acrossthepond

Toon legend Shefki Kuqi starting for Oldham.

Aye, he's been quite good over the last couple of games and looks the player we bought for 5 million. Long may it continue. R. Taylor at LB just wasn't working out and he looked much more natural out on the wing on Wednesday.

Oh shit, now you've done it. ATP to RVP, ATP to RVP, do you copy? Cover blown. Retreat to al-Aqsa. Leave the gun, take the kebab, over.

I also think playing Ryan Taylor over Obertan was a good decision and we looked a much better side when someone who would graft (he's not very fast but he's a trier) and could put in decent balls was getting possession on the right. Obviously, I was disappointed (like many others) that HBA didn't get on, but that takes nothing away from the performance or tactics. I don't rate Pardew but he has to take most of the credit for this glorious win as well as the other good results we've had this season. If we can show the same energy and commitment against Blackburn and QPR, we'll destroy them.

This is the greatest football club on earth. Every time I think I've got NUFC figured out, something incredible happens. I'll be walking on air for a week. Get. In. Get in! Have it you diving pricks, have it you red-nosed bastard, have it Webb, have all of it. :nufc:

Well that was brilliant. Absolutely top drawer from everyone, especially Tiote, Colo, Cabaye, and Santon. If they give another 45 minutes of that effort, we'll win this game - at least until Manchester's hero Howard Webb intervenes. Stonewall penalty, no doubt about it, 0% of the ball and Demba had it under control. No point crying about it now but that was a shocking decision.

Just as planned. Send the mugs back to SD so they can get a new, "updated" one.

Obertan wasn't awful at Man U away, iirc. Maybe the challenge of playing against his former club would eke a slightly better performance out of him again. The only other option really would be to start Sammy (no thanks) or play R. Taylor (not the worst idea but not sure if Pardew has any intention of doing this.)

That's not the one Parky, Lucho Gonzalez is actually quite good. It was Nacho Gonzalez that Wise brought in.

Utterly terrible. They were very, very average and we let them play their own game, plus crippled ourselves by starting Vuckic. Was Best not fit or something? Why change a winning team by taking him out, and if we had to, why not for HBA? Vuckic wasn't even playing a position for the 60 minutes he was on! Obertan was SO shit it was unbelievable. He can't start another game for us tbh, he's beyond awful. It's literally like 10 men. He's just a bumper: as soon as anyone passes to him, the ball bounces off him backwards to whoever made the pass. He's not interested in playing, getting the ball, attacking, anything. When he's not on the ball, he stands off and makes no move to challenge anyone at any time. Jesus Christ, I could write a dissertation on how terrible Gabriel Obertan is.

Vuckic has been pretty terrible so far. Fair play to him taking it in the jaw/neck but he's not playing a position. Either he totally lacks discipline and keeps floating about the pitch or Pardew's told him to play that way. Either way it's not working and Ba has been completely left alone up front. We all know what the solution to this problem is.

Our Scandinavian posters are usually good crack, Salty and Aeris really letting their brethren down here. It's matchday, pipe down and save the moaning for after the game. We can surely win this. Hopefully Pardew will stick with the possession/passing game seen after the 70th minute v. Bolton instead of the horrific hoofball evident in the first 70. Even if he leaves HBA on the bench, Ba is better with the ball at his feet than in the air and we will simply be a better side with it on the deck. I'd rather play Shola than Best, just fwiw. Best is truly average. Shola at least has some magic, even if he's never arsed to use it.

Villa are a nothing club who are rapidly fading back into the obscurity from which they came. Again, go back to our relegation - can you imagine our fans bringing out banners to mock Villa, had the positions been reversed? Small time club, small time mentality, not even worth noting tbh.

I think Hatem made his point. There was another piece of magic that I didn't see get a mention on here, which was how Tiote blocked a clearance with his head, brought it down perfectly, then played Obertan into space for his assist for the second goal. Beautiful. Good result for all that we struggled through the first half. Hoofball plainly wasn't working and I think Pardew finally came to grips with that. When Ben Arfa came on, he ran right to Cabaye and told him something I'll guess was, "The gaffer says you can start playing football again."

Good Christ(mas), does nobody realise when KSA is taking the piss?

Extra cringeworthy is that "Suarez Is Not A Racist!" tagline they all have with their avatars.

Merry Christmas to all!

The only good news is that nobody seems to be buying into their bullshit. Nobody except Poyet, who keeps babbling on about "In Uruguay we say these things all the time" and the dippers themselves has a good word to say about the rat-faced scum and that's how it should be.

Atrocious.

This sounds like a job for a creative forward who can unlock defences and play in our in-form striker. Do we have anyone like that at the club?

Jesus Christ man. Victimisation complex in full swing here.

Another tosser who will soon get what he deserves.

Left-wing do-gooder Guardian reader doctor student za-za. That's you told.

Someone get that man a 'word for the day' calendar.

It means "little black guy" and not in a nice way, either. I reckon Suarez did it - he just has that scummy look about him. He bites opponents, flagrantly dives, and is a cheater and lowlife in general, so I have to say I don't put racially abusing other players past him at all. Reckon it'll be reduced a bit on appeal but at least he hasn't got away with it, I suppose.