NUFC_Sam

“Am I confident (of retaining Cabaye)? No. I don't think any team not in a Champions League position, or fighting for a Champions League position, would be different.”

I'm not saying we will get in the Champions League, but we're 7 points off of 4th so arguably we can still fight for the place. What a negative cunt. I hate the prick.

It's quite simple really. If PSG match the evaluation that Ashley has of Cabaye then he'll be sold. I imagine Ashley will want to sell Cabaye for around £20m+ and then try and get someone like Cabella for around £12m and then he'll do whatever he likes with the profit. No doubt pocket it and we certainly won't see the full fee reinvested.

In an ideal world, we would be holding onto players like Cabaye and improving the squad with players like Cabella, not side stepping/taking a step back. Fucking MA.

are we even sure there are two nicollins

I think there is about 18 now

Not in Abu Dhabi it seems. More concerned than about Cabaye. I f***ing love Hatem.

Seen twitter rumour that he was given permission to miss trip to visit family

I'm not sure what he's expecting from Shola. His contribution is minimal, I'd sooner have Cisse on as much use as he is right now.

Agree. Shola is a 32 year old striker who was only hit double figures in maybe 1 or 2 seasons? Fucking dreadful.

Sickening that he is getting 10 minutes each week. Start him ahead of Gouffran against Norwich.

fucking fantastic to draw that foul. Unreal.

Nothing to debate, should start ahead of Shola even if he has a broken leg. Sick of this shit.

Shades of last season that. Dreadful from the team selection to the 90th minute. Terrible.

What a stupid challenge. No need at all.

The lack of rotation given that this is our third game in 6 days is astonishing. Gouff and Sissoko must be dead!

 

Baffling isn't it, he goes on about tiredness all the time, has a chance to rotate and doesn't. I'm sure he's a bit simple.

Aye, don't know why I expect any ounce of intelligence in his team selection anyway. Absolutely awful.

The lack of rotation given that this is our third game in 6 days is astonishing. Gouff and Sissoko must be dead!

Disappointed to see Benny on the bench. Such an influential player.

I think Stoke need a new motto, something like nothing is ever our fault

 

Yes they had two players sent off and had two penalties awarded against them but if they weren't already down to 9 men they could have had a couple more players sent off and we could have had 2-3 more penalties.  If anything, Atkinson was pretty f***ing lenient towards them in the 2nd half.

Agree. Only decision that I felt was really unfair on Stoke was the Mike Williamson handball. The red cards were fair, Stoke only have themselves to blame.

Pardew cant put Hatem back on the bench against Arsenal surely.

Painful to see such talent sat on the bench for the majority of the game. Shown exactly why he should be starting every week.

No system in a game stays true to a specific formation. When you defend, the two wide men come back and you could call it a "4-5-1". When you attack, the two wide men go forward in the sense that it is a "4-3-3". The team is probably the strongest it can be (except for Ben Arfa some would argue).

Would love Iron Mike to kick the s*** into RVP

Shola starting three premier league games in a row in 2013. What a disgrace. Doesn't really offer us anything, just because we won with him starting doesn't mean he should start each game. Ben Arfa or even Cisse is a far better option.

When are Sky doing the post match interview with Timmy?

I understand what Gouff brings in cover for the full back, but I'd still be tempted to go with him centrally with Remy left and Ben Arfa right of him. I think that has everybody in their natural positions, and might mean Debuchy should show more constraint going forward, but all in all I think that would see us better off. I find it quite strange that Gouffran has been given the nod ahead of Cisse twice in a row, and is yet to play centrally, which is arguably his best position and also suits Remy and Ben Arfa better.

Would agree with you here. Ben Arfa isn't a centre forward and Gouffran played up front for Bordeaux.

One thing he had to avoid was getting sent off. He was doing alright as well. Shame.

http://i.imgur.com/DlrkqbK.png

Shame. Thought the Slovenia Norway game would be much closer than it turned out. I think Argentina will beat Peru as well.

Better player than Ben Arfa for me. Decision making, consistency, goals....f***ing immense.

Consistency? He's played 5 games for us man! Give it at least half a season.

His worst traits are probably his movement and awareness. If you watch him off the ball, his runs are so linear and unimaginative. You could argue he doesn't get a lot of service but this is probably due to his poor positioning and lack of awareness of who is around him.