themanupstairs

To each his own like. I'll speak for myself when I say if I were paid handsome amounts for the work I do, I'd pretty much do everything I can to remain professional in every way. I suppose some don't see it that way, especially in England where getting piss drunk and making a miserable fool out of yourself is a sign of "manliness" or some shit.

Pardew will have some selection problems if everyone's fit now. Anita seems to get used to the pace, Marveaux seems to be at full fitness now, HBA has to be played that goes without saying. Jonas, still is a very important player so it's gonna be interesting. If Jonas remains a 'very important player' in Pardew's eyes much longer I'll hold my hands up and admit he should be sacked. I am hoping the fact that he was taken off last night is an indication that he has possibly realized the detrimental effect Jonas' lack of contribution brings to the side.

No one on here gets paid obscene amounts of money to lead a glorified life as a professional footballer. If this idiot realized the privileged position he was in, he'd dedicate himself to nothing but football. If he wants to live this lifestyle, he can simply retire, get a normal job, and get pissed all he likes. You'd never see players like Messi or Ronaldo making such fools out of themselves.

What a stain this beanpole is. I really really really really hope we don't go back in for him in January. He will never fulfill that potential. Never.

He gets asked about it perhaps? Might be an attempt to prompt action from Demba's camp and not f***ing about. If we speak openly about losing him they know they can't force our hand to the maximum. However, if the 80-90k wages are true, we have a massive problem. Yes I think he keeps mentioning it possibly to keep the focus on Ba and his agents, rather than on himself and Ashley. But I also think he gets asked about it far too often. He was asked last night post-match about Ba's behavior and demeanor around the club, and if the clause speculation has had any effect on his conduct etc... Pardew was unimpressed at all by the question, and replied that Ba has been exemplary before refusing to answer anything else on the matter.

Welcome to the forum mate. Two things though: No more "m8", and I'm pretty sure that avatar is already used by someone else on here Yup! My first thought was, what the fuck is RobW doing in the football section!?

This. Fully expected to be in a right grump at work this morning, but instead I'm quite cheery despite realising I'm on post duty. Did i pass you walking down Barrack Road with a young un about 7.40 last night? Hood up? Nope! I was in the Black Garter at that time.

What last night highlighted for me was the effectiveness of a player with Marveaux's attributes spending more time in a central position, and the damage it can do. Ben Arfa is obviously superior, and should play the same role when he's in the side, especially against the "lesser" teams. There's a time to be disciplined, and I believe HBA has proved he can be, and a time to allow a master artist to just paint a beautiful picture. I hope Pardew can liberate the few creative players we have, having realized that it's only way we're going to get the best out of them.

Two good balls were played into him the way he likes it last night. One got us a penalty award, and the other he rushed his shot and it went over. He had to improvise for the other chances which isn't enough service catered to his style of play and movement. (the second one I'm on about was when Anita played it over the top to him having spotted his great run late in the second half).

I still don't see him as a pure defensive midfielder. I think he will have more to his game if he's allowed to develop in the right way. Just because he's physically strong and looks like Tiote doesn't mean he is as limited going forward. I reckon he's a better footballer by nature than Tiote, and with time I hope he will still be with us to showcase it. Superb finish. Lovely player with great temperament to boot.

Roy Hodgson? Brendan Rodgers? Sam Allardyce? http://i.imgur.com/S0W6N.gif perfect. How does it feel to be backed up by your very own smily oldtype?

I'm playing at 7 ffs. Will get my jets on at the bell and catch the majority of the first half. Better not be fucking raining.

Fucking pitiful week, as per. Fuck all apart from Michu's goals. Had him as captain, then changed it to Suarez seeing as every time RacistRat scored, I had someone else as capatin. FML I'm so far behind in every league i'm in, I no longer care about negative points. Made 3 transfers for next week bringing in Kompany, Huth, and Fletcher. Mackems play two games this week, so I've made him captain. Then he got injured against Norwich

Let's face it man, we all look forward to every NUFC game no matter what the circumstances are. There's pessimism in the lead up to the game etc.., but once matchday comes all that is forgotten and the excitement takes over. What's the point in following football otherwise?

amazeballs!

Never ever says it like it is. Always tip toeing, ooohing and aaaahring around the subject. Absolutely hate the way he phrases things.

No doubt that if Pardew isn't good enough, he should be removed from his post. Still don't know who we could realistically replace him with? If there is a manager out there, who would come in and start a new project (shudder at the RAWK terminology), then I'm all for it. Had it up to my ears with stop-gaps though, and for that reason alone I'd rather Pardew stayed and had a chance to turn it around. We must strengthen the squad before we hound out the current manager imo. Should that not happen to a sufficient degree this January, Pardew should have the presence of mind to resign.

I'm with Mole on this one. We managed to protect him last season, we can do it again this season. We'll need to carry him until we can bring in better. It's no good getting him out of the team now for someone with less experience. If we can find a significantly better centre half though, it must be a priority purchase.

48 pts this week. Alright I suppose. Drafted in Mark Bunn (good shout by whoever it was earlier) for Ruddy. RacistRat as captain, so I hope he bangs in a few. Hope Silva plays.

Home to Leeds Utd.

Juninho was electric before he broke his ankle at Athletico Madrid but he was never the same player after that. Didn't Emerson have a thigh injury or something that ruled him out of the tournament? A young Lucio as well, what a monster of a centre half he has been. Wasn't it Lucio/Edmilson/Roque Junior as your central defenders in that tournament? Edmilson! Fuck me! Weren't we meant to be going for him under fat sam?

Yup. The only thing the fans can do is turn up at the game hopeful of 3 points. It will be under the floodlights and on tv, so the crowd will be up for it before kickoff. It is then up to the team to start the game well. If they do, they will keep the crowd going. If, as you said, they wake up midway through the first half, having gone a goal behind for example, it could be too little too late. The players should be at it from the kickoff. No excuses.

f*** me, there's a blast from the past. Lovely player. One of the best players I've ever seen in the flesh. Saw him and Bergkamp for Inter way back in '94. Sosa ran the show. Lightning fast.