ponsaelius

Pardew has been bigging him up quite a bit, but the only time he's got on the pitch was for 15 minutes in that godforsaken tie in Greece. Think it's even less likely he'll get tasters now that Gouffran and Sissoko (lets face it, he's to all purposes a forward option) are here. I get what you're saying, that there may be some benefit for him simply being in and around the squad but there's little substitute to playing full games.

Possibly. I'd rather just have him out on loan though. http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/u21-premier-league/torschuetzen/wettbewerb_GB21.html Top scorers for the U21 league this season, he's doing well considering comparative age and fewer number of appearances. Lots of assists too. Ultimately though he'd be better off playing week in week out in League 1 than what he's doing at the moment.

http://www.englandfootballblog.com/2013/03/04/england-newcomers-added-to-u18-squad/ Withdrawn from the under 18 squad for 'club commitments' along with an assortment of City/Chelsea/Liverpool players. U18 isn't as recognised a youth level as the others but it seems strange to stop him from playing, wonder if he's going to get a loan spell?

Ze German.

Fact is we don't create enough chances in all areas of the game and that is down to the coaching and mindset of the manager. To be honest, we weren't that bad yesterday and haven't been recently but I'm talking about overall. Am I convinced that we're seeing a long term shift? No, more an injection of impetus from the new signings IMO.

People always say stuff like this, but Championship teams repeatedly look competent in the Premier League once promoted, most of the time after not making many signings. You see equally comical Premier League defending at times. Not really imo. Most of the Championship sides that come up (so the best teams in that league) struggle and have loads of players that look out of their depth. Most of the ones that do stay up first season live off excitement and buzz of their first season back before falling again without significant investment. You could say Swansea and Norwich recently bucked the trend, but they both only have 2 or 3 players in their starting XI that were there also regulars their promotion seasons. They've rebuilt their teams to keep up the momentum. I think the jump between the Championship and the Prem is without doubt the most significant jump in the whole of the English pyramid in terms of quality. You certainly don't get such a gap between League 1 and League 2, or between the Conference and League 2 for example. The money differential has created a significant chasm in quality that was all too apparent when we played down there.

We all knew that a loan to the Championship would mean playing against a poorer standard of opposition and with more time and space on the ball. That's the whole point of the loan. He needed to be there for the last 2 seasons, but our thin squad scuppered that. It's only one game and maybe he'll struggle more as he plays, and maybe it'll turn out that the Championship is his level - but at least now we're giving him a fair chance to develop.

I'm putting a match comp together now. He really did play well. Kieren Dyer is running the game though, so pinch of salt to be taken.

Sir Ricky branching out?

Impossible to say a 20 year old kid with very few first team starts to his name has 'found his level'.

We were absolutely hopeless from set pieces for the 2 months he was out injured too. Fact is we either have nobody to take them because everybody is rubbish at them, or that our coaching and general set piece routines are absolutely atrocious. It's probably both.

Feck off! Swansea did f*** all for 40 minutes of the second half! nowt to do with laudrup - we outplayed them, missed easy chances and they got a scruffy goal at the end Don't let common sense cloud your judgement. Laudrup is 347563457324956 times the manager Pardew will ever be and he should be managing us!!!!11!!!!!!! Not on the evidence of that game. Laudrup got lucky, and you're a tool. Your lack of comprehension for sarcasm makes you look the tool, like.

More like the inevitable slip to 3rd place drew closer.

Don't really deserve it but fact is another away game where we haven't scored and lost. Depressing. Not sure what the point of making subs is now.

What a shite season.

2-0 Manure, Kagawa

Yikes, ban for oldtype if that had gone in.

Sake. Fulham are turd.

womble man

Reading little run ending now it seems.

Creative songs for individual players

Gouff mannnnnnnnnnnnnn

Very soft pel apparently.