merlin

Easy - Tiote and Anita BOTH play in m/f with Cabaye in away games and tough home ones. Marveaux plays with Anita and Cabaye in easier home games. Wouldn't drop Cabaye in any circumstance if fit, but I'm still to be convinced he will be at SJP past the summer.

Probably something like this....club would be happy to move him on before he gets pas 28 so they can get the 7.5m....his dodgy knee is going to put people off after he passes 28. That doesn't mean they have a decent replacement lined up though....they don't think past the immediate cash grab..

Yes - unless his team has lost, or the ref didn't allow another 5 mins of extra time when the whistle should have gone after 3...

Still too soon to make a prediction - the transfer window will tell us more..

This match proved 2 things ; 1. We DO have players capable of playing decent football...when given the chance by the managment.. 2. That Simpson and Williamson are total liabilities in a PL defence...they should NEVER be within 50 miles of a club the size of NUFC. The midfield, with Anita prominent and receiving excellent support from Bigi and Perch, were in command of this game for large parts of the first half...for me, the turning point was when - inevitably - Simpson was totally free on the right of the Man U area with an unmarked Ba in the box, and still manage to sky his cross over their bar in a dreadfull attempt at a shot. We were leading 2-1 at that point and a goal for us then would have really given them a mountain to climb. Even when Cisse restored our lead at 3-2, both Williamson and Simpson were at 6s & 7s when they got both their equalizer and the winner. NO team with any ambition can hope to achieve any form of success with defenders like these 2 and once again, those running the club should be castigated for failing to get adequate replacements in the summer - I am certain we would be several points better off had they done so. Marveaux had a great game, really unlucky not to score with the free kick and Cisse played his heart out...his goal showed what he can do if given the right service which, for a change, Obertan managed to do. I wasn't happy with Bigi being subbed, he looked full of running to me and although Obertan made an instant impact, we began to lose the m/f battle which resulted in the shortcomings of our defence being exposed. The terrible tackle on Anita near the end looked serious and the guy should have walked...had this been at most other venues, he undoubtedly would have gone. Ferguson's antics have been discussed on aanother thread so nothing new about that here...the officials/PL/FA are to blame for letting him get away with it. We will miss Anita greatly, esp with Cabaye out because he was behind much of our m/f control - we can go one of 2 ways now and its in the lap of the gods which way that is. No matter how people say we were unlucky, we still lost after being ahead twice - good sides don't do that, even at OT...it cost us the title at Liverpool in 1996 and I just hope it isn't going to be even more expensive this time... West Ham used to have a reputation for being professional 'blowers'...losing games after doing all the hard work - we are beginning to look like the modern equivalent...

Whilst I've always given due credit to his managerial achievements I've never liked this guy. The best description I've ever heard about him was by a regular contributor to Radio Newcastle's morning phone-in after he spouted insinuations about Forest 'going easy' on us because Stuart Pierce had picked us as his testimonial rivals during the 95/96 season when we were battling Man U for the title....the programme host was asking whether KK had been wrong to respond angrily to these jibes, and the guest rang in and said ' look - there's only one way to describe Ferguson....he's a Po-faced Prat..!' Spot on description and there's no doubt in my mind that he is allowed to get away with far more infringments against officials than any other manager... The reasons for this are that those running the game are cowed by Sky and their share-ownership in Man U...

IF there was a realistic chance of the club signing a decent target man/pacey striker, I would have him gone as soon as the window opens.....

Just because Macdonald has made his mouth go in the past doesn't mean he is always wrong...are you saying he should keep his mouth shut because he's wrong- questionable in my view - or just because you don't think anyone should rock the boat by telling the truth..? There is CLEARLY a major problem at SJP and I have no doubt that many of the players aren't happy. The manager's job is to sort it out and that is not happening. If Given has also made similar claims about dissention in the squad it seems there is more chance of Macdonald being right than wrong - hiding a problem never solves it , all that happens is that it festers below the surface. For what its worth I think that the French guys WERE disappointed about Debuchy, esp Cabaye, but more for footballing reasons than nationality and that has been proven correct so far. ALL the talented players are probably fed up with the hoof style of play and Ba is unsettled and probably a law unto himself...Pardew just has to take it because he is not confident about getting a suitable replacement...just as we aren't confident in Ashley's ability to obtain a suitable replacement for Pardew....... All a recipe for stasis...i.e. nothing getting done to improve things generally. Facts are that the way the club is being run is open to question apart from the fact that we have little OPEN debt.

Comes with the territory i'm afraid and i'd much rather have our team competing regularly in European competition than not. If Pardew is a manager who cannot deal with having his club in Europe than quite simply he is not cut out to manage a club of that calibre. Nail on head - KK and SBR both managed it. To be fair to Pardew though, its not only his ability to handle the situation that is in question, its also the so-called Board...failed to strengthen the squad for more games.

How did we ever win the Fairs Cup in 1969 and still stay out of trouble..??

Exactly - he's a Board stooge...we all know that.

A very Merry Christmas to all members and guests on here. Let's hope 2013 brings a turn-around...2012 started with great expectations but finished with disappointment. Maybe the reverse will be true next year....maybe there are some rich Arabs out there...!

'no matter what he does, he'll always get stick' Yet currently over half say they're losing, or never had any faith in him...go figure. They're losing faith in him because we're playing s**** with results to match. Rocket science. Exactly right - and you have to add to that those who reserved judgement on him because of his past record at other clubs. He tailed off with them and the same thing seems to be happening with us - their supporters would probably have given similar poll ratings after the same time periods with their clubs.

The best thing you could say about this game was that we got 3 points. Very sterile performance from both sides and this is a temporary respite from what lies ahead...goal was a rare piece of constructive passing, Marveaux always likely to find a good pass if teams stand off him. Nothing more to say that hasn't already been said - transfer window crucial and the remainder of the season is going to be a fraught affair unless we pick up a few unexpected points over the next 2 weeks or so.

Totally agree - a Christmas party is a drop in the ocean and not going to help matters by having it cancelled...its just grandstanding by the club, saying 'Oh look - we ARE repentant - we've cancelled the Party just to show we are all in it together with the misery'. Shearer's comments were spot on, and many of us got roasted for saying the same thing when the window closed. It was obvious that the squad was too small and lacked quality in crucial positions.

Yes, that sums it up Mick....as for the heart condition, if that is true he'll fit in well - half the club's fans are probably suffering the same ailment after the events of this season. Personally, I am saying nothing about prospective transfers until I see the Press conference introducing the player - there was once a boy that cried 'wolf'...!

Dropped the ball ? We never even picked it up... We are never going to agree - my final comment on this - for now - is to direct you to Alan Shearer's comments in his Sun column ; somehow, I don't think he's in your camp..!

I don't care about all the stuff he gets stick for - he could walk down Northumberland St with a daffodil up his a--e for all I care if he was managing NUFC and doing as well as he did with Spurs. Before we get all holier-than-thou about Redknapp's personal drawbacks, it should be remembered that Pardew isn't exactly whiter-than-white when it comes to personal failings...allegedly...! Eh, you were the one that brought it up. I brought up the fact that Redknapp gets stick, not that I agreed with it or felt it mattered - when he was first mooted as manager here after KK went, there were plenty who didn't want him just because he was a Cockney etc. I'm no fan of Ashley but he was right in trying to get Redknapp because we would have almost certainly been in a better position as a club now. He'd have been here a shorter time than Keegan IMO. Agreed. He would have walked before Keegan did. We'll never know either way.

You say this like they haven't spent over a £1 billion in the last few years. Them beating us today means nothing in the bigger picture as they've cheated while we've tried to do it the right way. Of course, with this being football, cheaters always prosper but we gave them a good game today which few expected. Did you actually read all my post ? I actually stated that the match illustrated the change in fortunes between the 2 clubs over the past 10 years....that also includes their takeover and subsequent investment. And just how do you justify the statement that NUFC are doing it 'the right way' whilst they are cheating ? Did you think KK and SJH were cheating when we were outspending Man U and Arsenal in the mid-90s ? I bet you felt like chucking your ST when we paid a record fee for Shearer...! I hope you feel vindicated then, if we don't spend a fortune on players in order to stay up next month... I can't find accurate, up to date numbers for Man City's total spend since the takeover but Milner's signing 2 and a half years ago took it past £1 billion. That's in no way comparable to what we did. Not even slightly. It's also in no way comparable to whatever we'll spend in the next window as we've actually earned it, you know, doing it the right way? You are forgetting that transfer fees have rocketed since the 90s - Shearer's 15m was a WORLD RECORD fee at the time...I think you'll find that the new record fee is more than double that. In the 1995 close season we spent 6m on Ferdinand, 4m on Barton and around 3 on Ginola that I can think of....can you see Ashley spending nearly 30m on improving the side, because that would be the modern equivalent ? The game has changed and only big money can win the prizes....if you think that is wrong ask Fergie because he has just spent 24m on a 29 year old. You are living in dreamland mate - there IS no 'right way'... in any walk of life if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

I don't care about all the stuff he gets stick for - he could walk down Northumberland St with a daffodil up his a--e for all I care if he was managing NUFC and doing as well as he did with Spurs. Before we get all holier-than-thou about Redknapp's personal drawbacks, it should be remembered that Pardew isn't exactly whiter-than-white when it comes to personal failings...allegedly...! Eh, you were the one that brought it up. I brought up the fact that Redknapp gets stick, not that I agreed with it or felt it mattered - when he was first mooted as manager here after KK went, there were plenty who didn't want him just because he was a Cockney etc. I'm no fan of Ashley but he was right in trying to get Redknapp because we would have almost certainly been in a better position as a club now.

Looking for positives from relegation is like saying that at least you get a sensation of flying as you fall over a cliff... The end result of both can be totally disastrous and a club like NUFC should NEVER be in danger of relegation with PL status being so important. Relegation clauses are usually balanced in the player's favour anyway to persuade them to sign in the first place - I wouldn't sign one at NUFC UNLESS it guaranteed me an escape route should the club go down because Ashley's desire to invest in the club when necessary is far from guaranteed.

The answer to that is that it would depend on who was brought in to replace Pardew - which probably means Cabaye would be on his bike, but I reckon he will anyway, whether its Jan or Summer.

You say this like they haven't spent over a £1 billion in the last few years. Them beating us today means nothing in the bigger picture as they've cheated while we've tried to do it the right way. Of course, with this being football, cheaters always prosper but we gave them a good game today which few expected. Did you actually read all my post ? I actually stated that the match illustrated the change in fortunes between the 2 clubs over the past 10 years....that also includes their takeover and subsequent investment. And just how do you justify the statement that NUFC are doing it 'the right way' whilst they are cheating ? Did you think KK and SJH were cheating when we were outspending Man U and Arsenal in the mid-90s ? I bet you felt like chucking your ST when we paid a record fee for Shearer...! I hope you feel vindicated then, if we don't spend a fortune on players in order to stay up next month...

I don't care about all the stuff he gets stick for - he could walk down Northumberland St with a daffodil up his a--e for all I care if he was managing NUFC and doing as well as he did with Spurs. Before we get all holier-than-thou about Redknapp's personal drawbacks, it should be remembered that Pardew isn't exactly whiter-than-white when it comes to personal failings...allegedly...!

This match could and should have been over as a contest after 35 minutes. They sat back, waited for the initial gust of wind(I won't say 'hurricane..!)to blow itself out and then picked us off like Man U did. Nasri absolutely tortured us down the right and frankly, it was a delight to see the quick passing, tight control and constant movement off the ball by their forwards and m/f when they came forward at us....reminded me of how we used to play under KK and how the fortunes of the 2 clubs have changed since we beat them in the FA Cup under SBR nearly 10 years ago. We have lost to them in 6 PL matches and Pardew has never out-witted Mancini. We only really began to have a go at them with any conviction once Nasri went off because they lost a fair bit of forward guile and movement after that. Even then, they should have been out of sight by HT and the goal we pulled back through Ba being first to Colo's return punt into the area bore no comparison to the ones they crafted after tearing us to shreds. The difference in investment between the 2 sides was obvious, but even worse was the way they set about playing football as opposed to our pedestrian efforts ...only Anita could say that he had a case for getting into their squad, let alone the first team, because he at least tried to play passing constructive football. Aguero and Tevez put Ba and Cisse to shame with their speed of thought and contol..neither is a big guy but they caused our defence far more problems than our statuesque pair up front did to theirs. The worrying thing about all this is that City are not generally playing as well as last season but even allowing for that, they had far too much for us. Cabaye, Saylor and HBA in the side might have made it closer, but we would still have lost - they were NEVER in danger of losing and we never really looked like getting an equalizer. We have fallen a long way as a club over the past 10 years and this match just highlighted that fact....we have better attendances than City as a rule, but their fans won't care about that. At the moment their future looks assured whereas ours will look very tricky indeed if we fail to beat QPR next week. Football has a habit of surpising people, but as a general rule, you end up in the league position the club deserves....the fans, of course, are excluded from that. The next 3 weeks promise to be VERY interesting......