Andy

Pardew could have had every indication that he was fit enough to start. It's never easy to tell with muscle injuries.

Liverpool haven't had a "passing game" for ages tbf. Is that so? How did Torres score so many goals then? Was he in the right place to receive the knock-downs from Stevie Gerrard with whom he combined so successfully? I forgot how prolific Torres was under Hodgson. Perhaps "ages" was an exaggeration, but it was certainly destroyed before Kenny arrived.

Liverpool haven't had a "passing game" for ages tbf.

He did something similar to that against Man City too. I vaguely remember him sliding to keep in an overhit pass, before standing up and whipping in this cross which Shearer burried with his head. Was the day England won the world cup iirc. He did something similar to that against Man City too. Stopped the ball going out of play then whipped it in to Shearer, who netted with his head. Good point. I'm surprised that hasn't been mentioned, it was brilliant. Probably one of my favourite Bernard moments.

He did something similar to that against Man City too. I vaguely remember him sliding to keep in an overhit pass, before standing up and whipping in this cross which Shearer burried with his head. Was the day England won the world cup iirc.

Nilmar is fucking class. Comes on for ten minutes and just casually rapes Leverkusen.

So was I. That was one of the several occasions where he backed off too much... Simpson was as much at fault for just jogging back when he could see that Osman was in acres like.

You do have a point. and yet many have had a go at simpson this season for backing off far too much, largely due to often being left isolated by barton. yes barton puts a shift in but the weakest part of his game is the defensive partnership with his full back, it's then he still looks like he's playing out of position. Taylor never backed off, he was just in the wring possission all together leading up to Arteta recieving the ball. Was poor defensive play all round like, not just Taylor. He never backed off? Are you kidding? There were several occasions where he backed off so much that he was nearly in the stadium's toilets.

Wrong. Ok.

For someone who was fucked after 70 minutes, he made a great last ditch tackle/block around the 85th minute after sprinting back from the other end of the pitch.

He is like, and I'm not judging that off today, I've never, ever rated him. He backs off and doesn't have a clue when to actually make a challenge. The only things he has going for him as a defender are his physical attributes - he is strong and above-average in the air... His reading of the game and positional sense leave an incredible amount to be desired.

Err... I would have complained. I've posted my opinions on Taylor many, many times on here before - he's a very poor defender at this level.

What else could he have done? Apart from start Taylor right wing which is much the muchness. Ferguson left, Guttierez right, Taylor on the bench.

Not sure about the above, but the XI that finished the match was as bad as I've seen us field in a Premier League match for a good while.

Not really.

Looking at the replay, Simpson should have tucked in and picked Osman up there like.

Yep. Like I said:

Where is this supposed adulation? He was an England international coveted by top teams in his prime. With all his supposed end product, how come neither England or leading clubs are interested in Fatty Nolan? It must be bias. I'm not even going to warrant that with a decent response tbh. Here's a picture of a gerbil. http://www.petsworld.co.uk/images/gerbil.jpg

Well yeah, but how often was he actually at his best? Besides, I'm not even comparing the two. I'm just baffled by the adulation he's receiving.

Baffled by the hyperbole over Dyer in here like. He was fast, direct and could dribble, in that sense he was exciting and useful -- literally every other element of his game was lacking both in the final third and defensively. He looked a better player than he was for being part of an attacking force featuring Shearer, Bellamy, Robert and Solano, but it was still apparent to the vast majority of Newcastle fans at the time that he flattered to deceive.

Of course he was, but nonetheless, he served a similar function which was to get the ball and run with it. I'd like to see Dyer's goals and assists statistics though - because for a player who spent quite a few games out wide and up front, I'd hazard that they'd be very low.

Indeed. I liked Dyer but his influence on Robson's team was nowhere near as significant as Robert/Bellamy/Shearer/Solano/Speed... He was a good outlet, much like a better version of Guttierez, but his end-product was infuriating and he rightly used to be torn to shreds for it on here.

Now you've chomped at his chomp.

Funnily enough, Kuyt is probably the inverse of Nolan, he's everything our captain isn't. So, you're saying Nolan isn't as good as Alonso and if we're looking to finish 2nd in the league (arguably, challenge for the title) then we need to replace Nolan with an Alonoso-esque player. Why stop there? Let's replace him with a Xavi-esque player and push for that Champions League final place we so rightfully deserve.