Wullie

It's weird when he has 3 players around him we never seem to have a spare man, I can't work that one out. At one point today, Anita had the ball near the edge of their box and he had at least seven Arsenal players round him, yet nobody in black and white as an option. Some feat that like, some of our players could be on an empty pitch and still be man-marked.

He also gets doubled/trebled up on when he starts, which means there is always space for somebody else to exploit, unfortunately we seem to do absolutely no work in this area, so when he gets nullified in a game, Pardew's solution is always to drop him instead of asking the other players to move around a bit.

Must be the hair.

His runs worked today Clearly. A clear example of "if he doesn't score a goal or assist in his limited pitch time he's failed" This is genuinely baffling to me, hence me rambling on like a cock end in this thread. Not what I was suggesting, but I do think he negates our other players when he takes things on his shoulders. Even if he does have limited success doing so. It wasn't his worst game, but if he had played more patiently, I think we would've had more chances. You want him to play patiently when we're 1-0 down and into injury time? He came on in the 62nd minute... And when did he hit the side netting and hit the shot over the bar?

His runs worked today Clearly. A clear example of "if he doesn't score a goal or assist in his limited pitch time he's failed" This is genuinely baffling to me, hence me rambling on like a cock end in this thread. Not what I was suggesting, but I do think he negates our other players when he takes things on his shoulders. Even if he does have limited success doing so. It wasn't his worst game, but if he had played more patiently, I think we would've had more chances. You want him to play patiently when we're 1-0 down and into injury time?

Sensible article from the Chronicle after the Palace game: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/neil-cameron-magic-hatem-ben-6444424

Although I do (violently) disagree that those runs are detrimental to the team's overall play I do agree that he needs to stop trying to win games by himself. He only tends to do that though when he's brought on pretty much to do that. We know and Pardew know exactly what he's going to do when he comes on. 9 times out of 10 he'll skin the fullback and either come inside on his left foot and try to score a thunderbastard, or he'll drop one short from the byline to anyone making a run to the 6 yard box. He isn't involved in game plan any other way, that's what he's brought on to do. He's far more patient with the ball when he's allowed to see a game out from the start and is likely instructed to be so. That's why I find it baffling that Marveaux never makes a cameo now and then when we need a goal. It's frightening that you even have to spend the time typing that out, it's so fucking obvious. How many times has Pardew talked about getting to 60-70 minutes and then putting the "magic" on? Yet the fans who support this type of gameplan also seem to want that "magic" to consist of either sensible passes backwards, or clipping it into Shola from the halfway line.

:thup:

Everton have shown that it is possible to be both solid and play exciting attacking football this season, and without major investment. Pardew as a rule has two ways of setting us up: a) against a bottom half team - try to score early then defend for your life a) against a top half team - defend for your life then try to score late It's working well for us this season, as it did when we finished 5th. It's also incredibly predictable, pretty dull and goes completely out the window when the other team score first (unless they have two men sent off). Can't quibble with recent results but it's certainly not how I think we should be playing. There's no long term place for any sort of flair in the team and that's not how NUFC should be imo.

Of course he will because their high points are vastly above and beyond what Gouffran is capable of.

For a wide player, I'm struggling to think of a single ball Gouffran has put into the box all season. He works extremely hard and has a knack of being in the right place to score, but our best player?

The right decision just because you said it? No, it's because you love seeing magic moments from your charming prince at the expense of team cohesion. The time for team cohesion has long since passed when you're 1-0 down and into the last five minutes. "Magic moments" are why he is introduced at that stage - the manager has used that phrase in that context on many occasions.

Why have none of the other managers in world football cottoned onto the fact that the best way to use your best attacking player is as an impact sub - to be brought on solely to create something in a very short space of time (and then get all the blame when he has a shot)? Gouffran is both perfect and hopeless for a game like today, depending purely on what result you're after.

Doesn't make sense to drop him based on one game in a different position to the one he's been excellent in for weeks either.

Yep.

Watching or officiating?

We'll go how we did against Chelsea, sit deep and try and beat them at 0-0 after an hour.

Wish it was 17.30 instead of 13.30, SJP is better with a pissed up crowd in games like this.

Basically anything after Wilson's red can be discounted because at that point we could have scored at will if we had to. The two yellows are the only real bone of contention - for all the chat about one or both being deserved, if we're honest with ourselves, we'd be absolutely seething if one of our players were dismissed for those, especially the first yellow, and I don't think most referees would have done that either.

And they're playing us, so add three points onto their total right now, cos we'll shit ourselves.

It's sounded for weeks in this thread that a lot of people are trying to kid themselves that they're as good as down. Four points for the bottom side from Everton and Cardiff away and yet "they should be winning today" If I thought the bottom side "should" be winning any away game, that would probably lead me to the conclusion that I didn't think they'd stay there.

It really isn't. They've been drawing rather than getting beat for weeks and every week somebody says it's a terrible result. They've kept themselves comfortably within touching distance with those points and will soon win a game or two and be in mid table. On the plus side, they'd probably be safe by now if Poyet wasn't playing the thick as mince yank up front instead of Fletcher. Can only hope for an injury to the Korean lad as he's comfortably the best midfielder down at the bottom, fuck knows why he's out on loan.

They'll stay up with points to spare in the end.

Aye they'll win tonight.

There's no way Whelan's first yellow was justified. Just saying like.