Dr Venkman

of course, the Obertan 'situation' is completely and utterly Pardew's fault

us to put in a 'spirited performance' . knock it long and get 1 or 2 chances and a bunch of unsuccessful corners, them to put 2 or 3 away

Haha aye I remember that.

If Lambert and Rodgers keep on as they are they'd be my candidates for manager of the year. Be interesting to see if they get cherry picked in the summer. Hope they don't. Very refreshing the way that clubs coming up from the Championship have fared in the last few years, there was a point about five years ago where getting promoted was practically a pointless exercise. Think they've largely stopped buying Premier League "experience" (has-beens basically) and gone with the young hungry players that got them promoted. The club that has done the opposite, QPR, are the ones starting to slide. I said that during the window. Much better policy. Good points, I rate Lambert like, I know it's a side issue but he speaks very well in the media too, always seems composed and doesn't make excuses.

you've started by saying the criticism is unfair and gone on to underline exactly why he's being criticised...he doesn't put his best players on the pitch, that would be fair criticism imo

good post Dave, i've been livid with the style of play since Norwich (considering we've shown we can knock it around a bit this season when we try). I don't care how we play if we get good results in those 4 games but we're looking pretty hopeless at the minute

Torres looks as if he's edging back to some sort of form

i reckon the fact he isn't in the team is relevant It is. 1) It could be because he isn't putting the effort in in training. 2) It could be because we don't feel he has full match fitness yet. 3) It could be that he isn't one of Pardew's favourites. 4) It could be because when he has come on Pardew doesn't feel he as been as influential as he is supposed to be. ... so that's not all there is to it, that was my point

i reckon the fact he isn't in the team is relevant

it's annoying but if we have to rely on blackburn to beat stoke we dont deserve 7th

excellent news for our game against them

not that bad imo, just late

Chelsea looking good

Evidence? both players footballing ability?

Villa Swansea Draw Wigan Sunderland Draw Spurs to beat WBA Chelsea to beat Wolves City to beat Liverpool 41/1

Yes, he should have come on at 3-2 right after Ba scored to try and force the game, keep the ball in their half and pin them back. He brought on Sammy, so presumably you agree with him that Sammy could change the game but Ben Arfa couldn't? Your sentence about Obertan is one of the most ridiculous things I've read on here in a long time. Concentrated and committed?! No I don't rate Sammy tbh. Ben Arfa floats around, he lacks self discipline and would rarely chase back. The one time he did defend (City away) he gave away a penalty. Obertan for all his inadequacies in attack and actual contribution will at least track back and put effort into the defensive side of the game. Considering we've an absolute liability at RB you need that extra body. If you look at Ben Arfa's best performance for this club (Everton away) he was ahead of a fantastic fullback in Enrique, who could shoulder the burden of having to do a lot of work. Until we can provide him that solid backup I don't know if I'd like to see him outwide. Ben Arfa's just as effective tracking back as Obertan imo, and I say that without a hint of bias due to how much better he is offensively.

Very true, Tiote has been poor to say the least. If any bids of £25m do come in, we should snap their hands off. ...the sig

i've always maintained that if we have a viable option at LB and LW, Jonas would start on the right for me.

because selling players for more than they're worth wins you trophies?

on any other day that he got it on target, aye

whatever Sammy is he most certainly isnt a right winger

with the exception of the second half at Anfield he's looked our most dangerous winger every time he's played

indeed, however with a decent game plan and line up they're there to be got at....

imperial evidence, look it up.

Is 4 points clear halfway through the season not ideally placed enough? I reckon one will come in. That's exactly what I expect them to think. Piss easy this, why spend money? In fact we're not going to go down, so we could sell Tiote or Coloccini if the offers are good enough. Thats the worry like. But the more i think about it i wouldnt mind Tiote going for 25mil so long as it is reinvested and we get the LB, CB and ST we need. I'd be happy with Guthrie and Gosling playing in there with Cabaye till the end of the season. you're not thinking about it very hard