The College Dropout

He did well to get those points the season he left tbh. I thought we would struggle all season but Perez,Cisse fires us to a decent 6 or so game unbeaten run with mostly victories. That side was truly awful.

all set pieces? Might as well play him AM.

Chris Wood cost Burnley £15m. Think Gray was similar to Watford. Our striker cost £5m. Wow.

Aye. From the first game they looked much better. And they play nice stuff too. Look much more like Puel's Nice side.

That's the sort of centre back he is - blocks, clearances, aerial battles, deep defending. It's not a backhanded compliment. Are we talking about the same defender here? He's an organiser, a leader, great in the air in both boxes. "Blocks, clearances and deep defending" is you trying to put him in a box. He's no Sergio Ramos but he mostly plays the ball on the ground.

Always feel like there's backhanded compliments with Lascelles. Wtf is a "proper stopper"? He's a defender, a good one. And seemingly a leader of men and an organiser too.

Both being hailed as heroes as they keep two teams not currently in the relegation zone out of the relegation zone is far more likely. Nothing short of a miracle if Big Sam keeps up a squad not in the relegation zone that had £140m spent on it in the Summer. Spent buckets at Palace and had excellent loans. Feel like he also spent a fair bit at Sunderland. Managed both of those teams from December. Only got out of trouble in April = Big Sam working wonders. He'll start slowly, spend £50m in January. Pull away by March and the plaudits will roll in.

Nah, think that’s too simply put. Needs a full match but has to be with Merino. I think we should try and start with our most talented team and that includes Shelvey. But I have a suspicion he could be more impactful when the game is stretched and he's that bit faster than the other players.

Premier league experience though. These guys don’t build good sides man. A lot of these have manage aides that they’ve relegated or were relegated within a couple seasons of them leaving. It’s a cycle of shit.

Yep, some lovely touches between them hell we were even good to watch for the last 15 mins or so Aye, that period was all us and we were unlucky not to win in the end. When everyone is back fit, particularly Lascelles, we have a canny bottom half PL side that can play decent stuff at times. Mainly down to Rafa's ability as a manager that though. Think most of the sides down there can play decent stuff with a fully fit team in confidence. West Brom's goals were nice for example.

Maybe people will just call it as they see it? He was utterly diabolical at times and has improved considerably in the two most recent games. Unfortunately those people are often what is wrong with the modern day football supporter. As long as you show support and encouragement I don't see the problem in pointing out afterwards a players performance. People shouldn't moan and groan in the stands but at the pub we can say "that Murphy looks like a deer caught in the headlights". Now he's starting, he's relaxing and showing his ability. At some point I can see him going on a run of goals and creating a load of chances. He's growing.

When Matt Ritchie is your most creative player you are going to struggle massively

Might be better off the bench when there's more space for his balls and the opps are tired.

Aye confidence is massive in football

Rot stopped. Goals - plural - scored. Away points in the bag. Happy with that tbf.

All 4 from our CB's from set pieces right? We are turboshit from open play.

Lascelles obviously had more influence than most of us realised. Mbemba at left back seemed to help also. The confidence we had built has gone. With Lascelles injured the confidence to defend and apparently - his ability to defend and organise also went out the window.

Our front 4. Joselu. Ayoze. Ritchie. Murphy. How many league goals between them? 4? Maybe 5? When we concede, everyone's head drops. We know we'll struggle to get anything from the game.

Even with this s*** squad at his disposal, there's absolutely no reason why he keeps persevering with Joselu, Ritchie and Lejeune when it's clear as daylight they're all woefully short of form and need dropping. If he sits on his arse with subs until 70 minutes again that also needs to be questioned. 2 of those - we have no options.

Aye.

The last two being at home is especially bad.

Got the same amount of points as Hughton right? Came in 11th, sold Carroll(?), ended 11th. Then the 5th place was part of that strong start. It's after that where he was terrible.

First thing Ashton said about Pardew was "they will get a confident manager". Confidence.... in this scenario.... is not a skill.

Dean Ashton was on GOS saying he really enjoyed playing for Pardew. He spoke about this attacking football he played. Can't say I paid attention to his Wham side but he was horribly defensive for us and Palace. Pardew was on weeks earlier comparing Ashton's potential to Kane mind.

Bit late for that. Confident we’ll and get relegated mind. A bad run now might be a good thing. Some relegation fret and if Ashley is still here - he’ll be further incentivised to sell or he’ll get some money out to ensure survival. The last thing he wants is to be owner if we are relegated again. Second to last is having to spend money to avoid relegation. Sell up fatty.