Alan Pardew

[JH]

WTF are you on about. Pardew stated that he had intended to swap Best for Cisse at the 60 minute mark but he was forced to go early because of the injury.

 

There was no "chuck him on and see what happens".

 

If you hate Pardew, that's fine, but don't make up senseless s**** to try and support your position...

 

I'm a big fan of Pardew

 

My first 6 words

 

That is meaningless in light of you next comment.

 

It's like saying. I'm a big fan of chocolate except for all of the chocolate taste. It like it just decides to be chocolatey without any consideration for flavour.

 

What a load of tripe

[Jayson]

I might get laughed at here but if we were to switch Santon to right-back, buy a top-class left-back, get S. Taylor back into the side fit and performing like he was and get the very best out of Ben Arfa, and man for man I believe we'd have a better 11 than Liverpool and Arsenal and would seriously compete with Man Utd and Chelsea starting 11 wise. We have that good a nucleus of a side. But our football is miles behind those sides, miles behind, miles behind even Liverpool who we are above. We have the players, the ability, but we lack the philopshy and the tactics and of course the right selection and that's down to Pardew. I believe with our players and the nucleus of the side, we are on the very edge of something good. We have a window of opportunity to close the gap massively. If we were to finish 4th we would be able to keep our best players and be able to sign more good players due to the huge money that would come our way, were we to qualify for the CL proper. We are 5th and I'd hate to think that right now everyone concerned with NUFC would accept that when 4th is acheievable. All we need to do is start playing more football, trust our better players and start playing our better players. To play Ryan Taylor wide right ahead of Ben Arfa at home to Villa? Howay. That's like playing Shola ahead of Ba.

 

Agree with the first part.

 

The rest is pointlessly negatively biased against Pardew. We lack the tactics? 5 CS from 8 games before today? We lack the right selection? Pardew replaced Ben Arfa with a guy who helped us win the game, which you then complain about afterwards.

 

He is the single reason we have bought both of the lads who scored goals for us today & much of the rest of the side has improved. Yet i still sense little but "this could be done better" from all of your posts.

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

Today wasn't a game suited to Ben Arfa. If we'd been chasing the game and hadn't used up our substitutes I would have imagined Ben Arfa would have come on. Ben Arfa can create something out of nothing but he also loses the ball quite often. With Aston Villa hitting us on the break with pace it would have been very risky to have Ben Arfa on, especially when his ball retention isn't great.

 

As for Pardew, keep up the good work!

[TRon]

I might get laughed at here but if we were to switch Santon to right-back, buy a top-class left-back, get S. Taylor back into the side fit and performing like he was and get the very best out of Ben Arfa, and man for man I believe we'd have a better 11 than Liverpool and Arsenal and would seriously compete with Man Utd and Chelsea starting 11 wise. We have that good a nucleus of a side. But our football is miles behind those sides, miles behind, miles behind even Liverpool who we are above. We have the players, the ability, but we lack the philopshy and the tactics and of course the right selection and that's down to Pardew. I believe with our players and the nucleus of the side, we are on the very edge of something good. We have a window of opportunity to close the gap massively. If we were to finish 4th we would be able to keep our best players and be able to sign more good players due to the huge money that would come our way, were we to qualify for the CL proper. We are 5th and I'd hate to think that right now everyone concerned with NUFC would accept that when 4th is acheievable. All we need to do is start playing more football, trust our better players and start playing our better players. To play Ryan Taylor wide right ahead of Ben Arfa at home to Villa? Howay. That's like playing Shola ahead of Ba.

 

I agree with the gist of this, although I realise it sounds like we are picking faults for the sake of it because at the end of the day it's hard to argue with results. I would love to see what we would look like with another full back like David Santon in the side as the difference he has made to our football is pretty significant. I thought tooj had a point as well about we have the players to play a similar game to Swansea, but that needs work on the training field for a manager to build the side's pass and move philosophy. Maybe with Tiote and Cabaye back in the team we'll be able to see it take shape.

[Gallowgate Toon]

I don't completely agree with his current footballing philosophy, I don't think he's getting the very best out of the team, I don't like the way he's treated HBA, I find his cautiousness incredibly frustrating at times but I simply have to applaud him in the end, as he's getting fantastic results and has made the season memorable. Well done Pards.

 

yeah i think we're a bit lucky Best got injured. And Raylor to an extent, as though Obertan was mostly crap he did inject a bit of pace into our game. Similar thing happened with Ben Arfa vs QPR.

 

Would like Pardew to be a bit braver in his decisions from now on rather than letting circumstance or luck (good and bad) dictate the difficult decisions.

 

He's certainly not as ballsy as he once was but I think he's simply stumbled onto a formula that's gotten results and has stuck with it. We could definitely still have gotten the results we have, playing some more expansive football and that is frustrating but ultimately hard to argue against. I'd like him to play Ben Arfa in a 4-4-2 to supply the 2 lads up top, I think it would work a treat, especially at home but I doubt we'll ever see that.

 

Dont see how thats definate atall. For all any of us know Pardew has been getting the best out of what he currently has available. Ben Arfa is a class player, but he is up and down at the moment & his replacement today helped us score a goal in a game we won by a single goal.

 

Its all wishful thinking when people argue with Pardews decisions and style of play.

 

Utilised the best they can? We have numerous players in our squad that have been brought up with a specific footballing philosophy, a lot of them have played in teams that were based around pass and move and performed very well indeed (some of them championship winning sides or ones in European competition). You're telling me out of the likes of: Coloccini, Santon, Jonas, Tiote, Cabaye, Guthrie, Ben Arfa and Ba, we couldn't have got some efficient pass and move going? Some proper movement and fluidity between the front 5/6? Successful play built through midfield?

 

It's a bit shit watching these guys who've played in far more technical leagues, for far more technical teams, hoofing the ball around, when they could be so much more. Who's to say that if we'd gone for a more attacking line up today, we might have won by 3 goals, instead of scrapping with just 1?

[thomas]

Today wasn't a game suited to Ben Arfa. If we'd been chasing the game and hadn't used up our substitutes I would have imagined Ben Arfa would have come on. Ben Arfa can create something out of nothing but he also loses the ball quite often. With Aston Villa hitting us on the break with pace it would have been very risky to have Ben Arfa on, especially when his ball retention isn't great.

 

As for Pardew, keep up the good work!

I get the feeling Pards is a lot more comfortable with the idea of Ben Arfa being on the pitch when one or both of Tiote/Cabaye is behind him for precisely that reason.  Like you say he's capable of individual moments but he's going to shine with players who show for the ball and make space better than, with all due respect, guthrie and perchy. 

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I might get laughed at here but if we were to switch Santon to right-back, buy a top-class left-back, get S. Taylor back into the side fit and performing like he was and get the very best out of Ben Arfa, and man for man I believe we'd have a better 11 than Liverpool and Arsenal and would seriously compete with Man Utd and Chelsea starting 11 wise. We have that good a nucleus of a side. But our football is miles behind those sides, miles behind, miles behind even Liverpool who we are above. We have the players, the ability, but we lack the philopshy and the tactics and of course the right selection and that's down to Pardew. I believe with our players and the nucleus of the side, we are on the very edge of something good. We have a window of opportunity to close the gap massively. If we were to finish 4th we would be able to keep our best players and be able to sign more good players due to the huge money that would come our way, were we to qualify for the CL proper. We are 5th and I'd hate to think that right now everyone concerned with NUFC would accept that when 4th is acheievable. All we need to do is start playing more football, trust our better players and start playing our better players. To play Ryan Taylor wide right ahead of Ben Arfa at home to Villa? Howay. That's like playing Shola ahead of Ba.

 

Agree with the first part.

 

The rest is pointlessly negatively biased against Pardew. We lack the tactics? 5 CS from 8 games before today? We lack the right selection? Pardew replaced Ben Arfa with a guy who helped us win the game, which you then complain about afterwards.

 

He is the single reason we have bought both of the lads who scored goals for us today & much of the rest of the side has improved. Yet i still sense little but "this could be done better" from all of your posts.

 

If he played Ben Arfa and Cisse from the start the crowd would have been jumping before a ball was kicked, that initself would have giving us an advantage. Outside of that, I believe with those two starting we would have ran them raggid from the start and would have went on to win comfortably rather than hanging on which is what we did. The last 10 minutues were nail bitinggly hard to endure yet we could have made it far easier for ourselves.

 

Anyway, for me, Pardew's biggest problems lie with tactics, he's bascially not very good in this critical area, and his football philopshies which will mean for us that the likes of Ben Arfa will see less action than the likes of Ryan Taylor. I guarantee McLiesh was far happier to see Taylor playing than Ben Arfa, and N'Zogbia too.

 

As for signing players, he has no real say on who we sign, he will have a say on what position needs strengthened but not who we sign.

 

Lastly given our position I know my criticisms will seem a tad churlish and extreme given where we are at but when I see such a talented bunch of plauers play basically shitty long ball footy and see bad tactics and team selections on a regular basis, I won't like, these things alarma me and massively so.

 

If we were a car we'd look good but dont drive half as well as we look. Tune things up however....

[Guest gggg]

Just read the first few pages, laughable really.

 

Would be no different if we sacked Pardew and appointed Phil Brown.

[Guest hatem garrincha]

Today wasn't a game suited to Ben Arfa. If we'd been chasing the game and hadn't used up our substitutes I would have imagined Ben Arfa would have come on. Ben Arfa can create something out of nothing but he also loses the ball quite often. With Aston Villa hitting us on the break with pace it would have been very risky to have Ben Arfa on, especially when his ball retention isn't great.

 

As for Pardew, keep up the good work!

 

I was with the benching of Ben Arfa today after his last two games but I really don't understand the "today wasn't a game suited to Ben Arfa" stuff  each time he's not playing (and NUFC wins) 

 

 

[Guest Howaythetoon]

By the way I enjoy us winning but do not enjouy our performances or our football. In the main, we have performed poorly this season with some really shitty performances. QPR at home as Allardyce esque for example.

[Dave]

Just read the first few pages, laughable really.

 

Would be no different if we sacked Pardew and appointed Phil Brown.

 

Yep.

[Tooj]

Aye, yet to see this new brand of football talked about in the summer.

[Skeletor]

The QPR game certainly wasn't Allardyce-esque. Some of our best possession football that match.

[Tooj]

The QPR game certainly wasn't Allardyce-esque. Some of our best possession football that match.

 

It was before Ben Arfa came on.

[Guest neesy111]

The QPR game certainly wasn't Allardyce-esque. Some of our best possession football that match.

 

It was before Ben Arfa came on.

[NG32]

By the way I enjoy us winning but do not enjouy our performances or our football. In the main, we have performed poorly this season with some really shitty performances. QPR at home as Allardyce esque for example.

 

QPR home, won the game with most of our best players missing.

 

Lets start to judge when Pardew has BA, Cisse, Tiote, Cabs, Colo, S Taylor (next season) all on the same pitch.

[Sifu]

Today wasn't a game suited to Ben Arfa. If we'd been chasing the game and hadn't used up our substitutes I would have imagined Ben Arfa would have come on. Ben Arfa can create something out of nothing but he also loses the ball quite often. With Aston Villa hitting us on the break with pace it would have been very risky to have Ben Arfa on, especially when his ball retention isn't great.

 

As for Pardew, keep up the good work!

I get the feeling Pards is a lot more comfortable with the idea of Ben Arfa being on the pitch when one or both of Tiote/Cabaye is behind him for precisely that reason.  Like you say he's capable of individual moments but he's going to shine with players who show for the ball and make space better than, with all due respect, guthrie and perchy. 

 

Hmmm, think that's a reasonable assessment actually.

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

Today wasn't a game suited to Ben Arfa. If we'd been chasing the game and hadn't used up our substitutes I would have imagined Ben Arfa would have come on. Ben Arfa can create something out of nothing but he also loses the ball quite often. With Aston Villa hitting us on the break with pace it would have been very risky to have Ben Arfa on, especially when his ball retention isn't great.

 

As for Pardew, keep up the good work!

 

I was with the benching of Ben Arfa today after his last two games but I really don't understand the "today wasn't a game suited to Ben Arfa" stuff  each time he's not playing (and NUFC wins) 

Not suited as in if he kept losing the ball it puts a lot of pressure on us when the opposition team are hitting us on the break with pace. If Ben Arfa is running forward the rest of the team will race forward to support. If he loses the ball we're out of position and having to sprint to get back.

 

I bet Obertan starts on the right next week to go up against Bale. Obertan has the pace and work ethic to chase Bale. I doubt Ben Arfa will be trusted to do that.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

By the way I enjoy us winning but do not enjouy our performances or our football. In the main, we have performed poorly this season with some really shitty performances. QPR at home as Allardyce esque for example.

 

QPR home, won the game with most of our best players missing.

 

Lets start to judge when Pardew has BA, Cisse, Tiote, Cabs, Colo, S Taylor (next season) all on the same pitch.

 

We've had our best side out many a time this season and still hoofed it long. Our performance against QPR was shocking in the main. The worst I have seen us was at home to Bolton. Jesus that was tough veiwing.

[Cajun]

24 games in, 5th place and still some trying to find reasons why we are doing well despite Pardew

[Jayson]

I don't completely agree with his current footballing philosophy, I don't think he's getting the very best out of the team, I don't like the way he's treated HBA, I find his cautiousness incredibly frustrating at times but I simply have to applaud him in the end, as he's getting fantastic results and has made the season memorable. Well done Pards.

 

yeah i think we're a bit lucky Best got injured. And Raylor to an extent, as though Obertan was mostly crap he did inject a bit of pace into our game. Similar thing happened with Ben Arfa vs QPR.

 

Would like Pardew to be a bit braver in his decisions from now on rather than letting circumstance or luck (good and bad) dictate the difficult decisions.

 

He's certainly not as ballsy as he once was but I think he's simply stumbled onto a formula that's gotten results and has stuck with it. We could definitely still have gotten the results we have, playing some more expansive football and that is frustrating but ultimately hard to argue against. I'd like him to play Ben Arfa in a 4-4-2 to supply the 2 lads up top, I think it would work a treat, especially at home but I doubt we'll ever see that.

 

Dont see how thats definate atall. For all any of us know Pardew has been getting the best out of what he currently has available. Ben Arfa is a class player, but he is up and down at the moment & his replacement today helped us score a goal in a game we won by a single goal.

 

Its all wishful thinking when people argue with Pardews decisions and style of play.

 

Utilised the best they can? We have numerous players in our squad that have been brought up with a specific footballing philosophy, a lot of them have played in teams that were based around pass and move and performed very well indeed (some of them championship winning sides or ones in European competition). You're telling me out of the likes of: Coloccini, Santon, Jonas, Tiote, Cabaye, Guthrie, Ben Arfa and Ba, we couldn't have got some efficient pass and move going? Some proper movement and fluidity between the front 5/6? Successful play built through midfield?

 

It's a bit s*** watching these guys who've played in far more technical leagues, for far more technical teams, hoofing the ball around, when they could be so much more. Who's to say that if we'd gone for a more attacking line up today, we might have won by 3 goals, instead of scrapping with just 1?

 

I agree thats possible for our future. Atm out of those players Santon is only now looking like that position is his, Jonas's form has been up and down, Cabaye is also newer to the league & struggled to find space earlier in the season, Guthrie is only recently improving & Barfa is up and down/coming back still from his year out. I dont think theyve had time or the experience so far to become that side yet.

 

In the 2nd half today when they dropped off id say we did have some nice pass & move going which Guthrie largely dictated. Long ball is just another tactic we are able to deploy with two big lads. We might have won by more with Barfa yeah, we might have lost also. There are reasonable arguments for both but i dont think ppl should argue with a successful decision in the pure hope that it couldve been better.

[Dr Venkman]

Fwiw I think he intended to get us knocking it about on the floor a bit more but started by making us solid. As the season has gone on it's looked like if we stay solid we'll win because Ba always fucking scores (Norwich is a perfect example of this, if we defend to a reasonable standard in that game we take three points because Ba had two chances and scored the both)

 

So he's reassessed (sp?) the priorities and come up with 'be very hard to break down, get the ball to Ba'. Now that we've got Cisse as well I think it's gonna be the same philosophy but with two clinical strikers to aim for.

 

Whilst I was concerned by how easily Villa went through the middle of us today we all know why that was.

 

In light of all this it's pretty hard to argue with Pardew's philosophy at the minute. Whether he tries to improve our football next season remains to be seen but I've got a feeling he will. For now though it's whatever works, we're a point behind 4th ffs.

[ponsaelius]

By the way I enjoy us winning but do not enjouy our performances or our football. In the main, we have performed poorly this season with some really shitty performances. QPR at home as Allardyce esque for example.

 

QPR home, won the game with most of our best players missing.

 

Lets start to judge when Pardew has BA, Cisse, Tiote, Cabs, Colo, S Taylor (next season) all on the same pitch.

 

We've had our best side out many a time this season and still hoofed it long. Our performance against QPR was shocking in the main. The worst I have seen us was at home to Bolton. Jesus that was tough veiwing.

 

We haven't played Bolton at home yet?

[Pilko]

Aye, yet to see this new brand of football talked about in the summer.

 

You must have missed quite a few of our games then.

[Sifu]

http://i.imgur.com/xK9QL.png

 

Love Pardew me.

 

A point behind 4th

 

Can't be said enough for me, all credit to Pardew and the lads.