Cronky

Stuff lending him out. He looks ready, and we need him.

He seems quite strong already. Strength isn't just about bulk.

There were times when it looked like he had no choice but to go it alone because not much was going on around him. That applies to young Fergie as well. There's a case for promoting them earlier into the first team so they don't get into the bad habit of trying too much on their own.

A great player who was the key figure in transforming a newly promoted side into title contenders. Definitely in my NUFC top five. Rooney is better IMO, but of England strikers of that type, he'd be number 2.

I can't wait to see Sammy and HBA backing up a striker in a 4-3-3. Could be scrummy.

Obviously he lacks experience, but he seems to have a good temperament, and his pace and his passing are superior to Tiote's. It's a question of how quickly he develops. It doesn't feel fair on the lad to play him alongside Tiote, because we end up with two sitting midfielders and Bigi's opportunities are then limited. I can understand that Pardew wanted Tiote's experience out there, but if Tiote's going to give the ball away like a novice you may as well play the younger man. Bigi will learn through being given responsibility, because that's what his position demands, and I don't know how much he'll gain if he's out there as Tiote's sidekick.

We're not creating enough for him imo We did tonight, he would have had about 4 playing with last seasons confidence. The excuse previously was because Ba was too selfish to play on the left, read tonight that Ba can't play upfront on his own. IMO we just need to accept he is going through a poor patch, he is too good not to re-find his touch and I am confident he will start cracking them in again. It's a cliché but at least he's still getting into the right places. I was happy enough with his link-up play tonight as well. Not worried at all, others are scoring goals. He was still dangerous so all we need to worry about is that touch coming back. Not much of a worry. One of the best forwards in the league (Rooney) goes through plenty of spells like this and longer. It's a bit of a case of him not being quite as good as we all thought he was going to be. He really hit a purple patch last season, with everything flying in. Luck's now turned against him a bit. The ability is still there, but he needs more support. We seemed to know how to get the best out of him last season, but this time round we've been mucking about with several different formations, often within the same game.

Some very good individual performances, but also some poor ones. Cisse struggled to get involved, Tiote gave the ball away a lot and was lucky not to cost us a goal, Bigi struggled for a role. But Sammy could really breathe fresh life into our side. I'm wondering just how good he's going to turn out to be.

The Anita-Bigi-Tiote combination doesn't look right. The passing isn't ambitious enough and Anita seems to be left without a role. Sammy really is emerging as a major talent. Young Fergie has impressed again.

I'm a bit surprised at the comments on Fellaini. He gets very involved in all areas of the pitch, and particularly in aerial battles, so he's bound to give away a number of free kicks. But the dirtiest player in the league? I don't think it's easy for the truly dirty (ie malicious) player to function now, with refs being stricter and cameras all over the place picking up incidents after the game. But two players spring to mind who consistently seem to go in deliberately late - Cattermole (numero uno) and - yes - Tiote. PS - I havent' made a detailed study of every player in the Premiership, so no doubt people can come up with other names. But I do think there's an aspect of Tiote's game that he needs to cut out.

And Fellaini is the dirtiest, eh? Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

Yeah, I agree with this. Williamson, whatever his other limitations, does win a good percentage of those balls. It would help if we had a midfielder like Speed who can attack the box and get on the end of those kind of chances. The nearest equivilent is Gosling, but so far he's been a disappointment overall.

Perhaps I need to take a closer look at Perchy, with all this praise, but at CM my view is that he does his defensive work reasonably well but doesn't offer much else. He doesn't look like a player who's eager to make things happen. If we're going to progress we need someone more comfortable in possession. Of the various options, the one with the most all-round talent IMO is Bigi, and it's a matter of how quickly he can progress.

Not a chance that is getting turned over. Agreed. And if he tries the defence (that seems quite popular) that he didn't see the other guy then the punishment if likely to be doubled.

think this is a valid point- fletcher came in so fast from out of tiotes view- theres every chance of a poor mis-timed attempt at the ball catching him. Well, it looked to me like Tiote deliberately kicked him. He gets these rushes of the blood to the head most games, and refs may now be looking out for it.

Really? Based on what exactly? I think Cajun has summed him up. You don't often see a player of that size and strength also possessing that kind of pace. He had the raw material. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like he's worked hard enough at his game. He doesn't seem to have the right attitude to self-improvement.

And he's right. When he's struggling to maintain possession and the ball's running away from him, he often lifts his foot into a 50-50 challenge, especially when he gets worked up. He usually gets away with a yellow, but he can't complain when, on one occasion, a ref takes sterner action.

The problem with Tiote's foul is the intent. It was clear he'd lost his temper because of being fouled himself and took it out on the next available opponent.

Possibly nerves. When you've been out for months with a broken leg, this isn't the kind of game you relish. He's been a bit in and out of the play.

Tiote does that kind of petulant follow-through quite a lot. Most of the time, he gets away with it. Today he doesn't, and I hope he learns a lesson. We've done all right with 10 men, which is a reflection of the opposition. With luck, we may just get away with something. Cabaye needs to keep his head too. In general, when we get a turnover, we don't use the ball positively enough. We end up with two of three sideways or backward passes with the aim of making sure we don't lose the ball, we're then under pressure and end up hitting it long.

I think Shola is in there on merit. The Derby-factor is just a convenient reason for Pardew.

Great news if true. I had the suspicion last season that our position without Tim would be mid-table. He can really make a difference to us.

His progress was fitful, but the minute he was handed that contract, his progress stopped. I guess it was a gamble that hasn't paid off. I still think that he had the potential to reach the very top of the game, so I can understand the decision.

Yeah, and I guess he's the only one who's secure enough to say it. Individual differences over how harsh a punishment should be, shouldn't lead to this kind of a split.

He basically helped Leeds to the title in 91/92. So why did they let him go for £1.2m to their big rivals? IIRC Cantona had failed to nail down a regular starting place at Leeds.