Minhosa

That really is a bad tackle on Raylor. Totally over the ball.

Aye, Pardew has hinted at that. Funnily enough this regime slagged Shepherd to fuck for spending the shirt sponsorship money early. I really hope the Cisse deal didn't happen just because of the Virgin deal. Pardew did also say that he thought we'd have to wait until the summer to make a move on Cisse but they'd heard that a deal could be worked through last month so they went for it.

I've wondered the exact same thing myself. The Cisse signing could mean a fundamental shift in attitude imho.

I've always been of the school of thought that the risk of investing heavily in order to push on for European places (well, top four really) would never happen under Ashley and I still think that however, even he must have been tempted to do the maths on the potential returns on investing £xm to get us up there with a shout this season. Will we ever be closer? Would investing another say £15m this window have given us enough of a push to get us over the line into fourth? What would that be worth to us? It's obviously a risk Vs reward scenario but I wonder if it crossed their minds? That said, using the same logic, would the club even want Europa League qualification? Just look at Stoke and Fulham and the additional matches have effectively killed their league placings for limited financial return and probable loss of money due to the extra players needed - in Stoke's case at least.

I disagree. He's a non entity of a player who can swing in a decent cross/free kick. If we could wheel him on for free kicks and corners and then take him back off throughout the match then I'd agree but as we can't his constant presence on the pitch limits us as any form of fluid force in my opinion. He is a grafter though.

Finding a place for HBA is proving to be difficult, it either has to be found before the end of the season or we need to move on IMO, and so does he. Would like to see this once with the current crop of players: Krul Simo Saylor Colo. santon Tiote Guthrie. Cabaye HBA Cisse Ba It's the only way I ever see HBA holding down a permanent position. Yeah - I fear for HBA. For me, he's the type of player that you let go out on the pitch and express himself. You don't worry about his stats, the times he loses possession (providing it's not on a ridiculous level) or his lapses in tracking back. I don't see a future for him under Pardew but I really hope I'm wrong. I'd find a way to include him but we'd pretty much have to entirely change the system/shape and slightly go against the ethos of pardews reign which has been very much about the collective rather than the individual. Having said that, the issue I'd have with your proposed formation above (as much as I'd love to see HBA in behind Senegal two with a bit of freedom) is the omission of Jonas who is absolutely integral to us in retaining possession. And, even though we'll be much better at this with Cab/Tiote back, I think we'd still need Jonas. The concern of course is his lack of end product in an attacking sense but then he has to protect the teams weakest link in Simpson. It's a dilemma and one I really hope Pardew finds a solution to because I don't think anybody would want to see HBA leave or see him tearing it up somewhere else. For me the last bit of hope for HBA died when we signed Cisse, thought we might go 451 HBA behind the striker, but now it would be mad not to play both Cisse & Ba unless fitness interferes. All of a sudden HBA is trying to carve out a career on the wing, where he apparently didnt want to play but really has no option any more. Maybe if we had Tiote back he could play in the Cabaye role, but more offensive running through the middle and setting up the strikers. Again not his natural role. There will come a time HBA will get pissed off like he has done in the past and he will be off. At this rate, I doubt we'll see another season out of him, he's got to make an impression fast and time is running out. Tend to agree but hope we are both very wrong. He's got enough self belief to fully expect to start every week and he's not the type of lad to hang around for long if he's not playing. Like you, I just don't see a role for him in a Pardew team, with the signing of Cisse which pretty much commits us to 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 with Ba in behind. The only formation which finds room for him in his best position is 3-5-2. Saylor - Colo - Willo/A.N Other Santon - Cabaye - Tiote - Jonas HBA Cisse Ba With HBA dropping in out of possession but we'd concede a shitload of goals which is the exact opposite to the principles/approach Pardew implemented when he got to work pre-season which seemed to be all about shoring us up. That said, the formation above would be one way of getting our weakest player out of the team and our most gifted back in the team.

Agree on the first team point but I don't think the likes of Perch, Taylor, Loven, Shola etc would get in many other top half teams so I would say the squad players are bottom 6 quality for the most part. There's no question the top top sides are underperforming though - and last season was the same with freak results all over the shop. Unless that's the new normal?

You make an interesting point about those top clubs not to mention that many will be due fundamental change over the next few years with SAF retiring, Wenger possibly following suit, AVB's settling in period finishing, Redknapp and England/Bird, Kenny trying to stay sane and Mancini being severely tested. Thats before Financial Fair Play is considered, though what difference it will make to them, I'm unsure. Also, many of the top four are going to need fundamental changes to their core players if they are to retain their current status and again will their current owners fund that (obv, Citeh apart) and will they buy well? Just off the top of my head: Man Utd - Carrick, Rio, possibly Vidic, Scholes (again), Giggs, Evra and Berba. Chelsea - Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Bosingwa, Cole and a long term replacement for Cech. Arsenal - RVP's contract situation + many players not really playing to a top four standard consistently. Spurs - Probably the best placed to continue for the next few years without massive investment and will have massive funds to do so if/when Bale or Modric go. Liverpool - Gerrard, Carragher, Kuyt and Bellamy all finished within two years pretty much. Citeh - Irrelevant as they'll throw money at anyone who gets three MoM's in a row anyway. Very interesting times coming up and thinking it through Spurs look very well positioned to continue with their top 4 achievements if a settled, consistent and highly achieving side is what this requires.

I was more thinking about future seasons - i.e: will we be around this sort of position this time next year or has this season been a freak event?

As it says on the tin really, do you think we've outperformed this season and we'll slip slightly over the next couple of years or do you think we'll push on from this level and be finishing around the top 6 in future seasons? For me, I'm encouraged by the strength of the first team, if a little worried about the squad depth but when you look at a side containing Krul, Colo, Saylor, Tiote, Cabaye, Demba's and potentially HBA and an on form Jonas then that's surely got the makings of a top team? There's always the worry also for me about who's the next out of the door and how strong will their replacement be - obvious examples this summer are Colo and Tiote who would be colossal losses and you'd be hoping there replacements could slot straight in as we'd inevitably lose games regularly without these two over the longer term. I think I'm cautiously erring towards option 3 in that this really is where we belong and we should be pushing on from here but I'd be very interested to hear the thoughts of others.

Finding a place for HBA is proving to be difficult, it either has to be found before the end of the season or we need to move on IMO, and so does he. Would like to see this once with the current crop of players: Krul Simo Saylor Colo. santon Tiote Guthrie. Cabaye HBA Cisse Ba It's the only way I ever see HBA holding down a permanent position. Yeah - I fear for HBA. For me, he's the type of player that you let go out on the pitch and express himself. You don't worry about his stats, the times he loses possession (providing it's not on a ridiculous level) or his lapses in tracking back. I don't see a future for him under Pardew but I really hope I'm wrong. I'd find a way to include him but we'd pretty much have to entirely change the system/shape and slightly go against the ethos of pardews reign which has been very much about the collective rather than the individual. Having said that, the issue I'd have with your proposed formation above (as much as I'd love to see HBA in behind Senegal two with a bit of freedom) is the omission of Jonas who is absolutely integral to us in retaining possession. And, even though we'll be much better at this with Cab/Tiote back, I think we'd still need Jonas. The concern of course is his lack of end product in an attacking sense but then he has to protect the teams weakest link in Simpson. It's a dilemma and one I really hope Pardew finds a solution to because I don't think anybody would want to see HBA leave or see him tearing it up somewhere else. I would hazard a guess that this is exactly what Pardew, and every manager in the league, worry about. You see I don't think you judge a HBA type of player in the same way as other players who don't have his explosive technical ability or the ability to change the game in an instant. By all means don't play him in games we won't dominate or where we can't afford his luxury but for teams of grafters like Bolton, Blackburn, Wigan, Wolves etc we should be going out there to play them off the park and entertain not play percentages. HBA is a crowd pleaser and, it's very clear, he possesses incredible ability. I get the feeling he needs to feel loved and trusted and that as long as Pardew is communicating with him and being fair to him he'll know he has to work his way in and will only play certain games but, in my John Humble, every club should have a player like this - he's what football is all about, a game changer, a crowd lifter. I'm pretty confident KK and SBR would accomodate him in any of their sides. Edit - Sessegnon seems to fit into the Mackems side and he's the same sort of player as HBA. Some games he'll be unplayable and in others their fans will wonder if he turned up. The difference is in the systems. They can afford the luxury because they play one up top. To me it looks like Pardew will be going with 2 up top for the foreseeable which basically writes HBA off as far as I can see or, at the very least, until we get a stronger full back so Simpson requires less assistance.

Finding a place for HBA is proving to be difficult, it either has to be found before the end of the season or we need to move on IMO, and so does he. Would like to see this once with the current crop of players: Krul Simo Saylor Colo. santon Tiote Guthrie. Cabaye HBA Cisse Ba It's the only way I ever see HBA holding down a permanent position. Yeah - I fear for HBA. For me, he's the type of player that you let go out on the pitch and express himself. You don't worry about his stats, the times he loses possession (providing it's not on a ridiculous level) or his lapses in tracking back. I don't see a future for him under Pardew but I really hope I'm wrong. I'd find a way to include him but we'd pretty much have to entirely change the system/shape and slightly go against the ethos of pardews reign which has been very much about the collective rather than the individual. Having said that, the issue I'd have with your proposed formation above (as much as I'd love to see HBA in behind Senegal two with a bit of freedom) is the omission of Jonas who is absolutely integral to us in retaining possession. And, even though we'll be much better at this with Cab/Tiote back, I think we'd still need Jonas. The concern of course is his lack of end product in an attacking sense but then he has to protect the teams weakest link in Simpson. It's a dilemma and one I really hope Pardew finds a solution to because I don't think anybody would want to see HBA leave or see him tearing it up somewhere else.

What's interesting about these two is that they won't form the typical little & large combo as a partnership. The (albeit very) early impression I get is that, as a pair, they can interchange and really mix it up. Both can score with both feet, both can score headers, both enjoy a decent turn of pace, both can get right on the end of things and both appear happy enough to drop deep. This really has some potential when you build in the Tiote/Cabaye factors, potentially find a place for HBA and have Saylor back attacking set pieces for them to feed off the scraps. Absolutely delighted to see some movement up top which is basically why we are out of the F.A Cup.

He's comfortable at LB, just think he'll be even better on the right. Agree, just think he'll be a bit more of a known quantity next season in attacking terms.

The difference in ability between him and Simpson is absolutely massive.

Has to move to the right next season as cutting inside every time he goes forward will be quickly identified by other teams as they study him. I like him but he's very one footed.

Their first half performance going forward is the best I've seen from a visiting side this season. Absolutely rinsed us repeatedly with some slick passing football. Agreed - their formation and interplay in the final third was absolutely spot on in the first half. It was like McLeish sent out a different 11 players in the second half.

The weirdest subs I think I've seen. If they had started the second half as they finished the first we'd be sitting here slating our lot for not coping with their passing and movement.

This makes me feel old.

Looked rusty but comes alive in the box.

Superb today. MOM without a doubt.

Massive today.

These two are going to cause a few defences some serious problems this year if we can keep them both fit.

He's alreet I suppose.

Had a result today. Had Cisse last scorer at 5/1, had over 2.5 goals at 5/6, had Keane and Cisse both to score at 17/2. Also had money on Colo and Willo at anytime.