STM

I like the fact he mentioned it though, hopefully it will take off. Just imagine newcastle fans with "Dreamboat 4" on their backs, class.

I thought he was our worst player on saturday, doesn't stop me thinking that this is a great move for the club. In fact, the most pleasing thing is that the club have given a 28 year old a four year contract, this club never fails to amaze me. If Colo signs too, it will literally make my season.

Sunderland fans all going mad about Bruce on the radio, seems they have offically turned on Bruce. Might be passed the point of no return. Shame really.

This is really interesting. How much older is Coloccini, is he 29? Hopefully this will pave the way for Coloccini to get a three year deal, seeing him up to 32 too. There is absolutely no way the club would give Jonas a new contract without the intention of doing the same with Coloccini (assuming they can agree on things). Jonas and Coloccini are peas in a pod, good times i feel. Coloccini staying is the dividing line between success and failure in my mind and us keeping Jonas is one step closer to us keeping Coloccini.

We can forget most first team players playing in the premiership, unless they have a contract "situation" to be exploited. Out of interest have we a new list of those players out of contract in the summer (early days i know).

The good thing is, the end of the un-beaten run will mark a sense of achievement and instead of moaning about losing a game we can feel proud of what we've done. The game after we get beat,Pardew can re-jig the team and include Ben Arfa, Marveaux and Santon in the first team, which will revitalise us.

They were shocking last night, really really poor. Their lack or confidence, drive and ideas could see them fighting a serious relegation battle.

I class this game similar to the QPR game, Wolves will show far more spirit than they will quality but if we are not on our toes they could beat us. On the other hand, Wolves don't have SWP pace and we have grown in quality since then. Same game plan, stay solid and work hard throughout, hopefully our quality will come through in the end. And again we have Ben Arfa and Marveaux to come off the bench if we need to take the game to them. Got the Blackburn game right, prediction 1-2 Cabaye and Ba to score for us.

We had just had a corner, so they stayed up when Simpson got the ball. It was the free-kick Jonas won on the edge of the box.

I was screaming at Tiote to play the long ball to Taylor but luckily Simpson did so a couple of seconds later. It was a really good move, despite getting a touch of luck in the end. My ratings: Krul- 6 Can't remember him having a save to make. Simpson- 6 Supported Obertan well, was barely troubled at the back. Taylor- 7 Good semi-assist, was strong throughout. Coloccini- 8 The guy ooses calm, played the ball out from the back fantastic. Taylor- 6 Again the oppo didn't take advantage of him, solid (one sloppy pass apart). Obertan- 7 Best performance for us so far, needs to work on his crossing. Had a couple of pops at goal, nice to see. Cabaye- 6.5 Largely man marked out the game, was better in the second half. Tiote- 7.5 Bossed the midfield, looks better everyweek. Jonas- 6 At his frustrating best, needs to improve his end product if he want's to keep his place. Best- 7 Showed some great touches and good partnership with Ba, should have got his goal. Ba- 9 Two great goals and one poached, looking forward to seeing him again. Ben Arfa, Marveaux - 6

while I'm not advocating he's our number 9, I still think he's a vastly superior option to Lovenkrands and can still get 5-10 goals for us this season. Also, he's a great role model for younger players (see: Sammi) and how to conduct themselves off the pitch (and by all accounts, at training). For whatever reason, the consistency isn't there, but he's still a good enough squad player for the next couple of seasons - along with Guthrie. Na they are both players who are expendable but only providing players come in. Shola should have been let go years ago but he has given us some memorable performances since. Guthrie would be a top player in the championship but you have to say his time is up with Cabaye and Tiote at the helm, as well as Abeid and Vuckic coming through the ranks.

Looks the part like. If you built a footballer it would be in the shape of Demba Ba. His first and third goal showed all the class of a goalscorer, the second was a sitter. Got to expect him to score against Wolves nest week, or is it Bestys turn?

How long before Ashley is selling his shite in the concourse? Wouldn't be suprised if he hadn't already thought of it. Sports direct on the plastic glasses you get your pints in? How about Sports Direct T.V on the screens in the concourse? Shame the price of a pint isn't as cheap, £3.70 was it? Christ i could buy a Sports direct Sunderland shirt for that price, only if i ran out of bog paper though and even then i'd probably prefer to use my hand.

I've got a feeling we could stuff them again in the next derby. Christ i hope Hatem plays that game.

Aye holds up the ball brilliantly, probably the best aspect of his game.

Looked like he had a swagger about him yesterday, like an in-form player against Blackburn at home. Think him and Ba are going to have enough for most defences.

Good draw, might fancy that away day too. Pardew may have to think twice about putting out a weaker side for that one though.

That's what i thought, they always get stuff wrong though.

Is Ben Arfa expected to start? According to SSN this is the case.

Quick predictions? I'll go with Chelsea at home or Arsenal away.

As you say the key is to not focus the ball on one player, regardless of how good he is. In fact it's important that we use the wide areas of the pitch to create space for players like Ben Arfa to exploit. Cabaye will be the most important player in this regard.

I said the same thing when we sold Carroll, all seemed rather coincidental to me but we are unlikely to ever find out.

I know people complain about our lack of depth in central defence, but we've got 3 fairly competent players fighting for 2 spots in Colo, Taylor and Williamson. I would think most clubs bench strength will be pretty similar. Kadar would have been a good 4th option a year ago but I'm not sure what's happened to him since. Perch isn't ideal as a last resort but how many clubs have good 4th options in that area? This where we need an Aaron Hughes type, someone very competant right across the back. Someone who will be a "squad player" but will get enough games to satisfy them throughout the season. These players aren't easy to find though.

Oh and he hates Obertan. Gupter that is.

There's very little i can see wrong with Pardew's managment so far and there are alot of more experianced managers who would failed in the same position IMO. The fact he's a cockney works against him, not because we are unwelcoming to southern people or foreign cultures in general but more because it fits in with cockney mafia cliche. The single most impressive thing about Pardew's reign so far is the way he has included local people in coaching set up and John Carver in particular is someone i trust. I don't know what it is about the man but i can't help feeling whenever he is at the club that the team is in safe hands, perhaps that's abit naive of me and the romantic in me is looking back at the SBR days with fond memories. In terms of the Hughton/Pards comparison, the most single aspect of Pardew's management that sets him apart from Hughton is his bravery. Hughton's side was solid and gave nothing away (to his credit of course), Pardew is taking a risk getting rid of the old guard in an effort to play a more attractive expansive style. Pardew has the players to do it of course, Hughton didn't. In a similar comparison, Pardew takes risks in the press, sometimes saying daft things, where Hughton would say nowt. They are chalk and cheese in many ways but Pardew is reaping the benefit of a solid defence that Hughton created.