Great win against a determined, fresh side who had a fair while to prepare for that.
Elliot - 7.5 - Good performance, never had any doubts about his capabilities as a back-up. He looks so much smaller in the frame of the goal than Krul though, but he's a good'un, this one.
Santon - 5.5 - I've said for about a month he needs resting. He's had a long season, but his foibles today weren't even to do with fatigue or anything like that. He just has very poor defensive discipline atm. He's an amazing prospect and I've always said he's worth the investment of learning on the go, but Pardew needs to have a word with him about whether Santon has ambitions to be a winger. He does not seem half as interested in defending as he does bombing forward right now.
Colo - 8 - For me, he's still the top dog in central defence. The other two have better physical attributes, but he has the ability to dictate the tempo of our play from the back. He's our Paul Scholes in that respect. His distribution from the back is unparalleled. The bicycle kick bit was just the epitome of cool. Only thing missing was him taking a casual drag on a cigarette while he did it.
Taylor and M'Biwa 7 - Both solid. Utmost confident in both of them to take us forward into the future. Hope they both stay fit. Maybe not as tight as they could have been today though.
Debuchy - 8.5 - Best game from him so far. Haven't been overly-impressed with him since his arrival if I'm honest, but he struck the balance between defending and attacking magnificently today. Well done, son. Growing into the league nicely.
Tiote - 11 - Okay, so I actually give him a 9, but he deserves two extra for not getting booked or anything. He was everywhere today. Absolutely vital for us going forward and a definite starter. Grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, and decimated their midfield. BEAST.
Sissoko - 9 - BEAST. The addition of his energy and running from midfield, with Gouffran, gives us infinitely more dynamism and unpredictability going forward. Just immense. This guy is going to be something else. Talk about end product and technique too. Blimey, what a player we have on our hands.
Jonas - 7.5 - Good composure and running, his experience helped us out. Smart operator today. Quietly very good.
Cabaye - 8 - Slapped the ball about impressively, but looked a bit leggy. Well-taken penalty, amazing distribution.
Gouffran - 8.5 - Bit quiet for parts in that first half, but exploded into life... I absolutely adore this bloke. Doesn't give away the ball cheaply, fantastic awareness of what's around him, world-class decision-making (something SJP hasn't been graced with on a regular basis too often over the years!) and speed to burn. Hope he continues to be unnoticed by the press/media at large, and retain his place as our 'ace in the hole'
Cisse - 6.5 - Attitude, there as ever. Wondergoal, happened today. Still frustrating the fuck out of me though if I'm honest.
Great win. Important. Hope we can really make our midtable finish a foregone conclusion by the time our Round 16 tie begins, so that we can focus our attention on that fully. Well done to Pardew - good team selection I thought. Understand why he went for Perch over Anita (although I do feel for Anita a little bit) when Cabaye came off. I think Anita has a lot more learning to do if I'm honest. That's fine though.
The corners of the mouth are raised when I think about Newcastle recently. I remember this. It used to happen before.
Oh, and the crowd pressured the referees well with those two non-penalty handballs before the penalty-handball. All three decisions were right I think.
Anyway, onwards - well done all.
