Andy

There should be a rule than when that happens you let all 3 through and vote out some other shite. Aye because that wouldn't be harsh on the shit team who legitimately got through in another group. Had we finished 4th instead of 5th the season before last we would have all been screaming blue murder that we lost our Champions League place to Chelsea, why wish it on another? Yeah, fuck Sewelly and his entirely serious, debate-worthy suggestions. Fuck you Sewelly.

3 decisions cost us. Colo starting, Obertan coming on, Anita being left on the bench? Pathetic if he tries to blame Webb. Aye the ref had a mare, but he wasn't the reason we were gash in every area of the pitch.

Shouldn't even be playing for the reserves. How the fuck Pardew thought bringing him on was the right move is beyond me.

Same line-up as the last four matches, so why be worried? He's a nice option to have from the bench, but Hatem hasn't exactly been our saviour lately.

Not at all, just a bit daft. Shouldn't have sat back, made hard work of it, but much better teams do the exact same thing weekly. I never really felt like we were going to throw it away, even when we had that slight panic towards the end.

Was offside. Wasn't like. Not if you go off the lines on the pitch instead of the camera angle; the defender's trailing leg was clearly playing him on.

This gets mentioned every transfer window! It does, but at the moment I feel he isn't as valuable to Pardew as he has been previously. We'll see I guess.

I have a feeling we'll sell Hatem in January and replace him with a striker. He clearly doesn't fit Pardew's definition of a wide-man (I do agree with him to an extent that in the modern game work-ethic is a big part of success in that position of the pitch, ability alone doesn't really cut it anymore due to the more expansive nature of the full-back role) and he's woefully ineffective in an attacking sense in any position where work-rate is deemed less important... It might not be a widely popular opinion but I think we've looked more coherent as a team when he hasn't played; on his day he's a brilliant individual and I'd love to see him use his talent more effectively and more consistently, but the odd brilliant individual display doesn't counteract the fact that, for whatever reason (be it as a result of his own flaws or a lack of understanding with his teammates), we don't look half as fluid or compact with him on the pitch. If Pardew can't get the best out of him - and I don't think he can - we might as well cash-in while his stock is still high and bring in someone more suited to our preferred system.

I'm not too worried about him at the minute. The mistakes he's making are generally through inexperience rather than lack of ability. He's a bit naive. Was badly let down by Tiote for the goal as well, daft as his ultimate challenge was.

Actually looked like an international class defender today, aside from a couple of silly free kicks.

I wish I believed you.

Fucking hell

Love it when people miss a joke and come in with a massively OTT reaction.

Did you watch the game? this is flat out not true. He lost it once or twice but more times than he lost it he got round the outside of Coleman and the one time he switched with Sissoko to go central he beat his man and had a decent shot. Pardew taking him off could be a number of things: he got mouthy at halftime and questioned tactics?, he was injured?, or pardew was annoyed with his selfishness and/or lack of work ethic. He was the only player trying to make something happen for us in that first half. The fact it's been 2 years running now that Pardew has refused to play him in his usual position because he's scared of Baines really annoys me. For 1, once baines was on a yellow card Ben Arfa should have been switched immediately to try and get him sent off by taking him on. Secondly if he was so scared of what Baines would do going forward surely him having Ben Arfa behind him would have meant he couldn't attack as much anyway. It's amazing how different Pardew views things though, he's far more concerned with attempting to stop other players, rather than letting the opposition worry about us, which would actually help stop opponents, as you said with regards to Baines and Ben Arfa. It honestly baffles me how somebody can be so negative all the time despite seeing very little in terms of positive results. This is my biggest issue with Pardew, out of all the issues that surround Pardew. He is shit scared of the opposition and rarely sets his teams out in a way that gives them reason to be shit scared of us; it doesn't matter who we play, we're always trying to control damage rather than cause it. I can't decide whether it's cowardice or a simple inability to formulate an attacking system, but either way it's his biggest limitation as a manager. In that sense even Kinnear would be a step up. Even Kinnear for fucks sake.

Ridiculously complacent after we scored each goal, looked like we thought it was going to be a stroll and certain players either didn't turn up at all or switched off continuously. Cisse needs to sit out a few games, his confidence is hammered and he's a massive hinderance with his hold-up play; he's getting worse with every passing game. Ben Arfa was awful today as well, no two ways about that. He wasn't even trying to create a lot of the time - I was surprised at how often he passed it backwards when he had time to turn, just didn't seem like he could be arsed. The less said about our defending the better. Unfortunately I can see this shambolic performance resulting in Pardew reverting to type next week and going for a "safe" 4-4-2.

Not at all, difficult chance even from that distance

Cisse has worked hard, but his confidence is completely gone. Needs to sit it out for a few games or it's just going to get worse.

Thought it was the correct decision actually at that point. Tiote is stronger defensively than Anita and that's what we needed at that time just to see out the game. Thought Tiote did ok when he came on and that's a role I'd be happy for him to continue as rather than starting every game. Disagree completely that Tiote is better defensively, he's just more noticeable because he charges around like a bull. Anita reads the game well and is decent in a tackle as well.

Would be tempted to start Gouffran or Remy through the middle with the other on the wing next week, Cisse just isn't contributing anything at the minute.

Di Canio was good fun last night, he added a bit more to the occasion by playing the pantomime villain. Enjoyed the whole thing, it was nice to feel a bit of pride about the club and the players representing us for a couple of hours, and of course it was a privilege to finally see the likes of Maldini and Baresi playing at SJP. Great value for money, as others have said.

Half of those Milan players could probably still do a better job than some of our first team.

Shame, he looked a half decent footballer the few times I saw him play, but I always got the impression he was a little bit too lightweight/slow for the Premier League. Was it Lee Ryder or someone who claimed he'd be better than Ben Arfa when we first signed him?

Some of the posts in here man His decision making is occasionally questionable and sometimes he does too much, but you have to take the rough with the smooth with this kind of player. I'd rather see him lose the ball by attempting to skin one player too many than our other 10 players lose the ball by tripping over their own feet when they try to pass it five yards.

Not sure about him. Technically he's sound, but he never really looks like he wants to step up and influence the game. If he played with more energy he could be a great player.

Assuming they're all available, he absolutely must start the team that finished this game in the next match. If Tiote and them walk back in he wants shooting.