What Pardew needs to do...

Not even going to go into huge detail about that disgusting performance against Spurs, but having watched it I've come up with a few things that If I was Pardew I would feel are of absolute paramount importance to the squad.

I'm aware that we've still had an incredible season and its been one of my favourite's of all time, I'm appreciative of the work of most of the players and of the manager of the coaching staff, and even Ashley himself to an extent, but the stubbornness of Pardew could end up undoing the hard work throughout the season and he needs to put the lid on it before its too late.

Right, first of all IMO Pardew needs to stop persisting with Obertan, he has had more than enough time now to prove himself and hes still god awful both defensively and attacking wise, apart from sometimes relieving pressure from the defence and midfield he offers absolutely nothing to the team as a whole, the guy is not a footballer, he is an athlete but not a footballer.

Hatem Ben Arfa MUST be starting games on the right hand side, we know exactly what he is capable of and what he can offer to the team, Pardew needs to get off his backside and give Barfa the proper coaching if he doesn't want him to give the ball away or fail to track back, why persist with Obertan who offers nothing over Ben Arfa who is clearly a gifted player in need of guidance? He must swallow his pride and get him back into the team before its too late, I can see a transfer request going in, in the summer and we'd lose one of our best players.

Danny Simpson, those who know me would know I feel very strongly about this lad, and I dont say this lightly but he is literally one of the worst fullbacks I have ever had the misfortune of watching, hes easily one of the bottom 3 worst in this league, he is an absolute liability at the back, his positioning is non-existant, no matter who we play he leaves massive gaping holes and refuses to stick tight to his man, any calibre of player can get past him like hes not there, (Emile Heskey against villa) he clearly thinks hes a top player judging by some of his twitter comments, I sometimes wonder if I'm the only person who feels as strongly about how bad he is as I do, and the only reason he hasn't been found out a lot more this season is due to Colo covering him and the wasteful nature of a lot of premier league teams we've faced this season. We have rode our luck at times, nobody can deny that. My solution would be to either put Ryan Taylor at right back when fit, I'm aware Raylor isn't much of a fullback himself but hes a damn sight better than Simpson has ever been. OR I would be tempted to shift Santon onto his natural side, because hes extremely one footed on his right and I believe he would flourish on his natural side leaving Raylor on the left side where he was fairly comfortable if unspectacular early in the season.

STOP PLAYING SUCH A HIGH LINE. We do not have quick enough players to adopt the high line tactic against any side with a couple of half decent pacey midfielders or strikers. Not only dont we have quick enough players but currently we dont have a strong enough midfield to press higher up the pitch, or indeed a pacey enough midfield to press higher up the pitch. There's not a single player in our midfield or defence that you could look at and say, hes pacey or hes quick, apart from Obertan who doesn't count because he doesn't have a clue how to utilize it.

Ferguson needs to start getting more minutes, along with Abeid, both young lads who are absolutely chomping at the bit to get playing time, we're never going to progress all of these up and coming youngsters unless they start to play more frequently, its all well and good playing Perch in CM after a couple of passable games but is he really a higher calibre player than the highly rated Abeid? Its something Pardew needs to start thinking about.

Rest of the season the team should be IMO:

Krul

Santon Williamson* Coloccini Raylor/Fergie

Ben Arfa Cabaye Tiote Gutierrez**

Cisse Ba

**Would like to see Marveaux challenging for this place when he returns from injury, I love Gutierrez but I'm sick to death of us relying on wingers who are for the most part incapable of putting a good ball into the box, I mean for the most part that is the job of a winger and we dont have enough of that for our forwards who are clearly hungry for goals and always on the prowl.

*Would like to see Steven Taylor of course regain his place in the side ASAP, Williamson is a steady Eddie but hes just not quite good enough for the level we want to be challenging at, hes OK dealing with high balls but on the ground he tends to be a bit of a liability. Taylor proved before his injury that hes an absolute rock and he needs to come back in ASAP and providing we can bring in a better calibre of defender with more pace, as cover and indeed challenging Saylor for that starting spot. It would be tough on Williamson and he is decent cover but I think thats where we are at right now.


I know this is a lot to read and there was much more I wanted to say but it was in my head and needed to get it off my chest. Enjoy.

Cant stay sad for too long though, not when we're having a season like this:

[video=youtube;-BGASMVQwAg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BGASMVQwAg[/video]

 

Our first XI is a top 7 team but when we have injuries, suspensions or players away we play very badly / lose.

The key is strength in depth which we dont have.

 

We need our best players back, and a top quality LB.

 

I agree with everything in your post. 100% agree.

I blamed Simpson for 3 of thr 5 goals against spuds purely because of his positioning.

Obertan I gave a chance.... but hes let me down.

Perchy has done ok and deserved his start but hes not quite good enough for a top 10 prem team.

Santon was woeful.

 

Simpson/Jonas look tired to me. Stands to reason given they have both been virtual ever presents. Both need a rest but we do have two weeks until Wolves. Assessment of Simpson's abilities for me is just plain wrong but each to their own. I think he has had a decent season and saved us loads of points with his goal line clearances and commitment. Once we get a left back I'd like to see Santon moved over into his natural role but patience is key.

 

Simpson still can't tackle, and that's what it boils down to really. His positioning is generally pretty good but he allows the attacker to advance however far they like. When he backs off it only serves to hold up play and allows the opposition to get into the box.

 

Simpson totally overates him self, he is terrible at going forward and he is very average in defence...most of the time he backs off players and lets them do what they want...santon was awful on saturday to...he is class going forward but again is suspect in defence...and jonas hasnt played well for a few games....HBA needs to start soon!

 

Simpson's positional sense is horrendous. I don't rate him and never have. Williamson comes under alot of criticism but I believe Simpson is our poorest defender by a significant margin. I honestly believe Santon should go to RB and we should bring in a new left back. Yeah Santon didn't play well on Saturday but then again no one really did.

Look Obertan got a goal on the break against Blackburn; thats great and I'm happy he did but he doesn't beat anyone and doesn't cross at all. He may track back but doesn't really do anything of quality. Yes Arfa can be annoying when he doesn't pass but man he looks dangerous. I'm really worried we are going to let him go in the summer and I pray that doesn't happen. I can't believe he didn't even come on saturday. Bringing on Lovo and Gosling ahead of him doesn't look good.

 

It would not be fair to drop Guthrie, regardless of who comes back. I agree that some of the players are looking tired, and Ben Arfa has to play soon or he could end up leaving.
Lets be honest did anyone expect us to win, so given we have a fortnight to get over it, time to get it right on the training ground.

 

I have tbh I didn't expect us to get anything, probably didn't expect the destruction that occured but wasn't too surprised. The midfield is make shift, we were missing some important players in those areas and I knew our defence was in for a hard evening particularly Simpson. This isn't a recent thing with DS btw - I have never rated him. You see when other teams play us, the danger spots are nearly always down that right flank.

 

Santon is too far forward too much of the time. He can tackle and play his way out of defence, but needs to learn to hang back. He's not playing against 40 year old forwards in Serie A anymore.

 

Benny is a left winger