Can't believe some are knocking him for being ordinary. What did you expect from someone who we signed on a free from the lot down the road?
For me, I said it last week, he reminds me a lot of David Batty and the role he used to play. Nothing flashy, nothing silky but just a simple, tidy battler whose job is to calm things down and sweep up.When we had Batty, we had Ginola, Rob Lee, Beardsley and Gillespie being the creative players. Now, it's Cabella, Sissoko, Gouff and De Jong. I would add Anita to that list but we know Pardew would drop him when Tiote is back. Tiote is sometimes a shambles on the ball and with his passing and very rash with his tackles though.