Shak

No he didn't.

Should be used like Man U used Park Ji Sung a few years ago. Play him against the top sides when we need an extra bit of work rate. He's a passenger in games like today when we're the better side, can't be many wingers who've been so hopelessly ineffective in the final third.

Pardew needs to manage Ba, he played wide left in a front 3 and was getting chances and just looked like his luck had run out. Ba was getting chances that were going wide, hitting somebody or going over the top, he was burrying the same chances from the same position when he was on his brilliant run. To allow him (Ba) to think he can't play in that position is costing us as a team and it doesn't have to be the case. I'd give him a few games down the middle in the 4-3-3 and tell him it's his spot to lose. Cisse can't argue with being dropped, he's been poor regardless of the service. Although you are right its this kind of thinking that bugs me (not yours but the English rigid postions thinking). Why do the front 3 have to be left centre and right. Why cant they be free roles to roam and rotate positions. When we lose the ball whoever is left at the time covers there, same for the right side. In theory it could work. Wouldn't hold out much hope for that happening. We're still trying to get out of playing a long ball 4-4-2 formation at this point, reckon the concept of actually having our players rotate positions during the game would destroy Pardew's brain. Probably right If only he could loosen things up a little. He's showing himself to be far too rigid in his thinking and set up. Aye, it'll be a shame if this stubbornness ends up being his undoing. Done a great job to this point but we won't be able to go on nicking wins in shit games forever. We need to evolve as an attacking unit, I hope he has some sort of long term vision but it's hard to see what that might be with how we've been setting ourselves up so far this year.

Pardew needs to manage Ba, he played wide left in a front 3 and was getting chances and just looked like his luck had run out. Ba was getting chances that were going wide, hitting somebody or going over the top, he was burrying the same chances from the same position when he was on his brilliant run. To allow him (Ba) to think he can't play in that position is costing us as a team and it doesn't have to be the case. I'd give him a few games down the middle in the 4-3-3 and tell him it's his spot to lose. Cisse can't argue with being dropped, he's been poor regardless of the service. Although you are right its this kind of thinking that bugs me (not yours but the English rigid postions thinking). Why do the front 3 have to be left centre and right. Why cant they be free roles to roam and rotate positions. When we lose the ball whoever is left at the time covers there, same for the right side. In theory it could work. Wouldn't hold out much hope for that happening. We're still trying to get out of playing a long ball 4-4-2 formation at this point, reckon the concept of actually having our players rotate positions during the game would destroy Pardew's brain.

It's frustrating that fans can see things that the manager can't.

Pardew needs to manage Ba, he played wide left in a front 3 and was getting chances and just looked like his luck had run out. Ba was getting chances that were going wide, hitting somebody or going over the top, he was burrying the same chances from the same position when he was on his brilliant run. To allow him (Ba) to think he can't play in that position is costing us as a team and it doesn't have to be the case. I'd give him a few games down the middle in the 4-3-3 and tell him it's his spot to lose. Cisse can't argue with being dropped, he's been poor regardless of the service.

I'd love to know the instructions Pardew sends them out there with. Neither gets anywhere near the touchline, Cisse kind of just plays off the shoulder of the last defender and Ba stands ten yards deeper. No width at all, we call it a 4-4-2 but really in practice going forward we play something like this. Harper Taylor Colo Simpson Santon Cabaye Tiote Jonas Ben Arfa Ba Cisse It's wank. 4-3-3 won't solve all our issues and we still won't play incredible stuff, but it'll at least force us to play a bit more spaced out.

Aye, think he changed out of necessity and then felt that with a full summer to work with he'd be able to make his preferred system work. So far it hasn't worked for him. Think we can see now why De Jong and Carroll were targeted. The system, shit as it is, would work a lot better with a genuine target man up there. It'll be a blessing in disguise if Pardew has the stones to revert to the 4-3-3 that we didn't get a big man in. Cisse and Ba should compete for a place and shut up and get on with it if either are asked to play out wide on occasion. Ben Arfa, Cabaye and Jonas are all vastly more suited to playing in that formation, we have loads of CM's so going with three in the middle makes lots of sense. Not overly optimistic he'll see the light though.

Could possibly work but it'd have to be Ferguson LB and Santon RB most likely, even then i fear it'd be a bit too narrow. Though it'd be better than the fucking shite we saw today.

Set penises.

Another who benefits from the 4-3-3, he's picking the ball up too deep and usually has to beat three or four players when he gets the ball. Naturally he manages this occasionally as he's absolutely immense, but he's wasted as a wide man in a 4-4-2.

Not sure Pardew will drop him, which is a real problem if we're intent on sticking with this abysmal system. Cult hero and always works his arse off, but he's a winger and a large part of that is being able to create something going forward and in this sense he offers virtually nothing.

Reading are shite and are going down, pile of rubbish.

Cabaye on the wing. It's a right footed player on the right side Wullie, it's what you wanted you miserable old gimp!!

About the best shout you'd have is dropping barfa behind the front two to link midfield. Putting your best 3 attacking players infront of Tiote, Bigi & Jonas today wouldnt have created wonderous football. Cabaye missing was a huge loss. The natural side line you're overplayng. I'm not overplaying it at all, it's a question of balance. 4-4-2 simply does not work with players on their wrong side. Or their right side, in all likelyhood. What, like Shane Ferguson? Ben Arfa is being severely limited on the wrong side, so is Santon. Agree about Santon, wish we'd buy a left back. Not sure about Ben Arfa though, think he's great cutting inside and running at teams. Would be wasted as an out and out winger IMO. The key is to have a natural winger on the opposite side, Ferguson looks ideal.

I'd honestly love to know how much time and effort is put into planning our attacking play. We don't seem to have any strategy other than to give it to the wingers and hope one of them does something with it. Ba and Cisse just stand there and wait for the ball to come near them and the central midfielders rarely move out of position. Looks to me that we set up to nullify our opposition and hope that at some point we work it forward to our strikers well enough to give them a few chances. He's too negative for me. A team like Reading we should be going out there and inflicting our game upon them, not setting about nullifying them and then hoping to nick a goal somewhere. Spurs went to Reading a few weeks back and just beat the piss out of them, Reading never stood a chance. Not sure how far he can take us until he gets a bit more adventurous. We nicked a huge amount of close games that could have gone either way last year, odds are that won't continue. At some point we're gonna have to start imposing ourselves on teams. He deserves plenty of time to get it right, but at the moment I just don't see what on earth he could be thinking in terms of how he sets us up to attack, and that's alarming.

It's always a rush watching our games, just because I care so much. We must be horrendous viewing for a neutral though.

Gives us some sort of width, which we badly need. Start him ahead of Jonas against all but the top sides if we're going to persist with this "formation".

Rather worrying that we haven't played well yet this season. Point isn't a disaster, but Reading are a terrible team who'll probably be relegated and we looked shit against them. Season has mid-table written all over it unless Pardew changes things.

If we're gonna keep this shit strategy then it's easy to see why Carroll was a target, having someone good in the air is useful if you're going to be a long ball team.

Jonas in the middle I suppose. Good subs, probably too little too late though.

Really banging that drum. Just one of a multitude of issues we have tbh, what a rubbish performance. Main problem imo. Doing my fucking head in every week. Dunno, the fact that Ba and Cisse don't move from their respective positions is hurting us a lot too. Also playing two holding midfielders at all times. Just a big clusterfuck of a setup, honestly don't think we have much of an offensive strategy going into games.

Really banging that drum. Just one of a multitude of issues we have tbh, what a rubbish performance.

Fair to say we've missed Taylor, fuck sake.

What year is it?