AyeDubbleYoo

I like this level of confidence. Not sure I share it, but still.

We seem to be managing the squad pretty well at the moment, I'm not going to worry about HBA not playing a reserve match right now.

If he's already considered fit, he might not be risked I suppose. Glass half full answer.

Thanks Dennis! (Kinnear though, what a tool.)

That's madness.

I wonder how many foreign TV providers are now planning to aggressively push their products into the UK market? I know they're available now, but they're still pretty underground. Would like a clearer and simpler way to buy a foreign satellite system.

Did I miss something? Didn't think he was in the ressies squad, or is this a post Strong team out according to journos. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/9285817.Ben_Arfa_gets_a_run_out_for_reserve_side/ Ta mate. Good news he is getting some more game time, just not sure how he will react dropping down to that level, can see him being a bit sulky TBH probably be fine though and I'm just being paranoid as per usual. Hat trick please Mr. Ben Arfa Shola expected to play hoping he was still out TBH. Don't see any reason he would sulk, it's just part of his recovery.

There must be more subtle reasons why Marveaux and Ben Arfa haven't started yet, Pardew can't actually believe that Lovenkrands is better than them.

Sandro as well potentially. Oh yeah, forgot he was fit again. Still, go for the Arf.

We're massive underdogs for this one, I would think I had nothing to lose and chuck HBA in to give them something to think about. They only really have Parker who protects the back four, and I can see him struggling to handle Ben Arfa.

I don't think Rupert's in much of a position to be applying political pressure right now.

Alright mate, how's it going? Have a good weekend, aye? Just wondering if any 'limited' players have impressed you recently? Such a tosser. True, I laughed though.

Which is what I said - but my opinion is that the aspirations of Llambias/the club are far more heavily weighted than anything Pardew has to bring to the table. His wants/needs/desires are largely irrelevant if the 'upside/risk' box isn't ticked. But isn't that the same for any club? The men holding the purse strings will always have the final say? Exactly, nobody imagines that isn't the case. And its probably the case everywhere anyway (except we might have a tighter budget).

Minhosa, I'm not sure your "we can't know so it's irrelevant" argument is a good one. If we could only discuss things we knew as facts this would be a short forum. Also, you then go on to say what you think about it, is that irrelevant since you don't know for a fact?

Long would have been a very good signing, shame we didn't go for him.

For me to, Taylor is a big bonus this season. I doubted whether he's ever be a consistent player for us again, but he's done really well. So many of those pleasant surprises this season - even Raylor playing LB hasn't led to us getting hammered every week.

Even if that scenario is true, Pardew is still saying which players he wants in the team, and the ones he's saying yes to are pretty good. So if that's the worst case for Pardew, he still comes out of it looking very capable.

Everyone obviously thinks this but my instinct is that its all Pardew. I have had the discussion on Toontastic with posters who claim that Pardew is just a puppet. The logical extension of that position is that Derek Llambias is a footballing genius. Llambias either allow millions of clubs £'s be spent (gross not net) on the advice of a scout (who has got it spot on so Llambias' footballing judgement is sound), takes the decisions himself or its Pardew. In the scenario where its not Pardew, you either have Llambias making the decision himself or preferring the counsel of a scout over a manager who is on close terms with the owner. Not wanting to get all Sherlock Holmes (eliminate the impossible etc) but i reckon its Pardew making all the decisions bar the financial ones. People create fictional narratives about puppet managers and evil plans when the reality is more mundane. Pardew is the manager and makes the footballing decisions, any other scenario is not credible as it means someone else is making some great decisions and the only candidate for that is Llambias. Good points, I didn't mean to suggest he was a puppet of the evil regime, just that I wasn't sure how much he had to do with transfers specifically. Those scenarios do make sense though, and in that event you're right it's more likely that Pardew is working with Carr to say yes or no to signings. Either way, the club are doing OK on that front and Pardew is doing a good job. Long may it continue.

Obviously we'll probably lose, but any other result would be a big boost, especially if there's a decent performance.

Yep, absolute c*** of the highest order. Aye, hated him since I first saw him. The Ghana incident was taking the piss.

I liked him as a manager and a personality before he came here, and I'm pleased to see that he's doing pretty well so far. I'm sure he would have got some credit a lot quicker if he hadn't come in to replace Chris Hughton, who was treated appallingly. He's also the right kind of character to work with Ashley and Llambias, as he's clever enough to realise that it's better for him to keep his disagreements with the board behind the scenes and try (as much as possible) to present a united front. He knows when to swallow his pride for the good of the club and of course his own career. Some people might think that's spineless, I just think it's smart. Obviously the great signings (which I'm not sure he had much to do with, at least initially) and the excellent start to the season help a lot.

Surely can't, ideal excuse to unleash HBA.

Its happened an awful lot lately. Only Milner, Duff and probably Enrique have done well. Yeah, it is a trend. Many players have been sure they were destined for great things after Newcastle, only to end up kicking around mid to lower table clubs. It's quite satisfying.

For his age he looks class, that's good enough for me for now.

Apart from Cabaye, Marveaux is probably the signing I'm most excited about, the lad looks absolute class. Not just a runner either, real technique and seems like great awareness too. Not sure why he hasn't forced his way into the team, guess it's a combination of factors, but I trust that he'll make a big impact sooner or later.