Lush Vlad

I actually liked the look of him. Mixed bag from those in the crowd, some said he was shite, some were impressed. Can cross a ball, set pieces were half decent, tidy in possession and when we weren't using the Taylor/Williamson diagonal hoof, he linked play well. Would like to see him be a bit more direct at times, as he doesn't look slow and has great ability on the ball. Could have had a pop a few times in the first half and refused the chance, should have scored a sitter as well. All in all though, I thought he was decent all things considered. If we played the 4-2-3-1 in the league, he'd have more of a chance of getting a game.

I'm finding it hard to enjoy sunderland's plight, as we hardly look much better at the minute. We really should be with the players we have, but the style of play and tactics aren't much better and certainly aren't any more pleasing on the eye.

Strange how we've pretty much exclusively played or at least started with a 4-3-3 in Europe. Granted it's been against lesser opposition, but we actually retain possession, pass it short and use the ball. All of this with our 'back up' players...... More worrying, is that Pards often says the right things in interviews. Speaking about lack of control, too direct, don't create enough, need more options from set pieces etc. But then nothing changes whatsoever and after all this time, we're still playing the same tactics as when he first rocked up. Yet we don't have the likes of Barton, Carroll and Nolan to make those tactics effective! It's frustrating, if he sees these problems, how in the fuck does he not know how to change them or at least address them? When was the last time anyone genuinely enjoyed our style of play and thought we dominated a game from start to finish in the league? I think it was Stoke home last season. Feels like a chore to watch us these days.

I don't think Diame would have took the piss and walked through the middle of the pitch if Tiote was playing today. I think people massively underestimate his contribution. Even when he's having a bad game, he presses, looks for the ball, tries to actually pass and covers a lot of ground. He can be a liability, but he's a bully and we miss him when he's not playing. Especially when we persist with this horrible formation. We bypassed the midfield a lot today, but at the same time, they were non existent for large spells. Too powder puff and lightweight.

Sorry, what? mental Is littlelunchbox Gary Birtles? Gary 'GET THE BALL IN THE BOX' Birtles. What a monumental cunt that man is.

Sorry, what?

Worryingly, didn't a load of West Ham and Charlton fans predict this? Great start, but within a season or two there will be questionable tactics and decisions and the results will drop off. Plenty said he's a one trick pony, I just wrote it off as bitterness on their part TBH. But it has to be said, their analysis looks to be pretty accurate.

I've ran out of adjectives to describe our dire performances this season. We're so fucking shite it's embarrassing. No guile, creativity or pace to our play. Everyone wants an hour on the ball. We never get into the box. We never pass it patiently in the final third. Just aimless hoofs up field to a defence that are happy to sit deep and defend against wave after wave of clueless attacks. I wonder what excuses Pardew will come up with this time?

Didn't expect him to start, but a bit of a shame HBA isn't travelling. Would have liked to see him get a cameo, although in fairness, that would mean we would be losing the game! Please Marveaux and Mehdi are in, fingers crossed they make the matchday 18. Hope Cabaye isn't risked. Elliot back fit is a good thing as well. He's looked better than Harper this season.

Stopping down near Folkestone tonight and driving over in the morning. Should get there for about midday. Already got a name of a load of bars around Eirmarkt and T'Zand to try out thanks to a helpful Brugge fan. Can't bloody wait.

In a nutshell for me, top post. Ba and Cabaye going off killed us. But despite that, we were a bit too negative for my liking. Sitting that far back and punting the ball away time and again isn't really an effective way of defending a one goal lead.

I actually thought for the last 25-30 mins of the first half, the movement was better and there was a bit of fluidity to the front three. HBA was popping up in different positions, Ba was drifting wide allowing Cabaye and HBA to advance through the middle and Cisse started to come off the line. Had them on the ropes for the last part of the half. Then Ba went off, then Cabaye and we fell apart. Trying to defend a one goal lead with less than 100 passes was always going to be a struggle. If we can play like we did at the end of the first half and on the front foot, then we'd actually get the best out of HBA. It would help the majority of the team TBH. I actually thought his defending was pretty good considering. Won a few headers, tracked back and made a few more committed challenges by his standards. But that is just not his game and I don't expect him to be doing it for 90 minutes.

Think he offers more than a goalscorer/poacher type like Bent and Owen. But ATM, he's out of form, confidence looks shot and we're not playing to his strengths. Add to that the fact he's played out wide a few times when he is in the team, or as part of a front pairing that hasn't gelled at all. You can understand why he's not shown much. Still, despite him playing badly and lacking any service, he's still bagged three goals (one was a fluke of course). He's an instinctive finisher. Let's start getting the ball to him in areas where he can flash one in. Not 40 yards from goal, out wide with nobody else near him.

Whats this about? Wireside using the word interrupt when he meant interpret on a few occassions. A few posters not grasping he clearly meant that, so some petty arguments ensued about the misuse of the word. Wireside eventually ended up saying it was because of auto correct on his phone, which was clearly bollocks. Yeah, it's funnier if you read the thread, doesn't really work this way

Slays me every time Never gets old This. One of my favourite gif's ever.

Amazing how many of them still maintain they have a 'great squad' and mention the likes of O'Shea as being proven class? It may be one of the best squads they've had in the last 20 years, but it is still far from great FFS.

I thought he was available on a free at the end of the season? Maybe they mean if we're getting him in January, and maybe by 'dig deep' they mean - relative to a typical Newcastle outlay (eg. £5-6m?)... Perhaps. Just seemed like lazy journalism to me. I don't see how they're in a position to command a sizeable fee?!

I thought he was available on a free at the end of the season?

I'm sure Brummie agrees

Outstanding :lol:

Carnage that day. Ended up about 7 rows back from my seat in L7 after the first two goals. Was shitting it beforehand, so ended up getting slaughtered. Carried on throught the day until about 9pm. Was supposed to be back at the missus' Gran & Grandad's in Seaham for Sunday Dinner at about 5. Rocked up 4 hours late chanting. They're all mackems BTW. They went straight to bed when I got back oh well. I enjoyed MOTD on full volume. They don't speak to me much any more for some reason.

On the plus side, if/when they part ways they'll be vilified by the press and armchair fans. Remember all the headshaking from people who hadn't had to watch our f***ing dire 'lose ugly' tactics when we got rid of Fat Sam? Yep. Living down south, I got it in the neck from quite a few people. Luckily, most see him for what he is. I actually tried to support him, but I remember driving up from Newmarket for the Wigan away game on Boxing Day. That was the final straw for me. Then you got everyone saying "You never would have went down if you kept Big Sam for a season or two". Well, I would take us getting relegated if it meant getting rid of that useless charlatan. Any way, back on topic. sunderland are terrible.

Flicked TalkShite on this morning. John Cross from the Mirror was basically saying similar to Brummie. Couldn't work out why he's a media darling, considering what he's actually achieved. Had a pop at his transfer policy and a bit more. Was quite refreshing to actually hear someone from the media tell it how it is. Never understood the love in for Mon.

Yep. When do we ever dominate possession as well? We rarely have over 55% at the end of games.