Monroe Transfer

Yup. Caught them on a bad day (for us).

Needs a rest I think. Nowhere near as effective as he looked like being.

We shouldn't be. The right attitude and the assistant ref having a clue and we probably wouldn't be. I look at our players - on paper - and can't believe they're players playing for safety in this league.

Would have gone 11th with a win today, and from that you'd say we'd be one win or two draws away from safety. We were in good form, upcoming fixtures all somewhat winnable. Now that positive feeling will have been eroded 5 games left, you'd think that's enough to get out of trouble but a run of negative results together and it really isn't. Wigan are currently 5 points off us, but have 2 games in hand.

There were masses of posts on here about nerves pre-match.

How can he be exempt from criticism? He got things wrong, as did our players, as did that assistant ref (again, if that goal had been given, I'd have stuck my life savings on us going on to win it).

Just want this season over and done with man. Will worry about outgoings and Pardew in the summer. Losing to that lot when we've got little to play for is bad enough, but we - and they - had plenty to play for today. Honestly, the momentum is now with them. Another bad weekend next round of fixtures and we're the ones looking relegation in the face, not them.

Didn't stick around to see the post match stats but for the most part I'm aware that we had more possession than they did. That counts for fuck all when you get to the final third and don't have a clue what to do next outside of hoping for a bit of Cisse magic. Sissoko seems to have regressed significantly since his explosive start.

I've spent a portion of my weekend debating to myself what games we can get something out of to confirm safety. Had this one down as a win and in all honesty could not contemplate losing it. Got 5 games left in which we need to win 2 to be safe. A big ask, to be honest.

It's not all Pardew's fault, of course, but I can't get my head over a team with the (on paper) quality of ours looking so inept and clueless in the final third (save for a couple of Cisse chances and the 'offside' goal).

David Vaughan for fuck's sake.

Do we practice set pieces at all? I have zero sense of anticipation before one unless it's a free kick within scoring range. Just pathetic - we have the players you'd think with the ability to put good balls in the mixer, and tall, strong players to get on the end of good service.

I'm just playing devil's advocate and hypothesising why Pardew might have started him. Like I said - he's been abysmal. He should never ever play in that position again. Pardew might say he played there for Argentina but he looked bad playing LB for them too.

Oh and Jonas Gutierrez can do one for what it's worth. One of the worst performances by any of our lot this season.

Beyond a joke Sky giving him a job for this. Get Neville to do it. Someone with a hint of impartiality.

Gutierrez has far more experience of this sort of game than a 20 year old from France who has played a handful of games and been on the receiving end of a very dangerous tackle.

Di Canio has bettered him today.

As much as it's not his fault, if the linesman gave us that goal the momentum would be with us and we could have well gone on to win it. Sick and tired of refereeing decisions not going our way. That pathetic club will celebrate like they've won the Champions League. They've beaten us with 3 good strikes that on another day might have been saved.

Mandron and Laidler - who?

Yup - worried about him or Cabaye being sent off to be honest.

Jonas better have a good game at LB mind.

That's a class first 11. Ben Arfa, Campbell and the Mackem Slayer to come off the bench and destroy these.

All the better if we win. Those salty bitter tears....

Please don't.