ChrisJbarnes

Fulham away in January could be a big game. Currently only 8 points behind us- thought it was more and they always improve 2nd half of the season

Couldn't put it better myself.

I just feel that game for game, point for point, Pardew has done extremely well taking all factors into consideration. Starting Obertan raises eyebrows certainly, but there might well be perfectly good reasons why he isn't doing it. We're on poor form admittedly, but I'm not sure any other managers would necessarily have us in the same position given the circumstances. A few people wanted Jol, Hughes and O'Neill instead of Pardew. Jol isn't popular with Fulham fans, O'Neill isnt popular with Villa fans, Hughes is fairly meh. Is the grass always greener? I just think a few people are quick to jump on bandwagons. If Pardew had made all his team selections, tactics and substitutions according to the general consensus on here, would we be 7th? I have my doubts. He certainly isnt above criticism but I think people on here do have a tendancy to oversimplify managing a football team. Off to bed now so probably won't reply

SOmeone just told me that he just paid for 24 tramps to stay in the Hilton for NYE. Might well be bullshit

Cant believe how fickle some people are. The poll I'm reading at the top says that 95% reckon he's been either good or excellent, and the fact is 19 games through the season we are 7th in the league with 5 points clear at the moment. A few frustrating results recently but largely a fantastic first half to the season and Pardew has to take a large amount of credit for this. Lets not forget this is despite having Simpson as our undisputed best right back and Best and Ameobi as our best strikers bar Ba. We have quality in the squad with some obvious gaps, and if we want to point fingers lets point them to those who are sanctioning the transfers. I'm as frustrated as many by some of the tactics and not playing Ben Arfa but what could just easily have happened is we attempted to pass them off the park and get strolled completely. The last time I remember a manager going with the consensus on here, we lost 3-0 at Derby. A few weeks ago some were hailing him as a tactical mastermind, tipped for England etc. etc, he's no Mourinho but I don't see a queue of big names queuing to manage us under Ashley. The realistic alternatives are going to be worse, not better. We're 7th in the league despite glaring weaknesses in the squad and Pardew has done more than enough to be given a bit of faith and cut a bit of slack given how bleak recent seasons have been.

Howay the 0-0 draw

Take him on a free to get him off their wage bill?

"Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas believes Newcastle counterpart Alan Pardew should have kept quiet after last weekend's defeat at St James' Park. The Portuguese has been firmly under the spotlight for the past week after accusing the media of a premeditated agenda against his club. Villas-Boas believes Pardew also demonstrated double standards when complaining about David Luiz's escape from a red card in Chelsea's 3-0 win last Saturday lunchtime. The centre-back committed a last-man challenge on Demba Ba and escaped a red card, much to the annoyance of Pardew, when only receiving a booking. But Villas-Boas said ahead of Monday's match with Manchester City: "Nobody tried to focus on the fact that maybe Demba Ba was offside in the David Luiz challenge. Nobody took that option. "They all wanted to give him the red card straight away. Big scandal "Alan Pardew made a big scandal out of this but the guy is offside. "Maybe the linesman should have done his work - and maybe Pardew was lucky! "He even got a free-kick which Ryan Taylor could have scored from, and I got a yellow card and a player suspended. "So maybe, now, I should get the player and the card rescinded, because it was an offside the linesman didn't give. "And this is the same manager who got a (controversial) penalty at Old Trafford to get a 1-1 making a big scandal out of this. "And then it was 'It got their player (Steven Taylor) injured, because David Luiz wasn't sent off' - come on!"

Cabaye to score anytime 4/1, R Taylor to score anytime 5/1. Taylor could be good odds, no?

i hope the club made them all buy memberships

wikipedia has it down as "St James Park- which is known for sponsorship as the Sports Direct Arena". SDA doesnt have its own page.

Chris Kamara: "We'll soon know for sure if Newcastle are serious contenders... People say they are riding their luck, but anyone who saw them against Stoke City will have been given a wake-up call over how hard this team works. You can't buy team spirit and desire like that. The next three games will tell us a lot and if they can get five points against Man City, Man Utd and Chelsea then I'd say they are contenders for the top four alongside Arsenal who seem to have got themselves on track again. Tottenham are in good shape too. I was with Harry Redknapp last Sunday and I knew he was going in to have his pipes cleaned out, so I was pleased his team gave him a good result."

A point would be great here. Fill the side with workhorses and cloggers and play for a point. Best and Ba up front.

Doing anything to avoid watching the game! Birmingham in 8th with 2 games in hand in the championship, and doing well in Europe. Looks like quite a turnaround!

theyve got a nice Europa league trip to Ukraine on the Thursday as well. They might be a bit flat on the Sunday. I reckon it will be a frustrating game, lets hope for a 1-0 win.

Yes when I see him on the pitch what I feel is a Lahm . More of a lamb

Tiote to pick up his first booking of the season whilst negotiating for his visa

I bet he still manages to find a way to get a booking first game of the season!

replacement: Joe Kinnear: "If we have any more full back injuries, Chris Hughton and I will have to play. We were not bad fullbacks in our time" or something to that extent

For me, Ashley has had several (feeble at best) "excuses" as to some of our recent failures. The Keegan Fiasco- inexperienced, made a mistake. Relegation- unforgivable but he thought we could stay up with the players and make a permanent appointment next season. sacking Hughton- obviously wasnt the manager he wanted long term. He's had several "last chances", but this transfer window for me is surely the last of last chances. He has picked his own manager, he's got money in the bank from Carroll's sale and the club is in a more stable financial predicament with high earners Nolan and Barton heading off. He has absolutely no excuses if he fails this time. He has just under 1 month to buy some more of my patience. In this month, he must assemble a team that is capable of competing at a decent level (consistently top 10) in the Premier League. If we manage to sign these players on free transfers then so be it. If we manage to promote youngsters and they are capable of performing then so be it. At the moment, our squad is threadbare, and if Barton and Enrique are to leave, Ashley will have to fork out for arrivals. If he doesn't, then I will be firmly in the Ashley out camp come September 2nd.

The judges deemed Barton's acts to be deserving of a custodial sentence, but not Thompson's. Like I say, not going to defend either of these people given that they are both footballers in the public eye doing awful things, but perhaps the tabloids have made the acts done seem worse relative to his sentence.

Now, Im not sure about the actual specifics of the crime (I'm wary of media bias given it was from the daily mail) but there could be an argument that stubbing a cigar out in someones eye, and going to prison is worse than what this guy has done.

miserable bastards. this is an opportunity for some of their younger players to get some competitive experience and they deny them that because of one big chip on their shoulder.

your probably right