Gallowgate Toon

I don't mind when we play long balls like we did on Sunday, Cabaye played quite a few into channels for Gouffran for example. It would be interesting to see the proportion of floated, aimless balls compared to actual direct long passes. If only there was someone who could compile the data and produce a visual representation...

I'm strangely optimistic for next year, I think we'll refine our transfer policy a little (aka we'll bring in a style that Pardew wants, but not from England) and we'll do well. I'm not too fussed if we go 4-4-2, we saw on Sunday that we can make it work with an outlet, Gouffran's pace in this instance, and play good, direct football using it. Discounting outgoings for now, if we add 2 wingers (one for the first team, one squad player), a target man striker (a plan B) and a centre half, we'll do alright.

We'll have been scared off by the price after yesterday, nowt to do with Pardew.

Bony's on our radar according to reports in January and March. He'd be a good addition.

Cabaye's a bit of a conundrum for me. I don't think he should be the deepest of a 3, he's an excellet option to have in the final third. He may not be good at dribbling but his vision, quick passing and shooting are all very good. Having him constantly back isn't ideal, you'd want him in and around the edge of the box. Anita/Tiote Cabaye Sissoko Is probably the best we've got. Cabaye and Sissoko as a cetral midfield partership in a 4-4-2 could be interesting.

Carroll (a player of his ilk, he's still too expensive for us) and Gouffran/Cisse could be a very interesting partnership. I quite liked how we played on Sunday (first half), 4-4-2 when attacking but Gouffran dropped in to make a 4-5-1 when defending. It works well when there's some form of outlet, whether we have the midfield is another matter.

I think we'll get a continental version of him this Summer after Pardew's quote about needing players who complement the current crop. Carroll is out of our price range.

47% of our attacks came from his side yesterday, we are far too reliant on him. I hope Jonas never plays as a winger for us again, we're desperate for another half decent wide midfielder.

It's just another question to put to Pardew, why do none of our midfielders move off the ball? I don't get his philosophy on midfield, he's fine for full backs to bomb on and for our striker(s) to work space but the middle 4 have no off the ball movement whatsoever.

Alternatively, this isn't necessarily how i'd want it but I think this could be it: Krul Debuchy Taylor MYM Santon HBA Cabaye Sissoko Boudebouz Carroll Cisse I can see Pardew pushing 4-4-2 over the Summer and Carroll will be his man. I think he knows we need a winger and Boudebouz is a good player in the final year of his contract. Not exactly the ideal player for the situation but he fits in with our policies when buying (young, French league experience, low fee due to situation and low wages).

Pretty simple, how would you like to realistically see us line up come the close of the transfer window?

Cheers Steve. Fantastic bloke, chuffed to bits for him that he got such a good send off.

How do you want this team to play? Do you think having no clearly defined shape has had an affect on our season? Do you have a blueprint for this squad? And if so, are you going to build this summer's transfers around it? Do you believe we've been getting the best out of Yohan Cabaye this year? If not, what needs to change? Is our squad fit enough? How can we create more chances for our forwards? Do you believe the side has been as balanced as it could have been? Where do you think you've personally gone wrong this year? I like what I saw in the first half today, while still largely lacking creativity in the final third we held the ball well and Gouffran is an intriguing option upfront. However the second half simply highlighted where we struggle, we just couldn't break them down at all and lack enough attacking options.

Second half was a mixture of woeful fitness and rubbish subs. No idea where this team's going next year.

He did it today Lovely through ball for Debuchy.

I have no idea how he wants this team to move forward. 4-4-2 the last 2 games, 4-2-3-1 for large periods since January. He'd better not shift Sissoko back into that position again.

Good foil for Cabaye as well, they showed some nice link up in the first.

Good first half, poor second. Obviously not fit enough, he could barely walk at times. Should have gone off.

Was great today, unbelievable that he was taken off. Provides an interesting option for 4-4-2, his pace and movement is a great outlet.

Good first half, rubbish second. Didn't have a clue how to break them down after they went 1 up and made some shit substitutions yet again.

You've just described 95% of professional footballers there And why would anyone call Beckham a flair player? That's not his style at all. I wouldn't have called Robert a flair player, simply a direct and effective one, which is what Beckham was.

It's easy to forget how good he was at Man U, he was an excellent asset for them and he maximised his somewhat limited ability through sheer graft. Good passer, shooter and crosser with stamina, intelligence and vision. His set pieces were very good too. Never in the top bracket of players.

Mourinho Ref's had a shocking 10 minutes.

Didn't we have all this last year? He'll just say that high offers could come in because we have some excellent players and they may be difficult to rebuff because we're not super rich.

If Cisse's form from January was over the whole course of a season, wouldn't he be on 15 goals or so? There are reasons as to why the first half of the campaign happened like it did for him. Strikers miss chances, I'm sure if you looked over Robin Van Persie's year he'll have missed at least 5 good opportunities. A big difference is that Cisse's misses are highlighted by the lack of good opportunities he has, there have been many games where he's had nothing to work with. With some better service, he'll relax a bit.