James

I agree with others in that the last thing we want to talk about is selling, but tbh the quality of his goals so far and his phenomenal assists ratio just radiates class and end product of the highest order. Whether he can rein in his tendency to hold onto the ball too long sometimes is the only question mark. If he gets any sort of consistency over the next season there is going to be bids landing from all over the place because this type of talent is in limited supply. What we've got going for us though is that we've built up a nice French contingent here and the players seem to be very happy unlike Msr. Sessegnon I don't think players are in a hurry to leave whether it's Ba, Tiote or down the line Ben Arfa. Just keep the Frenchmen, of North African bloodlines away from him Regarded as the best player (in terms of pure talent) of his generation, which included the likes of Nasri & Benzema, but has been flawed & fragile genius on & off the pitch. Whereas Benzema in particular, who had his early off-the-field problems too, matured. Ben Arfa has built-up a lengthy rap-sheet, and has been slow to mature. The rap-sheet of petulance that plagued him in France, even before making the switch to OM, attracted too many notable doubters. Speaks volumes that somebody like Wenger who once targetted him and has worked before with prospects deemed to have lost their way (after previously impressing on the French Yth Stage) avoided him. It's highly probable that the bigger clubs (who are well aware of his natural talent) have been waiting years for him to finally mature. I have no doubt that in the wake of the injury he's had plenty of time to reflect on what has been a wasted career so far. The circumstances were unfortunate, but he's had the opportunity to assess & re-evaluate. A reformed & focused Ben Arfa, both as a person & player, is what the really big-spenders have been waiting for IMHO. You are the memorable Souness-hater The Shaman!

Exactly this. You can refer to his games missed and so on but he has had a lot of fitness tests and missed training sessions. If there is a back issue, these are the warning signs, the torn muscles would be the next stage. I am no club medic though so there is chance that he is ok, but it is something to keep an eye on, and the club should have sent him to a back specialist for a check already if doing there jobs right. Wouldn't want to see a Gerrard which went undetected for about 5 years, missing months every season.

His injury history this season has been slightly worrying as I remember Steven Gerrard having similar problems and having to have back surgery. Basically a back spasm that goes away and is forgotton about, but the back muscles then causing the thigh hamstring and groin muscles to strain and eventually tear. It is a degenerative condition only repaired with surgery and 3 to 4 months out, but is hard to detect.

Not just average players, Ben Arfa is a far more effective player too. Not that Pardew will be given any credit mind. We would be winning the league by now if that bottling cunt Pardew played him earlier. I don't understand you in this thread, Jon. Who you annoyed with? Just call them out because posts like that are getting annoying. I do think Ben Arfa should have had more time on the pitch this season but am glad we're seeing the best of him now. Goalscoring record's looking very decent as well. Looks like we need to ensure Ba, Cisse and HBA are on the pitch and furthest forward and not hoof the ball and we'll cause any team problems. If Pardew understands that then fantastic, today was immensely encouraging and I'd love to see us push on. Not just average players, Ben Arfa is a far more effective player too. Not that Pardew will be given any credit mind. We would be winning the league by now if that bottling cunt Pardew played him earlier. Dear me. At the end of the day Pardew has been beaten with a stick every single time he hasn't played Ben Arfa/subbed Ben Arfa/ commented on Ben Arfa so I along with some others are not expecting any real credit for how he has treated the lad. I just fully expect comments about how the lad should have been played earlier and how it was obvious (and as simple as) playing him instead of Obertan or Raylor would have better. He doesn't deserve any credit for how he's treated him because he treated him badly, fantastic performances in the position Pardew tried to tell us Ben Arfa 'doesn't have the relish for' doesn't change that. I think today showed it was right to say Ben Arfa hadn't been at his best and it had been right for people to be saying he could be playing better. Whether this is the start of Ben Arfa's turnaround is too early to say, it is only one game and a lovely sunny afternoon.

I'll bite... He was a world-class manager and even though we only finished mid-table, we played some good stuff and there were signs things would improve massively. But at the moment, we're 6th, top 6...SIXTH! Closer to 4th than we are to 7th, with a team picked up in much worse a state. In a much worse state? Really? We may have had better players, but we were at the bottom end of the table with morale at its lowest. Gullit was to blame for morale, we'd gone something like 5 games and at the bottom with star players left out due to a manager vendetta. Robson fixed that within 3 games. Whereas the team Pardew had inherited had just got out of the Championship. I'm not saying Pardew is better than Sir Bobby by the way, but I am saying that people are more willing to stick the knife in despite obvious signs of progress. Funny thing is too that it seems to be the same posters who are always stubborn about everything.

I'll bite... He was a world-class manager and even though we only finished mid-table, we played some good stuff and there were signs things would improve massively. But at the moment, we're 6th, top 6...SIXTH! Closer to 4th than we are to 7th, with a team picked up in much worse a state.

What were the Pardew haters saying about Sir Bobby during his first full season where a team with Solano, Shearer, Lee, Speed, Given were coasting along to 11th in the league?

Why he is seen as deep IMO, goes looking for the ball.

My favourite moment in the match apart from the goal was Lambert celebrating and then realising Tim Krul had saved it. Shows what an amazing save that was.

Have to say, I am a bit confused, we did go through long spells without penetrating the final third, but on the other hand we had 60% possession, 10 shots on target, 5 shots on target (they had 5 and 7), Also we had 3 clear cut chances to their one, on the whole we were better than them, just maybe not getting the goal fest we were hoping for, but I can live without that. We struggle when we are pressed in my opinion, and it is a hard situation to be in, we are too well respected by the opposition. Challeenge now is keeping that respect (which stops teams looking to attack us so freely), while improving the team to cope when we are being pressed in possession.

He is so frustrating. That the time he went to trap the stationary ball in loads of space, moving at walking speed and nearly fell over.

Coincides with many of my thoughts Good post. Regarding Cabaye needed a rest, I have tended to agree with this, thinking he needed a game or two off since October/November. However he has now had that rest, but it still hasn't done much good. I think he is struggling because he has become one of our dangermen, and teams are being more defensive against us than at the start of the season. The team need to adapt, or Cabaye needs to improve in high intensity, low space situations. I also think that explains why he is coming deep a lot.

I was once responsible for a thread titled: Do you want to see James Perch in a Newcastle shirt ever again? I do. I apologise for what I said.

If Cisse is our Cole, and Ba is our Yorke, then Shola is our Solksjaer.

If we are unhappy with how we are attacking, shouldn't we be laying responsibility onto Carver and Stone as Pardew has delegated that all onto them?

Perch isn't playing left back...

Our formation has been something like this: Krul Simpson Williamson Colo Perch Jonas Guthrie Cabaye HBA Ba Cisse Jonas has been revelationary.

I think it is best all round if he becomes England Manager then leaves out Terry and Lampard.

No denying he is a good player. However he has struggled for form since November and has become reckless or alternatively hasnt imposed himself well enough. talk of playing 5 in midfield isn't really valid with Ba and Cisse therefore he needs to find his previous form, working with Pardew if it is a tactical issue.

Fifth NUFC player to score in his first two PL Home games for NUFC apparently. Shearer, Ferdinand, Ferguson, Cordone, Cisse.

Very impressed with his work rate. Won a couple of headers tackles you wouldn't have expected from a striker.

There's always room for improvement, even for Barcelona and the likes. There's no imbalance in our team, there is simply a strong spine with not so strong wings (based on ability), but we have the drive, determination and commitment as a whole which has taken us to where we are. I bet (and this isn't personal) that 9/10 people on here will have said that they'd rather see a committed, less able team, than an able, uncommitted team and out of those 9, 4/5 of them would all say the total opposite now. People need to make their minds up. Build a committed, hard working culture at the club. Then replace the less able players with better players who are either already hardworking or likely to find that the culture at the club wears off on them.

One asset of Taylor's overlooked this season is a fear factor. Although we have other players that can hit a set piece or shoot from range, I don't think these players have built up a reputation or any statistical significance for doing so. Whereas defenders know that a poor clearance or a foul and they risk conceding a shot on goal. We had that fear factor in the days of Shearer, Robert, Solano, and I think it is getting back to that now with Taylor and Cabaye. So having Taylor on the pitch unlocks a few possibilities in open play that in the past teams may have negated through fouling us or whacking the ball anywhere. However, I do think the fear factor was at his greatest when he was at LB so maybe put him back there in place of Santon who I still think is better on the right.

Asterix Obelix

Joe Kinnear has applied.