Gallowgate Toon

Think Pardew will start him against Stoke, Cabaye moves back alongside Anita and HBA as no.10. That, or 4-4-2 with HBA and Sissoko on the wings, Gouff and Remy up top.

I think he's edging towards something more 'free' in the second half of the season. He's not been perfect but this has been a good first half of the campaign.

Really enjoyed that cameo. Showed good intelligence and had a nice balance to his game, just like the Man U match.

Good team. Think Cabaye's passing could do some damage if he's playing no.10. Hopefully, Sissoko and Gouffran keep their recent good movement going.

Lovely move, great finish.

It's direct football and it's great.

He'll play a big part on the second half of the season, IMO. I think that, since Everton, Pardew has been looking to get the work ethic back that was in the side 2 years ago, re-building that foundation. Hatem will be re-introduced pretty soon, I'm sure of it.

This is about right, for me. I think we've seen him given freedom over the past season and a third and it's not as good as when he was an important part of the system, rather than the focal point. I think he's just too maverick in his head to be given a really free role, he might be one that ages into it when his other qualities become more prominent. I think he's a player that needs to be well-controlled, managing him into the right mindset is key to getting the most out of him for the team.

Has anyone said he's less talented than Bale? The general point is, Bale produced over an extended period of time. He proved his consistency and grew into a player that became the heart of a good side. Ben Arfa hasn't done that, some of that is him, some of it is down to factors that are out of his control. I think he's tremendously talented but his application could be far improved. I think he does himself a disservice by wanting to dribble as much as he does, it inhibits the rest of his other abilities, because he does have two good feet, can spot passes and put in great crosses etc. I would like to see him use his head a bit more before he receives the ball, look at what else is going on. I feel he has generally treated passing and crossing as a last resort since the beginning of 12/13, which is a shame, and because there are times he hangs onto the ball looking for an opening to run with it, it slows us down as a team. Pardew was right in the Fulham game, he told him to pick the tempo up and be more aware, he put in a cracking second half performance that saw him create 2 brilliant chances and score a goal. As for the tracking back, I thought the was pretty excellent at it about a year ago. Of course, it's not his strength (nor should it be) but he's been given more responsibility and that side of stuff has regressed too much, IMO. I just want to see the Hatem we saw in the second half of 11/12. If he recaptures that balance, he'd be the first name on my team sheet, every time. I think Pardew tried to make him into the creative centre of this squad but it's backfired, he's now seen that and this is his way of rectifying it, not that I think it's the right way to deal with it.

I don't think we should accept that this is just HBA and we need to work around him, his game can, and should, be improved. As it stands, I'm not sure if he should be in the team, he shouldn't be behind Shola but there are a limited number of spots with other players playing well. If he wants the freedom that the likes of Suarez, Messi, Bale etc. have had, he needs to earn it while playing by the rules, just like they did. That doesn't mean he needs to be a workhorse, but he can't be a liability when he's not doing good stuff on the ball. His effort against Hull was atrocious and he's not proven himself to be good enough to be like that, nor are we a good enough side to carry someone. It's come back into fashion that everyone works hard, more talented players aren't really exempt from not doing their bit anymore, unless they're really special and regularly win games. HBA simply hasn't proven that consistently enough, his game could be better considering the talent he has.

I think saying we'd be generally brilliant with just a bit of fluid movement is a bit of a stretch. Genuine question, Bimpy, if you take Pardew out of the equation, what are the weaknesses of this squad (lack of numbers aside)? Pretty much agree on the Shola/HBA side of it, by the way.

If Shola's dropped/'rested' it'll be Anita that comes in for him. No way the others are going to be displaced. Hatem will get his chance over the next month, I'm sure he'll take it.

Don't think we'll lose, actually feeling quite confident of a win despite their better recent form. 1-3 - Remy, Gouff and Sissoko to score.

It really is a mystery as to what goes on. I don't know if he actively encourages sitting back or if he just doesn't give players enough direction which makes them withdraw, it really is strange. I think I read a stat the other day that said we were one of two teams that haven't scored more than 2 in a game this season.

Happens every game, the goalkeeper usually never makes that mistake. So yes I'd call it a fluke. It's not a fluke. There's an element of fortune to it, of course, but when you're closing down opposition so they a) make a rubbish back pass, and b) rush their consequent clearance, you're very much in the realms of making your own luck.

Remy chasing down a ball to panic the 'keeper into a rushed clearance isn't a fluke. A sheer fluke would have been Remy standing still and the 'keeper hitting it right at him.

Sissoko makes good decisions, he just doesn't always execute them well.

The only time Shola should be involved in this is if we need to alleviate some pressure. I'd be tempted to have Hatem start. I reckon Pardew will just go with the side that faced Man U though, perhaps putting Haidara in for Santon.

I think we need a big man for some games and situations but not all.

Wonder how much influence Pardew has on his play. Surely it can't be hard to instruct him to lay it off it earlier, maybe he does. I think hes tried that with him, and as he didnt heed it, he was benched. Thought that was always more to do with his workrate in a defensive capacity. Which to be fair I think paid off to some degree. There were definitely some quotes around from Pardew saying he wanted HBA to play at a quicker tempo, think it was around the time of the Fulham game. I thought there was a noticeable difference in his mentality against Man U.

Aye, that dribble man Pity no f***er was interested in getting forward to offer him a pass. Couldn't understand that. Yet, when Debuchy put in a cross 5 minutes later, we had 3 in there.

Nowt. It's just frustrating knowing that we could play a different, more pleasing on the eye and more effective game - given the talent we have across the squad. But, like I say, if we want long-term results then I think Pardew has to re-hash the squad into one that suits him more. Get rid of the cultured (or s***) wingers in favour of orthodox ones, get a target man or two. It'll be a real wrench if someone like Hatem was to leave, but I'm starting to wonder what his point in the squad actually is. He's no impact sub. We can play a pleasing-on-the-eye game with a targetman type. Dortmund do it, Arsenal do it, City do it, Munich have done it etc. I think we've played some really great stuff over the last 2 months, the problem has been keeping the tempo of it up. We've generally used Shola well enough, in my opinion, not been too direct with his presence and he's linked up with others pretty effectively on the deck (well, in spells, at least). That's why the likes of Dortmund have prospered, they don't rely too much on one approach but vary it. Shola isn't a good enough long-term option, but he's shown the benefits of having a player like him in a modern team that has lots of pace etc. Buying someone that can take his role with better fitness, more energy and a couple more goals in him should be our first move, IMO.

What's wrong with having someone that can play as a targetman? There are quite a few good footballing sides that use someone of that ilk.

Also, the Sissoko-Anita-Remy passing move was brilliant.