Hughesy

You honestly agree with a statement saying Pardews now a joke? Im bloody sad if thats now our fans viewpoint after a poor start. And people were amazed hes our 3rd longest serving manager in recent times Whats amazing about it? I'm not arguing with someone who doesn't appear to have eyes. He's bang-on tbh. Pardew's a loss away from 'Pardew Out' threads at the moment, which would be ridiculous and over-the-top. Not denying that he really needs to re-evaluate his management this year, because there's been numerous occasions this season where he's done something wrong. Spot on. Some of kneejerks here are outstanding.

Appalling marking.

That woman booing with the thumbs down.. ha ha.

If anything, I think Pardew mentions the clause to shift the pressure onto Ba to declare his intentions early.

Spot on. There is no way that clubs don't know that the clause is reactivated in January. His agents will have made it known. The idea that Pards is giving away some big secret is laughable.

Only saw him in his second spell for us and he was absolutely brilliant. Goal that stands out most for me was against Palace away in 1994.

Bulking him, like Ferguson, won't necessarily make him lose pace or agility if it is done properly.

It would just be an incredibly divisive move and possibly only make things worse.

There are some pretty decent teams in this competition. I know it is obviously far more exciting when your team is involved, but it is amazing that this competition is so badly thought of. I really hope that we take it seriously if we get out of the group stage.

Peacock was quite a bit better than Howey. In fact, Peacock was massively underrated by most.

If he is persistently in breach of his contract, there shouldn't be any reason as to why he can't be fired.

Same here - had been waiting to get home from work to watch it.

I wish he would just thump it when he cuts in on his right foot on the edge of the penalty area.

Bar johnson and sessegnon, he's right. And I'm not even sure who they would displace.

Lost all respect for Roberts when he said it was ok for a showboating player to be kicked and 'taken out'. But on this subject - he is right.

Sorry - where is Shola in that team?

Yeah - I always rated Vieira higher.

I always particularly enjoy the odd rendition of 'Sunderland's a massive club'. I remember it being sung at the 1-0 away at Arsenal after the 5-1 repeatedly. Doesn't get enough of an airing..

Again - I am not sure exactly what is being argued. Clearly Zidane played in a great French team (query whether the team was as good on an individual level as the Spain team of today? They did have Guivarch up front.. ). And he was incredibly successful in that team and was, indisputedly, the main driver for that French team's success. He played with great individuals at Real Madrid, but they were never a 'team', certainly not in the way the Barca team. Essentially a team with few egos, schooled from an early age in playing a particular way, a large number of homegrown players etc. That, I would argue, is why Zidane didn't win as much with Madrid as he perhaps should have. As I said earlier, put Zidane in that Barca team and think about how much he would have won. Alternatively, put one of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi in the 'galacticos' team. Would Madrid have won more than with Zidane? Extremely unlikely.

Yeah that France team was pretty s*** tbh. He did pretty well in that French team I seem to remember... The criticism being levelled at Zidane was that he didn't win enough with Madrid.

Iniesta's close control, dribbling, passing and link up play is better than Zidane's. He's also eclipsed him in terms of domestic and international tournaments. What I loved about Zidane though was his ability to hold off players with such ease whilst playing so gracefully, he did make football look like an art. The cliche about Zidane having an aura about him is true, but he just didn't do it consistently enough throughout a season. Although when he did show up in big games he looked a class above anyone else in the world. He only won La Liga once in his 5 years there during a galactico era. Only won the champions league once aswell. He didn't carry a great team onto greatness like Xavi, Iniesta or even Ronaldinho have. Zidane never played in a team as good as the Guardiola Barca team. Put a peak Zidane in that team and who knows. Seems like an excuse to me, Zidane played with a galaxy of great players at Madrid(arguably individually on Guardiola's Barca's level if not superior) because they couldn't come together as a team is no one's fault but their own. Not sure what you are getting at - Zidane didn't play in as good a team as Iniesta/Xavi. The fact that the Madrid team didn't play as a team or weren't as a cohesive unit as the Barca team of today can't be used as a stick to beat Zidane with. Zidane wasn't responsible for the team spirit at Madrid, in the same way that any one individual isn't responsible for the team spirit at Barca.

Iniesta's close control, dribbling, passing and link up play is better than Zidane's. He's also eclipsed him in terms of domestic and international tournaments. What I loved about Zidane though was his ability to hold off players with such ease whilst playing so gracefully, he did make football look like an art. The cliche about Zidane having an aura about him is true, but he just didn't do it consistently enough throughout a season. Although when he did show up in big games he looked a class above anyone else in the world. He only won La Liga once in his 5 years there during a galactico era. Only won the champions league once aswell. He didn't carry a great team onto greatness like Xavi, Iniesta or even Ronaldinho have. Zidane never played in a team as good as the Guardiola Barca team. Put a peak Zidane in that team and who knows.

Best player I have ever seen. Just exceptional - such grace, technique and vision.

It doesn't become financially viable because one of the centre halves is injured. It does, however, become sensible.

I appreciate this is massively off-topic and that many people on this board know each other - but I find it quite weird that at any given away match, you could quite easily find yourself standing next to a fellow forum dweller and not know it. That's my thought for the day.