Stuy_O

They won 1-2 up here iirc in which we scored first with Lovenkrands. Season we dropped.

If that does happen pray to the heavens above it does not come in the league fixture after this one. Thank god there's a 2 week gap between the "United" game and the mackem one, hopefully enough time for all of the injured players to make a full recovery. Aye it's quite handy. Need the likes of Saylor playing in that one.

If that does happen pray to the heavens above it does not come in the league fixture after this one.

Not sure if already been mentioned but just noticed we're releasing a 1000 goals DVD. We've released some crap DVD's in the past but this one would be a worthy buy imo, if not for some of the nostalgia it will provoke.

Something else to ponder over I suppose rather than how shit we've been lately.

I agree with your post but Man Utd have been doing that since the premier league began and have won the Premier League 10x over. Their a bad example. The team to compare ourselves to has to be Everton, who have all the attributes you mention with limited resources. Similar to ourselves (resource wise) it could be argued.

But he's more or less refused to do it if you read between the lines. Cisse used to do more of it till he started scoring and then just took over from Ba as the main goalhanger. You can't have 2 goalhangers in the PL. Aye at the minute he's giving the impression of someone who aint really keen on searching for it thats true, but he's not getting any help from a midfield devoid of a good cross, excluding Fergie. Works in both ways I guess , just highlights the imbalance at the minute.

Service to the strikers, Cisse mainly, must be mentioned aswell. I see your point about Cisse needing to move more around the pitch but that's part of the problem for me. He relies on quality service and this season he has had precisly zero. Ba is the better all round footballer who can link midfield to attack very well.

This might sound mad but I think we miss a character that generally winds the opponent up. Not someone like Tiote or even Cabaye with his late tackles, but someone who is always at the ref's face and making his mouth go. Basically someone who senses we are playing awful and attempts to deal with it, scruff of the neck stuff. I dont see that player at the moment, not even Ben Arfa or Ba who I would say are more just wonderful individuals. Obviously this has nothing to do with the original post but thought I'd mention it.

Yep. Not that I want to be too critical - Pardew's also done a lot of good. Introduced fitness techniques that some former players scoffed at, knows how to prepare for specific opponents, organises the defence well, and gets the ball to players like Ba or Ben Arfa as quickly as he possibly can (even if the delivery or the positions aren't always the best.) I respect Pardew for that - it shows how dedicated and meticulous he is. It's an approach that cuts down on silly mistakes and makes players who would otherwise let their head drop and start making rudimentary errors play well. I'd call that The Perch effect. I'd hope, however, that we're now at the point where we can afford to ease back a bit on the safety first stuff and start building a recognisable style. Unfortunately with mid-week games now disrupting our preparations every week and no competition for places I suspect Pardew has done the opposite and has retreated even further back into his conservative style. Working on things like attacking or keeping the ball, meanwhile, has likely been curtailed further due to time constraints. That's just an educated guess, mind. Solid post. I think we're a more controlled unit generally under Pardew. The problem is this season he doesnt know his sides best formation as is struggling to fit Ba & Cisse in as a working pair. He's not getting any help with the injuries, but it also must be said that he's letting himself down with the continual awfulness of our set plays and passing. Got to get the absolute basics right first before any preferred style of play can be adopted.

I just think with players like Krul, Santon, Coloccini, Tiote, Cabaye, Ba, Ben Arfa and Cisse that 8th is an outrageously low expectation. That's 8 of your first 11, a fantastic set of players. Who are these 7 teams with better individuals? And don't forget it's NUFC who chose not to strengthen that squad because we thought we were already strong enough. Granted their are plenty of teams who can't boast such an impressive cluster of players, but the top 4 and Spurs (imo) are better sides than us with far bigger squads designed to cope with fixture pile ups. So that leaves us 6th? Well taking into account how class Everton look this season and how Liverpool will probably climb the league its not going to be that simple sadly. Those sides mentioned also have years of experience finishing in the upper half of the league, something which none of our squad boasts yet. Things like that might not be huge but they do play a part, if only a small one. In no way is this belittling your desire for a higher finish than 8th mind, last season has raised expectations and it would be excellent to see us attacking the top four again. Personally, I think given the increase in games and the limitations of the fringes of our squad, it would not be a disaster. I just want to see some cohesion more than anything, if we're talking the here and now.

Agree to an extent. I'm not sure despite one a good season we should be going away from home in the PL and beforehand reading fans commenting along the lines of "no excuses for not winning this one." Agree with that, expected it to be a difficult match. The way we went about it however was deeply annoying. Sorta agree with the post above that aswell. But regardless of personal expectations and all that, we need to start getting the simple things right. Its painful to watch at the moment yet we've only lost once.

Individualism is getting us the points at the moment and their is an element of pressure on the players to produce performances like last season on a regular basis, which at the minute we look a million miles away from. Now given what Pardew has achieved before this, trust has to be given for him and his staff to get us out of this rut we're in. He's done it before. In his defence I think his options are limited at the moment, thanks to the quite shocking transfer window just gone. Their is no freshness in the squad, just a familiar reliance on Ba / Cisse / Ben Arfa. And also, it really could be a lot worse. But Pardew needs to get the basics right, and that's where he's letting himself down at the minute. Watching rubbish set plays and passing since the season began is becoming infuriating.

Blimey. My apologies, it's just frustration. I maintain that the performance was crap, the squad investment is crap and we'd be f***ed without Ba. I'm just bored of watching my club shoot itself in the foot for the umpteenth time; all the more galling when it looks like we were on the cusp of progress. I feel your frustration mate. What concerns me is the lethargic manner in which we've approached all our games (excluding Everton 2nd half) this season. Yes we have injuries, and we also have this handy habit of picking teams off even when we are playing crap, but their is something fundamentally wrong with the way we are playing at the minute. Desire and spirit I dont think is an issue, we're in some sort of last season slumber which we need to get rid of rather quickly or we'll get thumped off someone.

Blimey.

That was QPR away last season all over again. Hope the success of the last campaign hasnt gone to these lots heads.

That attack stemmed from a horrible set piece from us.

Roberts is going to fucking score...

Wtf... who scored first?

Some decent service would be nice, we might score goals if that occurs.

Didn't realise that result wasn't still on the cards. .. you know what I meant.

These used to be the sorta games we lose 1-0. Just putting it out their.

Game is crying out for Ferguson to be on.

Fantastic post. Seconded. I don't think Pardew deserves the scepticism tbh. The guy has commited himself for the next decade almost, to try and bring us a trophy. At the end of the day he works within the parameters laid down by his bosses, the way we all do. He has been exceptional with what he has had at his disposal and I hope this new deal ensures we kick on from here... Agree with that. I still have real reservations towards our board and their true motives, but given what Pardew has had at his disposal and where we were a short while back, getting us 5th and on the verge of Champions League was quite utterly remarkable, people need to take stock and remember this. When results go bad the buck stops with the manager and his staff, so the same can be said for the contrary. We would all love to be playing beautiful football every week, but that does not guarantee 3 points. We could be more expansive and open and could suffer as a result.

Obviously I was a little shocked with the length of the deal, but I rate Pardew a lot and i'm pleased we have him. The contract length is also linked to our business model aswell in my eyes, as Pardew is seemingly the only one around who is willing to work / can put up with our current hierarchy and their reluctance to spend money on a consistent basis. Prior to the deal being offered, if Pardew had left today, who else realistically could we see replace him, given the history of our board? Names don't jump exactly shout themselves out. Given the rather annoying and frequent praise of Ashley & Llambias's methods from Pardew himself, and his excellent achievments so far with the squad, it's perhaps not a suprise after all that such a unique deal has been signed. As time goes on and hopefully results are in the main positive, it would be nice to think that some real ambitious backing is on the horizon, but that could just be fantasy talking. Who knows? 2019 maybe.