Dr Venkman

The Reading game at home was the final straw for me. If I'd been in charge I'd have sacked him before the team got off the field. Cisse missed 3 total sitters in that match mind. We were shit, for an entire season (+2 games).

Sticking up for him again, can you not see what virtually everyone else does ?. It's not just Pardew - from head to toe Newcastle United are small time - and there's a reason for that. Pardew is a factor, in the same sense a single drop of rain is a factor in a storm. But people are too short sighted and spiteful which is why fuck all gets done about it. So I'll laugh at all the childish, spiteful reactions all I like. Wrong.

If people think some other strikers going to come in and start banging in goals without any service they are in for a rude awakening when he's dropped. Remy might be able to pull goals out of thin air, he's a canny dribbler, but a new striker isn't going to magically transform Pardew's turgid football into slick passing heaven. Yep. Don't think he's massively over-hyped like. Think he's rightly called a good finisher who will more often than not get a goal if you give him a few chances (albeit he did have a poor season last time out). Not forgetting that if you keep feeding him and get his confidence up he can and will score from just about anywhere.

Vydra or Cornelius for my cheap striker?

In theory we should be able to do it, we've been dreadful though. We haven't even defended well, West Ham had at least 3 clear cut chances yesterday and 2 of them were from set pieces straight down the middle.

Still a 6.

Depending on Chelsea/Man City starting lineups I'm gonna play my wildcard tomorrow.

I don't think tiote is even that much taller than him Ok, regardless of, erm, girth. It's been a really common discussion on here and at the match though, even people who are normally in favour of passing football have justified leaving him on the the bench due to him being little. Total bullshit, particularly when the alternative is Tiote.

Obvious that he should have had Tiote's spot since Christmas, regardless of stature.

Magic

It doesn't HAVE to be used in a counter attacking system though. It could be tried as an attacking system in and of itself, by getting a player either side of Cisse to play passes into him to hit at goal. It's worth giving it a go isn't it? Considering we've been awful for ages?

Yep - the intelligentsia really are on forum boards.... Indeed. Anyone of them could take to the dugout and do a better job than Pardew because his job is a piece of p*ss. Answer me this then if you would? Cisse scored a variety of goals in his first few months at the club (wonder goals, tap-ins, headers, etc.), coinciding with us playing a straight forward 433 where by he had a lot of support in high areas of the pitch. What is so difficult about going back to that simple basic formation which brought us so much relative success in that season run-in? Now Cisse is being branded "s***" and "not very good is he", while he gets shafted up front on his own, and expected to pull miracles out of his arse. What has changed? Was Ba on the left the KEY to the productive 433? Ryan Taylor's injuries? How difficult is it for a manager to revert back to the formation (and in turn the game plan and mindset) that brought him and the club some semblance of relative success? Seems simple in my mind, but obviously you know different. Please enlighten me. Why don't you apply for the job? Cisse hasn't had a shot on target in four games - Alan Pardew isn't shooting on his behalf - that sounds pretty shit to me. You pick tactics and systems to suit the game - if we'd spent some money maybe people could worry about us but we haven't spent a single penny & we're devoid of ideas and inspiration. Besides, a great man once said players win matches not tactics, which to an extent is true - but he only had the two european cups to polish... If the manager/tactics matter so little why don't we just do without one and save the wages?

There's a pretty good one on the books already but we won't play to his strengths. It's all well and good asking for new players but if you're not using the players you already have effectively, maybe you might not use the new players properly either?

If Carroll had been fit he would have put at least one of those free kicks away.

Some interesting honesty from the Sunderland manager yesterday, saying they should be happy with a point because Southampton played better football than them. I look forward to the same honesty from Pardew following a similar fixture. All managers say exactly the same things, so I shouldn't have to wait too long.

Aye, he looks heavy. I'm really hoping its a hangover from his hamstring injury because today that wasn't the Ben Arfa I know. He didn't have that edge.

He'll be out celebrating the clean sheet.

Fair point, but to me we look much improved either way. Obviously if he sticks Tiote and Jonas straight back in then it's a big mistake. Much proved ffs We didn't create a chance in 90 minutes. Not really true that, though, is it? Gouffran had two, Mapou from a corner, off the top of my head. We just didn't get any on target. It's completely true, Gouffran had a shot when he was being closed down and a rebound from a mis hit cross. We made nothing, no amount of pedantry will make it untrue. 'Creating a chance' from a corner man It's just a ball into a general area that happens to land between two opposing players. Absolutely desperate stuff. After reading that, which one of us is the pedant? Both of us. We didn't create any chances

Incidentally, we're shit. It's his fault.

Fair point, but to me we look much improved either way. Obviously if he sticks Tiote and Jonas straight back in then it's a big mistake. Much proved ffs We didn't create a chance in 90 minutes. Not really true that, though, is it? Gouffran had two, Mapou from a corner, off the top of my head. We just didn't get any on target. It's completely true, Gouffran had a shot when he was being closed down and a rebound from a mis hit cross. We made nothing, no amount of pedantry will make it untrue. 'Creating a chance' from a corner man It's just a ball into a general area that happens to land between two opposing players. Absolutely desperate stuff.

Fair point, but to me we look much improved either way. Obviously if he sticks Tiote and Jonas straight back in then it's a big mistake. Much proved ffs We didn't create a chance in 90 minutes.

Happy to report that the penny's starting to drop at St James'. Everywhere I'm hearing talk of how static our team play is and how we're just passing to Ben Arfa and waiting for 'magic'.

We absolutely do need someone to hold it up like, it's tragic we haven't got anyone more capable than Shola.

Feel fucking sick