ohmelads

People are really liking to post obvious things lately. So you think fatigue, tactics and the early goal played a big role in the game? Very good observation. Oh and how did we fear them? Were all over them from minute one and won 3-0, we did respect them, but it's one of the best national teams of all time, why wouldn't they respect them? Perhaps I read it wrong but every little header or even winning a throw in was greeted like a win by the crowd. Spain are a great side, then benchmark at the moment, but this is Brazil, at home. Anyway, it was a very entertaining game and quite fast paced. I'm liking this Brazil side. It's nothing to do with fear since the fans were doing the same against Mexico, Japan, Italy and Uruguay. It's about pushing your team and showing support. Next time you try to ridicule a person's post, you should read it properly first. Sorry about that. Still my ridiculing part was spot on was it not? No worries! Yeah I wrote it in a bit of a hurry, was a bit obvious in hindsight Will be interesting to see if this is just a blip for Spain or a sign of changing times. They won't (and shouldn't) abandon their football philosophy. They didn't invent pass and move, they just do it better than anyone else. Might be time to freshen up the team though given how strong their squad is. Perhaps Xavi's position in the engine room will be under threat by the next world cup.

People are really liking to post obvious things lately. So you think fatigue, tactics and the early goal played a big role in the game? Very good observation. Oh and how did we fear them? Were all over them from minute one and won 3-0, we did respect them, but it's one of the best national teams of all time, why wouldn't they respect them? Perhaps I read it wrong but every little header or even winning a throw in was greeted like a win by the crowd. Spain are a great side, then benchmark at the moment, but this is Brazil, at home. Anyway, it was a very entertaining game and quite fast paced. I'm liking this Brazil side. It's nothing to do with fear since the fans were doing the same against Mexico, Japan, Italy and Uruguay. It's about pushing your team and showing support. Next time you try to ridicule a person's post, you should read it properly first.

Think what HTT is getting at is there was none of Brazil's usual overconfident swagger. They respected rather than feared Spain though I would say, both the team and their fans. A combination of a big performance for Brazil and an off day for Spain I think. Fatigue, tactics and the early goal all played a part too.

I would definitely agree that the referee was lenient towards Brazil, considering they left the pitch without any cards after the number of fouls they committed. Doesn't take anything away from Brazil's performance going forward or their defensive display, it's more a criticism of the ref. He didn't have a great game.

Thought Brazil got their tactics spot on. Played a high intensity game from the off while Spain looked a bit jaded, perhaps from the extra time against Italy. Brazil's extra day's rest may also have played a part. Shouldn't take anything away from Brazil though, they defended excellently and looked very dangerous on the counter, a great all round performance. I still think if both teams meet again at the world cup, I'd expect a very different game. The early goal had a major impact on the rest of the game, Brazil could drop deeper then and Spain played a higher line. The crowd were lifted and the second goal came just as Spain looked like they would equalise. Still think Spain could go all the way next year despite today's result. I see their odds have stayed pretty much the same, I'm surprised to see them something like 4th favourites. Other teams will study this but Spain will have also learnt some valuable tactical lessons from today.

Sounds crazy but really seems like this appointment may be an effort to force certain people out of the club, without the need to pay off their long contracts.

The problem with the club's blueprint now is that they believe stability will bring rewards yet don't seem to give the manager sufficient freedom to build his own team. I don't think that works long term. There's no point sticking with the same man over a long period while giving him little control over transfers. I think Ashley got his fingers burnt with Allardyce, who it seems had greater freedom to bring in his own type of players and left us with a load of dross on sizeable wages that had to be cleared out. Since then, Keegan was messed around and Pardew seems to have little say over who comes in. The way the club is run we could probably do with a manager who is more adaptable than Pardew and can work with what he's given because that's how it's going to be under Ashley. I'm still doubtful good managers will come to work under those circumstances but hopefully the size of the club might tempt an up and coming manager.

I've lost patience with Pardew's negative tactics but we should accept that the good managers we want probably won't come here and work under Ashley. The manager clearly needs some say in transfers because players should be signed to complement each other and fit into a tactical plan. Not just signed randomly on an individual basis because they offer good value, which appears to be our current policy. Pardew probably looks at his long contract and thinks he's got nothing to lose - if he gets sacked he will enjoy a major payoff a la Souness.

Think it's a valid concern to be fair, although obviously we don't know all the facts. Football's a team game, and successful teams and squads are normally those who stick together and fight for each other, those that have a fantastic team and squad spirit, leadership and togetherness on and off the pitch. I am sure Pardew and any other manager would do everything in their power to keep them at the club, on the training ground and among the squad. Either Pardew has let them recover elsewhere for medical reasons or personal ones, or a combination of the two. Given we are scrapping against relegation at the minute, it might be sensible to question the club's policies in retrospect. It's fair to question the club's policy here, and I'm curious how it stacks up against other clubs' policies. I know in the past we and other clubs have sent players to specialists in America etc for serious injuries like broken legs and so on (e.g. Shearer). Whether Ben Arfa and Coloccini needed that I don't know, but I do wonder if we'd have been better off having the squad all together, and whether player power has played a part in those decisions. You only have to look at our away record, which is often a measure of a team's character, and it speaks for itself. There is no leadership on the pitch and the team has looked disjointed all season. One thing is for sure though, the club needs to seriously look at its training and conditioning methods because injuries have ruined our season. Had we kept most of our better players fit, as most clubs manage to do, we would not even be talking about this, and nor would we be fighting for our lives at the bottom of the table.

Could it be that we scout and buy players based solely on their value for money (or potential value) and not with a view to how they might fit into any tactical gameplan? Cisse up top on his own doesn't benefit our team game, while the alternative - 442 - doesn't suit our midfielders. Any new coach is going to discover the same problems. Having said that, could we do better with the standard of players available? I believe so, and that lies at the manager's door. My patience is wearing thin after yesterday's disaster and it's becoming harder to make excuses for him.

Tricky season to judge him on, since we have had our best XI in 1 or 2 games (if at all?) We began the season with a seriously under-strength squad which wasn't his fault and by the time he got the players in the season was gone. The new players also didn't have a pre-season yet some expect them to be playing their best football right away. There are so many examples of top players who took a while to get going after a January transfer, yet people blame this all on Pardew "making them worse" which seems equally childish to me. Much of the criticism for our problems should be directed at the board, who completely f*cked up last summer. I think any manager would have struggled to some extent with that squad, with that many fixtures, and that many injuries. Last season was incredible, with a good slice of luck, and that perhaps landed more praise at his door than was due. But this season has gone the other way; much of it has not been his fault, and I'm not sure all of the criticism is deserved. One excellent season and one terrible one. The jury is still out in my mind. Honestly though, changing manager is a major gamble. Could we do better? Yes. Could we do worse? Definitely. There are loads of iffy managers out there like Souness, Allardyce etc who would be lining up for the post. How many in that line would really be able to take us forwards? Keeping in mind they will be working with the same board who in my view are to blame for most of the current mess. Long story short I think he's worth another season based on his track record, but I am not blind to his shortcomings (negative tactics etc). I just don't think sacking him is worth the gamble, having seen some of the managers we've had in the last 10 years.

Agree with all of this. His signing never made sense and nearly a season has passed and we are still figuring out what to do with him. We were crying out for other positions to be filled and by the time they were our season was already over. I reckon Anita must have come so highly recommended by the club's scouts that they made a special allowance that time and spent the money at the expense of the areas that really needed reinforcements. Perhaps they thought they were getting such a good player it was worth it. Had that money just been spent on someone we needed, such as Debuchy, or Sissoko, or Gouffran, they'd have walked into the first team back in August and plugged a major gap. Easy to say in hindsight, but many said it at the time. You can see Anita has attributes such as a good touch, pace, workrate. It's obvious he will struggle in physical battles due to his size but he seems to lack ideas on the ball, as you said. We were told he'd be quite the opposite, a clever ball playing midfielder and a link man between defence and midfield. You sense we have seen nowhere near the best of him then, and I hope he will come good once he has a full season under his belt. As things stand, you struggle to see whose position he is going to challenge and he may end up becoming an expensive utility player. I hope he can show us more than he has and prove me wrong.

Pardew should have taken more of a stance over this and stood up for his club and his player. We've taken this lying down. When you look back at the reds given to Tiote vs the mackems and Colo vs Liverpool, it's incredible Mcmanaman won't miss a single game. Colo was apparently sent off for intent and now there are people trying to justify Mcmanaman's 'tackle'. Makes you wonder if our league is any less corrupt than places like the Serie A. Didn't care before but would like to see Wigan go down. Their conduct over this has been pathetic.

Our midfielders can come out of the game with credit, but the defence is a real worry, and Cisse still looks a long way off his best.

Spurs and Bale profited from two defensive blunders. It's a decent free kick but Perch didn't jump and it has sailed just over his head. It should have been straight at the wall and no one would even be talking about it. We were okay and so were Spurs. Defensive blunders decided the game and inevitably most their chances came on the counter as we desperately tried to salvage a result. It's disappointing because Spurs were there for the taking but we were equally lacking in ideas.

If i remember correctly adebayor had a hand in 3 or 4 of their goals in this fixture last season.

Rooney was better at that age but you wouldn't describe him as a genius.

The reality is he isn't a good enough footballer to ever be called a "genius", workrate or not. He's a good striker whose talents are overrated by gushing journalists like this one who attribute all his bad performances to a lack of effort. If he tried, we're led to believe he'd be the best player ever. They love to write about "the misunderstood genius" and "what might have been" but to make that work you have to talk up his abilities, it adds to the mystery. He will get goals at AC Milan but he will never reach the heights this author suggests he can even if he does "put the effort in". I guess I just don't rate him so incredibly highly as some do.

Fair play to him for coming out with this before what is a huge match for us. As captain he needed to do that and he has.

Credit where it's due, the board f*cked up massively in the summer but they have acknowledged it and given the manager a fighting chance. I reckon Colo and Tiote will be out in the summer because of the way the club maintains its wagebill and so on. Cabaye is a certainty for captain, not just because he's good leadership material but he's no doubt helped us punch above our weight with French players in the transfer market. It would also help keep him at the club and might be enough to keep other key French players here. With Anita and Sissoko both new players then Tiote is going to look like the odd one out at a club which can't afford too many 'purples'. I'd be sad to see him go because on his day he is top class and still got plenty years left in him. I hope the Haidara signing is about squad strength and doesn't have implications for Santon's future. My fear is these incomings will be followed by outgoings to balance the books in summer and the good work will be undone. Let's hope a strong finish to the season is enough to convince our better players such as Ben Arfa that this season was a blip. As for the board, I hope they have learned lessons from last summer but it's often been one step forward and two steps back.

Looks like his agent has written that to keep his options open with an eye to a summer move. He needs to show commitment to the cause now and give some similar gesture to his own fans and his team mates. His privacy is fair enough, no one is asking for gossip. The people who pay his wages and turn out to watch him every week are those who deserve to know, not some club he played for 10 years ago. Otherwise I would seriously consider handing the armband to Cabaye. It's no good having a captain who is sulking. No one is bigger than the team and we are in a relegation fight. Might be better to take the spotlight off him as well. It's a really strange set of circumstances. Hopefully he will commit and knuckle down from now until the summer because we need him. Given our club's policies I'm not sure the board would be all that gutted to get him off the wagebill in summer. His resale value will decline rapidly given his age and his performances might too.

Best news of the week. I thought the writing was on the wall when Mbiwa's apparent wages were reported as Ashley would be unlikely to bankroll two centre backs on such high wages. I suspect an agreement has been made for him to go in summer but either way we desperately need him in the meantime. Proper competition for places at the back now, at long last.

Still a promising but raw talent. Potential is obviously there but his form has dipped unsurprisingly since he's been playing alongside weaker players. Think he'll be an excellent full back in time just like Enrique. Maybe just needs more time.

I honestly think it would only make things worse. If we lose our captain and our top scorer, losing our manager would only give everyone at the club a convenient excuse for relegation. And you know our better players would move onto, at very least, decent clubs anyway. Those who matter to us are hardly playing for their futures and those who are maybe don't belong at this level anyway. Pardew is far from a perfect manager, but does anyone seriously think we will get a better manager in right now? Look at the way the club has been run over the last few months and what he was given last summer to reward what was an amazing season in the circumstances. We could easily end up with another Souness. Personally sacking him now would be a disaster IMO but I understand those who feel impatient. He has made poor decisions in very difficult circumstances but those circumstances are not going to change. Promising and proven managers alike will steer well clear of our club. Perhaps people feel a 'honeymoon period' under a new boss might just be enough to keep our heads above water but I disagree.