Parky

I feel fear and dread.

The only thing I can think is that the money is much better, either that or fatty is cooking up some new nightmare.

Debuchy would have solved half of this. [/canofworms] Santon alone brings it into mf at the moment.

The only workaround right now is playing HBA in the middle behind the one striker but then all hell will break loose with the dropped one.

But he's more or less refused to do it if you read between the lines. Cisse used to do more of it till he started scoring and then just took over from Ba as the main goalhanger. You can't have 2 goalhangers in the PL.

Some good posts already in an important thread. It's clearer in a thread of its own with reg to our att limitations. Wullie, Mick, Mistle, ohmelads, Jpd and others have mentioned in match and Pard8 threads our recruitment mismatch and our one dimensional attacking ideas. The blame for this must lay at the feet of the overall management and training regimes. There is clearly a real lack of ideas sadly highlighted at the ad infinitum repetition of the floated free kick to Williamson. If they really don't know what happens at set pieces study vids of Everton and Stoke (yes Stoke)...Even West Ham for that matter. Attacking set pieces should provide goal scoring opp's and will yield 10 goals a season if worked on (Pard8 himself went on about this last year). But nothing has been done. It's shameful and unprofessional. Our free kicks are basically a piss take. Jpd's post basically covers all the things I would have highlighted...There are other things at play however the most important of which is the fact that our fowards seem to think they can just wait out the whole game in and around the opp pen area and the odd rare covering back (Cisse has started doing this now annoyingly). I can only imagine they are playing to instruction. I'd much rather he spent his energy trying diversionary runs, picking up the ball wide (where Hatem feeds) and interchanging with him or on the other side with Santon. If you're not scoring then contribute with the build up. (Does he? Does he fuck.) Still putting his foot through everything and gazing skyward. Now that Ba is in his hot streak Cisse should be dropping off or running the channels or linking with the first attack phase. Ideally with a proper squad (we don't have a Dembele or a Michu or another in and around the hole player) he'd be dropped. At the very least Pard8 should be telling him to stop trying so hard to score and bring his good allround skills and pace (he hides it but is actually quite pacey) as he did last year in some of his earlier games where (gasp) was seen to pick up the ball wide and run with it. We're back to kicking the ball down the middle (from a deep lying mf or keeper) and hoping for the best. Hatem and Ba alone have saved our season so far. *Cisse rant unintentional.

It is a bit annoying how he actively defends the inactivity rather than just keeping his mouth shut about it, mind. Think it partly why he is liked by the overlords ie he manages expectations with a grin on his face and his freshly cut wisp of white hair.

For the record I don't blame Pard8 for the squad weaknesses that is clearly out of his hands.

where? Interview last year.

Our main weakness is that we are very poor at retaining the ball. In the PL that is asking for trouble. We give it away cheaply by going forward too fast and without much of a plan other than hitting Ba early or giving it to Hatem. Santon has got a lot better with runs down the left but he hesitates too much on crosses and has a fear of shooting which is a shame as he gets into good positons. We don't really do much proper crossing but we don't really do much midfield interplay either when Hatem has the ball he has very few attacking options our midfield sits that deep. Not really one thing or the other at the moment. It was alright last year but this year teams have studied us and know what we're about. Pardew really needs to bite the bullet and get some kind of pattern going and even risk losing the odd game by being adventerous...Thought it was a bit disingenous last year trying it away to Spurs and then going on about 'letting our hair down' as if - see it doesn't work.

Bit of a pr blunder letting it out the bag that he just focusses on the shape and def part of the game.

That's brilliant.

Think you've highlighted the deeper malaise there very well.

Pards is fast approaching his rubicon. We need a Michu type to play behind the striker along with Hatem. ..............Hatem..........Affelay/Michu .........................Ba..............

We're basically trying to play 442 without proper wingers ie beat a man byline stuff. The balls are too flat or straight. Once or twice in a game Hatem or Santon are in a postion to cross but that isn't really enough for what looks like a very awkward and rigid 442 at times. The players we do have is screaming out for a 433 but that would mean dropping one of the strikers (who might get in a huff about it). Tough choices for Pard8 ahead. *Still think Anita not playing was a blunder. Perch was all over the shop and Hatem had no feed behind him whatsoever.

Did a good job for Argentina at RB.

I've never ever seen strikers that don't pull wide to make the centre backs think or pull them out of position. Our strikers never do it. Think I saw Cisse do it once in his second or third game for us. Since then they both occupy more or less the same area waiting for the ball over the top. When Hatem picks it up and goes for a run neither of the front two drop off to offer a give and go they just run toward the goal (both of them) every time. There is a real lack of thinking going on. How many time does Santon cut in and look up and see our front two covered cause they are in the same space? Always.

HTT needed to lay down the smack.

Good point.

Agree with all of this. Sit too deep. No confidence to keep the ball and shape to move up the park. Hitting it anywhere near the front two seems to count as creativity. He'll just say we missed Cabaye and 'spirit and 'group' and 'worked hard'.

Didn't look serious.

Pard8 likes percentage football and getting it early into dangerous areas (somewhere near the front two). Players hold their positions too much (apart from hatem). So there is no mobility or movement in posession just normally a lazy punt at two big black blokes (one of whom is a world class finisher at the moment). Think some of the players have to take the blame as well...Thee is too much sideways and backpassing from the midfield and players like Guti piss about on the ball too much.

This is what happens when you don't upgrade anybody in the summer.

There really is no plan apart from give it to Hatem or float it to the front two.

Pardeight with come out with the usual claptrap about spirit and group and whatnot.