Cronky

He looks good in the air, which Pardew seems to look for in his full backs. He doesn't like to be sucker-punched by a ball to the far post.

There's always a chance that MYM will come good as a centre back, in the same way that Colo recovered from a bad first season in English football. But Colo's learning curve played some part in our relegation, and I don't think we can afford to wait for MYM to come good. He's never looked particularly confident or imposing, which obviously is vital in a CB. Time to cut our losses.

Agreed. All the efforts at bringing new players in will come to nothing if he's our lead striker.

Well I say this is promising. In many ways, he looks similar to Marv and Ben Arfa, but with a better chance of succeeding because he plays with more aggression.

So despite Pardew ruining them as players, they'll get the move to a CL club that is eluding them at the moment. I see.

If Pardew is as bad as most seem to think, why is Cabella joining us? He'll have had the chance to speak at length to Remy, Debuchy, Sissoko and Cabaye. It doesn't sound like they've given him a bad reference. As far as I'm concerned, Pardew still has something to prove, but this unrelenting negativity doesn't quite fit.

Strong contenders, for sure.

If Remy went to Arsenal, he'd be a squad player behind Giroud and Sanchez. He's strong and fast and would be a good signing for us, but I think most CL clubs would want a player with a more consistent touch on the ball.

He looked okay in defence, but a bit clumsy going forward. But yeah, he looks a decent replacement for Debuchy.

I'd agree that standards in goalkeeping have improved, but for similar reasons, the standards of outfield players have as well. So in a sense it all evens out. It's as difficult to be dominant in this era as it was in the 60s. Pele, Maradona and Messi are / were all short, stocky players with great close control, and great ability to change pace and direction. That gave them an ability to get past opponents in situations where other players couldn't. I feel that this is what has raised their profile above the likes of Platini, Zidane or Beckenbauer, who in terms of pure skill on the ball were at least their equal. The player that I find hard to assess in this context is Cruyff. That strange physique of his gave him a unique set of abilities, and in his time, he had no rival as the best player in the world. What he added - and perhaps which the other three lack - is outstanding leadership qualities, and it wasn't a surprise when he went on to become an outstanding manager. Dutch football, at club and international level, was a bit of a joke before he and Michels arrived on the scene, so with Cruyff you have to say that he was strongly influential in changing a whole nation's attitude and confidence in its football. So in terms of his ability to lift a whole team's performance, arguably Cruyff is the greatest ever.

Yeah, I think certainly when we signed Cabaye and Debuchy it was with the promise that we would let them leave if a Champions League club came in for them and offered a decent fee. In which case, it's important that we keep our word. Realistically, a lot of the players that could improve us would also attract the interest of CL clubs, so I daresay in some cases the club either makes that undertaking or loses the signing. I don't think this is a policy that goes back a long way though. Fearless Fred seemed to overcome a player's reluctance by throwing money at them.

Van Persie has been poor. He does his best work facing the goal, and isn't great at holding the ball up with his back to goal, which is what he's been forced to do most of the evening.

There's been a certain mystique about Brazilian football which dates back to the Pele era, and which has survived a few disappointments since. I think this defeat will have buried it.

I'll never see 50 again, and that has to be the most astonishing result of my lifetime. Football, bloody hell. Anything can happen.

The substitution could have backfired majorly against LVG and Krul himself. As it were, it ended up being a brilliant thing to see. At least the name of NUFC had some positive impact at this world cup, and it couldn't have come to a more deserving player. As for his "antics", I have no idea what problem some posters had with it. Also have no idea how it is an aspect of "modern" football? How about in the past when they used kick the fuck out of each other to intimidate the opposition? Now mind games are the problem? fuck off. I don't think referees should allow keepers to chat up the penalty-taker like that. Krul should have been told to stop. Worse things happen on the pitch as you say, but there needs to some clarification in the guidance to the laws about what is acceptable. I'm still pleased for the lad, because he did well for all five pens. He's our keeper and I enjoyed watching his success. But if our team had been the victim, I'd be furious at the inaction of the ref in that situation.

Within a year, Zaha has gone from a big signing for Man U and an England international, to someone who struggles to get a game for Cardiff. He has seriously lost his way and I wouldn't take the chance on him. My feeling is that he's a good athlete who was very effective in the Championship but whose technical limitations have been exposed in the Premiership. I don't think it's a matter of him 'recovering form'. I think he needs to put in a lot of work on his game.

He went in the right direction for all five, and had a decent chance of saving them all. That wasn't guesswork, that was method. It seemed to be something about the eyes. Let's hope he brings the secret back to the Toon.

Incredible display by Rodriguez, I thought. The ref was allowing the Brazilians to kick him all over the field, but he still managed to create a lot for his team. Reminded me of Zidane, the way he always seems to drift past the first challenge.

I'd take a chance on Richards, based on talent. I think centre back rather than full back suits him better, but he seems to have problems with concentration and so he's largely been kept out wide, where his career has stagnated.

He looks like a midfielder who likes to attack the box, which is just what we need. I thought that Sissoko was going to fill that particular gap, but it doesn't seem to have worked out that way.

He's a good player, you miserable sods.

Good, we don't need more than 11 players anyway. We don't need players who can't contribute, mind. I know it's League One, but he had a decent season for Rotherham. Never really been given a chance to show he can even be a reliable back-up. Do they show much of Rotherham in the States? Seriously though, he looks garbage. TBF I think I saw half of one Rotherham game this season. Going mostly off of what others have said and the fact that he somehow scored a few goals. I have actually seen Tavernier complete a full game for Rotherham. He looked like he could play at a higher level, but as previously, he was better going forward than defending. Come to think of it, he was pushed into midfield for half the game, which I always felt would be his better position.

Rooney wasn't at his best, but he tends to get judged by different standards from the others. He was still worth his place in the side. Milner was really struggling yesterday, and I don't think we'll be seeing much more of him in an England shirt. It was a shame that the Ox was injured and Wilshere wasn't fully fit, because I'd see them as key players in the future.

Smalling's been a slow developer who often looks short on confidence, but the raw material is in place if he can get his head together. I can see why Fergie snapped him up. It'd help if he had a regular place as a centre back at his club.

Liverpool were given a lot of praise in the second half of the season, and it then seemed like 4-2-3-1 with Henderson and Sterling became the answer to England's problems as well. Over the years, I've seen several England managers succumb to that kind of bandwagon from the media and supporters. They're under a lot of pressure. Ultimately the biggest problem - and one that probably no amount of shuffling with formations or personnel could completely sort out - was our lack of defensive quality in the back four. That's been apparent for some time. We could have done better for sure, but we were always liable to get found out.