At the same time mate, we had articles on the old 606 saying how much better Bruce was than Hughton and Pardew by the very same users who bitterly want rid of the guy now. It's a fickle old game... With regards to Ashley, he'll have to do a lot for the little feeling of something awful waiting just around the corner to go away for me.
I don't think we're fortunate, I just think we have a better squad of players than anyone gave us credit for at the start of the season. And a manager who isn't a useless puppet after all.
A good well informed article...However our good start hasn't been down to luck, people seem to forget that individuals don't make a team, its how the team works together... Pardew has created a good balance in the team, and all the basic foundations are there for a team who can hold there own in the top 6: A very talented keeper, conceded the least goals in the league (6) A consistent and good Centre back partnership, Taylor and Colo work very well together! A creative centre midfielder in Cabaye and a Defensive midfielder in Tiote who compliment each other. Pacey wingers and a in-form striker (Ba) with a great target man (Best)... All this to me removes the argument of luck, we have all the credentials for a good team, who could challenge the top 6 if we stay away from long injury lay off's, now this is where luck comes into it a degree.
to much lovey dovey going on here. So here goes, Colback please log in to view this image hes a ginger bastard!
Something's going wrong here - I am in 100% agreement with newtonLee2 - I wouldn't swap our first team for theirs in a million years - Out of their entire side I'd probably only be interested in Krul (cracking keeper - better than Mignolet IMO), Tiote (need I explain) and Ba - foir his "Right place right time" ability - although if he picks up an injury then they will struggle to score goals! I thought their game on Mponday was awful to watch but the way the played - as a team - was fantastic - worked a treat against Stoke (who I also thought couldn't string 2 passes together mind!) - Bit of luck with the first 2 goals (offside on the first and a complete mis-kick from Best on the second) and both penalties were soft... EDIT: Also this reminds me a lot of Birmingham a couple of seasons ago - where they could pick 6 or 7 of the same players week in week out as they had no injuries - the back 5 have been fantastic and they have played the same back 5 for the entire season - this makes a big difference for any club - fortunately for them Coloccini doesn't go touching up women in taxis or sniffing coke!!! Although who am I to talk about luck against Stoke eh!!!
There's that word luck again. He was half a yard offside, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Second one was a great pass by Best But we are 10(TEN) games unbeaten, we've played 3 top teams in Arsenal, Tottenham and Stoke, the rest have been average. I love how people keep saying we haven't played anyone or we have played teams in a bad run of form, these same people will say the Premier League is the best in the world yet 'mediocre' Newcastle have gone ten games unbeaten, winning 6. As for the debate around Mike Ashley, I will never thank the man for anything he has done or is about to do. He should have been doing this from the start. 3 hard games to come after Everton, I will take 1 point but the likelihood is that we'll still be up there after those 3 games. I reckon we'll be 5th after those games. 2-3 games may be luck, but 10? Come off it.
It is the ONLY offside that linesman missed in the game - Crouch flicked a ball on for Jones at 2-1 and he was an identical distance offside but the linesman spotted that one!! Riding your luck is what it's all about - you never find a manager complaining about good luck or bad decisions that go their way!! Just wish some of it could rub off on us sometimes as, other than the Stoke game, we've had very little good luck this season
We had ours at Blackburn in the cup, joke of a referee. We also had a twat of a linesman who missed the ball going over a yard out of play for a throw in, he also missed 3 others that were out of play, two of which Stoke played on and got a throw in themselves, which as we all know they are dangerous from and could have cost us. It's all swings and roundabouts but that decision doesn't hide the fact that we deserved to win.
So you wouldn't take Coloccini over Turner? Or Cabaye over any of your CMs? What about Jonas, who you must have seen play in Monday's game? Have you actually watched us play apart from that one game against Stoke? The fact that our team is 12 points ahead of yours, and could be 15 points ahead by the weekend, tells me that there may be a little bit of bias in your judgement. Dare I say it, have you considered that your first team might just not be as good as you think they are?
