Gallowgate Toon

I used to think the Wigan match was what changed his mind but that doesn't make sense. We were absolutely hammered by Fulham playing it but he went back to it 8 weeks later. He also switched to it against Spurs at home and had Papiss famously playing out wide at times. He just hasn't even bothered to attempt it since the new lads came in. I don't think that we're suddenly going to turn into a top side because of a formation change but I think simply putting players in positions that bring out their abilities would make a big difference. For all the talk of footballing philosophies and whatnot nowadays, I think it's over-complicated, if you have competent players, complementing each other playing in a balanced side, they'll do damage.

Such a shame really. Amazing watching those games today, I actually felt entertained You'd have thought we were playing under a completely different manager. Cabaye was class, he only ever got major plaudits for that Stoke game IIRC but he was great in the others too. I just have no idea why Pardew's not returned to it properly.

Elliot Debuchy Taylor MYM Haidara Anita Sissoko Cabaye Marveaux Cisse Gouffran Strangely hopeful for this one, no idea why.

My only hope under him is that he stumbles onto a formula that works again. For all the cries that we don't have an attacking game plan, I've been looking over THAT period of games and we were a very threatening side, we can evidently play good football with him as manager. It's interesting going back over those games and seeing so many differences in the team. Despite sending out some absolutely awful defences, we weren't cautious against West Brom, Liverpool or Stoke, which makes me wonder how we've gone from that mentality to this ultra defensive stuff. We sent out Ba, Cisse and HBA at West Brom for example, when we had a back 4 of Simpson, Williamson, Colo and Perch going from that, he obviously doesn't need his best defence to go for it. We looked a lot more balanced as a team then as well. For starters, our wingers were higher up and Cabaye was a little deeper than Sissoko is now. The difference in their styles when in that role is telling. Sissoko encourages individualism (he's not helped by having deeper wide men mind), Cabaye was more like a metronome, keeping possession and picking out intelligent passes etc. he was really making us tick and we moved forward as a team as a result. Jonas was brilliant too, he added something different in that midfield, the ability to create space by picking up the ball and running with it. He still wasn't particularly productive but he was so useful at making space. If you compare that to now, we've had Tiote, Cabaye, Anita and Perch playing in that area but all 4 have the same style, they can't dribble (I'm not sure Jonas can anymore either mind), we're so static and predictable as a consequence. The frustrating thing is, we've got the personnel to still play like that, yet we don't. Gouffran and Ba is a fairly like-for-like switch in that wide forward area, while I thought Jonas was great as a box-to-box midfielder I think Sissoko could do it even better and Debuchy is a massive improvement over Simpson. We've also added some pace at the back in MYM and even though HBA is out, Marveaux is a very good stand-in. Everything's there but he just doesn't seem to know how to get the balance right. I hope his mentality shifts with a clean slate and he stumbles onto the right formula next year, if we're not relegated of course.

Where did 6 minutes come from in the first place? Absolute load of crap that.

Why would you bite someone?

Chelsea have a great structure there, Mikel sits and gets a lot of second balls. Exactly what we should do with Tiote/Perch/Anita.

Reina

Oscar the giant scores from a corner.

What are you judging him on if not this season? He wasn't exactly the standout player at Ajax. You make it sound like we got the new Wesley Sneijder off them and subsequently benched him. He wasn't, isn't and never will be anything more than a fairly solid if unspectacular player. He wasn't what we needed in the summer at all, both in terms of position and required quality, and I said so at the time. I don't think I've ever seen a fan forum as gutted as theirs to lose a player (well a player signing for us). Didn't they say one of the big reasons they went on that title winning streak, was because they moved Anita to defensive midfielder? From what I read, he was no standout footballer but had become a big part of their side.

They always had a direct game plan, it was just far more focused in the second half. They stuck 2 big lads on our full backs and hit early diagonals to create one-on-one situations, picking up the second ball more often than not as they effectively had the extra man advantage in the middle (since Sissoko was pretty much operating as a striker before Shola came on).

Oh look, Sunderland scoring another long range effort.

Incredible, isn't it? I wonder what advice Pardew has given him while here? 'Put on some muscle Vurnon, try and grow a bit if you can'. I bet Anita could put together a better attacking strategy than AP.

Technically gifted, intelligent player doesn't look good under moronic dinosaur, who'd have thought it? He'll never flourish with this arse in charge, he just doesn't have a clue how to use him.

Aye, I thought so too, bar that one daft pass.

Yes where he can be more effective, dropping back into mid if necessary, with sissoko having free reign to break at will. I would have Cabaye and Sissoko alongside each other in front of a DM ( dont care who) in a 4-3-3.... basically bring Cabaye forward 10 yards where he is atm and bring Sissoko back 10 yards. Spot on. Switching Cabaye and Sissoko in the current structure would be a compromise really, having a genuine 3 suits all parties. It wouldn't be so bad with the way Sissoko's currently playing, in terms of actual positioning, but he's pretty much used as a striker. It's absolute madness.

Just still too high up, there's not enough protecting the midfield when we're against a middle 3. He's pressuring full backs and centre halves when he should be sitting in front of the other 2 central midfielders, let the wingers go to full backs. We try some modern football tactics but that oaf in charge doesn't have the foggiest in executing them.

He's delighted with the point... In isolation, it's a decent result but taking the context of the second half and our league position, it's just not good enough. This will be enough for those above him to justify keeping him, today has just papered over the cracks once again.

It's absolutely criminal.

I seriously dislike him, sheerly for what he represents in this current set-up.

Good game, scores a goal, substituted for Shola Ameobi

It's times like this that I really wish football wasn't so closed off from fans. We have a right to ask questions and people at the club should be made to answer them. Obviously the local media should be asking said questions but they have no clue.

Shola on at the first opportunity again, takes a genuinely threatening player off who's having a good game. Jonas going to left back as well, it makes me absolutely sick, I genuinely think I could do a better job than Pardew.

Has a shocker at left back last week and that window licker in charge decides it's a good idea to stick him there again.

Great first half in general, poor in the second though. That miss, just not good enough.