ponsaelius

Sigh.

Another home defeat for QPR today. What an awful appointment Hughes is looking like.

Good point and true but I can see why many people want to just deal in the absolute end result. After the shit we've had to put up with over the last 7 years or so many (including myself, even if I'm questioning Pardew more and more) are just delighted to be 6th in the league, picking up results on a consistant basis and having some really decent players in the side. For all the criticisms of Pardew's football the simple argument of 'it's only the results that matter' holds just as much weight and I can totally understand people who take that standpoint.

Juve back to their old tricks. Dispicable institution, the Liverpool of Italy.

Impossible. Italian football is slow/shit/ponderous/old/boring/catenaccio/dull/declining/tactical/rigid.

That Amalfitano fella, the technically gifted attacking midfielder. Where does he fit into our side? As one of the defensive wide players/extra fullbacks or in the midfield cage screening the back four?

It's a case of the old cliché "the best form of defence is attack". Some managers don't see to understand that and unfortunately it's becoming apparent that Pardew is one of them. A game like today against a weakened Wolves side in apparent disarray, infront of a sell-out crowd with our best team available? As far as I'm concerned for games like this you need to start forgetting about things like shape, discipline, organisation etc and start thinking about how you're going to tear the opposition apart. That means getting our best players on the pitch, put Jonas and Ben Arfa wide and give them the freedom to attack. Even when we went 2-0 up I never had any faith in us smelling blood and going for the kill like we should have done because the mentality is seemingly engrained into the team. If we went for it at that point and kept the pressure on they'd have completely crumbled. If we're attacking and dominating possession then they can't, simple as that. One of the the things I said positively about Pardew earlier in the season was it seemed like he was able to prepare differently for each game depending on the opposition and situation. Unfortunately in a lot of ways I was probably wrong. He certainly doesn't appear to know how to approach a home game against shit opposition with all of our best players available.

Playing in a cage.

Exactly. It's unbelievably frustrating - WBA at home was the same.

He's rubbish.

Was one of the worst performances I've seen from any player, anywhere in years. Amazingly poor.

Not really. More and more are seemingly happy to see the back of him because of it. Even an inconsistent Ben Arfa would offer more than most of our players given the gametime on the pitch. FFS Steve sodding Bruce didn't even have this stubborness with their equivalent down the road. I remember loads of mackems saying that Sessegnon doesn't offer enough tangible both last season and at the start of this season. He's playing every game though and eventually (coupled with getting a new guy in who is an excellent motivator and man-manager) they're getting everything out of him. This is a guy who had a similar reputation in France and I'm sure many L1 followers would argue actually didn't have the same level of talent. Even the most cynical/percentage managers in the league manage to find room for skillful players if they happen to be the best that they've got. This is a league full of cloggers and shite, we've managed to attract players who give us the edge over most sides in the league but we seem to lower ourselves to their level in terms of selections (Raylor/Obertan) and tactics (hoofing it to Ba).

Worst thing about the position he finds himself in (as a wildcard alternative to plan A) is that I really don't think he's a natural impact player even without the added problem of his injury. Sure, we all know he's very talented and can produce moments of magic but he's not say a pacey winger or a big target man say who can come straight in off the bench and offer something different to change the pattern of a game. He's not a plan B, he's a player who needs to play a run of games together in a settled system playing to his strengths then over time you'll start getting a return on what he offers in terms of vision, creativity, dribbling, crossing, ball retention (yes, he does actually offer this despite what OptaStats or Pardew will tell you) and ultimately goals/assists. You'll still get the frustrating moments but ultimately if he's on the pitch enough you'll get more out of him. Instead he's being thrown into a team that have a set routine and style of play and is asked to do too much. I don't mind him taking players on and losing it, or trying an adventurous pass - but there are some in the crowd that do and it's exagerrated because he's coming on at a time in the game where we're struggling and we're now looking at him to get it right immediately. I think the situation is completely counterproductive to getting the best out of him and an example of terrible man management. It's getting to the point where I cynically but honestly think Pardew doesn't even want to try and is engineering a situation where Hatem comes off looking worse. If Ben Arfa is coming on for 20 minute periods when we're struggling and gives the ball away a few times it gives him the ready made get-out excuse to stick to what he knows. Sounds like I'm just making excuses for the player and I'm sure there are many on here that will come out with the "gawd are you an NUFC fan or a Ben Arfa fan!?!" type comments but this is honestly how I feel the situation has arisen. I just don't buy the nonsense about him giving the ball away too much or not being able to play wide. It's all a load of shit, especially when the alternatives are Obertan and Ryan Taylor. Ben Arfa is the kind of player who I watch football for and it will make me very sad seeing him go at the end of the season, completely wasted and missmanaged. Some won't be bothered especially if the results continue to flow and we go on to a solid finish without him but for me I'll be gutted. This is a player who was desperate to sign for us and has all the attributes to be a roaring success here if managed in the right way.

Agree Parkster. Getting beyond a joke now,I've always given Pardew the benefit of the doubt all season but I said if he couldn't (or couldn't even attemp to) get us playing decent stuff in this game with pretty much our whole team available then I'd lose a lot of faith. To be fair to Wolves, they were more spirited than I expected and their 5 man midfield pressed us persistently and gave it a really good go. It's just ridiculous watching us play right into their hands, watching us hoof it up to Ba over and over hoping he can work something against their cumbersome but aerially strong defenders. Give the bloke a fucking chance man, same goes for Cisse and all our other proper footballers.

He's become a wildcard for Pardew. Somebody to throw on and hope he does something out of nothing - you can see it with the players. They give him the ball and then watch hoping he can take a player out of the game, carry it into the box or have a shot. He's becoming an outcast, a square peg in a team of round holes and as far as I'm concerned it's completely inexcusable. The blame lies solely at Pardew's feet, he should be doing everything possible to work him into the team and get the team functioning with him in it - not as a desperate alternative to the methodical hoofball we played today and have done most of the season.

That is the result that has been coming all season long. Predictable hoofball playing right into their hands. So frustrating.

Meh.

Yah, twas.

Monchengladbach winning again. What a job Lucien Favre is doing, they play great football too.

Arshavin to Zenit on loan.

Well deserved for Soldado. Nice to see Muniain in too.

£7.5 million apparently. A bit annoyed we didn't go for him at that price tbh.

Pablo Hernández? He is mint. And yet miles away from the national team. You're a sick joke.

Poor from Stoke's Brazilian fullback.

They got a thread on us being 4 and a half star on FIFA yet?