Ishmael

No we don't

Same for Carroll. But I understand why they are both left out and I agree with it. What a tame goal to concede.

OK, so we have settled a little and look relatively comfortable when in possession. Not sure I like how direct we are playing mind.

Plenty of pace in our forward line, which is nice. We are playing like an England side, which is not nice.

Great, this Spain team are not comfortable with the ball in defence.

... only the vast majority

Not all of it

Clear skies in Stoke

You need somebody like that in your management team, but only if balanced with an equally respected assistant who knows the technical and tactical side of the game inside-out. The partnership can work both ways.

I've grown impatient. Somebody give me Ba's current location, I'm going to carry him to St James's Park myself.

McLeish strikes me as a Pardew-esc appointment. I'd expect him to be at least competent at Villa. Agree that he's not exactly the most inspiring appointment.

I really want Sturridge to tear the Spanish a new one. Will be very exciting to see him team up with Andy Carroll next summer at the Euro's.

Would expect there to be very clever men assisting Pearce in setting the team up? I'd also expect Pearce to be a superb motivator. Friend's guess at the line-ups: de gea azpilcueta dominguez mikel san jose Jose angel valdes javi martinez parejo thiago adrian bojan mata v fielding mancienne bertrand smalling jones muamba henderson rodwell rose welbeck sturridge Anyone know if they're accurate? Looks moist.

Wait, how many players have rejected Pardew?

I think the word 'touché' is in order.

Early reports suggested it was a loan, but it has since transpired that they signed Ba on a permanent basis. I say permanent basis...

Have put a house on the Fiorentina link based purely on that ultra reliable source.

Goals, pace and presence.

http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/506323600/ted.striker2_normal.jpg The original Striker?

The optimum height for a footballer is 5 ft 7. FAKT.

I really do hope it's Moussa Sow.

I'd have been a tad worried if that first sentence had come out of Pardew's mouth.

Seemingly Loven' has been playing far too much Footballer Manager.

Casual ignorant twitter racism.

£35m for Carroll plus a proven EPL goalscorer as replacement. Outstanding. If it wasn't for the injury issue I'd be dancing on the moon.