Cronky

Sorry if these have been mentioned. He loves that 70 minute mark. I think I know what he means. It's important to reach that 70 minute mark with something still left in the tank, rather than blown out. It's in the final quarter that most opportunities arise.

'Hey, I'm not a racist too!'

The idea that Colo is third choice at the club is/was ludicrous. Most certainly. Colo and Yanga-Mbiwa would be my preferred partnership due to how good both are on the ball as well as defensively. They showed it away at Metallist, that was the best display as a pairing from our central defenders this season. Concerned with us aerially with that. I know Mapou's fast but is he strong? Not sure about him in the air either. I know Colo's not the best in the air and he isn't the strongest. A cerebral defender at his best. I'm not sure that Mapou is the greatest at defending set pieces, and Colo certainly isn't. Their partnership would worry me long-term. Mind you, all the signs are that Colo is off and we're looking for another CB.

Going by the 60 minute highlights, it looked like we played quite well and fully deserved the win. Marv is improving all the time as he gets used to the Premiership and finds a role in the side. Sissoko is involved all the time - fantastic strength and energy. And I wouldn't swap Krul for any other keeper in the league, though I think he and Taylor need to communicate a bit better.

I think we should stick with Pardew, and see how things go next season (assuming we stay up), when we should have a much better squad than the one that started this campaign. Of the alternatives, I've always liked Martinez, but I'm tempted by Ketsbaia, on the reasoning that maybe a nutter will succeed where everyone else has failed.

I've not come across any rumours about the players being unhappy with Pardew or the training, and we're still able to attract players. From the point of view of the future, we can take encouragement from that. If I was to point to one significant error that he made this season, it was not sorting out the Ba-Cisse problem before the season started. We wasted a lot of time over that.

http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/487.html Take it up with him.

totally agree they guy's a comp liability time to move on. You two must have been watching a different match to me last night. The penalty aside, he had one of his better games of the season for me. Kept Cardozo mostly in check and seemed to be taking responsibility for playing the ball out from the back when we had periods of possession. Didn't shy from receiving a pass either. I wasn't thinking particularly of the game last night, or the handball. In point of fact, I don't think he makes that many obvious mistakes. He's just very limited and cautious, as I said in the original post. It's what he doesn't do that bothers me, and I think we can do better. He's not that bad on the ball. After a year of Williamson in the team, I'm surprised you're clamouring to declare STaylor limited, he's a far superior upgrade (on and off the ball). You've said that he rarely intercepts...so you want him to be more aggressive when defending through balls? Not sure if he's suited to that really, he's been burnt a few times in his career by over-committing so I wouldn't be surprised if he's matured/been advised to let the forward have it with his back to goal rather than risk a missed interception. I’d agree about how he’s adjusted his game to cover his weaker points, but that’s placed a limit on what he has to offer as a centre back. Often it’s better to intercept or get closer to an opponent to stop them turning, rather than rely on blocking. I suspect that’s why his international career has never taken off, despite the fact that England are not brimful of good centre backs at the moment. I just have to disagree about his general ability on the ball. Again, perhaps we don’t see many glaring mistakes, but that’s because his choices are so conservative. A typical example last night was when he had the balI on a turnover and had a clear and easy pass forward to a midfield player who was free. He didn’t have the confidence to try it, and turned to pass back to Krul, who had to hurry his clearance. Failure to take advantage of situations can be quite telling. I think his clumsiness may also be a part of him opting out of trying for interceptions. He’s not the worst defender in the world, and he does have his strengths, but as I said, I think we can do better.

totally agree they guy's a comp liability time to move on. You two must have been watching a different match to me last night. The penalty aside, he had one of his better games of the season for me. Kept Cardozo mostly in check and seemed to be taking responsibility for playing the ball out from the back when we had periods of possession. Didn't shy from receiving a pass either. I wasn't thinking particularly of the game last night, or the handball. In point of fact, I don't think he makes that many obvious mistakes. He's just very limited and cautious, as I said in the original post. It's what he doesn't do that bothers me, and I think we can do better.

Clumsy player and not good enough on the ball for the level that we're aiming for. Often passes the ball backwards to a team-mate who's under pressure when there are better options ahead. Rarely intercepts and just concentrates on staying goalside of his man. I'm fed up with him. Fortunately, it seems that we're looking for another CB.

Strange game, because although they were better, we gave away two goals through bad individual errors, and could have got more than one, with the chances that fell Cisse's way. Not completely out of it, because I don't think their defence is up to much.

Mainly through nerves. That pass back was driven by panic.

Tim is keeping us in it. Maybe could have done better with the goal, but otherwise, he's been brilliant. Agree that Cabaye has been disappointing.

I heard he holds us fully back. On form tonight, mate.

Simpson's name on the teamsheet is a real downer. I think he really holds us back.

Before they signed, the likes of Sissoko and Gouffran would have spoken to our other French players about Pardew and what the club was like generally. Clearly they didn't get a negative message, so I don't think we've got a lot of unhappy bunnies itching to go. Next season will be the test. If the team continues to struggle at that point, then yes I can see some players wanting out. I haven't quite made my mind up about Pardew. He's made some mistakes, but at the same time I don't think the squad we had when we started the season was as good as some people are suggesting.

I think he's pretty good at keeping the ball down. The trajectory he gets on some of his shots can be very impressive. We ain't never going to agree on this one.

They do. Tonight just wasn't the occasion to do so. Tbh, I didn't notice much difference between last night's performance and their usual style. It's when they get forward into a decent position and you're thinking - go on, shoot/cross/pass etc - and then they decide that the situation isn't quite good enough and they play the ball back out again and the attack re-starts. You can't argue with their success and when they do decide to strike at a defence it's devastating. But the length of time they spend keeping the ball can be frustrating. You get some golden moments of skill but I honestly find Arsenal more entertaining, simply because they usually shift the ball forward quicker.

There's something about the cut of his jib that I don't like. Not any more.

Just wish Barca would get the ball forward a teeny weeny bit quicker. It's great football but slightly boring.

Aurelien Chedjou, anyone? http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-target-aurelien-chedjou-lille-1797087

That was more or less it. The problem may be that they don't have a core of established players in that side who can keep the team focused. In the first half, they allowed Fulham to play the ball around them without any pressure. In the second half, they played with far more spirit, but didn't seem to have a game plan for when they had the extra man. The lumped the ball forward instead of making use of the extra time and space in midfield, and it seems that Samba decided to play centre forward off his own bat. Harry wasn't happy. Overall, a good outcome for us, as people have said. You can't ask for more than a home game against a mid-table side whose season is over, and who have just lost an important player.

Exactly. Too many QPR players stop playing when the opposition have the ball.

I'd say the situation needs a cool-headed man of experience, so this is quite a gamble. I was surprised when Di Canio became a manager, and surprised again when he did well at Swindon. His image as a footballer didn't say manager in the making. Maybe there's a third surprise coming up, but I don't think so.

Who created that "far worse mess" at West Ham? A certain Mr Pardew, or the Board, depending on who you listen to. Curbishley took Charlton into the Premiership, and in six successive seasons they finished 9th, 14th, 12th, 7th, 11th and 13th. Not bad for a club run on a shoestring. And the season after Curbishley left, they were relegated.