midds

We're averaging half a point away from home this season. We've been a disgrace away from home, a complete soft touch for most of the league who've filled their boots. Can't see that changing under this bloke and I think we'll lose. I hope I'm wrong.

There has to be a reaction. Not sure how much they've got left in the tank this season but we after losing 4 on the bounce away from home then we need to produce something. If we roll over at the weekend then there's every chance this tailspin could mean we go down. I know it's unlikely (22/1 at Bet365) but if this malaise continues then we'll struggle to stay up imo.

i don't want to hear or read any apologies from players or manager about Sunday, words mean nothing i just want them to go to WBA and get the 3 points. Bingo.

Settle down lads, eh? We're all fucked off atm.

Yeah, yesterday will be a little springboard for them imo. They got one monkey off their back on Sunday and could well do it again at this weekend.

Had a thoroughly shit day thanks to these spineless cunts. Cheers lads.

Exactly, if yesterday can't provoke a reaction with some guilt edged performances over the last 5 games we might as well pack up and go home. Aye, if we fail to get points out of Liverpool and Arsenal at least we can rest easy, safe in the knowledge our scintillating away form will see us through. Well despite being poor our away form is actually still better than 5 other Premier League teams, including Stoke and Norwich (we're joint 12th on away form) Thought we'd lost about 5 off the bounce away from home? 4 defeats since we won at Villa. Ah right. What a big win that may turn out to be.

Exactly, if yesterday can't provoke a reaction with some guilt edged performances over the last 5 games we might as well pack up and go home. Aye, if we fail to get points out of Liverpool and Arsenal at least we can rest easy, safe in the knowledge our scintillating away form will see us through. Well despite being poor our away form is actually still better than 5 other Premier League teams, including Stoke and Norwich (we're joint 12th on away form) Thought we'd lost about 5 off the bounce away from home?

Exactly, if yesterday can't provoke a reaction with some guilt edged performances over the last 5 games we might as well pack up and go home. Aye, if we fail to get points out of Liverpool and Arsenal at least we can rest easy, safe in the knowledge our scintillating away form will see us through.

ASDA's shelves always need stacking mate.

He's been poor for quite a while now. Needs moving on this summer.

He's ultimately responsible for results and performances and they've both been fucking dreadful for months now. The odd last minute winner here or there has papered over loads of poor, mis-jointed performances. We've looked awful since September and it's not getting any better at all. Pardew carries the can as manager. He's responsible. He can come up with excuses, he can blame his players but at the end of the day he's the manager and he stands or falls by what his team produce and it's largely been utter, utter dogshit.

I refuse to believe that there isn't a manager out there who could do better than Pardew and be willing to work for Ashley. Whether or not Llambias has got the nous to sniff him out and appoint him is another matter entirely though. Buying out the contract of a good manager would be the best money we could spend this summer, better than signing any player and it would have a much bigger, positive impact on the team, squad and club as a whole. Pardew's a dead duck imo.

Couldn't believe it when Shola jogged on at the start of the second half like. Was even more mortified when most around me started giving it the big one and being encouraged by this. Hopefully this 'Mackem Slayer' nonsense can be put to bed now. He's not a mackem slayer at all, he's a poor striker who's been around the club long enough to score a few apst the same opposition 5 or 6 times. Shola should only ever be a last resort in any game. Today he was Pardew's answer to the first half bumming we took. Absolutely shambolic from both Shola, who had zero influence on the game whatsoever, and Pardew.

Dragged into the shit again and looking awful in the process. Winning a derby can often act as a springboard and re-energise the place and the reverse applies if you lose one. We've got 2 tough home games and our away record is one of the worst in the country. We need 4 points but I honestly don't know where they're coming from. Yay Pardew.

There has to be a reaction to that fucking shambles today. He needs to do something to get us fired up because we're not out of the woods yet, not by a long fucking chalk. Roll over for WBA and it's Liverpool next. We've been in freefall once this season and the potential is there for it to happen again. Must come away with a point. NO FUCKING EXCUSES PLEASE.

As long as he's here we'll regress and go backwards. He needs to go and he needs to go as soon as the Arsenal game ends. Pointless keeping him, he's a busted flush. He's had his high water mark and is reverting to type. Needs to go, man. Needs to go.

Sooner he goes the better. Simply can not take this team forward. The longer we leave it the further we'll regress. He's run out of answers and solutions and deserves to lose his job. Sack the cunt.

The Benfica game has helped in that respect. I spent Monday to Thursday thinking about how we'd do against Benfica. Friday was spent being a bit pissed off at the Benfica result and I've only just started thinking about the derby this morning. I'll wake up tomorrow and just go straight into y normal matchday routine and that will be that. Coule of pints prior, hear the team news, head to SJP and see what happens. No time for nerves to really kick in.

Krul Debuchy Haidara Taylor MYM Tiote Marveaux Cabaye Sissoko Gouffran Cisse 4-1-4-1, we don't need 2 DMs against Sunderland at home. Let's get Cabaye 15 yards further up the field and slip balls into the channels and get O'Shea and his defence running towards their own goal. Run past Cisse and get numbers in the box.

Not really a question for us lot on a messageboard like I don't get it, it's an FA Cup semi final and they are your own fans. Two of our fans were on the verge of going at it last Sunday in the Leazes. Idiots are idiots are idiots.

Nothing has ever not happened more than this did not happen. Not one of them has even questioned it as well This. 100% made up story. So when the bird he was "banging" dubious as he's prob some 6 fingered Hills have eyes type. Went for a piss, he randomly went into her knicker draw and found a ticket to the derby. The whole thread is in direct response to another thread saying he's had his ticket stolen.

Was unfortunate not to notch a hat-trick in Lisbon. Could easily have had 2 or 3 last night had he timed his runs a little better too. He's going to fucking punish someone badly before the end of the season. He'll have a game where it goes his way and he gets the bounce of the ball going his way.

I'd normally agree. But he had the tactics spot on. Would've got murdered pressing for the goals the whole 90 Bingo. I've slated Pardew for most of the season for the negative stuff but I can completely understand how we played tonight. Any Benfica goal killed the tie stone dead, going hell for leather from the off would have left too much space at the back. We clearly got the first and threw everything at them to get the second and had Benfica on the ropes. We just couldn't quite finish the job and get the second goal. We were forced to show a bit of restraint due to being 2 goals down from the first leg, it wasn't like we started the tie at 0-0 tonight. No blame attached to Pardew tonight from me. I have defended Pardew more than most, certainly you in recent weeks, but I just can't understand this way of thinking at all. This was a game in which we needed a convincing win, a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to the semis in a European competition against a very beatable opponent, as we saw last week. Since we were two goals down we essentially had nothing to lose at the start of the match, and all to gain. Just go at them from the off, put them under pressure and try to get an early goal. Yes, you may not get the early goal, tire badly and get picked off later in the match as you run out of steam, but I don't think anybody would have complained if at least we would have tried. As it is, we tried to calculate our way to the semis, sat back for far too long, looked nervous and unsure what to do for the entire first half and gave them the initiative, resulting in a good number of chances for them that could, and arguably should, have seen them through well before the "planned" point in the game when we finally spurred into action. It was all very reasoned, and counter intuitive to any football player, and that showed through in our performance. In the last half an hour we showed we were capable of hurting them, partly through bringing on our creative players. I would much rather have seen at least one of them (Marv) from the off to get Benfica on the back foot early on. In short: the fact that the gameplan nearly worked should not be mistaken for it being a good gameplan. That's fair enough, I just think his hands were tied a bit due to needing 2 goals without conceding. I think had we gone for it and opened up then we'd eventually have been picked off and the tie would have been dead. I can understand those who wanted us to go for it from the off and get at them early, there's logic to it - you need 2 goals, try and get them asap. That makes sense. I just think tonight was the time to be cautious, try to keep it tight and shorten the game. I'm not begging people to agree with me but I can see logic in Pardew's approach tonight. It was frustrating to see it develop in the first half but a break here or there in the last 5 minutes could have got that second goal and sent us through. I can see both sides of it but I can understand Pardew's gameplan tonight as frustrating as it was. I know you can't go gung ho for the full 90 minutes, so it would have made sense to start furiously and try to get the early goal (like we did last week coincidentally), then sit back for the rest of the first half after 15-20 minutes or so, give it another good go at the start of the second half after had a breather at half time, then sit back again between 60 and 80 for a final push in the last 10 or so minutes. Obviously events in the match would have influenced when to sit back or go at it, but as a general template I think that would have made much more sense than sit back for 70 minutes, as Dave points out not tiring them out at all as well which we possibly would have needed relying on our better physical attributes/fitness levels. Another thing that mightily bugs me is Bigi on the right wing. Now, I like the look of Bigirimana, I really do, but there is no way he's ever an effective winger in the making. He lacks the pace and creativity needed to play that position. It would have made some sense if the plan was to sit back and keep it tight to play him next to Anita as a defensive shield (even if I wouldn't have agreed), but to have Cabaye deep and Bigi on the right, where is the sense in that? It doesn't provide an attacking threat, and nor does it help us being more defensively solid. It just doesn't make sense at any level. The other odd one out being Williamson ahead of Perch; I can only assume Perch was not fully fit, because why else would you play your least mobile, tall defender against fast, mobile forwards? All in all, a clusterfuck of a gameplan in a once in a lifetime European knockout quarter final tie starting 2 goals down at home in front of a sold out, enthused stadium. I'd have preferred to have seen this too in all honesty. didn't enjoy a single second of that first half and would have loved to have seen us go at them from the first whistle. I'm just saying there was a logic to Pardew's plan tonight. It was frustrating to watch, especially at home but I can understand why he decided to play the game like he did tonight. It nearly worked too. I appreciate there was a "logic" to it, but on a night like tonight that is exactly my criticism. What is logic may not be what is right, and I think that was the case, especially in the first half when the players really didn't look confident of what they were supposed to be doing. There is a lot to be said for intuition in a situation like the one we faced tonight; I feel Pardew overthought the whole thing and came up with some sort of brilliant gameplan that ultimately depended on us scoring twice in the space of 20 minutes against very strong opposition that we hadn't really tired beforehand. I guess I wouldn't have been so disappointed with our approach if he wouldn't have explained it beforehand, but to consciously throw 70 valuable minutes of pitch time in an effort to score 2 past them in 20 just seems unbelievably stupid to me. I understand your frustration and annoyance and you make valid points. I also understand why Pardew chose to go with his gameplan tonight.

I'd normally agree. But he had the tactics spot on. Would've got murdered pressing for the goals the whole 90 Bingo. I've slated Pardew for most of the season for the negative stuff but I can completely understand how we played tonight. Any Benfica goal killed the tie stone dead, going hell for leather from the off would have left too much space at the back. We clearly got the first and threw everything at them to get the second and had Benfica on the ropes. We just couldn't quite finish the job and get the second goal. We were forced to show a bit of restraint due to being 2 goals down from the first leg, it wasn't like we started the tie at 0-0 tonight. No blame attached to Pardew tonight from me. I have defended Pardew more than most, certainly you in recent weeks, but I just can't understand this way of thinking at all. This was a game in which we needed a convincing win, a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to the semis in a European competition against a very beatable opponent, as we saw last week. Since we were two goals down we essentially had nothing to lose at the start of the match, and all to gain. Just go at them from the off, put them under pressure and try to get an early goal. Yes, you may not get the early goal, tire badly and get picked off later in the match as you run out of steam, but I don't think anybody would have complained if at least we would have tried. As it is, we tried to calculate our way to the semis, sat back for far too long, looked nervous and unsure what to do for the entire first half and gave them the initiative, resulting in a good number of chances for them that could, and arguably should, have seen them through well before the "planned" point in the game when we finally spurred into action. It was all very reasoned, and counter intuitive to any football player, and that showed through in our performance. In the last half an hour we showed we were capable of hurting them, partly through bringing on our creative players. I would much rather have seen at least one of them (Marv) from the off to get Benfica on the back foot early on. In short: the fact that the gameplan nearly worked should not be mistaken for it being a good gameplan. That's fair enough, I just think his hands were tied a bit due to needing 2 goals without conceding. I think had we gone for it and opened up then we'd eventually have been picked off and the tie would have been dead. I can understand those who wanted us to go for it from the off and get at them early, there's logic to it - you need 2 goals, try and get them asap. That makes sense. I just think tonight was the time to be cautious, try to keep it tight and shorten the game. I'm not begging people to agree with me but I can see logic in Pardew's approach tonight. It was frustrating to see it develop in the first half but a break here or there in the last 5 minutes could have got that second goal and sent us through. I can see both sides of it but I can understand Pardew's gameplan tonight as frustrating as it was. I know you can't go gung ho for the full 90 minutes, so it would have made sense to start furiously and try to get the early goal (like we did last week coincidentally), then sit back for the rest of the first half after 15-20 minutes or so, give it another good go at the start of the second half after had a breather at half time, then sit back again between 60 and 80 for a final push in the last 10 or so minutes. Obviously events in the match would have influenced when to sit back or go at it, but as a general template I think that would have made much more sense than sit back for 70 minutes, as Dave points out not tiring them out at all as well which we possibly would have needed relying on our better physical attributes/fitness levels. Another thing that mightily bugs me is Bigi on the right wing. Now, I like the look of Bigirimana, I really do, but there is no way he's ever an effective winger in the making. He lacks the pace and creativity needed to play that position. It would have made some sense if the plan was to sit back and keep it tight to play him next to Anita as a defensive shield (even if I wouldn't have agreed), but to have Cabaye deep and Bigi on the right, where is the sense in that? It doesn't provide an attacking threat, and nor does it help us being more defensively solid. It just doesn't make sense at any level. The other odd one out being Williamson ahead of Perch; I can only assume Perch was not fully fit, because why else would you play your least mobile, tall defender against fast, mobile forwards? All in all, a clusterfuck of a gameplan in a once in a lifetime European knockout quarter final tie starting 2 goals down at home in front of a sold out, enthused stadium. I'd have preferred to have seen this too in all honesty. didn't enjoy a single second of that first half and would have loved to have seen us go at them from the first whistle. I'm just saying there was a logic to Pardew's plan tonight. It was frustrating to watch, especially at home but I can understand why he decided to play the game like he did tonight. It nearly worked too.