Was thinking about Pardew and his tactics as I was trying to get to sleep last night. I concluded that his strength is foresight, meticulous planning and preparation.
Where he seems to fall down though, and quite consistently it has to be said, is in adaptability. When our opponents change their system he seems bemused as to how to cope. If and when he thinks of a solution the horse has already bolted.
Man-management issues aside, for we don't really know yet how good or not he is at that, I wonder how the cleverer players will react to the lack of instruction and direction from the touchlines. I dare say a few of them had a good idea what was happening yesterday.