Memphis

Just an incredibly deflating match and week. Two mostly encouraging, bright, excellent attacking performances with key players missing UTTERLY CRUSHED by amateur hour defending. It took a lot of balls to keep coming back again and again against Arsenal only to be let down by horrendous mistakes. We can only hope heads don't drop too much after a scoreline like that.

Atrocious "match". But that was an absolutely crucial three points. QPR are so so so so so bad it's almost unimaginable. Watching us is certainly a chore, as others have pointed out. You do it out of duty rather than excitement. You grit your teeth and try to get through it hoping that something better will eventually come. A midfield of Tiote/Perch/Anita cannot possibly create any chances for strikers. And so it turned out. Santon was probably the best hope for a decent ball. Obviously Ba and Cisse don't work together well in the best of times but without any service they were destined to starve. Cisse's clearly had enough of whatever shit is going on - uncreative midfield, played out of position, Ba, whatever - and I can't blame him too much. I actually agreed with the subs - if we're going to play stark, barebones, uninspiring football, then Sholer is the man for that job. So it turned out. Marv and Obertan were decent as well. Marv has to play if HBA and Cabaye are not in the side. Literally no one else has an ounce of creativity. Just hope January brings some much-needed reinforcement. Help is needed pretty much everywhere.

Don't know which I hate more - watching Williamson lumber around like a beast of burden or hearing SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTT every time we are within 40 yards of goal.

Pardew looked mental and desperate on the touchline. He knows full well how shit this performance is and who's going to take the blame. Suspect we'll hear about injuries but that's not the issue today.

Pitiful effort today. Team looks knackered completely. They're tired and jaded and so is the majority of the fanbase. This is the most dispiriting performance for me in some time. Even with the injuries an issue, the tactical approach and execution should have been miles better.

Looked in to me.

And Kompany's form has been a little spotty this season. Did you see his poor decision-making which led to Milner's red card against West Brom on Saturday? He hasn't seemed to be himself this year - and Man City have yet to keep a clean sheet in either the league or the CL.

Should every club with commercial associations with businesses of questionable morality be ashamed? Or publicly shamed? Honest question, I am torn on it myself. But there are few companies who are without blemish, even if most aren't as repellent as Wonga.

I heard a rumour that Pardew is trying to convince Wonga to change their APR from 4214% to 442%, especially for domestic loans.

Maybe now we'll stop playing so many Wong balls.

Gael Bigirefinance?

Getting bummed in the Wonga right now.

http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2012/02/panic-buttons.jpg

Doesn't look as if a single one of our players is up for this at all. Formations/players/whatever - none of it matters when Man Utd are playing with so much more pace and intensity right now. Mentally we are atrocious right now.

Cannot even get the ball. If we resort to longball at this point, we are going to get humped.

Pardew's a good manager, players seem to like working under him, gets on with Ashley and Llambias, don't really see the problem here. God knows this club needs some stability. Rather it be too long than not long enough (/that's what she said). Happy with it.

Everton look a lot like we did last season. Good group of settled players, full of confidence, good system, passing and keeping it for fun.

Hard to imagine worse, don't know how we're only down by one goal. Marveaux and Cabaye have been anonymous, Jonas and Anita toothless and overrun, Cisse helpless and Ben Arfa's the only one -m again - who looks a threat, simply because he can do it all himself. Going to have to get better but I can see a Ba for Marveaux substitution followed by 4-4-2 with HBA-Anita-Cabaye-Jonas and a lot more hoofing up top.

Here's the plan: Play 4-2-3-1 but, AND THIS IS CRUCIAL, make sure you HOOF IT OVER the 5-man midfield to a relatively small and lightweight Cisse. How can it fail?

Marveaux not doing much with his chance. He and Perch are making me miss Danny Simpson on the right side. Pienaar and Baines are rampant.

First 35 minutes were abysmal. Last 10 were better. Not surprising the change coincided with a better ball-playing RB and a formation change. Not signing Debuchy looks brilliant now that two FBs look to be out with injury. Was shifting the 18 year old Bigi (who has actually looked good, fair play to him) into the side this early really part of the plan? Clearly Cabaye-Anita as an engine room didn't work. Not sure Cabaye-Tiote would have either given Cabaye's lacklustre play. Orthodox 4-4-2 doesn't suit us and probably never will with the best XI we can put out there. Pardew's got a lot of work on to save this match.

From RMC Sport interview with Joseph: http://sardinetrawler.com/2012/08/29/joey-barton-marseille-is-the-right-place-for-me/ "For a player like me, it’s important to feel good . I am a football fan, and the players with whom I talked, Habib Beye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Adel Taarabt, all told me that this was the place for me. I think that the club will suit me perfectly. I hope to become a part of it but it is up to the teams to decide.” Cannot even imagine that conversation...

Abuse ≠ criticism

If you think it's going to go over well in the dressing room that a (seemingly quite popular) player lacking confidence is getting slated by some of what are supposed to be the most hardcore travelling supporters, you're foolish. Doesn't mean transfer requests are coming, doesn't mean they won't have heard it before. It simply means they'll have tarnished the reputation a bit. Never a good thing.

Considering the fact that Obertan seems to get on quite well with the Francophones in the dressing room - Cabaye, HBA, Ba, Tiote, etc - you'd have to think they'll not be thrilled with it either. I know if my mate was getting abused I'd be furious. Not the brightest idea from the thick cunts to paint the support in that kind of light. It's a small thing that can go a long way in player recruitment, or lack thereof.