Lush Vlad

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.

Didn't catch the Norwich game, but a mate who has a season ticket there said he was head and shoulders above everyone on the pitch when he came on. Despite him clearly not being match fit. Was the best player on the pitch against Reading. Scored a thunderbastard against Villa and was probably MOTM after Sissoko on Saturday. I knew he was a miss, but I was too angry with some of our tactics and selections to appreciate how much he makes us tick. Such a classy player, yet he isn't afraid to get about the pitch and put a foot in. Just wish he would stop feigning injury!

I underestimated how much we've missed Cabaye. I think Tiote may have been missing his pal as well! Earlier in the season we were playing some horible football in a 4-4-2, Cheiky didn't shine at all. The other times he's played in the 4-3-3/4-2-3-1, he's not had Cabaye alongside him. He's been out of form, but he's been trying to do too much as his partners have been Anita, Bigi and Perch. All defensive mids or mids that sit a lot deeper than someone like Cabaye. If he can be deployed in the 2010-11, 4-5-1 Tiote role, with Cabaye trying the more creative stuff and Sissoko attacking. I feel he can regain form and be an asset to the team again. Whether or not he should start Saturday is another matter. Perch has been solid enough, but I would have liked to have seen Anita get a game, especially against Villa. Seeing as he hasn't had a look in, if it's a straight shootout between Tiote and Perch. Then I'd go for the former everytime. Especially as he's up against 'Scotty' Parker. He's dominated him every time I've seen that battle live.

Yep. Few times in the channels, he would play a 1-2 and really power forward. If he can get that going in the middle of the pitch on a consistent basis, I can see him causing all kinds of problems.

I thought he did quite a lot in the first half myself its really a case of getting used to the pace of the league so he can do it consistently. Wouldn't mind seeing him swapping positions with Cabaye on the fly either. This really. I certainly would like to see him come deeper o nSaturday, especially if Ramires plays. Him and Cabaye should definitely mix it up. Once he's used to the pace of the league, I hope he'll go for more of a Diame/Yaya role, where he just goes wherever the fuck he wants he was doing that a bit at Villa. Popping up in the wide areas and almost playing up top at times. Noticably tired in the second half, but our tactics didn't help. Still can't believe we've scored from a through ball, played by someone other than Cabaye. Lovely feeling!

I'm not sure I agree with the notion putting it through the keepers legs is not a good finish? Not seen it back, but I'm sure he looks up before taking the shot? What would have been better, going across him? Massive chance of shanking it wide. Trying to place it near post top corner? Just lash it as hard as he can? There's an element of luck involved in every goal. Especially with Cisse, as he seems to struggle to score 'normal' goals or tap ins! First touch out of his feet, doesn't let the keeper get set, then slots it home. Aye, terrible finish Papiss. You must do better next time

Oh fucking hell. I'm now at the stage where I'd rather see Obertan play ahead of Jonas. He's that fucking shit. Jonas playing for the next 4-5 matches is going to be massively depressing. Offers fuck all.

Missus' family are all from sunderland, good mate of mines Dad is a Geordie, Mam's family is from Stanley but have lived down south for a while, so the accent is softer. Have mates up in Newcastle who I sometimes go to games with. Definite difference. Not saying I'd always be able to tell the difference, it would be easy enough to spot if you put the two together IMO. If I just met someone down here from the NE (excluding boro) it would be difficult for me to pick up on. But mackems certainly seem to hit the vowels harder. Or just replace them altogther with random letters.

I was hoping he was having his medical now TBH. But I can't see Pards saying much unless he's 100% sure. Especially after the Remy thing. Would be quality to see him unveiled later tonight. Come on, get him 'over the line.'

His drop in quality certainly has something to do with him trying to do too much. Not sure how much of it is instructed and how much is down to him trying to be the main man, but you can't ignore the fact he's not had Cabaye next to him much this season. He's been trying to take over the creative role and he's awful at it. Last season was stop/start due to his injuries and the ACN. If we continue with a 3 man midfield, you would think he will improve when playing with Cabaye, Anita and Sissoko. When playing with Anita, he can just go back to being a ball winner and focus on defensive duties, let Anita dictate the play and Cabaye do the business at the other end. If he plays with Sissoko, he can kind of take Anita's role, as Sissoko will be driving forward all the while, I'd assume Cabaye would sit a little bit deeper at times and Tiote won't have to push on as much. He seems to have gradually got worse ever since Pardew spoke about him becoming a more 'complete' midfielder. After the 5-0 against West Ham wasn't it? He's never going to be like a Yaya Toure or Essien. So I hope Pardew recognises this now and gets him back to playing it simple. On his day, he's the best destroyer in the league IMO. Just seems recently his day doesn't come very often. He needs to cut out on the Nicky Butt'esque Hollywood balls. A lot of our team try it though, so it's probably a direct instruction from Pardew. *Assuming we sign Sissoko of course!

Cheers for the info. Perhaps they will share the duties and switch during the game? Ba and Cisse did it a bit last season and Shola and Cisse have alternated this season as well. I can't say he stood out when we played them. But from the videos I've seen and what I saw that night, I would say he's more suited to a wide role than Ba and certainly more suited than Shola FFS It would be nice to see a bit of fluidity, intelligence and movement though. We're far too rigid and just play in straight lines and channels most the time. Assuming we sign Sissoko. I'm hoping that Marv can do a job out wide whilst HBA is still out. As he makes clever runs and uses the ball well compared to Obertan, the Ameobi bros and Jonas. Just praying we don't rely on Jonas, but he seems to be undroppable.

My cock is going to be purple tonight if all this comes off, as i will in fact. I bet Mrs.Bimpy is pleased to hear this news?!

Didn't they say this about Remy.....

Where did you read this awful news