Hughesy

It's a fair point. You could argue that he already has got his chance. He´s been here 2 years now and for what I can tell his gone backwards the last 6 months. That´s not the sign for me that he will turn anything around no matter the reasons to it. I think there is no coming back. Had his chance? Priceless.

That goal was truly exceptional. Watched it again to check how good it really was and it was even better than I remembered. Don't think I have seen a better struck overhead kick.

I'm waiting to see how long it takes someone to mention Hayden Mullins.

Very true. I find the scrutinised and highly detailed stuff like Zonal Marking in turn fascinating and rather annoying in that the game has become some technically analysed to the nth degree. Sometimes I feel I'll scream if I see another chalkboard with 500 lines on it. Some of those chalkboard analyses can be brilliantly informative, but there have quite a few I've seen where the conclusion is somewhat stretched from the actual evidence. Usually to suit some sort of agenda.

Would be nice to hear more songs for individual players that are original. I am always surprised at the lack of originality of most team's songs really.

I feel oddly disengaged from it all this year which I put down a bit too a) the Olympics and b) the disappointing transfer window. I still try and get to as many matches as I can and, if I can't, I will always try and watch the matches on the internet, but I haven't been as excited by it as before. Although, as has been pointed out, it isn't as if we have been fed a diet of regularly exciting football for the last 25 years - so I do wonder if expectations (including my own) rose as a result of last season and the hope that we would kick on.

He scored a winner yesterday and played Carroll through for a 1 on 1. No idea what Cabaye did. Nolan's goals will keep West Ham up. Same as his goals helped them get promoted last year so he's far from "extremely limited". I shouldn't need to say what he did for us. He has a role in lower to mid table team and is a good player at that level. But I'm afraid he is a limited footballer. He is slow, unfit and not that good technically. What he has in his favour is that he is positionally good and is a good finisher. But where do you play him? He can't play in a midfield two. You have to build a team around him and hope that his 10 goals is worth it. If we had a manager who could operate different formations/systems he'd be a very useful player. Most teams rotate their system and certain players for certain games but we either don't or can't. We're as predictable as any team in the league at the minute and our only plan B is bring on Shola. Having a different game plan as a plan B seems like a luxury when it's the norm at most clubs. How many people, without irony or sarcasm, though Nolan would score yesterday? The pre-match thread is full of that and he's still written off despite doing what we all said he'd do. Not sure any club would want to give their 29 year old Plan B a five year contract with wages of 50k a week.

Nolan's just far more suited to that style of play. He's physically superior too. Well - he is stronger and he has a bigger arse. Not sure if that makes him physically superior as I imagine that Cabaye is quicker and fitter.

He scored a winner yesterday and played Carroll through for a 1 on 1. No idea what Cabaye did. Nolan's goals will keep West Ham up. Same as his goals helped them get promoted last year so he's far from "extremely limited". I shouldn't need to say what he did for us. He has a role in lower to mid table team and is a good player at that level. But I'm afraid he is a limited footballer. He is slow, unfit and not that good technically. What he has in his favour is that he is positionally good and is a good finisher. But where do you play him? He can't play in a midfield two. You have to build a team around him and hope that his 10 goals is worth it.

To compare Nolan to Cabaye is embarrassing. We've had this debate before. Nolan is an extremely limited player who will score 10 goals a season. Other than that, he offers little.

So want him and steven taylor to score against the mackems just so the o'brien song has 2 extra verses.

I didn't think he played too badly yesterday. Seems to have been made into a bit of scapegoat at Liverpool. An in-form Jose is a far better LB than Martin Kelly.

My main gripe is that Sterling gets off scot free for his appalling tackle on Cisse and then his lash out at Simpson and Colo gets a straight red.

Spot on. It was a brainless pass from cisse in the first place. He had time and space and no need to play the ball straight back to jonas - who was under far more pressure.

Contact with the ball doesn't mean it wasn't a foul. That's the crucial issue. He just nicked the ball but caught Sammy on the follow through. That's what caused Sammy to lose balance and tread on the ball. Otherwise he'd have kept possession, and usually refs call that a foul. Either way, we can't blame Sammy. Exactly how I saw it. Would have been a foul anywhere else on the pitch.

Contact with the ball doesn't mean it wasn't a foul.

I dare say we would have done the same to them if we were at home and the dominant team. Like last season.

wtf do you want HBA to do, when your team is defending and under the cosh from the opposition, just let HBA run around trying to look busy making no attempt and having no desire to win the ball back? all because " im suppose to be an attacking player" what kind of excuse is that? so players that get played outwide aerent suppose to help out and track back? when the team is under pressure? and dont forget, when he did have the ball today he did jack s*** with it apart losing it from hogging the ball to long, he had team mates beside him waiting, begging for him to make that simple pass to them. What did Laurent Robert do "when your team is defending and under the cosh from the opposition"... f*** all. Even Bobby Robson said it was a bit annoying but what he gave us going forward more than made up for it. Now I'm not for a second suggesting that Ben Arfa should be as lax defending as Robert was, but surely Pardew can find a happy medium in there somewhere? At the moment he is being completely wasted. laurent Robert you use him as an example? Happy medium how? ok you're Alan Pardew, and Danny Simpson is getting smashed, pillaged, over-run by 2 lfc players their left wing leftback. "Hey dont worry Hatem you just let your 9 outfield teamates run their socks off and get their shorts dirty. but you boy you just stay up there and wait for the ball to come to you because you're so special, like Laurent Robert under Sir bobby" do me a favour. Wasn't he meant to be playing as a wide forward? He shouldn't have to be doing any defending at all from that position. A 4-3-3 should turn into a 4-5-1 when defending. So yes - he should be defending. No winger should let the opposition full back and winger double up on your own full back. He was not playing as a winger, that's what I just said. I can't say I've noticed Hazard, Podolski, Gervinho, Silva, Tevez, Oscar, Walcott or any of the other wide forwards in the Premier League spending most of the game on the edge of their own box doubling up on another team's wide forward, you've obviously been paying more attention than me. He looked like he was playing as a winger to me? We weren't playing a system that had 3 forwards and allowed them to do no defending. I can't think of many teams that do.

wtf do you want HBA to do, when your team is defending and under the cosh from the opposition, just let HBA run around trying to look busy making no attempt and having no desire to win the ball back? all because " im suppose to be an attacking player" what kind of excuse is that? so players that get played outwide aerent suppose to help out and track back? when the team is under pressure? and dont forget, when he did have the ball today he did jack s*** with it apart losing it from hogging the ball to long, he had team mates beside him waiting, begging for him to make that simple pass to them. What did Laurent Robert do "when your team is defending and under the cosh from the opposition"... f*** all. Even Bobby Robson said it was a bit annoying but what he gave us going forward more than made up for it. Now I'm not for a second suggesting that Ben Arfa should be as lax defending as Robert was, but surely Pardew can find a happy medium in there somewhere? At the moment he is being completely wasted. laurent Robert you use him as an example? Happy medium how? ok you're Alan Pardew, and Danny Simpson is getting smashed, pillaged, over-run by 2 lfc players their left wing leftback. "Hey dont worry Hatem you just let your 9 outfield teamates run their socks off and get their shorts dirty. but you boy you just stay up there and wait for the ball to come to you because you're so special, like Laurent Robert under Sir bobby" do me a favour. Wasn't he meant to be playing as a wide forward? He shouldn't have to be doing any defending at all from that position. A 4-3-3 should turn into a 4-5-1 when defending. So yes - he should be defending. No winger should let the opposition full back and winger double up on your own full back.

Horseshit. Not really.

Have we had a good performance this season? We've been good in patches - but we haven't hit top gear yet. We did last season and it will happen this season.

You missed out: Good performances: nothing to do with Pardew. Good signings: nothing to do with Pardew.

Are those match stats meant to be embarrassing?

Not absolving Jonas of blame - but no idea what Cisse was doing playing it back to him in the first place when he had time and space to turn on it.

We were man. Are you f***ing blind or something or just plaid stupid?! We could barely sting 4 passes together and were outplayed by an extremely average Liverpool side. We scored just before the break but rather than come out after the break full of spunk, we came out all meek and sat back. We played so deep the likes of Cisse were operating well inside the half-way line. We weren't awful. Fact.