up front and hand Papiss Cisse his first start since early December.
Carver admits that while his selection initially caught Palace out, with Cisse opening the scoring, Pardew's expert knowledge of his former players paid off as the home side drew level after the break.
"I know for a fact that he got a little bit of a surprise by our team selection," Carver told Sky Sports News.
"I was brave from the start by sticking two strikers in the team. But it was not working for us and I needed to change the shape of the team, and I did. But when someone knows your team inside out, it is sometimes very difficult and I was expecting them to do something different.
"Then he changed it and put [Jason] Puncheon into the middle of midfield and brought on an extra striker. He had quite a few strikers on at the end! And we knew he was going to put us under pressure."
Carver took over as Newcastle manager after Pardew left to join Palace in December.
Steven Toplis
