Gallowgate Toon

Is that the first time this season that Shola's been available on the bench and he's not brought him on?

Yeah, he looks absolutely devastated. I didn't think Tiote's post-Reading pessimism would be beaten but it has.

I remember Diame's performance against us at home, he was brilliant. That's what I thought Sissoko would be for us... No idea how this will pan out. Think we'll obviously be better than today and may perhaps scrape a draw. I hope to God that Jonas doesn't start.

Remember his first game? *sigh* Even Fat Sam can play Diame in the right place.

Sissoko is proof of that, looked like our answer to Yaya when he arrived, now he looks terrified of the final third It's so frustrating to watch. Sissoko should be picking up the ball and driving the team forward with at least 3 players ahead of him. Instead we've seen him asked to be a one man wrecking ball and right winger. I have no idea why he can't just play Sissoko alongside a defensive midfielder.

Class

Well, that was painful. Perch and Tiote were really shocking at protecting. Defence all at sea and your defensive midfielders not doing much, recipe for disaster. We looked like a school team in those clips.

I can't believe their 'keeper kicked it out and we were left 3 v 2. How bad is that?

That second goal man, no fucker on Coutinho, Debuchy's not got back. So amateur.

I can't even believe what I've just read there. He did a canny job today then you thought? The players just made us look a bit of a mess with the way they played? That was our heaviest home defeat since 1925, 2 weeks ago we had by far the most humiliating result in the time I've been supporting the club, don't know about you. But nah, he's doing OK, the players just aren't organised enough or something. Are you taking the mick or what? Erm, what? I thought his apology/reaction was alright in the NUFCTV piece but have complained bitterly all night about stuff he got wrong in about 10 threads on here. Where the f*** did I say he was doing an alright job? The only thing I was questioning was whether some of the basic errors were down to players or rubbish instructions. Perch, Tiote and Jonas were abysmal for tracking their men, whether that's because they weren't sure who to track or if they're because they're thick is what's got me stumped. Soz mate, I actually mis-read your post. Thought you said "I thought that was OK from him personally" and presumed you were talking about his performance today. I haven't read his comments after the game, can somebody post them please? Again, apologies - jumped on you for no reason there. No problem, tensions are running high. Edit: they're on one of the last 2 pages.

The 3 players you've mentioned shouldn't have even started. No s***, that's why i said the starting XI was wrong and there's evidence of me lambasting it on here.

I can't even believe what I've just read there. He did a canny job today then you thought? The players just made us look a bit of a mess with the way they played? That was our heaviest home defeat since 1925, 2 weeks ago we had by far the most humiliating result in the time I've been supporting the club, don't know about you. But nah, he's doing OK, the players just aren't organised enough or something. Are you taking the mick or what? Erm, what? I thought his apology/reaction was alright in the NUFCTV piece but have complained bitterly all night about stuff he got wrong in about 10 threads on here. Where the f*** did I say he was doing an alright job? The only thing I was questioning was whether some of the basic errors were down to players or rubbish instructions. Perch, Tiote and Jonas were abysmal for tracking their men, whether that's because they weren't sure who to track or if they're because they're thick is what's got me stumped.

How can a lack of organisation be down to players? I was going for the not communicating with each other and neglecting their responsibilities angle.

Ah yes, I forgot about that, Rich.

I thought that reaction was Ok from him personally. Yes, the team selection was poor but you could see the organisation was abysmal, we shouldn't be conceding like that, especially with a defensive line up. Whether that lack of organisation is down to players or the instructions given is the key factor.

Teams have got wise to him in that forward role and he's obviously not a winger. Pardew was shit scared of Enrique so put him there.

Think OCK's got it spot on, simply reviewing the team and assigning roles and simple tactics would be so helpful. It's such a clusterfuck right now, with players all over the shop, both going forward and back. The balance of the team is way off.

The twat's going nowhere. The only hope is he manages to pick the right starting line up and they conjure a win.

That was evident as fuck in the first half. What's the point in having a player like Cabaye in the hole when there's only one natural forward playing around him. We needed some attackers there, with the brain to move into spaces and to make runs.

Oh I'm not saying for a second that this is any silver bullet. Pardew and his ideas need to go. I just think we look like a bunch of schoolkids at the moment, all running all over the place. If we're going to pick up some more points, it might be worth putting players where they normally play and just telling them to stay there. The problem with that though, is that a lot of these players have spent the majority of their careers playing in a 4-3-3 of some type. If anything, 4-4-2 is as foreign as it gets for them. They're all quite specialised footballers in one way or another. I don't think it's formation that causes that unorganised mess we saw today, it's simply a lack of clear instruction.

Has to be said, I think our problems are far worse than formations though. Something stinks and if that basic motivation/belief is missing, then it's pointless.

Don't think we have well-rounded enough midfielders to play it to be honest. I think if we went 4-4-2 then we'd have to drop Cabaye. I think 4-2-3-1 is fine but it needs to be done right. Elliot Debuchy Colo/MYM/Taylor Haidara Perch Sissoko Cabaye HBA Cisse Gouffran

A lot of the blame goes to Pardew tonight, but I agree with Dave, that was very poor.

Stigmatising a whole nation is utterly, utterly embarrassing.

Ha! We looked like a disorganised shambles man, how the fuck have we worked on shape. Tiote and Perch were positionally abysmal, time and time again.