AlanSkÃrare

Arsenal/City/Chelsea are nailed on for top three. Fourth for me is whether Liverpool will tail off, Everton keep not getting beat, Spurs not gelling and whether we can keep playing smart football and avoid an injury to Remy.

Aye good shout. Butt was out of the team for 6 months but Smith was still a starter when Tioté came in. His debut at Everton was when I realised what we had been missing.

Enrique in 2010/11 was fucking unreal at times. Haven't really seen that from Debuchy yet even though he's a top player. Enrique was our best player and even ran a couple of games in both directions (remember Blackburn away?). Still - when was the last time we upgraded a certain position in the manner we've switched Simpson for Debuchy? Woodgate for Dabizas/O'Brien transformed us defensively.

Sissoko/Tioté won't be constructive enough. Need to keep Shola out and play Anita/Tioté/Sissoko with Hatem and Gouffran wide.

Really tough game. Need to stay positive and not do what we did at Swansea, let their pressing and movement stifle us. Need to take the game to them. I'd go 4-5-1 again and start Hatem this time. Win 2-1.

Form of his life. Never saw it coming, but he's a fucking rock lately.

We've established a great platform now. No fear, nothing to loose, everything to play for with the other sides struggling. We have the foundations of a very capable squad, in need of another striker and maybe a more creative winger (imagine if we'd gotten Thauvin as well). The key will be to remain brave and positive like yesterday. Press teams high, be flexible in varying 442/433, and get someone to take some of the burden off Rémy in terms of goalscoring. We should push top 6 if that happens.

Norway

Player of the Month

Fully deserved. He's still shit.

I'd go; Krul Debuchy Williamson Coloccini Haïdara Tioté Hatem Cabaye Sissoko Gouffran Rémy

Meltdown Projecting my Pardew hate on everything today

Well, I just thank god we're not the Europa League (Swansea) and have no injuries (Bony/Michu/Rangel) because that year usually ends up in relegation. Yesterday was such a trademark Pardew performance. Fear. That's his fucking brand. Opportunist, negative, risk-minimizing, pressure-inviting shit football without attacking intentions. He's the most fickle of them all, always distancing himself from the expectations and reactions to certain results, laughing at how "it is up here". Patronising and triumphant smug bastard comparing himself to Bobby and talking about Champions League mid-week as if he's justified himself. What we saw yesterday was the exact same approach that had us concede 68 goals and lose 19 games last season. He can fuck off.

Two managers crippled with fear of what the other team can do to them and with a habit of holding on to slender leads. This could be dreadful.

Learn your N-O history. Read a few pages back. FFS this place is hard to grasp at times.

Learn your N-O history.

Worried now. Need to see him soon again.

Positional awareness is his biggest problem, looks a bit too raw still.

Absolutely nothing at all, obviously. He doesn't even compare himself to Bobby at all. In terms of dignity and respect, he's definately comparing himself. Mr- "Thank god we're not in the Europa League" is also incredibly far away from the way Sir Bobby conducted himself.

Kinnear has done an astonishing job. Doesn't mean getting there. Don't see any weak link in defence individually apart from maybe Santon. There is a very pleasant dynamic to the different types of midfielders we possess, perhaps another winger could do. If the manager sticks to doing the right things, we'd have the talent and depth to challenge if we weren't so reliant on Rémy. Especially with only the FA Cup bothering us.

Can't he just shut up when he's winning for once? I'm tired of hating him with this intense passion all the fucking time.

Marlon or Zurab for me.

The run he took us on was a big factor in us going down. We were fucking abysmal under him. If anything, he contributed to our downfall.

One forward away from top 4 challenge.

He's not moving with the times. The football his team is capable of producing isn't what it should be. Long-term, we would do better with a more modern, talented and progressive manager. In the current lunatic setup there's nothing else to hope for. But his appointment and the decision not to sack him last season aligns with our ambition. A manager who's prepared to work under Joe Kinnear and be hung out to dry more often than not will always have an uphill struggle to earn my trust and respect. Don't blame him for taking the job or sticking to it, he'll never be at a bigger club. But he wasn't appointed on sporting merit, he was appointed because he was prepared to play a role in the Mike Ashley circus. We should do better. The entire period leading up to his appointment make me sick, going back to what GolfMag posted etc.