ponsaelius

Just seen that Nobby scored again and they won. Get in Pools.

So god damn pleased with that. Brilliant performance.

AliGupter AliGupter @louissaha08 Good work making the Everton squad each week bro. #completefailure #loadofshite #overratedcunt

This was well before your time, but it was ran by a Patrick Kluivert fan who joined the forum when Kluivert signed, worshipped him like a god, completely patronised anyone who preferred Shearer, bigged up goals against the likes of Crystal Palace and Palestinian Farmers XI. The poster then left the moment Kluivert left, but every now and then if Kluivert scored a tap-in against a team of five year old children he'd come back and gloat, until one day he realised no clubs wanted Kluivert any more. That sounds genuinely frightening. Tbf, Kluivert at his best was some player. A #10 and a #9 rolled into 1.

1 letter ffs. Seriously though, well impressed by that interview. Seems an intelligent guy. Not just off the pitch, I also get the impression he's somebody who really understands the game.

I've been in his house while it was still being built like... Can't believe how good his English is in that video. He couldn't speak a single word when he arrived, amazing.

A Patrick Kluivert forum

You can always count on Rupert to march into a debate like that.

I spoke to mattis. He's quit the forum because it takes up too much of his time apparently. Still see him browsing mind.

What happened to Thespence? Doesn't post anymore.

Really?

What a misery. May aswell get that comment in while you can, 5 games into the season.

Whether it's more by necessity than choice, I'm not sure, but I think Pardew is quite enthusiastically embracing the younger players in the squad. While he's say, stuck with Raylor rather than play Ferguson...he's also been very keen to push Sameobi and Vuckic towards the first team even if he's not throwing them in at the deep end. I get the feeling he'd be happy to rely on somebody like Abeid if push came to shove, too. That and the fact we're getting people like Tavernier proper gametime out on loan, first at Conference level and now at League One. It seems a lot more streamlined and focused in this area. Which is good, I love seeing the young players get their chances. Mind, if you want to look at more cynically you could argue it's all part of the greater plan. Young, cheap with a chance for profit future profit.

Aye, fair point. Second half of the season we were missing the key player that had been responsible for the first half success. Barton and Nolan's form was linked and possibly even reliant on the success of Carroll. The team, from back to front, was basically built around his strengths. Take him out and we were a well-oiled machine missing the most important component. Not to mention the psychological blow of that sale (remember the Fulham game? first half vs Arsenal? the hangover was evident). The results weren't great but they weren't terrible in the circumstances. Even when we managed to stumble across a semi-replacement for Carroll in Best he ended up getting injured before the season was out. This is why I'm willing to give Pardew a bit of time to see how he wants to set up with the new players. Hughton built the side and had us playing a certain way, it's going to need doing all over again with the changes. We're still 1 or 2 players short of having a functioning side, mind, but lets see how we go. This is the kind of reasoning I was after tbh and you make a few decent points. Doesn't change my view much but it's better than this "Pardew is clearly a big upgrade on Hughton" rubbish. I don't think Pardew is a massive upgrade on Hughton, basically. Atleast certainly not yet. I think Pardew has done a very good job in the circumstances over the last 6 months, though. Better than I ever thought he would, which isn't hard mind because I thought he'd be an unmitigated disaster. As unconvinced as I am, from what I've seen from him I rate him higher than say Bruce or McLeish, who have bigger reputations as managers. QPR the other week had me worried, because I thought the performance looked devoid of any gameplan and Pardew's inability to fix it made him look completely clueless. However when I hear him speak about his plans for Ben Arfa as a #10, and the way he's spoken in detail about Cabaye's virtues (the nufcTV interview in particular) it consoles me and makes me thing that maybe he does have a bit more about him. Still a lot of time and games for me to formulate a conclusive opinion on him, ultimately.

Amazing.

We made Roberts look like Drogba that day.

Aye, fair point. Second half of the season we were missing the key player that had been responsible for the first half success. Barton and Nolan's form was linked and possibly even reliant on the success of Carroll. The team, from back to front, was basically built around his strengths. Take him out and we were a well-oiled machine missing the most important component. Not to mention the psychological blow of that sale (remember the Fulham game? first half vs Arsenal? the hangover was evident). The results weren't great but they weren't terrible in the circumstances. Even when we managed to stumble across a semi-replacement for Carroll in Best he ended up getting injured before the season was out. This is why I'm willing to give Pardew a bit of time to see how he wants to set up with the new players. Hughton built the side and had us playing a certain way, it's going to need doing all over again with the changes. We're still 1 or 2 players short of having a functioning side, mind, but lets see how we go.

From both managers PL evidence at NUFC I don't think there's much between Pardew and Hughton. Both average. Hughton gave me some very good memories as an NUFC fan, the 6-0, the 5-1, the away win at Arsenal. However for those games there was also the absolute abortion that was WBA away, the disgraceful Bolton game, Blackpool at home, Bolton away, Blackburn at home. I know you expect inconsistencies as a newly promoted team, but some of those displays were beyond turgid. Pardew so far has been pretty much the same in terms of return, just a little bit less of the rollercoaster. Steady but not spectacular, but he did decent enough considering he was minus a £35 million striker for the end of last season. I loved Hughton the man and was disgusted to see him sacked, but I'm not entirely convinced on his long term managerial capabilities. I'm not convinced with Pardew either, but I'm willing to see what happens over the course of this season. Many would argue that all good sides are built from the back and so far we seem solid defensively, which is something to build on. I love seeing us playing attacking football but similarly it's a breath of fresh air to see us secure at the back for once. We've got ourselves a good position in the league, still in the cup and still unbeaten. With Ben Arfa back, Marveaux being eased in and hopefully the introduction of Santon we might get more of an idea whether Pardew has more of a plan than just 'keep it tight and grind out the result' which has typified us so far. It's a test for him and the players and I'm interested to see how we do without getting carried away on Pardew's virtues as a manager.

Slovakian farmers. Same goes for Roeder.

Tbf, that could be said about the majority of English teams. Depends entirely on the context tbh. No defender is applauded for lashing it out under little or no pressure. Some players take the safety first option, some have the confidence and ability to not need to, but it's a bit short-sighted to just assume knocking it out is bad and evidence of an inferior playing culture. Yeah, that sounds about right. However, one trait I do find in this country which suggests an inferior playing culture is plenty of supporters will cheer and encourage wreckless, dangerous challenges that don't help with the ultimate purpose of winning the match.

Aye.

Santon and Vuckic to be back next week. Options increasing

He's very much a work in progress. I think he can become a good player for us though.