skryp2nit3

Random thought - Arsene Wenger for England. Seems a good fit. Reckon he'd do a good job, hopefully changing England's playing philosophy entirely from youth levels onwards.

That argument in flawed because it implied that an offensive minded manager is better than a defensive minded one. Is Arsene Wenger better than Mourinho? Or Roberto Martinez better than AVB? I think the point is there's simply no need to replace Pardew at this point in time and no reason why we should be doing so. We're still making progress on the pitch and off it so unless that changes I say keep Pardew in the job. Continuity seems to be very underrated here and I'd be happier giving Pardew more time to develop a team to his ideologies than go through another season of transition, upheaval and uncertainty for the next couple of years. Too many teams have gone the path of 'we can do better than our current manager', falsely believing that the grass is greener on the other side, and haven't done well since. E.g. Capello at RM, Mourinho at Chelsea, and of course ourselves post-SBR. Should Everton have replaced Moyes after recent disappointments'? Pardew has earned his place at the moment and unless we show no signs of progress next season we should give him our fullest support. As long as results are produced on the pitch and the team is challenging on the right end of the table, we should stick with Pardew until he shows that he can't bring us further as a team.

I've heard it all now like, that's insane. Replace Pardew in the summer, after possibly our best finish in recent memory? And replace him with who exactly? Fabio Capello's available I suppose. I call it improvement. Since Ashley took over the manager at Newcastle or rather his role is now secondary to the scouting and recruitment/player trading system at the club so as such, we can afford to ditch the manager in favour of a better one even if that manager was doing quite well, ala Chris Hughton. I do not believe changing Pardew will destabilise the club just as replacing Hughton didn't and that's because the manager of NUFC these days is simply the coach, hired to train and pick the players to go out and win games. Me, I'd liken replacing Pardew for better, to replacing Danny Simpson with a better right-back. I believe we can do better than Pardew long-term and that we must get in better in order to keep improving. Its pretty simple. I'm actually fully behind the system we now have in place regarding scouting, recruitment and player trading. Obviously the manager has to decide or needs a say in which position he wants strengthened and what kind of assets a player must possess outside of the club's evaluation criteria such as age, resale value, etc. but in general the manager of NUFC is here to train, motivate and pick the team. And in that respect Pardew is struggling tactically and with his team selections. He's preparing the side well enough and he is motivating several lesser players simply by selecting them regularly, i.e. Ryan Taylor, but his considerable flaws (tactically, game plans, systems, player selection etc.) are being masked by Ba scoring so many goals, Krul keeping clean sheets, Colo being well, Colo, a colossus, and the team in general having such a good team spirit. Something I think has developed naturally from within rather than something Pardew has helped instill. It was there before him lets not forget. I'm probably looking at things in a cold calculated and analytical way but that's how I view things these days. Can we do better than Pardew? I believe so. I believe several managers already in the Premier League could do as well and even better given the side we have. Do we need to a better tactican? Yes, without doubt. Most of the games we have lost we have done so tactically. In short, aye Pardew is doing a good job, and thanks a lot Alan, but I can see lots of room for improvement and I don't think he is capable. I think the team and squad will outgrow him if you like to the point where he will start looking like the odd man out as we are seeing now. On a much lesser scale of course and in a different way, Pardew is to us what Ranieri was to Chelsea. We need a Mourinho to kick on as did Chelsea to win honours. They got rid of a capable man in the Italian for Mourinho and we must do likewise if we are to keep progressing. By the way, I'm not for one moment saying we need Mourinho himself. We need to make the kind of change Chelsea did when they ditched Ranieri, i.e. they improved their manager and as such they themselves improved. Thats a myopic view I must say, comparisons with SBR's first and second seasons. The bit in bold especially, laughable. Replacing a manager equivalent to replacing a fullback? That must be the most ridiculous thing I've read on a footy forum. You're joking right? SBR took over a squad that was leftover from challenging for the title 2 yrs back, and had plenty of quality in Given, Shearer, Speed, Solano, Dyer, Warren Barton, Robert Lee, Howey, Domi, etc. Pardew took over a squad that were recent relegated then promoted, when expectations were simply to beat the drop. Key players were Harper, Enrique, Coloccini, Barton, Nolan, Tiote, Carroll, Best, etc who cant really compare to the team in 1999/2000, barring maybe Enrique, Tiote and Coloccini. However despite this Pardew managed to bring the team within a whisker of 9th spot last season, and in his 2nd season is on course to better SBR's 11th place finish. I also remember plenty of dour performances from 1999-2001 that issnt far off what we've seen this season. I'm not suggesting in any way that Pardew is a better manager than SBR but to write him off as not good enough is simply ridiculous, considering what he has achieved so far despite financial constraints and limitations. Yes some of his selections and tactics may have been baffling (Obertan/Ben Arfa, Raylor, Perch) but you cant help but feel he's trying to do the best he can and has certainly performed above expectations. Pardew's signings may have been hit and miss but to say that he shouldnt be credited for Cabaye, Ba, Cisse then blame him for duds like Obertan is laughable. Who is to say that we arent a Robert/Bellamy type signing away from challenging for the top 4? I certainly think that we arent that far off and as long as results are coming i'm certainly willing to give Pardew the chance to prove himself. Also, it wasnt like SBR had some ingenious tactical brain. What he succeeded in was to mold a group of good players into a team and made them play football the right way. That much Pardew has plenty to learn.

Jonas at rightback ala maradona anyone? Would fit perfectly into a 4-3-3 formation. Krul Jonas Willocini Santon Tiote Cabaye Guthrie Barfa Ba Cisse

He's never leaving man, he'll always be 3rd/4th choice... and that's being optimistic. He'll come off the bench aged 73 to score the winner in a cup final, and then he'll die on the field when the full time whistle blows. FYP.

My biggest gripe with him is his lack of movement while we're in possession. On numerous occasions he basically stood standing 5 yards away from a teammate who was in possession of the ball when he really should've made a forward run into the space behind the fullback or in the 'hole'. Happened at least twice today and against Villa when Cabaye was in possession. Simply unacceptable for a winger with the pace that he has. Watch Cabaye's villa match highlights on tube and you'll see what i mean.

Nothing wrong with right footers playing on the left or left footers on the right. Denis Irwin, Ginola, Maldini, Ronaldinho all perfect examples of this. I'm right footed and perfectly comfortable either left/right/middle of the park.

Great to have any form of progress towards getting a new LB. Haven't seen him play much but based on tube clips(aplenty), here's some observations. - Agile and mobile, likes to run at players - Passing/Decision-making leaves a lot to be desired - Needs to bulk up, barged off balance easily. - Looks more comfortable on the right All in all, not a patch on Enrique YET, but happy to have a new LB, happy to give him a chance.

Have the majority of posters even watched him play? Watched him on the ManUtd debut and subsequent little cameos that he made, and he did impress me with his touch, pace and overall passing play. Did eventually fall off the radar but I would put it down to lack of confidence than anything else.

Thought the same... Dalglish signed Nobby in 98. We didn't qualify for CL in 03/04 either.

The youth team is coming to Singapore to play in a U16 tournament alongside Juventus Everton Flamengo and the Singapore U15 and 16 squads. Nice. Wont be able to tell who's who though. Except for Adam Campbell maybe, if he's playing. Cant really miss a ginger can you

YT under title 'Cheick Tioté • Wonder-Goal Vs. Arsenal • HD ' You can clearly see Harper's elbow striking Best at the back of his hamstring.

Came across this on youtube. Cant wait for the Arsenal game

Surprised no one mentioned his defensive capabilities. He's a beast in a 1v1, I have no memory of him being skinned by any winger, not even by Ronaldo. Does get caught out of position now and again and scuffs the occasional clearances but certainly one of the better LBs around.

When was the last time anyone saw him do this when both players started from the same position He's playing hampered by a groin injury according to the club. Do you really expect him to explode from the blocks if that is the case? He hasn't used pace for about a year though. bullshit For all his reputed speed Martins issnt the fastest dribbler. A number of times he got beyond the last man but couldnt pull away due to his lack of control. Certainly nowhere near as fast as either Dyer or Bellamy running towards goal.

What Dyer adds to the team is exactly what we lack imo. Its so painfully obvious it ain't even an argument. Pace, dribbling, ability to run and drive at defenders, good off the ball running, good ball retention and brilliant at creating space. Probably would score more goals than any of the cretins currently occupying our midfield too. To be totally honest, a fit Kieron Dyer from 01-04 was miles better than all our midfielders currently, be it in the centre of the park or on either wings. Shame about his injuries and attitude though.

More than Xisco. Worse goals to games ratio than Xisco. But he has more goals. Ameobi's our best striker then. I think you will find quite a few players have scored more goals for NUFC than Shola. Yet none of them are playing for us anymore.

More than Xisco. Worse goals to games ratio than Xisco. But he has more goals. Ameobi's our best striker then.

viana by a thousand miles. really wished he had succeeded here.

could be dwayne johnson... he's a rock defensively and always put up a show..

While we're still on to Argentines.... Fernando Belluschi seems a good bet. Good cross and scores plenty too. Shame he's recently joined Olympiakos.

we were pretty average for the first 15 mins and almost the entire 2nd half against average opponents if you ask me. hardly class.

Think he's decent actually. Consistent if not spectacular. Not sure if he's better than Evans though. Pretty sure SBR had some good words about him too.

Think Cacapa is borderline useless, but think he should be ok against Bolton since we'll be doing most of the attacking. Also, everyone deserves a second chance. I'm feeling generous. Exactly. Taylor's had more than enough after his blunders. To be fair I always thought John Terry was lucky that he had players like Desailly, Lebouef, Duberry() to learn his trade from. Whereas Taylor had to contend with Boumsong, Bramble, Obrien, Ronny Johnsen, etc etc. Sincerely think that Coloccini will have a major impact on his development. You could say O'Brien etc had Taylor alongside them so it hindered their development tbf. As when they played alongside Woodgate they look decent. Obrien was always going to be an average-to-good(decent) defender. Didnt possess the natural abilities or leadership qualities that Taylor has. On the other hand Taylor's problems are more positional and his lack of experience, which he will learn by having the benefit of someone like Coloccini or Woodgate alongside him. Over 100 games now for the first team btw. Get the feeling that you're arguing for argument's sake and to imply that Obrien's development was stunted by playing alongside Taylor suggests to me that you're simply on a windup. 100 games alongside the shower of shite we had as defenders (boumsong bramble babayaro carr obrien etc), battling against relegation, playing LB RB and CB. And still only 22 as well. Need I say more? Half that number of games with Woody he'd be freaking Beckenbauer (ok exaggerating here) by now.

Think Cacapa is borderline useless, but think he should be ok against Bolton since we'll be doing most of the attacking. Also, everyone deserves a second chance. I'm feeling generous. Exactly. Taylor's had more than enough after his blunders. To be fair I always thought John Terry was lucky that he had players like Desailly, Lebouef, Duberry() to learn his trade from. Whereas Taylor had to contend with Boumsong, Bramble, Obrien, Ronny Johnsen, etc etc. Sincerely think that Coloccini will have a major impact on his development. You could say O'Brien etc had Taylor alongside them so it hindered their development tbf. As when they played alongside Woodgate they look decent. Obrien was always going to be an average-to-good(decent) defender. Didnt possess the natural abilities or leadership qualities that Taylor has. On the other hand Taylor's problems are more positional and his lack of experience, which he will learn by having the benefit of someone like Coloccini or Woodgate alongside him.