BottledDog

This right here, gentlemen. I did not see it coming at all, I can't think of any logical reason that suggested it would come, nor was one suggested by any poster on this board. Negative tactics were accompanied by cries of "you idiot, how can you pass it from the back with simpson, willo and Krul in the team/ Cabaye is in terrible form" ect. Pardew's change of mentality also exactly coincides with Ben Arfa forcing himself into the team. Now try to remember objectively, Ben Arfa was not eased into the team or anything like that, he was thrown on as a wildcard, an "oh-s***!" button. And he preformed so well in those cameos that he simple could not be dropped from the team (fan pressure being a factor too). I'm not taking anything away from Pardew he's done unbelievably well. And I almost regret typing this already as this can of worms is in the past. But people gloating ' i woz right bout somethin' , 'will you admit you was wrong' is really irritating. But you're wrong. There were people that took in past form and what Pardew had said through his time here, his general interviews, his use of players, his explanations when we played badly and his admittances when things didn't go to plan and came to a different conclusion. Buy into what we felt he was aiming for, and the way he ideally would have us play. Sometime that faith looked shaky at best, but I thought that there was very little to suggest he was a negative manager, or married to the concept of 'hoofball' that some here kept banging on about. There will be many many more games where we f*** up, set up wrongly, or end up lumping it forward. I just hope the current form makes the likes of HTT hesitate from jumping off the deep end again when we hit a bad patch. I fear it wont. /Christ, it wasn't that many weeks ago he was still calling for Pardew to be replaced sooner rather than later. /But then, it wasn't many moons ago, he was fighting Allardyces corner, or siding with Souness over Bellamy and Robert iirc... Revisionist to the extreme, did you watch ANY of the games where he was accused of this? There was open conflict on the pitch as Demba Ba was arguing with Coloccini for Krul to stop punting it up the pitch every time he got it in at least 1 game that I saw. Krul, and Colo, to their credit, kept on doing what they were told to do by their manager. Open conflict on the pitch? Bollocks. There have been plenty games, possibly the majority of games where there have been players having a go at each other. Having go at each other for following the managers instructions on those occasions? Seriously? You really think that? Absolute bullshit. So you decide to not watch the game and call people who have seen it 'talking bollocks', internet-revisionist idiocy at its finest. You what? I've watched every game in full this season, none away in person, but a good deal at SJP. I'll ask again, when did you see the players have a go at each other for following the managers instructions? How can you ask 'again' if you didn't ask anything already? It's 1am and I'm not going to trawl topics for your benefit. Continue in your hazy bubble of revisionism for all I care lol. Question marks denote a question. lol.

This right here, gentlemen. I did not see it coming at all, I can't think of any logical reason that suggested it would come, nor was one suggested by any poster on this board. Negative tactics were accompanied by cries of "you idiot, how can you pass it from the back with simpson, willo and Krul in the team/ Cabaye is in terrible form" ect. Pardew's change of mentality also exactly coincides with Ben Arfa forcing himself into the team. Now try to remember objectively, Ben Arfa was not eased into the team or anything like that, he was thrown on as a wildcard, an "oh-s***!" button. And he preformed so well in those cameos that he simple could not be dropped from the team (fan pressure being a factor too). I'm not taking anything away from Pardew he's done unbelievably well. And I almost regret typing this already as this can of worms is in the past. But people gloating ' i woz right bout somethin' , 'will you admit you was wrong' is really irritating. But you're wrong. There were people that took in past form and what Pardew had said through his time here, his general interviews, his use of players, his explanations when we played badly and his admittances when things didn't go to plan and came to a different conclusion. Buy into what we felt he was aiming for, and the way he ideally would have us play. Sometime that faith looked shaky at best, but I thought that there was very little to suggest he was a negative manager, or married to the concept of 'hoofball' that some here kept banging on about. There will be many many more games where we f*** up, set up wrongly, or end up lumping it forward. I just hope the current form makes the likes of HTT hesitate from jumping off the deep end again when we hit a bad patch. I fear it wont. /Christ, it wasn't that many weeks ago he was still calling for Pardew to be replaced sooner rather than later. /But then, it wasn't many moons ago, he was fighting Allardyces corner, or siding with Souness over Bellamy and Robert iirc... Revisionist to the extreme, did you watch ANY of the games where he was accused of this? There was open conflict on the pitch as Demba Ba was arguing with Coloccini for Krul to stop punting it up the pitch every time he got it in at least 1 game that I saw. Krul, and Colo, to their credit, kept on doing what they were told to do by their manager. Open conflict on the pitch? Bollocks. There have been plenty games, possibly the majority of games where there have been players having a go at each other. Having go at each other for following the managers instructions on those occasions? Seriously? You really think that? Absolute bullshit. So you decide to not watch the game and call people who have seen it 'talking bollocks', internet-revisionist idiocy at its finest. You what? I've watched every game in full this season, none away in person, but a good deal at SJP. I'll ask again, when did you see the players have a go at each other for following the managers instructions?

I'm wrong about what exactly? You certinly won't see me jumping on Pardews back if things go a bit sour, I always said if he gave me signs I would be all over them. You have to remember, the crux of the problem was that we were playing a style of football that did not suit our players. This is what I criticized Pardew for. His past record suggests a lot of hoof-ball and many pundits and the like allluded to the fact that he always said he plays attractive football, while doing close to the opposite[this obviously set some alarm bells ringing]. I did not see his change in mentality coming, and I don't think these was anything tangible to suggest it would. I fully admit I was wrong in relation to the fact that I did not think Pardew could change his mentality/approach. People were making excuses like blaming individual players, not suggesting it(the negative approach) was part of some plan. Anyway I don't care anymore, I think Pards may have seen the light This is just a load of nothing btw I don't follow that he suddenly changed his philosophy, and I honestly don't know who these many pundits are, or what they said? Enlighten me.

This right here, gentlemen. I did not see it coming at all, I can't think of any logical reason that suggested it would come, nor was one suggested by any poster on this board. Negative tactics were accompanied by cries of "you idiot, how can you pass it from the back with simpson, willo and Krul in the team/ Cabaye is in terrible form" ect. Pardew's change of mentality also exactly coincides with Ben Arfa forcing himself into the team. Now try to remember objectively, Ben Arfa was not eased into the team or anything like that, he was thrown on as a wildcard, an "oh-s***!" button. And he preformed so well in those cameos that he simple could not be dropped from the team (fan pressure being a factor too). I'm not taking anything away from Pardew he's done unbelievably well. And I almost regret typing this already as this can of worms is in the past. But people gloating ' i woz right bout somethin' , 'will you admit you was wrong' is really irritating. But you're wrong. There were people that took in past form and what Pardew had said through his time here, his general interviews, his use of players, his explanations when we played badly and his admittances when things didn't go to plan and came to a different conclusion. Buy into what we felt he was aiming for, and the way he ideally would have us play. Sometime that faith looked shaky at best, but I thought that there was very little to suggest he was a negative manager, or married to the concept of 'hoofball' that some here kept banging on about. There will be many many more games where we f*** up, set up wrongly, or end up lumping it forward. I just hope the current form makes the likes of HTT hesitate from jumping off the deep end again when we hit a bad patch. I fear it wont. /Christ, it wasn't that many weeks ago he was still calling for Pardew to be replaced sooner rather than later. /But then, it wasn't many moons ago, he was fighting Allardyces corner, or siding with Souness over Bellamy and Robert iirc... Revisionist to the extreme, did you watch ANY of the games where he was accused of this? There was open conflict on the pitch as Demba Ba was arguing with Coloccini for Krul to stop punting it up the pitch every time he got it in at least 1 game that I saw. Krul, and Colo, to their credit, kept on doing what they were told to do by their manager. Open conflict on the pitch? Bollocks. There have been plenty games, possibly the majority of games where there have been players having a go at each other. Having go at each other for following the managers instructions on those occasions? Seriously? You really think that? Absolute bullshit.

This right here, gentlemen. I did not see it coming at all, I can't think of any logical reason that suggested it would come, nor was one suggested by any poster on this board. Negative tactics were accompanied by cries of "you idiot, how can you pass it from the back with simpson, willo and Krul in the team/ Cabaye is in terrible form" ect. Pardew's change of mentality also exactly coincides with Ben Arfa forcing himself into the team. Now try to remember objectively, Ben Arfa was not eased into the team or anything like that, he was thrown on as a wildcard, an "oh-shit!" button. And he preformed so well in those cameos that he simple could not be dropped from the team (fan pressure being a factor too). I'm not taking anything away from Pardew he's done unbelievably well. And I almost regret typing this already as this can of worms is in the past. But people gloating ' i woz right bout somethin' , 'will you admit you was wrong' is really irritating. But you're wrong. There were people that took in past form and what Pardew had said through his time here, his general interviews, his use of players, his explanations when we played badly and his admittances when things didn't go to plan and came to a different conclusion. Buy into what we felt he was aiming for, and the way he ideally would have us play. Sometime that faith looked shaky at best, but I thought that there was very little to suggest he was a negative manager, or married to the concept of 'hoofball' that some here kept banging on about. There will be many many more games where we fuck up, set up wrongly, or end up lumping it forward. I just hope the current form makes the likes of HTT hesitate from jumping off the deep end again when we hit a bad patch. I fear it wont. /Christ, it wasn't that many weeks ago he was still calling for Pardew to be replaced sooner rather than later. /But then, it wasn't many moons ago, he was fighting Allardyces corner, or siding with Souness over Bellamy and Robert iirc...

... that and the fact that it's our home form that is tremendous and 3 out of the last 4 are away games doesn't bode well. But then, hell, it's an amazing end however it rolls.

Fair enough, a cup is a cup and, while they are pretty blasé about it, I've never seen us win one. But to be fair you'd be hard pushed to describe them as rivals at the start of the season after hoovering up our players, and to have ended up above them is massive. To have ended up being this far above them is just exceptional.

Ahhh, fuck.

Should be - Sleeps with wife Wish I was my wife

We need to stop this new to the top-flight crap, there is no excuse for some of the negative long ball crap we've served up this season which was in the main down to the manager's tactics, team selections and negative approach to the game. As for carpet football, no-one expected that, not me anyway, I didn't expect the calibre of players we do have in our side to struggle to play some possession football though which they did. Now that isn't the case and myself and others have been vindicated. I always thought we could play good attacking football from the off and we are doing that. As for a new team, bollocks, only Ba, Cabaye and Obertan were regularly in the side, hardly a brand new team as you put it - 3 players man. Oh, so we have you to thank for our current form and style? I'm so glad that you pointed out to the rest of us idiots how poor we were playing previously. One "blip" in form aside, we have been outstanding all season. There is simply no excuse for picking the bones out of Pardew's performance this season, other than sheer negativity or a simple case of being afraid to admit that you were wrong. Even when we were playing "poorer" football, i had no doubt that we would come through the other side. Not because i'm some know-all, but because i totally understood what Pardew was trying to do and i had confidence in it. I'm glad Pards has repaid my faith and i hope now that you too, will have the bollocks to place your faith in him. Well said that man.

Can't help thinking that using Sports Direct as a showcase doesn't particularly help sell the space mind. If I were a prospective advertiser, at best I'd ask for a heavy discount to put my brand anywhere near their ugly ass logo.

Well, could be read in different ways, but it certainly wasn't totally gash. Took a good deal of solace in it and what some of his old clubs supporters said after he was appointed which helped me start to get behind him a bit. /I seemed to have very different mates to HTT's Hammer and Charlton friends thankfully.

Whey that just sounds like a load of negative bollocks to me, sorry. They'd need the club to be a damn sight better than stumbling around the lower reaches of the table if Ashley were ever to sell the club and get any sort of decent money for it. But even if that was the plan, why would they need to take the risk and replace Hughton so as to keep things sweet with the supporters/media while keeping the club up on a shoestring? That is ultimately exactly what Hughton was doing for them. That's fair do's. I can appreciate why you would think that, given the form we are in. But it's what i thought at the time (aided by Golfmag P.I), and our form hasn't changed that. I'll always think the manner of his appointment was a bit iffy. Our form, as you say, has nowt to do with it and hasn't changed my opinion in the slightest. That Golfmag had a heads up on the appointment if anything suggests even less of a fluke - that the club had put a fair bit of time and thought into the appointment. If they only thought Pardew would do the bare minimum, how on earth would that help them get the fans and media back on side enough to attract buyers? It just doesn't make sense. Replacing Hughton was a risk not worth taking if they were just looking for a way out, and a 5 year contract for the new man strikes me as pretty unattractive to a buyer as well. They brought in someone who they could work with, and the effect on the media, fans, and prospective buyers was secondary. It suggested a new direction and as the trust built, Pardew got them to invest and push on with captures like Cabaye, Santon, and Cisse. If that continues (yeah, yeah, I know ) then hopefully they're not just the jammy bastards that understandably some see them as.

Whey that just sounds like a load of negative bollocks to me, sorry. They'd need the club to be a damn sight better than stumbling around the lower reaches of the table if Ashley were ever to sell the club and get any sort of decent money for it. But even if that was the plan, why would they need to take the risk and replace Hughton so as to keep things sweet with the supporters/media while keeping the club up on a shoestring? That is ultimately exactly what Hughton was doing for them.

They'd have been right spazz's if they thought things would work out quite as well as they have to date though to be fair.

I'm not pulling out this quote to pick on Dave or anything; it just highlights what a low ebb we thought his appointment was - summarises perfectly the negative feeling towards the change. I didn't think any differently to this. Absolutely astonishing how it has all panned out. And as much as i love Pardew, i'd still maintain that his appointment is a fluke. I just can't get my head around this idea. Hughtons departure you felt was inevitable after Calderwood wasn't replaced and they were clearly planning for a change and a manager they felt they could work with and take us forward within their particular framework. I'd say they used the same principle they now use in the player recruitment. Forget the name, check the background, see the worth in someone with maybe something to prove, and after meeting face to face, Pardew seemed the right fit. Of course he's doing particularly well, they were planning top ten for his first full season, then top eight the following year, but I still don't get how you think a planned jettisoning of Hughton, and a process you'd imagine they'd be just as careful over as signing a player (if not more so) ending up with Pardew is particullary flukey?

Maybe if this season is repeated next, but until then I still think they could take our players with the right money and wages offered. I think we're close, and for me it rests purely on CL qualification. If we did make it, I'd be stunned if any of our players used the excuse of the prestige of playing for the bigger club and the opportunity to win something if they moved there. Just can't see it. Beyond that though, sure, even the shittest of clubs are welcome to our players if they offered enough money and wages.

The lowest we can finish is sixth. Fuck me lightly.

Holy shit. :lol: Do a search on youtube. The vid that just keeps repeating it with the lads laughing in the background is still absolute gold.

"Ask me for 25% of my money and you've got no chance. I don't care how good your idea is." Fair enough.

Probably a massive Giggs but just seen this on another forum... The player Pardew claimed was 'absolutely raped' by Essien? Ched Evans.

Says he's been working really hard with Demba in the last couple of weeks and his second was the result of that. Well done Ba. Scored by proxy!

Good result for us I reckon. They'll hopefully be taking out their frustrations on Chelsea.

Think they'll nick a draw.

Yawn.