Andy

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.

He's one of the harder working players in the team. It's obvious that the defensive side of the game doesn't come naturally to him at times but he can't be accused of not making an effort, contrary to what you hear from a lot of commentators etc.

It's obvious why he does it though. If there's fuck all movement he doesn't want to just blindly whip the ball in, and he ends up just holding on to it too long while he waits for someone to show for it. It's highlighted in the extreme when Shola and Cisse are stood like trees, and it's little wonder that he suddenly looked more direct when Shola came off.

Anita's playing well and is tidy but I wouldn't go that far, Cabaye at his best has a bit more energy to his play and a wider range of passing; the difference in the two was highlighted today I thought.

Made this talented Morcambe outfit look ordinary in the last ten minutes

He doesn't show for them, and when he does he either mistimes it and gets caught offside or doesn't have the sharpness to get on the end of the pass. It's as much the responsibility of the striker to create that kind of scenario as it is the midfielder. He's not playing on the shoulder effectively.

He needed service. He gets fuck all of it. That's only half the problem though. His hold up play has been discussed at length, but his movement isn't great at the moment and he doesn't look sharp at all. It's easy to blame a lack of creativity from other players, but I don't think he's particularly helping them either with his forward-play. His play outside the box is rubbish. We were told that when we signed him and we can't expect him to be something he's not. He's a poacher who shouldn't be starting if we don't plan to create chances for him. He has to actually look for the chances and make runs though, at the same time. He can't expect to just stand in the 18 yard box and have our creative players not only find him with a pass or a cross, but also completely remove any defenders that are marking him on his behalf. He's static as hell at the moment.

He needed service. He gets fuck all of it. That's only half the problem though. His hold up play has been discussed at length, but his movement isn't great at the moment and he doesn't look sharp at all. It's easy to blame a lack of creativity from other players, but I don't think he's particularly helping them either with his forward-play.

Good footballer. Played well. Won't start next week.