themanupstairs

Would they take Guus Hiddink on as manager? If they do, they can be a bit special in 3 yrs time.

I quite like Dimitri Payet. Plays for St Etienne. Made his France debut recently against Romania. Exciting little winger/playmaker. Can hit free kicks too.

Good to see Dan Gosling in the training pics

Jose ITK fock me

If Keane was making a step up by joining us, (i.e. coming from a lesser form team), I would take him. I wouldn't take a Robbie Keane coming from Spurs though.

AC will get done by Spurs. If their form dips, it will dip in the league, but they will dispatch Milan without many problems imo. One tie i'm willing to put big money on.

better than getting rick rolled

best idea ever

What we saw out there was Chris Hughton's personality that has clearly rubbed off on the players. CH is a dignified man, and the players did the dignified thing by coming out and playing like they were behind Pardew. The new manager was spot on in saying some of them could well have hidden or not played for him. They didn't. It was like they asked themselves, "What would Hughton do?".....and duly put a poor (but resurgent) Liverpool outfit to the sword. (as poor a Liverpool side as I can remember seeing in the PL). What has impressed me about Pardew is that he has not pretended to be oblivious to the vitriol being written and spoken about him and the entire situation. Has probably been more humble about it than I expected him to be. You can see his jitters in his interviews so far, where he has fumbled with words and mispronounced. He will grow in confidence provided he focuses on results and results only. I can't see him stamping his mark on the team though until the wretched window is shut end of next month. Absolutely buzzing with this win as i was sat among 3 fellow supporters in a pub packed full of scouse fans. Nothing more pleasing to me than NUFC sticking it to this lot.

Captain fantastic! Nolan is the most effective club captain we have had in a long long time. Has grown on me so much compared to a year and a half ago. Absolutely vital to this football club at the moment.

Tell you what, this kid just needs a goal from somewhere, and he will explode into life - so to speak. At some point he was in the pen area, with his back to goal, had 4 red shirts around him, and he was itching to turn and lash it into the top corner, but instead he dallied and lost the ball. Once he gets the composure and confidence to turn and get the shot off on instinct, rather than wait, he will come good.

still think he's better off coming on as an impact sub. His introduction won the game. For the time being, he shouldn't start so as not to think he's "made it".

:smitten: :smitten:

Happy Birthday Chris Hughton. All the best wishes for every success in the future. Legend!!! :indi:

Nolan signed after Keegan left!!! JFK brought him here

Just seen the press conference for the first time. I must say, if anything, it made my opinion of Pardew even lower than it was already. He's an ineloquent chancer who doesn't even have the presence of mind to get names right. It looks to me as if he is obviously lying when asked about his relationship with DLl. And that accent ..... In conclusion, I doubt this waste of space will last 5 months let alone 5 years. He will have his work greatly cut out to convince me he's anything but a slimey impostor. Pardew Out!!

noticed that as well, but that isn't a shocker really, quite normal tbh. Just lost their coach Well obviously you're right. I'm stupid

Just had a look at the training photos with PB. Not so much as a fucking smile in sight. Actually, Best was smiling in one photo, probably knowing he'll get a game due to certain southampton connections anarl

who's done that like? A few around here, a few around me as well.

It's not about Pardew! Yes he is an odious character who's full of himself, and by most accounts isn't too special a football manager. My gripe isn't with him. My gripe is with the decision making and planning process that led to the identification of Pardew as a serious candidate (serious enough to have been mentioned since October), the sacking of Hughton, and the release of such a ridiculous statement from the club. Alan Pardew is not welcome here because that decision making and planning process is not welcome here. Ashley's way of doing business (if this is it) is not welcome here. The lot of them can f*** off. Including those who babble on about supporting this sorry excuse of an appointment.

Anal Warped none the less. Has Anal W. Raped been done?

Bizarro world, twilight zone &c. Nothing as bizarre as slaughtering the bloke before he's even earned the right to be slaughtered. And yes, I like most have grave reservations but - give him a f***ing chance. He has already earned the negativity by default when he accepted to negotiate and agree a contract behind Hughton's back. Shows you what kind of people Pardew and Ashley are. f*** the lot of them. This time, Pardew is guilty until proven innocent. He will have to earn the support.

This bit is interesting. The manager is the most important person at a club, but shouldn't be the most powerful. The owner(s) should be the most powerful person at any club, and rightly so. However, how much authority you delegate to the manager and in our case where we have a GM style chairman in DL, should give way to creating the right balance to run a football club effectively and in a "footballing" way. I don't see this happening with Ashley unfortunately, no matter how good his intentions may be.

Also, this sort of plan eliminates the important required factor of longevity. That, and basically consistency, in football, are crucial to building success from the bottom up. If the manager is on his toes all the time, the players will be as well, causing all sorts of upheavals. With this method, if we're comparing to the retail world, you will have a higher staff turnover rate, and lower staff retention. In football terms, that is a motherfucking recipe for disaster!!