The Prophet

Under both managers we've had significant deficiencies. With Hughton we rarely looked like being able to take the intiative at home, our form at SJP was pretty poor. Pardew has underperformed against mid-table side. Yet they both did a steady job, that's why the summer is so important. So we're good enough to turn sides like Stoke and Bolton over on a regular basis. As it stands, he's done alright with a pretty piss poor squad.

Because people try to make out that his time here has been better than it actually has. People also try to make out is his time here has been much worse than it is, he's been decent.

I think he's had some good games personally, and generally done better than expected. An upgrade would be nice, but it's not top of the priority list IMO.

It does

I'm a fan, but it was awful defending for the first. Completely switched off.

Because it's like playing with 10 men. We'd lost our momentum before Smith came on though... Pardew's first substitute came too late, in my opinion, because like you say the momentum had begun to shift and the game was completely disjointed (due to a few injuries in a short period of time that held things up). They then made it 3-1 around 5 minutes after this, which led to my first complaint (to myself, admittedly). In fairness, he then reacts with a decent enough sub, given that Fergie had progressively got quieter as the game played out and Lua Lua would provide a good outlet with his pace and dribbling ability (which he did on a few occasions), but soon lost the plot by bringing Smith on for Lovenkrands. Ameobi was a spent force by then, as usual, so I don't see why Ranger or Best couldn't have come on for him then and there. Lovenkrands was still looking lively to me. Pardew said himself this week that Smith would only be used "in an emergency", if I remember right, and this was far from it at the time. Then I think it went 3-2 before Best came on for Guthrie, who probably was struggling by that point due to the fact it was his first game for a while after an injury, but which again proved to be a poor decision at the end of the day because it left Ameobi still toiling and we went on to concede yet another goal. Not to mention the fact that Smith was poor and Best was falling over a fair bit (despite looking lively). Basically, with the benefit of hindsight added to what I was thinking while watching live, Lua Lua for Ferguson was fair enough but came too late, I then would have brought Ranger on for Ameobi and later Best/Kuqi on for Lovenkrands, depending on what the score was by then, and hoped that Guthrie could soldier through. We might still have drawn 3-3 or even lost 4-3, but I'm more confident we would have held on with those changes. Just bizarre from Pardew, really, although the players do have to shoulder the majority of the blame - they are the ones out there struggling, at the end of the day. Fair play. While I personally wouldn't of brought Smith on, I can see his logic in a way, Guthrie was flagging and we were getting overran in the middle. I think he brought him on to be a ball winner but he just hid as usual.

Do explain

Very good, need to build on it in the summer.

Now I've switched to the working keyboard... Today was a shitty second half, but i hold the players accountable more so that Pardew. We switched off at 3-0, the momentum had gone long before smith came on, if anything he brought him on because we had no ball winners in the middle of the park. As for the job he's done overall it's been good. He's had some dodgy moments but to finish twelth is a fantastic first season back in the league. To think people would of been happy with 17th at the start of the season, some people need to wake the f*** up and look at the bigger picture.

It was a great season for us. Most people had us pegged for relegation at the start, remember? Disappointing end, granted, but 12th place is still an achievement.

Great? No, no, no. 7th/8th would have been a 'great' season. Perspective needed

Because it's like playing with 10 men. We'd lost our momentum before Smith came on though...

Bitter sweet for them really

2-0

We were cruising, then took our foot off the pedal at three? How is that his fault?

We went three up after fifty minutes, the rot set in long before Smith came on

s*** second half performance, disappointing. Happy with 12th though, onwards and upwards.

Some of the reactions in here

We're starting to get overran, not the worst move.

Splendid work!

What a finish from Downing!

Feel sorry for any sides down there, remember shatting myself around this time two years ago.