Dr Gloom

It's because we're 10 games unbeaten. Pardew is playing it by the book - you dont change a winning team. I would like to see both those players involved in the starting lineup and I'm sure we will before long. But why change things when we're on a run like this? Despite my own impatience to see the most talented players on the pitch (I think we'd all like to see Obertan or Best rested and Ben arfa starting), I can see that the manager hasn't put a foot wrong.

credit to pardew and the players. this is one of the best drilled, motivated and organised sides i can remember. he's had fuck all to spend so you have to admire how he's done it but you can't put a price on the spirit and the attitude of the players. i questioned whether pardew could sustain the never say die fighting spirit that emerged under hughton but tbf to him, it seems to be even better now. plus our defensive organisation and the speed of which we are closing players down is as good as it's ever been. you can hide the lack of quality flair players if you have these other attributes. the one thing that i think will bite us on the arse - and the reason why our position is a false one - is the lack of depth in the squad. one of the key factors in our success has been a settled starting 11. injuries to key players and our options on the bench don't look that clever. that said, we have some quality waiting in the wings but we're desperately short in some areas.

Aye, that's my main criticism of shepherd too. It was his decision making that let him down. We had a chance to kick on and establish ourselves as a top 4 side for years but then shepherd sacks sbr and replaces him with souness - crazy stuff. It was just a few games into a new season too iirc. His habit of backing manages then sacking them in September was baffling and destabilising. All that said, i wish Ashley cared about the club like shepherd did and was prepared to put the kind of money into transfers we saw under the previous regime.

fair play to him, he's taken some stick but that was a good performance against tough opposition

amazing result and a first class away performance. stoke put us under a lot of physical pressure but we didn't give them any space on the ball. i thought we'd struggle without tiote but the team was still organised and well drilled. credit it to pardew and the players.

"there's only one alan pardew" ... has that been sung before?

two soft pens there like

er, why the fuck has pardew subbed cabaye for perch? must be an injury surely? first thing he does is get booked.

they've got all of the ball but that's fine as we're hustling and harrying them in possession and they're creating next to fuck all. it's nerve wracking mind how every time the ball goes out of play in our half, feels like giving away a free kick in a dangerous possesion because of that bastard delap.

credit where it's due. pardew has done a brilliant job on limited resources. to potentially be 3rd or 4th going into november is fantasy stuff.

the ref has missed a few blatant free kicks too. tbf, the noise stoke's fans were making early doors was impressive. we shut them up with the second mind.

i tell you what, obertan has looked decent today. he cops a lot of stick on this board but he's looked lightening quick and a great outlet to relieve pressure when we break quickly. bags of pace and quality cross for the goal too.

watching gary neville struggle with the interactive analysis machine i painful. who told sky hiring the least likeable footballer of his generation was a good idea?

Above all teams outside Manchester. fucking nuts. i fully expect this bubble to burst swiftly and for us to come hurtling back to reality. still, it's hard not to get carried away with the lofty position. a win against stoke tonight, something against chelsea and it wouldn't matter if we hammered by city and man u. we'd still be in the top 6 mix in the run up to xmas for the first time since SBR. mad whern you consider the lack of investment in the side.

tecato, have you been on the prozac or something? weren't you one of the most pessimistic posters around last season? i might be wrong here but i seem to remember you refusing to rule relegation for the majority of the season. all of a sudden you seem to be making a bid to replace CT as leader of team positive.

i read somewhere over the weekend that we're in for that erik pieters lad again in january. presumably if another body goes out rather than to bolster the squad numbers.

we've a rotten record against stoke. the unbeaten run has to end at ome point and it wouldnt be a disgrace if we do lose here. how mint if we can win or draw though? we'd be above chelsea in november. mad

the guardian are reporting it too.

sorry if this has already been posted. couldn't see it anywhere. i'd be even more gutted than when we sold them carroll. i could see it happening too with this lot in charge. More at - http://www.dailymail...-Liverpool.html

The top ten foreign turkeys: Luque Marclino Dumas Viana Anderson Fumaca Boumsong Xisco Babayaro Cordone I'm sure there are many more that could make this list

TM, the worries in your post are striking. puts my own concerns about work and life into perspective. you're clearly a clever bloke. is factory work the best thing going for you? particularly working for a bitch like that? i'd move the fuck away from that town. apply for a more satisfying job elsewhere. it might take a while and you might not have much money for a bit but it sounds like it could be a risk worth taking, especially if you can persuade your other half to come with. get yourself down london mate the streets are paved with gold down here. well, perhaps not, but there are more well paid jobs going here than anywhere else.

there's always one team that starts well then sinks like a stone. i'm hoping we're not that side this year. we've got enough points on the board, enough quality in the first team and the team spirit needed to be optimistic. the lack of depth in the squad means we still shouldn't assume we won't do a hull. injuries to coloccini and tiote and we're a very different looking side all of a sudden.

looking after the bairn tomorrow so taking him into the west end to get my ipad fixed for the second time. birthday drinks of a mate tomorrow night if we can get a baby sitter sorted then fuck all the rest of the weekend other than eating and napping.

enough to bring tears to your eyes those. i one has a spot in my ear as a teenager. had to get the old dear to pop it. almost passed out from the pain.