Lush Vlad

Gonna be mint in the summer when we don't sign a CB and are back to square 1. Exactly. The injury prone Taylor completing half a season and Williamson floundering about like a carp on the river bank. FFS.

Fuck sake. Brings Williamson a step closer to the team and Taylor seems incapable of staying fit. It was also a rare treat to have 3 quality centre backs vying for a start and if we progress in Europe, it's going to take its with MYM and Taylor playing every game. 3-7 weeks, he's homesick and he's gone back to Argentina.... Something tells me it's going to be nearer the 7 mark

Chants being used by other clubs shocker! You could say that about every football club FFS. Sorry we're not all spectacular wordsmiths old bean.

Fucking joke that he is saying he's disappointed with his fitness. Was saying just the other week he returned from France in terrific condition and even thanked them for the work they've done. Saying he was just lacking sharpness and match fitness. Now, he's saying he's not fit and making it sound like he's 2 weeks away. Why is there a setback every week with Hatem? I swear there is more than meets the eye with this. Stop getting our hopes up Pardew

Quality pics there Paully, you lucky fucker! Avram

Really? He's played well in the Europa and League Cup and Harper has been terrible for a season or two now. I was nervous about how he'd do in the league, but glad he got the nod over Harper. Who I later found out was injured any way.

Straight down the tunnel and was supposedly ill and feeling dizzy. I can explain that

Not seen him live for a while. I forgot how well he attacks the ball in the air. Won a lot against Lambert and really throws himself at set pieces in both boxes. Bit slow to react on the first, but it was a runner from midfield and I don't really blame him for the second. Just a quality ball after Tiote and Santon let Lallana waltz in down our left and a quality run and finish from Lambert.

I thought he wasn't as good as his previous games and he drifted in and out of the game. But as others have said his pace, movement and workrate are all top drawer. Refreshing to see him go to goal for the first as well. We're used to seeing Obertan run very fast into a blind alley and Jonas constantly cut back on himself. The stepovers were great to see and all. Pace and skill

Sliced a few kicks in the first half granted, but I thought his kicking was decent on the whole. Seemed to drill a fair few flat out of hand and got quite a bit of distance from the ground in the second half. Seemed to actually aim for someone and it was a big improvement on Krul's distribution. The throw was outrageous. Reminded me of Gomes.

He's back..... Started off charging about too much I thought and he was at fault for the second. He saw the threat developing and chose not to get across to cover. DM's should be clever enough and mobile enough to cover the flanks when it's needed. We really need him to be doing this effectively in that formation, especially when you consider how attacking our full backs are. Perhaps he needs to stay in position a bit more and he still gives fans a heart attack when he's on the ball But at the same time, I was impressed by how much ground he covered. He looked a yard quicker and seemed fitter for some reason. Put in some superb tackles and blocks and was much improved in general. Hopefully he carries on improving, as he's still short of his best.

Has ridiculously good feet for a big fella. The amount of times he has it wide on the touchline, with 2 or 3 players around him and he somehow keeps it in play and comes out the other side is unreal. Down the right flank in the second half when he just brushed that bloke off and left him on the floor. Looked like an adult playing against a kid in 5 a side

Not sure about that. It was Pardew's stock response last season as well. QPR and Everton at home are two examples that stand out in my mind. Rarely look to counter, plonk everyone behind the ball, hoof it straight back to the oppo and face wave after wave of attacks. It's scary as hell to watch Taking a lead too early seems to almost be a hinderance with AP. I don't think he'll ever change his ways on this either. But at least with the better players and the extra pace in our side, we might accidentally create some decent counter attacking oppourtunities. I felt if Metalist had a goalscorer in the side, they would have got at least a goal last night. It was evident in the first leg as well. Good, well drilled, technical side. Useless in the final third. This approach is going to be suicidal against a better attacking side.

Pretty much my thoughts on the matter. He's a bit lightweight, but he usually retains possession well and I was amazed at how much tracking he did. The miskick at the end thank fuck nothing came of that! I like him, but he wouldn't be in my strongest XI and he certainly isn't in Pardew's. He's behind Jonas and possibly even Obertan for a slot out wide and we now have Sissoko for the no.10 role. Still, he's a good option off the bench and a far more intelligent and technical footballer than Obertan or Jonas. Bonus that he's a lefty as well, just wish we'd use him more at set pieces. Cabaye's are getting worse if that's possible.

Solid at the back, a bit better going forward, still treats the ball like a bomb. With Debuchy, MYM, Santon and then a load of squad players who can cover right back, he knows he's on his way. Don't think many will be arsed to see him leave.

Yep. You'd think with his track record, he'd always check for a flag before celebrating. He's going mad for about 10-20 seconds after each goal. Then realises it's been ruled out, then kicks off. Crazy fucker.

The biggest worry for me is, I'm not sure what his preferred style is? It changes on almost a weekly basis and not necessarily for the good. There seems to be a mixture of sexy football, combined with some prehistoric, rigid dross. Aimless long ball set pieces, slow passing when on the ball and a chronic lack of movement. But recently, we've started to move the ball quite well, the new boys actually play pass and move and a lot of the hoofing has stopped. Is this just down to the new/returning players being superior to the ones they replaced? Or does Pardew trust their ability more, so he is giving them more freedom and the chance to play without the shackles on? Perhaps a bit of both, but it seems like the former to me. Someone else mentioned him getting the balance right between defence and attack. I think they're spot on with that. It seems to be one or the other and we're not particularly fluid. It's very clunky and doesn't feel very smooth the way we go through phases of play. Just all feels very unatural and we seem to struggle to get all the cogs working together. In Pardew's defence. He's put Gouffran wide left where he's not played too often and he's put Sissoko as far forward as he's ever played (I think?) They've given us another dimension going forward. He deserves credit for this and with HBA to come back in, the future looks a bit more promising. Still, when it boils down to it, I am in agreement with most of those posting in the last couple of pages. I don't think he'll ever get the best out of our players and I'm not a big fan of his. But, he's clearly here for the long term, so he'll get my backing (to a point) whilst he's here.

Solid.

Is he even back training with us? Not seen it confirmed anywhere and not been in any of the training pics has he?

Interesting to see how he sets up in the second leg now. If we were going with a 2 goal lead, I would expect 4 or 5 changes, with a strong bench. Seeing as we're going over there at 0-0, I can see him playing an almost full strength side. Could really come back to bite us if we fail to beat Southampton because of it. I'd like to see Marv, Anita and Perch start in the away leg. All of them deserve a shot from the off and I don't think any of them will play in the following league game. Does finally feel like we have a bit of depth now mind. Gouffran and Debuchy ineligible, so that's two players back in for the league and HBA hopefully returning. If we get through and keep most of our players fit. We'll be able to rotate 3 or 4 players and still have a very competitive first XI in the next two legs. As oppose to Sammy, Williamson, Tavernier, Ferguson etc. No offence to the younger lads, but most of them looked out of their depth.

Cisse getting stick on twitter seems a bit harsh to me. Scored two goals, unlucky with one and should have scored the one on one and header. If it finished 2-0, with him getting both (which it obviously should have) then the tone would be different. It would have been 5 genuine chances for him, 2 goals, 1 decent effort on his weaker foot, 2 chances he should have scored. Not really that bad for a striker is it? People go on like he's massively different to last season. He's playing pretty much the same IMO, with one BIG difference. He's not scoring the outrageous ones. All this, 'he scored with every shot' is bollocks. He'd often miss easy chances and sitters, then score an outrageous goal. Which would often mask the constant offsides and chances that he missed. Norwich was the perfect example of this and his debut against Villa to a point. I am pleased he's getting the chances now at least, as he barely got a look in with Ba at times. We're creating more as a team and the system suits him. He's an instinctive finisher, that always seems rushed and inconsistent when he has time. Nothing has changed in that regard.

I'm not sure what's worse. The horrible challenges he puts in every so often, or the way he reacts to bad/late tackles. The Suarez incident last year and against Chelsea this year, he was rolling around in 'agony' and wasn't even touched. Come to expect it with a lot of players. But if you're going to dish it out like he does, don't fake injuries and cry when you get clipped yourself. Apart from that, he's perfect.

Second leg maybe, if not Southampton. He's not even back training with us is he?

Loving this guy already. Having great movmeent and pace in the team makes a huge difference. His workrate is also outstanding, was giving Santon great cover for the first hour or so. Sissoko and Gouffran have given us a massive boost. Pardew said he wanted the new boys to hit thr ground running. 2 of them have certainly done that.