Derek confirms cash will be there in the Summer... who do you want?

so the rumour mill has us selling hatem to Liverpool and yohan to a north London club,things must be quiet on the news/sports front! I cant see hatem going as he is on the sick(why don't Liverpool invest in a scout)unless they have 1and he only comes here?As for yohan I don't think he would say to his BEST mate join me here and then do one!

 

I think Yohan will stay unless Man U come calling

 

We can sign all the players we want, but what does it matter when your manager doesn't know what to do with any of them?

Sissoko as a 2nd striker? Gouffran left midfield? Mapou debut at right back? Jonas in at left back? Cisse on the right wing?

I'm sure there are many others, but frankly what Pardew is doing to a squad that should be right up near the top 6, I have no idea.


So, yeah.. in an ideal world I'd like us to sign a manager that actually got the best out of his squad.

 

Sissoko has excelled as a second striker. Master stroke and major reason for turning our form around (which has dipped again). Mbiwa played right back because of shortages and can play anywhere across the back four and holding midfield. Gouffran is a winger who plays either side.

Jonas and Cisse, fair enough, I wouldn't have played them there. Cisse did improve his all round game as a result, but still not for me.

Overall though Pardew has done very well and your comments are both misplaced and clutching at straws.

Yeah lets sack yet another manager and start again, never giving a manager real time and buying into the modern day managerial mery go round that is clearly so successful. Do some fans just get bored easily?

 

Greedy bastard

 

We need to stay in the ****ing epl before we dream of great new signings.

 

100% this^^^^^^^^

 

Maybe in the first couple of games, but recently he has done nothing but run into crowds of players and give the ball away.

His natural game is to play deeper and make gut-busting runs beyond the strikers, which he did very well against Chelsea. Playing him so far advanced prevents him from doing this, and he's looked increasingly frustrated because of it.

Gouffran has never been a winger. He's a striker. He *sometimes* played on the right of a front 3 for Bordeaux, but not very often.


I'm still actually willing to give Pardew time to prove me wrong and that he can make a good footballing team. Rarely this season has he been able to play his best side (due to injuries and suspensions). However, even when we've picked up points with our newer, better players, it's always been with a great slice of fortune.

Southampton were arguably better for a large portion of that game, Stoke was a last minute winner, Villa we were battered in the 2nd half and lucky to escape with 3 pts. Then we played well at Spurs and Swansea. Lost both. And were awful at Wigan and lost.

I don't have faith in Pardew's footballing philosophy, let's say. I think what he says in interviews doesn't correlate with what actually happens on the pitch.

How has he done 'very well'? In which context has he 'done very well'? Look at our squad compared to the rest of the Premier League also-rans... most clubs outside the top 5/6 would swap our squad for theirs in a heartbeat.


Even then... why do we pick up so many muscle injuries? Are we coaching the players badly? Not getting them conditioned correctly? The amount of injuries we've picked up can't just be down to bad luck.

 

Did you watch much of Bordeaux? If you had you'd find he played mainly on the wing and as a second striker. Pardew is playing him in a role he is very familiar with.

Sissoko has been poor of late, mainly because the bloke looks flat after playing every minute since his arrival. He can play number 10 very well. While we have so few good options up top with Hatem out, it makes sense to use a guy who looks like he can play there.

In what context has he done very well? He has had almost 2 and half seasons. That is very little time in management terms. Of course in the world of football manager or modern thinking on football management its an eternity, but being more sensible its not long at all. In that time time he has had a solid end to a season, finished manager of the year in his 2nd season and led us to european football, and then had a poor season as a manager in his third season. There have been issues this season but its his job to get past them and overall he hasn't been at his best. Injuries are not an excuse but I do think we left ourselves well short of numbers and underestimated the Europa effect massively as a club. He has to take his share of blame in that regard along with the board. Conditioning etc? Well we were did ok with injuries last year, I think it has simply come down to trying to manage a lot more games with the same number of bodies.

I think if you look at the 2 and a half years as a whole rather than this season in isolation (which fans always do when things don't go so well), he done very well. The overall health of the club is a lot stronger. Not all down to him but the chemistry between an owner and manager is crucial to this. He seems to have reinvigorated Ashley's desire to make something of his purchase, and this has led to a stronger playing squad, as well as significant developments off the pitch in terms of marketing, youth policy/structure, training ground etc.

The point is we need to give managers more time if we want some stability and consistency. Man U/Everton/Arsenal/Stoke show what happens when you stick with someone over longer periods. You eventually reach a point where you perform consistently relative to your means as a club.

 

Spot on

 

Hello Jarramag- how goes it?

 

Not too bad mate. Just hanging around waiting for a shout from work on when I'm due back. Hoping to get the Fulham game in though. How's yourself?

 

Canny. Drank too much beer at the weekend... now fully sober
I've popped so rep in the post for you... it should be with you shortly when I'm out of the clink LOLOLOL

 

Haha cheers mate. Would of popped up to town on sat night but Thursday and Friday took there toll on me. Getting old!!

 

Stop swearing, there is no such thing.

 

That's what you get for drinking with the chaps you did... explosive combination.

 

Mate, if you had of seen me on Sunday you woulds have called the undertaker.
I was ok on the night, I remember getting pissed and handing out pre-prepared little rep slips.. boobs in Shark Club... Toon losing....more beer..... then getting a taxi.... walking in the house..... then waking up at 5am covered in crisps (in bed)... then after that I was green all day.

 

I've watched them a few times, and whilst he often played on the right of a 3 (like I said), or on the right tucked in behind a lone striker, he never played on the left.

Regardless, he's done OK there for us, without really offering much of a goal threat. Holds the ball up great, and makes clever runs (although not so much in the last few games).

It was just an example of Pardew's strange team selection.


Stability is one thing, but I, personally, am not comfortable with the thought of Pardew in charge for the long term. Like I said earlier, I just don't like his approach to games, the rigidity and straight lines his team plays in, and his negative approach to away games in particular.

My fears are that he doesn't have enough creative ideas and that he's been 'outboxed' by other coaches this season.

Time will tell, but put it this way, he certainly has work to do to achieve success should we stay up this season.

 

Was all good fun though. Had a good laugh on Thursday. Busier than I thought it would be.

 

Having doubts about Pardew is healthy. Blaming all set backs on him (this is aimed at others more than at you in particular) is just the latest habit of the type of fans that support a team just to have someone to continually slag off - - he's kind of taken over from Ameobi and Perch