Cronky

Hells no. Based on his form at Blackburn, of course. You can't read too much into how he's fared at QPR this season, with all the turmoil.

Shaun Maloney and Callum McManaman. Not too sure about the other Wigan players - they've been able to play without pressure and its quite different at a club with our kind of expectations. Junior Hoilett as well.

Yep. Really hope he'd be a possibility for us at the end of the season. All the momentum now with Wigan. All the pressure on Arsenal.

I think that is very true, our fans did stick with the team, but - and this is the important bit - the way supporters treat their side is in large part influenced by what went before. For example, I can say that last year under McFuck was the most unremittingly depressing, negative, shameful mess of a season. There's a reason we dropped almost 10k season ticket holders over one summer, too - lots of people saw it coming, and couldn't believe we'd set ourselves up for that. Given the grimness of the man who preceeded him, Lambert has had more support as manager than anyone I can ever remember - certainly for a manager who has us not safe with a week to go. Yes, the supporters buy into the side and there's a close bond between them, players and manager, but you can't ignore the effect of last season. The same thing goes for you. You had a great season last year, got lots and lots of plaudits (certainly, our fans were dripping with jealousy at the time), and signed some really exciting players. What you've been served up this season, by comparison, is effectively a plate of cold dog shit. You have every single right to be annoyed about it - as you've seen how last season went. You are comparing what happened last season and what has happened this, and the disparity is immense, so big that someone quite obviously has dropped a season long sequence of bollocks. I'm not surprised you want him out. Well we don't all want him out, and I'm not sure that the opinion of supporters in general is as hostile to Pardew as it is on this forum. Probably a question of degree. I think you're right that everyone's expectations of the team were raised after we finished 5th, and now we've come back down to earth. Whether Pardew's to blame and should be sacked is another matter. I can remember quite a few years ago, when we were in the old Second Division and managed by Ardiles, we had a very young side - average age was about 22. They really struggled but the supporters appreciated their efforts and didn't turn against them. The crowd cut them some slack because of their youth. I have the bizarre memory of watching us lose 4-0 at Southend, and the fans applauding the team off the pitch. However, when it got to the point when the trapdoor to the Third Division really started to yawn and there was no sign of improvement, the mood changed. Ardiles was sacked, Keegan was appointed, and we just did enough to stay up. What I think has worked out well for your team is that the performances improved just at the time when the situation was becoming critical. Keeping hope alive at the crucial moment may have been key to keeping the supporters onside.

You only have to look at Aston Villa as an example! Their first team this season has been littered with youth. They will most likely survive by the skin of their teeth as it turns out. But Lambert sets them out to play a clear and defined brand of football. It may have taken them half a season to start getting results, but it shows that youngsters can do the job if the football is structured. Villa surviving with that first team is a monumental achievement compared to our miserable failure in merely surviving with ours. Fair point, but Villa are the exception rather than the rule, and like you say, they’ve struggled. I think Lambert is an exceptional manager. I tipped Villa to be this season’s surprise package, based purely on his management ability. I suppose he has got that team to over-achieve, albeit from a different base. He’s shown a lot of nerve and ability, though not having much choice but to rely on youth may ironically have helped. The other striking thing about the Villa experience is that their fans have stuck by the team, and I’m not sure our own supporters would have done the same, given the very recent memories of relegation and Ashley’s unpopularity. Judging from comments on here about Sammy and Ferguson, I have my doubts. The general opinion was to ship them out on loan rather than persist.

The Daily Star article indicates that Pardew wants a bit more flexibility in the transfer policy. The expectation was that investing in youth would cover the gaps in the squad that arise when established first team members are injured or need resting. Trouble is, the general level of the Premiership now makes it difficult for young players to move straight from the reserves without seriously weakening the first team's results. Perhaps Pardew could have been a bit more patient with one or two of our youngsters, but it's a problem that affects most Premiership clubs now. They may now be looking for experienced players to fill out the squad and allow the youngsters to go out on loan to gain experience. What's more, I don't think we should be rigid about not taking on loan signings. Rose at Sunderland and Townsend at QPR show how they can work well. But get used to it, people, Pardew won't be sacked. It would make Ashley and Llambias look pretty stupid if they got rid of him so soon after all the talk of sticking with a manager through good times and bad. If it's a consolation, Pardew may therefore now be in a good position to ask for the flexibility in transfers that's needed.

Not being local, I don’t know how typical the views expressed on here are, in terms of general opinion on Tyneside. But I’m a bit worried that I might be seeing the start of a sort of self-destructive meltdown that I’ve seen before. Ours is a very well-supported club, which has the pressures and opportunities that fall in that wake. When we’re doing badly, a lot of anger develops, and this is unfortunately coupled with gloating by the media, who long to write another chapter of failure in the history of this crazy-club-that-continues-to-under-achieve etc etc These twin pressures then start to affect the manager and the players, and we head into a downward spiral. A bad situation becomes worse. Pardew has made some mistakes, and I’m not completely convinced about him. I don’t feel I’ve got a grip on what he’s aiming for in terms of the team’s style etc. But I can understand the owner wanting to get out of the syndrome of sacking the manager when there’s a bad spell and the pressure is on. It can sometimes become the only way of relieving the pressure, but I’d rather any decision was made on rational terms, rather than driven by emotion from the stands. The crucial thing for me would be whether Pardew has still got the support of the players. If he has – and there don’t seem to be any rumours to the contrary – then I’d give him another season.

Pardew talks too much. In this case, it sounds like he unwisely made a light-hearted comment that's going to come back to haunt him at various times. No more than that. In that post-match interview, Pardew looked angry. He's experienced what we've all gone through before. When we're in trouble, there's no shortage of people in the media eager to pile the pressure on. NUFC foul things up again makes great newspaper copy.

Great talent, but he still needs to mature a bit more as a player. His judgement of what's on for him when in possession is often very wayward.

I'd agree with the second bit. The first part of the quote is taken out of context. We go mad at the press when they do that sort of thing - it doesn't become all right just when it suits a particular opinion.

No one but us cares about that, I suspect. Irritating little sod, but he looks a good player. I'd take him.

Yep. Tactically, it worked a treat. They managed to slow down Man City's attacks every time, and looked good on the break. Even before the sending off, City looked all spent. Ah well. Hopefully they'll still do the decent thing and lose at Arsenal.

I recently read the Michael Crick biography of Fergie. Nothing was a complete surprise, but the extent of his ruthlessness and bullying was still an eye-opener. There also seemed to be something genuinely crazy about the way he could convince himself he was always in the right. I'm still an admirer of his achievements and his energy, but he went down a peg or two in my thinking. With Moyes, I think you still have a single-minded, authority figure in the traditional British mold, so you have that continuity, but I don't think he rules by fear. I also don't think he gets quite as involved in that paternalistic manner that Fergie did eg checking that players were at home instead of night clubs. Overall though, I think Moyes is a very sound person and will do well.

It's a difficult situation for Moyes, because I think he'll have to over-achieve, in the same way as Ferguson has done. Man U's current squad isn't as good as Man City or Chelsea's, but they've walked the league because of the Fergie regime. I don't see how Moyes could have achieved more at Everton. They've been under severe financial pressure, but for the most part, he's kept them in the upper reaches of the Premiership playing decent football. His teams have always looked very positive and organised to me, but inevitably they've fallen short when it comes to breaking into the top four. They can't spend the money that would really make the difference. It's been striking how Pienaar has looked a completely different player since his return to Everton. He looked out of his depth at Spurs. I think Moyes has that ability to get his teams playing with freedom, and yet within a structure. As I've said before, the one thing that would worry me is Fergie watching from the Boardroom. Presumably they're relying on the present good relationship between the two men surviving the takeover. I doubt whether Mourinho or Klopp would have accepted that situation.

Football wise, Bayern would be a good fit. Whether he could adjust to life in Germany, I don't know.

He's a crashing bore with nothing original or interesting to say.

Spill the beans Cronky! It wasn’t anything dramatic. But having such a revered figure still involved with the club created a problem for his successors. They were constantly being measured against the great man, and inevitably there were concerns about Busby’s influence in the Boardroom, whether justified or not. Having said that, the club in that era were still hamstrung by a policy of only appointing Catholic managers, which restricted the field somewhat. It was quite a while before they got someone who was strong enough to take the pressure. I don't buy into the idea that Fergie being upstairs would be a problem for his successor... he has earned so much respect that anyone should listen to him. Also, if it's someone like Moyes the experience he can pass on would be invaluable. I can see the point of a handover, where Fergie gives Moyes the run-down on all the players at the club, and how things are currently run. After that though, he needs to be out of the picture as far as an official role is concerned. He could always be on the other end of the phone as a mate. As an example, what happens when Moyes wants to spend a lot of money on a player who Fergie doesn't rate that highly. Is Fergie going to sit there at a Board meeting and say nothing? Or when one of the Glazers asks him for his informal opinion? If Moyes is good enough to be the manager, he's good enough to fly solo. I think he's good enough. I always remember when Moyes left Preston for Everton and had to handle his first game. It was a big step up, of course. At the end of the match, Duncan Ferguson was walking off the pitch and Moyes, quietly but confidently pointed in the direction of the away fans, asking him to go over and acknowledge them. Ferguson turned round without a murmur and did as he was told like a kid that had been told off by the Headmaster. I thought then, that Moyes had the presence and confidence to last the course.

I just don't think that would work. Moyes has to do things his own way, and inevitably there are going to be changes.

Spill the beans Cronky! It wasn’t anything dramatic. But having such a revered figure still involved with the club created a problem for his successors. They were constantly being measured against the great man, and inevitably there were concerns about Busby’s influence in the Boardroom, whether justified or not. Having said that, the club in that era were still hamstrung by a policy of only appointing Catholic managers, which restricted the field somewhat. It was quite a while before they got someone who was strong enough to take the pressure.

Right time to go, and in Moyes, the right replacement. I'm not sure about him hanging around as a Director / Ambassador though. The oldies among us will remember what happened when Matt Busby stayed around behind the scenes.

It won't be any different, just can't see us winning at all. Pardew will go in nervous as fuck and we will look to hold on at 0-0 for as long as possible I'm not trying to predict his tactics. But unlike with Benfica, we're not up against a better side, the opposition's season is over, and for us, it's shit or bust.

The way I see things, if we win, we stay up. If we don't, we go down. He has to go for it.

Please explain how you achieved this ? I've been trying to become a more sane, rational person where NUFC is concerned for decades, without any success whatsoever Try thinking of Ashley and Llambias trousering your hard-earned dosh...and Pardew being paid with it... If those really were the criteria for ending an obsession wouldn't it have been possible acheive that decades ago and long before those three were ever heard of ? What has kept me going is the rather negative idea that the minute I abandon them, the bastards will start winning trophies.

'Deserve' is a strange concept, but it does look like one of the relegated teams will go down with a higher than average number of points. You could argue that the third team will be a bit unlucky from that point of view. But in terms of quality of performance, yes, we are where we belong. And my worry is that whilst our current momentum is downwards, the other teams have an upward momentum. We need a good performance and result against West Ham to restore confidence.

Didn't see the game but had it recorded. Can't bear to watch it, though I've seen the goals. I don't like it when he plays Perch and Tiote together. Two defensive CMs, and the defence still gets exposed. Perhaps I'm being harsh, but it looked like Elliot got caught in no mans land for the first two goals. It looked a very makeshift back five, with no leaders.