Sifu

I hear Hibbert is doing............well?!

Gerrard knacked? Captain Fantastic is trending on Twitter. Urgh.

Set fire to your radio. It will never be clean again. Listening to it on iPlayer. Yep, my laptop has now been tainted.....

1-0 to Liverpool.

Just opened up Five Live. Alan Green and Pat Nevin commentary, oh the joy.

Hmm, that probably is a better option, now that I think about it. All his best games (in France and here) have come from a wide position so guess keeping him out wide would make sense. Admittedly, his performances in the number 10 position have been quite underwhelming - from what we've seen, his influence is simply greater from the wing (Blackburn in the FA Cup being a key example).

No Colo? Are you crazy?

4-3-HBA-2 ? That's the formation I would really like to see us use in the future. I really do think that we have the players to make it work. One can hope.....

Well, at least he's accepting that Arsenal's winner was partially his fault (even though he's blaming cramp more than his shite throw in)...........

For now, I'd definitely start him on the right wing. As he's demonstrated on a few occasions, he can cut inside and unleash (THUNDERBASTARD) shots which can only be a good thing for us. He also has the pace, technique and vision to play an effective role out there. If need be, he can easily switch to the left wing as well (one thing I would also like to see is, Jonas and Ben Arfa interchanging positions during a game - this can work to our advantage imo). He certainly has a massive role to play in the remaining 10 games.

Whilst I have some sympathy with your point, it is quite easy to reverse your question and ask at what point do the players take responsibility for the football they play and how much control do you honestly think that a manager has over the mind and actions over 11 players? It is a bit of a circular debate - no-one knows what Pardew tells the players to do, but I just find it very hard to believe that Pardew has instructed the players to pump it long for 2 major reasons: 1) It is clearly ineffective and I have not seen any evidence in Pardew's managerial career to date to suggest that he is wedded to the long ball a la Allardyce. 2) We didn't use such a direct style in the first half of the season. The use of the long ball has been alarmingly high this past month or so. Some of the comparisons to Allardyce are a load of bullshit like, that has to be said. We have seen that Pardew is willing to adopt a pass and play style but really, he hasn't been using it enough! It's so frustrating that such a system has been under-used.

I would have the same opinion if Santon's not injured. That change is criminal if it is for tactical reason. Perch made 2 f***ing stupid tackles within 15 mins. Santon seems like playing badly because he didn't get as much support from Jonas than Perch. Watch the match again and notice where is Jonas. What injury? http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/index.php/topic,91922.700.html Groin Strain Injury or not to Santon, the second half tactics were completely unnecessary. We still had the midfield and Colo to try and pass it around. Nice simple passes would have done. Pardew overused the long ball tactic last night, if he mixed it around (as in the occasional long ball mixed with carpet football - essentially the same tactics we used against Man U at St. James' in January), then it would have been alright really. However, this didn't happen, it was long ball after long ball after long ball with no sign of any variation in our play. The fact we had basically restricted Ba, our best striker, to a few touches for most of the game should have been one of the many indications that the tactics weren't working.

I would have the same opinion if Santon's not injured. That change is criminal if it is for tactical reason. Perch made 2 f***ing stupid tackles within 15 mins. Santon seems like playing badly because he didn't get as much support from Jonas than Perch. Watch the match again and notice where is Jonas. What injury?

For me, even if we had drawn the match, I still would have posted the same thing I posted last night. Seriously, if we had continued the second half in the same vein as the first, we would have got a result imho (nicking a win maybe).

Agree with the assessment except for the last paragraph. Whilst Steven Taylor is important, even without him we do have players who can play passing football. In our team, only Williamson and Simpson are the sort that would resort to long balls. I would argue that all other 8 outfield players are the type who would be more comfortable passing the ball around. So the fact we're not is not down to the players but the manager's instructions. We do indeed have players who like/prefer to pass the ball around but I really think Saylor's absence has really affected the way we play these days. Saylor would, more often than not, play it out of defence and pass it to Tiote/Cabaye instead of hoofing it forward - the simple things really. Williamson, on the other hand, doesn't seem to very confident with the ball and so he usually resorts to the long ball or gives the ball back to Krul. It's usually the simple things which make something work. What needs to/could be done is for one of our midfielders to come deep and receive the ball from Williamson which lessens the need for him to hoof it forward. I do agree with your last sentence though, it is apparent that the long ball is an instruction from the manager, a tactic which Pardew should really eradicate from his thinking ASAP.

Poor from Pardew tonight. We were having a legitimate go at Arsenal in the first half so really, if he had used the same tactics that had served us pretty well in the first half then it would have arguably led to us getting a result imo (nicking a win that is). Those second half tactics were completely atrocious and uncalled for. By adopting the long ball tactic, we basically decided to gift Arsenal with a lot of (too much) possession which, of course, led to a barrage of attacks from them. Such tactics also led to the entire midfield not being fully utilised and that was clearly to our detriment - it meant that Ben Arfa and indeed, our midfield became less influential as the minutes went by. To be brutally honest, we didn't deserve to win and that's down to Pardew's negative showing in the second half - it was almost as if our entire plan for the second half was to hold onto a 1-1 draw and not "go for it". So disappointing. Oh and it's also quite worrying that this isn't the first time that the long ball has formed the basis of a gameplan. I'm really hating the sight of Krul hoofing it forward every single time the ball's played back to him - for me, Krul doesn't do that out of choice, it's quite apparent that it's all Pardew's instructions and I've got to say, I'm becoming increasingly worried about Alan's recent over-reliance on the long ball. Pass and play, Alan, pass and play! We've seen that he is willing to adopt some form of carpet football so the fact that he's not using it often enough is so frustrating. Losing Steven Taylor has really been a massive blow for us - he was one of the players who liked to play the ball out of defence instead of hoofing it forward and by losing that key cog of the pass and play tactic, Pardew's tactics have become more direct which has been to our detriment at times. I still have faith in Pardew btw but it has to be said that these last couple of months have been really frustrating and that's really down to the manager. Pardew should really be brave and go for it in the remaining 10 games. It's time to earn your money, Alan!

We weren't too bad in the first half imo. Kept possession well most of the time, we coped well with Arsenal's attacks (Van Persie's goal aside) and we were passing it around decent enough (which led us to having an actual go at Arsenal). Then it went wrong in the second half - those long ball tactics didn't help our cause whatsoever. Firstly, it left Ba with nothing to thrive on and that ultimately meant him not having a good game; secondly, it meant that Ben Arfa's influence in the game lessened, what with the ball bypassing midfield and Hatem; and finally the long ball led to a loss of possession which in turn led to almost a barrage of Arsenal attacks. So really, Arsenal deserved their win but for us to lose in the 94th minute (where did the 5 added minutes even come from btw!?) was very gutting but you can't really argue that on the whole, Arsenal were the better team. Like I said in the "Hoofball" thread, I mentioned to my mate at half time that all we needed to do was to pass it along the deck - if we did this then we would have been fine (in terms of attacking and defending). But alas, that didn't happen and we're left with a night full of utter disappointment. Regarding the actual goals, Williamson and Simpson were at fault for Arsenal's. Shame really as I thought they both had decent enough games. Ben Arfa's goal was a good one, some nice precision and power with that shot. I also have to add that I lost quite a bit of respect for Van Persie tonight. His behaviour tonight was completely unnecessary. Prick.

Too much hoofball in the second half for my liking. Such tactics basically meant that we were destined to lose possession 99% of the time. Fuck's sake. I mentioned to my mate at half time that all we needed to do was to pass it along the deck and then we'd be fine (in terms of attacking and defending). Obviously that didn't happen. Long ball --> loss of possession --> constant Arsenal attacks.

Great goal from the lad tonight. A lot of precision in that shot! Was a nice celebration too Wasn't very influential in the second half but that was down to the long ball tactics more than anything. Hopefully tonight is the start of an extended run in the side until the end of the season. He has to play because he can produce that one moment of magic that will benefit the team.

To be fair, Arsenal raped him last season too. Arsenal raped our entire defence last season (I assume you're on about the 4-4?).

I actually thought he wasn't too bad overall but, like Simpson, he made a crucial mistake which led to a goal for Arsenal. Shame. What's happened to him? Was solid enough last season (especially when once upon a time, the Coloccini-Williamson partnership was deserved the first choice CB pairing) but he's been so out of form recently. Maybe he hasn't properly got over his injury (he was out for some time) and maybe that has affected him mentally? I don't know but what I do know is that I'm seeing a CB who has declined this season (almost alarmingly). Sort it out Mike, we need to see the Williamson of last season!

Gave his all as always but really, he was poor overall. What really needs to be done is Pardew instructing him to push up a lot more. Let Tiote do most of the defensive work and tell Cabaye to attack. Yohan may be used to playing deep but really he needs to get that out of his system - for the Tiote-Cabaye partnership to properly click, they need clearly defined roles. It really does look as if Tiote is the attacker and Cabaye is the defender - should be the other way round man!

Overall (for 94 minutes anyway), thought it was one of his better games. He certainly kept Oxlade-Chamberlain quiet for most of the match and made some crucial goal line clearances (not that it matters now). However, that throw-in was shite and definitely pressurised us which indirectly led to his Arsenal's goal. People can argue against it as much as they want but Simpson's throw-in started a chain of events. Could have thrown it to Shola straightaway imo, I would have been confident of Shola holding up/keeping the ball if he had received it. Sorry Danny but Arsenal's winner was primarily your fault. Absolute shame for him like - he did have a decent game.

Must win. We'll nick it 1-0.

The lad just needs to improve his positional/defensive play. After all, he started out as an attacker/winger so defending isn't his forté yet. He'll be fine in time, just needs the right coaching.