I gave you an answer. Why doesn't Pardew go back to a 433 is a stupid, irrelevant question. Just because a system gave us success in a couple of games 18 months ago doesn't mean it will now.
They wont back Pardew or sack him - it doesn't mean I can't afford myself some perspective rather than getting myself hysterical with every word he says like a lot of posters on here.
The problems come from Ashley downwards - if Pardew wasn't suitable for the clubs ambition - or lack of - why is he in a job? (the algorithm can get stuck in a loop here if you aren't careful)
IMO it's not stupid or irrelevant to ask why something which brought success to a largely similar team or set of players, isn't being tried again. At home, and against teams like West Ham, we shouldn't be setting up to defend for f***'s sake. God forbid we go toe to toe against the colossus that is James Collins. We easily had the better individuals than they did. Playing with fear the way we did is criminal.
The devil is in the detail. Dropped points add up, and could see us f***ed by the end of the season. I agree that the problem starts with Ashley, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't criticise Pardew just because we know he isn't getting sacked. If we're stuck with him, we might as well have the hope that he could see what is glaringly obvious, and try to remedy our situation as far as winning those "winnable" games.
West Ham have a better squad than us - a better strike force & a better defence for a start & I suppose you probably think Allardyce is a better manager. I'd argue they are stronger in the centre of midfield too & from set pieces.
Is it really that easily winnable? Tactically - can you explain why a 433 would work against West Ham's system and which players you would choose to fill what roles?
It just seems like guesswork with no real foundation otherwise.
Allardyce better than Pardew? Absolutely. Would I want him here? f*** that. But he's definitely the better manager with a better record in the top flight.
Why play 433? A London club traveling up to the NE should be coming here cacking their tidy whites at the thought of a free-roaming Ben Arfa, and a lethal Cisse. Against West Ham in particular, who have two big center halves, it's f***ing pointless to play 442 when we have no real wide players who can cross, and no big target men who can compete physically with them. As expected, they easily swatted away every half arse cross that went into the box.
What should we have done in that case? Tried to play around them.
Ben Arfa in the "hole" in a free role behind Cisse and Gouffran. Pulling defenders out of position, and keeping their best players Diame and Noble busy in their own half.
3 in midfield who can play it simple and move the ball to the front 3 as quick as possible. Anita, Sissoko and Marveaux.
I'm not a qualified premier league manager, but IMO, the above isn't beyond the realms of imagination. It uses our players to their strengths, and allows us to take our game to a team we should be beating at SJP 8 times out of 10.
Our 433 was a success when used in counter attacking - exploiting home teams attacks. So I can only take from this that you looked at the results and not how they happened.
West Ham are solid, seldom attacked & played two rows of four in their own half most of the time i.e it would've been as fruitless as 4231.
The performance against Stoke (h) in that shape was the benchmark for the entire season, for me, and that was far from a counter-attacking approach.
