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I do agree with Wullie that the ultimate aim has to be to win the title and I believe that it's eminently possible. If we have a manager who doesn't believe that then he shouldn't be here. That's one more thing that I don't like about Pardew: his defeatist attitude and constant reference to how much money other clubs are spending and how we should cower in fear and be oh so honoured if they come for one of our players. Quite frankly we should tell Man Utd to fuck off if they come for Cabaye and tell Cabaye to keep quiet and honour the contract he signed because our aim is to be better than Man Utd, not be content with being their or any other club's feeder club.

Yup. Also stuck £20 on Barca +0.25 so if they draw I still get 1.5x stake. That was at 7/5, which is insane. /watchBarcagetcanednow

I'm getting 17.5/10 with sbobet. Just dumped £50 on it.

Tell you what, even though i don't think the guy is dumb, I'm still certain that Jonas will be starting this weekend and that quite frankly is incomprehensible.

I'm in on Barca tonight. People are clearly underestimating them but I haven't seen anyone explain how Messi will be stopped, assuming he starts.

He does try to be liked by his players - i don't see this as any issue, I think any good manager would do the same. As long as it doesn't get in the way of criticising them when they aren't performing, then it isn't an issue. Cisse's half time video for example. Jonas quite publicly, Ben Arfa's omission from starting line-ups etc is evidence that it doesn't. I don't think Ferguson or Mourinho or Benitez want to be liked by their players. They want to win and they want their players to want to win as much as they do. The players who like and respect them are the players who want to win, and the players who don't are sold. That's not Pardew. He's not that strong. I think he wants to be liked as much as he wants to win and sometimes the things he does costs us because he's afraid of being the bad guy. You can't be afraid of being the bad guy when you're the manager.

In a roundabout way you've basically called him a bullshitter who is out of his depth. Well yes. I definitely think he's a bullshitter and I think everyone on here knows that he's one and that's because he's not a good bullshitter. He's not good under pressure, he's not good when people are questioning his actions, he's not thick skinned, someone who has conviction and a clear idea. He's someone who's so willing to switch from one position to the next that you know he's a bullshitter. But he's not dumb. Some of the things he says are true and when he talks about the back room methodology, there is a logic and a reason there. Maybe he was just so impressed by all the stuff that Murinho was doing that he's just tried to copy it without truly understanding it. It wouldn't be the first time someone has tried to use stats and analysts without truly understanding them. That's possible. I think he's in-between. He's clearly not some football savant but he's also not Kinnear. I'm just giving him some benefit of the doubt because I don't think he's dumb. He's just weak. His weakness has cost us this season. But next season he might not be so weak when he reflects on his mistakes this season. If he's more ruthless next season, we'll be much better off for it.

I think he's also weak in handling of players. Players like him and we're not hearing reports of bust ups even though we've been shit all season so this is something that he deserves credit for. I'm also scared that if he goes, Ben Arfa will go too because his relationship with Pardew seems to be really good. But anyway, i think he's weak in handling players. He's probably promised that Shola will get chances so now he has to throw him on to give him games. You can read through the lines in what Shola has said this season and he's probably asked Pardew for a chance at one point or another, and because Pardew is weak, he acquiesced and now can't go back on his word. He's probably tried to make Shola feel important and has to commit to his words by giving him games. You can't keep praising someone without letting them play lest you're willing to anger or disappoint them. I think it's the same re:Jonas. After Jonas scored against Chelsea, he mentioned that Jonas knew that he hadnt been playing well so I think they've probably had some conversations and Pardew, being the type of manager that he is, has probably said to Jonas that he'd stick by him etc., and has continued to start him all the time. This fits into the type of manager that I think he is, judging by his words and actions. He's not someone who is strong who commands the respect of all the players. He wants to be liked, that's why he's always joking around and that's why he can't shut up in press conferences - he wants journalists and fans to like him. That's all right when things are going well because most people will lap up whatever he says if we're winning games but this season we have been completely shit yet he's been unable to turn off this 'I want to be liked' feeling which is why so many of the things he says makes no sense and yet he keeps on talking and talking. I still think there is a decent manager in there but we clearly now know his limitations. He's a confidence manager. When the team is going well, he won't get in the way but if the team is stumbling, he's also not going to be able to turn it around quickly. He's also not strong in his handling of players so if we have shit but likeable players in the squad then he's going to annoy the shit out of us. Apologies for the amateur psychology, I'm just calling it like I see it: a guy who dearly wants to be liked, self aware, not stupid but not totally capable of being the manager that we need him to be. But maybe a summer off to reflect on all his mistakes this season will leave him a better position to deal with problems should similar ones arise in the future.

Though i have to add that the more I hear his list of excuses, the more I'm turned off by the idea of him staying on. I just don't think he's handling all this pressure well and that's why he's contradicting himself week to week. It's not a good sign but somewhat excusable because many things have adversely impacted our points total. He's not dumb, and that's why I'm willing to give it one more chance. He's not as smart as he thinks he is so he should stop using big words in sentences that don't make sense, and in general he should just not talk as much, but I don't think he's dumb. Maybe he's a better talker than a doer but the way he approaches the game, with stats etc., is something that all the big teams do. You read about Guardiola, Mourinho etc., and you see that they are meticulous in preparition and extremely demanding. Pardew's obviously not them but he's not Kinnear as well who's an old school guy. What I'm basically trying to say is that I'm willing to give Pardew a chance because he has shown that he's open to new ideas and he's not stupid. I would say that he's actually very thin skinned which is why you see him talking about every little problem we have and being so willing to accommodate player's wishes - something I don't think better managers would do - and in general rambling when asked to explain things, and I take that as a sign that he's not good under pressure, but I still don't think he's stupid.

Yeah, for the last CL place, I'm actually open to that idea but again, if you're not good enough over 38 games then you're not good enough, period. That will always be my view. Why should you get two extra games to do something you couldn't do after 38. It's not fair, it's not a meritocracy. Edit - we should just give the last CL place to the FA Cup winners. Also unrelated but they should just merge the Europa with the CL or get the CL to subsidise the Europa by increasing the prize money of the Europa.

That has more to do with the financial system of the game rather how the league is set up. You're fixing the wrong problems. Imbalances in the system can be fixed by removing loans, having a more equitable distribution of TV money and maybe, maybe, have a salary cap that every team can reach. The last idea really needs to be Europe wide to be effective so it's pretty much a non-starter. I also think capping wages in terms of turnover is one of the worst ideas out there because you will consolidate the positions of all the big teams today. We could start taking cups seriously for once if we're serious about winning something.

I completely disagree with this because it ruins the point that every game matters. It means Man Utd can chill all the way through the season and only start playing at the end. I'll be honest, American sports should scrap playoffs. Playoffs are pretty much designed for people with short attention spans. A true connoisseur would enjoy a league season with one winner, and take the cups for what they are - part luck, part form, part talent.

As many mistakes as he's made this season, I still feel our pitiful summer really handcuffed him. Even though I've said that I want him gone ASAP, I wouldn't mind giving him one more season, just because his relationship with the board is good and he's got them spending some money. For once, I'm actually not worried about us buying has-beens and overrated British players. Finally, we seem to have a proper scouting system and seem to be spending money on good players. That is something that Pardew deserves some credit for. I'm scared that if we bring in a Frenchy, that he won't get along well with Llambias, then we'll have loads of other problems. Pardew's not great tactically, although I feel some on here overstate how bad he is. His relationship with the players is however quite good. He speaks too much for my liking but that's a personality thing - some people just don't know when to shut up, they don't like the silence - so I haven't paid too much attention to his words. He doesn't look like he's good under pressure so our bad start really snowballed on him. Maybe if we were safer, he wouldn't have to be so conservative. All in all, I'm still not sure I completely want him gone. I don't think he's good enough now but managers can change and grow with players. He's had one really good season and one really bad season. One more season wouldn't be something that I'd be completely against.

No.

How will Bayern stop Messi if they don't plan on defending deep? If they plan on defending deep, the tie will be close but I think Barca will win. If they won't, Messi will kill them.

They're where they should be...He was talking about 3rd a couple of months ago. I'll take a goal if we beat them mind. Aye, 7th is par for Liverpool. If anything, it's probably only Suarez's form this season that's saved Rodgers from a hammering. It's to his credit that Suarez is doing as well as he is. He's done all right so far and their PPG has been high since their rough start. They've been playing like a 5th place team for 6 months. His signings have generally been good; Coutinho and Sturridge both look like value for money, although Allen was obviously overrated. If they get a good winger and a good CB then they'll be a good team next year if Suarez is still here.

Townsend and Curbishley absolutely killed Suarez on my feed. It's been ten minutes and they haven't even properly reviewed the goals.

Benitez trying to not anger the Liverpool fans by not talking about the biting incident.

Link? http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=305260.40

Even RAWK are killing him. His season is over.

If Arsenal win out, they're in the CL

Of course

Clear bite :lol: fucking suarez

5 brazilians on the pitch right now

Very much looking forward to this match and then the CL semi this week. This is a great part of the football season. It's just a shame I have to wait until our match is done before I can actually look forward to the good stuff.