The College Dropout

Aye they didn't let KD trade on past glories for very long . Pardew will dine out on that 5th place forever and a day It's not the 5th that's keeping him here. Its stopping a large percentage of our fans seeing the light though The stability line would still be trotted out had we finished 9th and somehow qualified for Europe. I don't think we where any better individual for individual. They may have had a better goal difference than us too. ? Not sure the point your making We had better results but our performances, style of play, quality of player was arguably inferior. I don't think we where P4P a top 5 side. Moreover - Mashley doesn't give a fuck what we think.

I don't think we where any better individual for individual. They may have had a better goal difference than us too. ? Not sure the point your making We had better results but our performances, style of play, quality of player was arguably inferior. I don't think we where P4P a top 5 side.

Aye they didn't let KD trade on past glories for very long . Pardew will dine out on that 5th place forever and a day It's not the 5th that's keeping him here.

I don't think we where any better individual for individual. They may have had a better goal difference than us too.

It will be unbearable if it goes to the wire, last game of the season. :anguish: On the one hand, it would be nice to see a club that isn't funded by oil, gas and corruption. But on the hand, that club might be Liverpoool and it's self-pitying, constantly moralising, whining, 'victimised' utter pr*cks of fans. Let's not pretend they haven't been handed loads of cash - being run consistently at a loss despite more commercial income than almost every other club in the world. *sigh* Exactly... they have had heavy investment. They have are one of the most untapped potential filled clubs in the world. The owners know it and are investing. While we cower at the likes of Southampton.

They are going to win it aren't they?

Sunderland - like Newcastle are a difficult team to manage. Place & Pulis are a great fit. Palace would be delighted to have 5 consecutive years in the Premiership playing hoofball - despite producing some very talented footballers. Sunderland on the other hand..... make otherwise decent managers (based on previous jobs and current jobs MON & Bruce are decent) look terrible. MON isn't otherwise decent at all. Villa are still paying for his stint there. Ask brummie about how decent O'Neill is. Won trophies with Leicester had them comfortably Midtable. Took Celtic to UEFA Cup final and had some good runs in Europe with them. Had Villa challenging for top 4. Had some poor signings and wasted money but he had some successful signings. Prior to Sunderland he was never a manager who get involved in relegation scraps. He had his ceiling in the Premiership but never a bad manager. Until he joined Sunderland.

Sunderland - like Newcastle are a difficult team to manage. Place & Pulis are a great fit. Palace would be delighted to have 5 consecutive years in the Premiership playing hoofball - despite producing some very talented footballers. Sunderland on the other hand..... make otherwise decent managers (based on previous jobs and current jobs MON & Bruce are decent) look terrible.

Still hopeful they'll choke.

I think it's Di Maria - Alonso - Modric midfield that is the key. While brilliant, it's also the most light weight of midfield's you'll ever see. All hardowrking, two have excellent engines. But let's be real - there's no tackle. No strength. Shame about Jese's injury. As Bale will be played into the ground.

Can't think of many better performances than that like. I haven't looked at Mourinho the same since.

This is the problem in the world, when players like Zabaleta, an out of form Alves and a benched Cole are considered great fullbacks we know there's a shortage of them in the world. I think Rafael is a decent player, but he's just too reckless and he's not as talented as Dani and Marcelo are who both used to be as reckless as Rafael if not worse. Was a time when Marcelo was a hotheaded crazy person on the pitch, unbelievable how he has matured over couple of years and even become 3rd captain for Real. At the moment for me there's only really two GREAT fullbacks in the world. Lahm and Marcelo (who granted wasn't good against Sevilla, but who is the most technical fullback there is and comfortable on the ball). Alba, Dani, Zabaleta, Rafinha, Alaba, Cole etc. are all very good fullbacks, they're just not great. Cole has been a great fullback during his career. As has Alves for Barcelona and even Evra until the last couple of seasons. I think Marcelo is made to look better than he is because teams are (rightly) cautious to attack his side and I haven't seen a lot of him for Brazil. My main point, is to be considered a top fullback you have to be solid defensively. There's plenty of Kyle Walker's around but there's few who **look** good going forward but can also properly defend. The most impressive thing about Azpilicueta is that he can really defend and he looked better going forward when at RB last season under Rafa.

Rafael's biggest issue is this recklessness. It spreads nervousness in the team. Maybe he could become a great fullback but at the moment you don't look at him and think "solid". All the very best right backs are imo. Lahm, Zabaleta, Alves, Cole etc.

They've done a good job of bringing back Carvahal, bringing through Jese and investing in Spanish youth from other clubs. That's really given them real depth.

p*ss poor return for the sums spent but thats what you get when the needs of the squad are secondary to "whats the biggest name in football we can get?" In recent years they've gone about building very good squads back to front. Well since the Kaka in Robben out debacle. This season I think they have arguably the second strongest squad in the world. The madrid/Spanish lads coming through (and bought back) are providing fantastic depth. Although i've been dissappointed with Carvahal in recent games.

1. For better or for worse Jose Mourinho is not a Real Madrid type of manager. His character and his style of play/management. Even though they've lost in the league against their near rivals and not registered a single one, they actually went toe-to-toe with Barcelona for the first time in a long time and they weren't embarrassed (unlike the first and only Jose tried to attack Barcelona from the off and got slumped 4/5-0 at home if my memory is correct). If Ancelotti does succeed at Madrid, wins the league or CL - he'll have done it in a Real Madrid manner. Finding a system to suit his best players and letting them express themselves. A Del Bosque type approach. 2. Your last point is false, La Liga is a better league than is given credit for. The teams are less physical but they are certainly better than the equivalent in the Premiership and certainly the Bundesliga.

You're either brilliant or shit on here.

Do you consider Robben a winger? He's always been a winger though. He started his career at LW. His game has always been beating fullbacks. He's varied it up and swapped sides but that's what you think of when you thing of Robben. Hatem's a converted #10 isn't he?

Inclined to agree. Pardew is averse to playing anyone that won't graft or put in a defensive shift. If you remember Harry Redknapp's teams that often did well before he bankrupted everywhere he went; it was essentially always an outfield composition of eight big hulking monsters, a flair player and a nippy striker. Pardew wants ten big hulking monsters. Disagree like. Harry's always liked midfielders that could really play even if they where solid defensively. Basic a tackler, a passer (who could hold his own a bit) in the middle, pace out wide, a creator/quick lad & a big lad. That's a nice balanced side imo. I liked the way he brought Modric central for Spurs.

At his core - Pardew is a defensive manager preferring grafters over skilfully players and Bobby is the opposite. Unless the manager is a clear step above, the latter is nearly always preferred by fans & ambitious owners.

Robert guaranteed goals and assists. Pardew would have to start him. As did Tevez and as does HBA when he's played. There's no way Pardew would play Ginola or Robert. Neither Dalglish nor Souness did and they're of the same ilk as Pardew. On a related note, Souness is a decent pundit and often makes the point about how he was wrong about Robben, who he'd written off as lazy. I don't get why he's never transferred that admission into his job when he's been a manager. Ben Arfa's a very good footballer and should start every game but he's never had a strong track record of getting goals and assists. Laurent Robert he isn't. About Souness: Arjen Robben has been a world class for about a decade now... ever writing him off says more about him than anything else.

You would never get Ferguson saying "Cabaye has gone so we are going to change our style a little bit". You possibly would if the remaining midfielders couldn't create f*** all between them. But he did change styles when some of his best players left. Specifically Cronaldo out - Valencia in. That's going to change the style drastically.

As 1 dimensional as they have looked this season... this is the by worst playing issue. Absolute shambles at the back and defensively in midfield.

Costa & Koke aside I don't think there's many that will get that type of attention, it's a real team effort. It's not like Dortmund with a young side playing brilliant football. It's a side with the likes of Tiago, Juan Fran & Gabi. Seasoned 78-81 players on Fifa for years. Solid but nothing special. That suffocate teams to death. Remember when we where meant to be in for Arda Turan?What a great player he's become.

Madrid had so many bouts of domination... only managed 1 flukey goal.