Papa Lazaru

Arsenal without RvP, too. They're very much the definition of a one man team. RVP and Vermeelen i think and they are massively reduced, and since both of them don't have the best injury records then they could hit trouble. Without RVP they struggle for enough goals and without Vermeelen some of the defending is shocking for a team of their standards.

Its good though that the media have been fair and evenhanded in calling them deluded messiah chasers and idiots for wanting Dalgslish back again like us with Keegan...oh no wait they've done none of that because they're clueless arseholes! As the Swansea keeper said the other day, people are starting to think if you stop Suarez or he has an off day their team does pretty much fuck all, i haven't seen enough of them to say thats definitely the case, but i'd love to see them have a run of games with him injured!

As some have said i'd put woodgate as the best defender ive seen here, without the injuries he'd have ended up ranked with maldini, baresi etc for me, he was that good. But Colo isn't just class, he plays virtually every game and is a top notch footballer, better than plenty of midfielders out there but still knows when to just shift the ball out of trouble. Hope nobody comes in for him but there are plenty of big/rich clubs out there who he would certainly improve and i think they'll come calling.

I'd take him back for a knockdown fee, but not for the kind of money the scousers would demand for him. I think he still has plenty to offer if you give him the service and would improve our striking options, but where his career will end up is hard to predict at the moment.

Disappointing we're only on page 17 here, the mackems have a 44 page thread on our match, don't we care as much about NUFC as they do!!!

Exactly, people are commenting on the fact he's played well 3 games in a row now and looks a different player to last season, nobody is saying he's a world beater, he did well again today and Pardew seems to have put some steroids in his diet or something because he has alot more energy and strength that previously. Thought Colo was class as usual, the team as a whole worked hard yet again and held on second half when we weren't at our best which is a good sign. You could see we lacked Tiote and Cabaye 2nd half when we just needed to calm it down and keep some possession at times but everyone gave it all they had.

Good stuff, the stoke fans on their forum are having hissy fits as well, seem to think because none of them know him that he must have been shite, mistaking their piss poor knowledge of football with reality there. Its just a shame there are some pundits on tv etc that don't hammer stoke for the horrible, anti-football shite they've inflicted on the prem and just join Beresford in wishing they got relegated.

Same with Krul and the rest starting the fight with Huth, initially it was beacuse they were angry at that horrible prick and his usual thuggery, but it seemed to go on for a nice long time to slow the game and waste some time when Stoke wanted to get on with it. Also good to see Krul stand up to the fucker toe to toe and then his team mates straight in to back him up.

Yeah, first goal from a long ball, third from throw into the box and non stop towel use, that has to hurt them as much as the result!

Mackems already up to 61 pages for thread on our match and the bitterness keeps on entertaining from the sad fuckers! We're still a shit to average team/squad who are the luckiest team in the history of football apparently!

Indeed, put in a shift in terms of workrate which is what you need to see, was neat and tidy in his play most of the time and used his pace intelligently with a lovely cross for the goal, keep that up and Marveaux wouldn't deserve to take his place!

They really are woeful like, twat the ball in the air and foul anyone and everyone you can, jump in late on people and try and injure them, Huth should have been off after his two gutless little cheapshots. Hope a succession of teams go there now and stuff them.

Hopefully Taylor will be playing the night otherwise we'll have to witness Perch play like a f*cking fanny against Stoke. I honestly divn't understand why he is anywhere near the bench, surely we have another CB that can fill in, SURELY! Well apparently we do according to your quoted post Seriously, what have Kadar and Ferguson got to do. By all accounts they're doing well in the reserves. At least stick them on the bench - we had no defensive cover at all against Blackburn. I divnt care who they stick on the bench or starting line-up aslong as Perch isn't mentioned I hate him me like, HATE HIM! Funnilly enough whilst i think Perch is so far out of his depth in the prem its scary, he did well tonight after the yellow card, just tracking people in midfield and defence when needed he actually won a few balls and helped the team out.

Think Wilson got a bonus on FPL for towel use. I just hope every team in the prem has watched this match and we end up with non stop towel use at the britannia until it becomes such a joke they have to scrap it!

Absolutely outstanding from every player, the defence were bang on form against their aerial assualts, the wingers put in such a shift with Obertan having easilly his best performance first half especially and up front Best grafted and set one up and Ba was top class. THey just all work their arse of for each other and for the fans and instead of collapsing when they scored we got back up and scored again ourselves, PArdew clearly had plans for this game and by god they worked perfectly!

How fantastic was it to see Raylor and Simpson demanding the towel for every throw in, even when they didnt use it, wasting time and dicking stoke about the way they have been ruining football with to absolutely rub it in their faces. Even better when Pulis was going mental about it, and Simpson was just smirking away like a little kid, we just wound them up at their own game and they couldn't take it!

I think Pardew will go with the regular back four, don't think he'll chuck Santon in against stoke twatting the ball into the box from setpieces and trying to overpower/foul any defenders in there. And i think how well we do could well be in large part to how Krul starts. He's the first keeper in ages we've had who attacks the ball and dominates his box so if he comes for one early and takes it he'll help our defence massively, if he comes for one or two and misses it might unsettle things a bit,but i think he's up to it. Midfield he'll probably go with unchanged as well if Tiote is fit and upfront will be interesting as i'm sure he'd have picked Ba and Shola originally for their aerial advantage in defending set pieces, but with no Shola who knows what we'll see. Another striker, Ben Arfa or an extra midfielder are all options. Can't see us keeping a clean sheet away from home this time, but i see us scoring as well so think we have a chance here.

Never understood the Kean situation at all. As funny as it was to see that fat twat allardyce get sacked it was a rushed decision and they would have been better letting him ease them through till the end of the season, then kick him out and bring in a proven manager and give them a shot. But having dumped him early they promoted a guy from the coaching staff and he didn't do well, so i couldn't believe they gave him the full time job, surely you just say thanks for filling in, we stayed up and now a tried and tested manager is coming in. You could almost understand it if he'd had a storming second half to the season and they gambled that it wasn't a fluke and he was that good, a bit like when we gave Roeder the full time job (though he at least was a relatively experienced boss) but he did nothing of note so i assumed they'd do what the mackems did with Sbragia when he was out of his depth filling in. So i'd stick up for the Blackburn fans to be honest, though if he won't go and they won't sack him, all the proetest and negative atmopshere do is ensure more home defeats as the players become less and less confident and it becomes a viscious circle. If they keep him they're down, if they sack him now and get somebody better, there will be an instant lift in atmosphere and they will have a chance.

Anyone know what's happened to Lua Lua, doesn't seem to be playing tonight?

If someone isn't putting the effort in or ducks out of a 50/50 I can understand it a bit more as that sort of thing is the bare minimum of what players should do on the pitch. Its the one time i can see an instinctive reaction from fans being understandable if a player bottles something or completely gives up a chase/doesn't try etc. Because we are paying good money and they're earning shitloads so like you say the minimum you should get is 100% effort and commitment. Other than that i just don't get it, it sounds ludicrous adults booing, it achieves fuck all other than making a shit negative atmosphere which makes the player (or team) worse and you compare it to say the whole ground going mental at some shit refereeing it suddenly fires everyone up and can get an atmosphere going. So as Alex says, scream abuse at the opposition and officials but leave our own players out of it!!

Since its actually about sunderland and not about us, it probably hasn't!

You'd hope so since Forster at Celtic probably doesn't have one till January at best and not at all, at worst. I can't remember now when he went on loan if they specified the exact terms or not, i think it may just be till January but am not sure of that.

Its one of those where its a push in the back so should be a foul and thus a pen, but is so often not given when its in the box that you feel a bit hard done to when you cop one. There was about 2 or 3 more similar or worse fouls in the box in the same game that weren't given what annoys me about it is that when the ball was on its way down in the first place Helguson gave Luiz a shove but because Luiz didnt throw himself to the ground it played on but Helguson flopped like Ali had smashed him in the face so it was a pen Yeah, its more or less what Barton was saying a while back, that because alot of players dive and cheat, if your team doesn't then refs give you less decisions so you end up having to join in to get your fare share. This could all be cut out if they used retrospective video punishment for diving and injury feigning cheats as the cost would far out weight the benefit of sometimes getting a freekick of pen.

Its one of those where its a push in the back so should be a foul and thus a pen, but is so often not given when its in the box that you feel a bit hard done to when you cop one. There was about 2 or 3 more similar or worse fouls in the box in the same game that weren't given

Think Williamson is still about 3 weeks away from a return isn't he? So disturbingly that means we'll see Perch for Saylor if his nose is causing him trouble. I wonder if Pardew will try to give Elliott more game time as he said last cup game, or stay with Krul because keepers don't need a rest. I think Santon will get a start for one of the fullbacks, Marveaux for one of the wingers and Ben Arfa for one of the strikers. Then it'll be interesting to see if he chucks in the likes of Gosling, Abeid, Vukic or Ameobi jnr. I also think Shola might start upfront with Ben Arfa with both our strikers being rested.