Sifu

It was only last season when Simpson was (comfortably) miles ahead of Perch in the pecking order for RB. Nice change in attitudes eh? EDIT: This isn't me slating Perch btw, if need be (injuries/suspensions), I wouldn't mind him covering at RB/LB. He's a big no for CB though.

He'd been injured for months and has 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 weeks training, that's nowhere near enough for a premiership footballer and it's showing the more he plays because he's been much much better than he currently is. The only difference is his lack of training before he was thrown into the team and he's playing with players who are mainly the same as or better than he's played with before. There is some substance to what you're saying imo. I'm starting to think that maybe he hasn't really got over his injury yet (he was out for some time after all) and I reckon that has somewhat affected him mentally. He was essentially rushed back and had next to no recovery time. Having said that though, it has been three months since he's been back so he should be back at full match fitness. Got to be said, his performances have been declining ever since the Fulham game. Guess his confidence is pretty much shot (Pardew pretty much hinted this after the derby) and as a result, it's really looking like he's prone to a (costly) mistake in each game he plays. A little support from the fans is what he needs (pretty much what TT said on the last page). Like it or not, Williamson is our best option for CB alongside Colo.

Who the f*** said that? Sky bloke heavily implied it was still a possibility. As I've said before, mongtastic as their fans are I can certainly understand why they continue to believe they're a big hitter in this league. They're spoon-fed it on a daily basis by the entire media. Oh dear. Aye, the media wankfest over Dalglish and indeed Liverpool (when things go their way, ie. wins and all that) is so cringeworthy.

Who the fuck said that?

Gerrard hat trick. Meh.

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..... Without quality fullbacks that formation is destined to fail. Indeed. Hopefully summer will be a busy one for us in terms of incomings...... In terms of the full back situation, I would like to see one of the following: - Sign a new RB and keep Santon at LB. - Sign a new LB and move Santon to RB. - Sign no-one but do this: Move Santon to RB and start Ferguson at LB or keep Santon at LB and start Tavernier at RB. (I'm going to assume that Simpson is going to stay as back up btw, can see him being decent cover for a new RB/Santon). I would hate to see option 3, that would be terrible That option would be the last resort btw. Don't really want to see it but if we had no choice (as in, we fail to sign any of our targets and all that), I wouldn't mind seeing it....

Moyes going for it (or rather a final throw of the dice).

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..... Without quality fullbacks that formation is destined to fail. Indeed. Hopefully summer will be a busy one for us in terms of incomings...... In terms of the full back situation, I would like to see one of the following: - Sign a new RB and keep Santon at LB. - Sign a new LB and move Santon to RB. - Sign no-one but do this: Move Santon to RB and start Ferguson at LB or keep Santon at LB and start Tavernier at RB. (I'm going to assume that Simpson is going to stay as back up btw, can see him being decent cover for a new RB/Santon).

Urgh. Do we assume that's that then?

Moment of our first half performance was arguably him skinning Enrique. Wow! I've got to see it to believe it!

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.