A ridiculously exciting Saturday of football was followed by an underwhelming Sunday and then an iffy encounter between Swansea and Watford, all while the transfer window continued to rumble. Here’s 5 things we learned from the weekend:

1 Jonjo Voldermort adds missing dynamic to Newcastle’s midfield

Excuse the cheap joke at his expense, but there’s a new saviour in Newcastle and his name is Jonjo Shelvey. Many, myself included, were indifferent to his £12M transfer up north. I’ve never been a particularly strong Shelvey advocate, but McClaren and Co. were clearly keen and decided to give him a shot at redemption, following his unprecedented exiling at the Welsh club. He lined up alongside Jack Colback in a 4-2-3-1 and it certainly worked a treat as Newcastle considered themselves unlucky to only take a 2 goal lead in at half time.

Projecting for this team long-term, I’d say that Shelvey’s addition does genuinely make Newcastle a dangerous proposition going forward, with McClaren finally coming to the conclusion that Perez and Mitrovic are his first choice pairing up front. It also means Wijnaldum will never again be pigeon-holed into that deep midfield role where he struggles. But don’t be picking up Chancel Mbemba or Daryl Janmaat any time soon. Shelvey looks like he can add some value to the team, but shielding the defence is most certainly not his forte.

2 Gut check time for Norwich

Norwich were reportedly in for Benik Afobe during the transfer window, but it was Afobe they saw poking the ball past Declan Rudd to score and cap off a 3-0 win. (I told you last week about Afobe.) Their frontman, Dieumerci Mbokani shanked his best chance wide from 25 yards. It’s been a chronic issue for the East Anglian club and the weekend brought their third consecutive loss, and in those three games combined they only managed a single goal. It’s getting closer and closer to the time in the season where the relegation picture becomes all too clear for about 5 or 6 clubs.

Norwich have had probably the quietest time of anyone this season. If they fail to pick up anything in their next two games against Tottenham (H) and Liverpool (H), we’ll learn a lot about the squad. Squads can react differently under pressure and we’re yet to see this effect on Norwich. Most seasons, there’s one relegation-threatened yet resilient team who can earn you plenty of points down the stretch of the season by pulling out unlikely results. Think Connor Wickham for Sunderland in 13/14. The Canaries look set to bring in Steven Naismith and he’s exactly the sort of nondescript player who wins someone a lot of money in April and May. But first, let’s see what Norwich are made of in the coming weeks and whether they’re worthy of our fantasy faith.

3 Charlie Austin isn’t guaranteed to succeed with Saints

“Bargain!” came the cries of much of the football community, when news broke early Saturday morning that Southampton were bolstering their ranks by signing Charlie Austin for the mere fee of £4M. He was a fantasy favourite last year scoring 18 goals in a typically rancid QPR side and made himself the second best budget English striker (Hi, Harry) that performed way, way above their price. Graziano Pelle hasn’t resembled what he once was in what’s been a middling season for Saints, most likely due to the departure of Morgan Schneiderlin.

On balance, Austin is worth the gamble for Ronald Koeman. It’s understandably difficult trying to concoct a viable attack from the aforementioned Pelle, the erratic Shane Long and a weirdly under-performing Sadio Mane, who seems to be dangerous in most games he plays but just can’t score. But it’s not a cut-and-dried decision. There’s widespread suspicion over the state of his knees so don’t be surprised to see Ben Dinnery, the frequent bringer of bad news, looming with frequent updates on Austin each weekend. Southampton also rely on an unholy amount of crosses to sustain their attack and while Austin is fairly proficient in the air, he played alongside Bobby Zamora last season which took a hefty burden off of him. It’s not a guaranteed fit, but if anyone needs a pep in their step going forward it’s Southampton.

4 Giroud and Arsenal need one of Ozil, Sanchez

Olivier Giroud is possibly the most polarizing player in the Premier League, carving out an ability to be overrated by many and underrated by an equal amount. He grabbed two against Liverpool, who have unwillingly become one of Giroud’s favourite foes as the Frenchman scored in 3 of his last four outings against them. Suddenly that was it. It was Giroud’s turn in the spotlight, once again. There would be no transfer rumours between Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon. No more debating whether Walcott was better up front. This was it. Olivier’s time to shine.

Well, it didn’t go entirely to plan. Arsenal came away with a mildly frustrating point, but also grateful just to avoid one of their trademark collapses to a mid-table side. But Giroud, wonderfully handsome spearhead that he is, could not offer much in front of an eternally bitter Stoke crowd. What became resoundingly evident as Oxlade-Chamberlain toiled in vain, was that if Arsenal are to be the elite offensive unit we’ve seen then it’s imperative that they have a talisman available, either of Chilean or German nationality. Fortunately for Arsene Wenger’s side, the pair should be cleared for selection by next weekend. Unfortunately for Olivier Giroud, it is no longer his time to shine.

5 Motivation the key determiner in the second half of the season

Swansea have been tossing and turning since around about September, going through arguably their worst stretch of form since being promoted back in 2011. Gomis looked angry, Sigurdsson subdued and Jefferson Montero sadly nowhere to be found after lighting up several fullbacks at the start of the season. It resulted in their promising manager Garry Monk being dismissed and the club being drawn into their first real relegation fight. Although their substandard performances have put them there, the danger of the drop does give them the drive to win games such as a Monday night clash with Watford.

The Hornets, by the way, look like this season’s West Ham. Having had an auspicious first half to the season, it’s extremely difficult for them to kick on at all after the turn of the New Year. They won’t get European football of any sort and are very comfortably tucked up in mid-table away from the bottom three. This will probably be reflected more in their attacking output than their defence which is tried-and-trusted. In other words, take the risk and lay off Ighalo and Deeney a touch if you want to try and stay ahead of the competition.

In the second half of the season, motivation can be just as big a factor as the talent on the pitch.

Harry Wallace is a Leicester City fan and Fantasy Football enthusiast. Both have been known to be unsuccessful at times. Keep track of his football related thoughts on Twitter.