ChezGiven

It was our worst home performance of the season so far from the players and the manager. You're trying make out like it was typical of our season. I am not getting pissy at you for that, just pointing out that's not true and no other part of what I said is papering over anything. I was also just offering a different perspective on the recent run. Like if Pardew gets two 50+ point finishes in three full seasons, that should be seen as a decent performances the amount of times we've failed to hit that.

All clubs bar one or two have relegation form over 5 games at some point. Just a question of perspective, listing defeats this season to make an as yet unspecified point, other than we can't use the phrase 'bad day at the office', is the argument style of a child. You can look at results, games with more or less generous perspectives. Was just merely juxtaposing the inclusion of all games with selective games where our expectation has been to win. You two can play 'you said, he said' shite with CT if you want but it's not working here. The form i was thinking of was over the first half of the season and I don't think anyone now thinks we will keep that going. Relegation form will get us over 50 points though which has happened infrequently in the last 15 years.

Make it 7 premiership games and take out Arsenal and City and you have won 2, lost 2 drawn 1. I think we are about to see a downturn in form because Cabaye was so instrumental in our play, not going to knock Pardew for the form we have shown previously though or pretend we were shit all season.

We didn't play hoofball against Norwich, so criticising the manager for deploying that tactic yesterday is correct but characterizing the team as playing in that style is stupid. Yesterday was atrocious and deploying it via Williamson meant we deserved to lose the match but sticking to the facts, that's not how we've been playing this season.

What have the defeats to Hull at home, Sunderland or Swansea away got to do with the post I was replying to? You quoted the form in the last 7 games which includes 2 defeats to Arsenal and Man City. Not sure why you chose to disagree with the idea that we played below our potential and our manager has had many better days tactically. You did for whatever reason and chose to use our form in the last 7 games to make some point (which am not really clear on). Sunderland beating us on our off day is therefore also a fluke in that case. For anyone not following the point, counter-point of my logic, that's not what I'm saying.

8th in the premiership. Bad day at the office. You really want to argue it was a fluke and now it's all over? That defeats to Man City and Arsenal are evidence of Pardew's decline?

Why didn't he abandon it for Norwich then? We got done because Pardew and the players bottled it and we have nothing to play for. They are playing for survival. If you can't also account for the fact that the 3 best players he had to get us to our comfortable position were missing, you're not seeing the full picture. Debuchy, Santon, Taylor, Anita, Williamson were all absolutely gash yesterday. Shola and Tiote didn't exactly have good games. Sissoko and Ben Arfa were alright. Pardew's fault but such a contrast to the Norwich game suggests that it was a bad day at the office. To be honest if we go on the same sort of run that we did after the last derby defeat, my opinion of Pardew won't be that affected by yesterday. I think we now all know he is shit at local derbies.

A have defended him loads and in other derbies, I've thought he was unlucky, especially the last one. That today was horrendous tactically, got everything wrong. The only mitigating factor I can think of is that a new system of playing has been imposed on him by selling the player the old system was built around. As he didn't get a replacement he had to change the way we played. Got it massively wrong.

Most disappointed with Anita, thought Sissoko was our best player. Both full backs had very poor games. We were without our best 2 players in Colo, Remy and Cabaye's loss was key too but that was shite from Pardew. Williamson was distributing the long balls in the first half and for that fact alone, we deserved to lose 0-3.

I've got an Ashley anecdote, bit of a shit one though. I think i've mentioned on here my mate who plays sax (Bassment Jaxx, Robbie Williams, Girls Aloud). He hangs out at some posh places anyway. I saw him in London before christmas and we were talking about the club and he goes 'oh aye i bumped into Ashley in the bogs of some bar about a year ago'. Not seen him in a while... He said they were both swaying merrily away at the urinals and my mates goes 'you're Mikey Ashley' to which he grunts 'yeah', my mate goes 'i'm a Newcastle fan' to which he expected Ashley to roll his eyes or become uncomfortable. Instead, he just replied 'you reckon i should sack Pardew then?'. Apparently the impression he gave my mate was that he was just a normal bloke who didnt have a clue about football. My mate has no reason to make up shit stories like that as he has millions of better ones. There you go though, thats why he didnt sack Pardew last year, some bloke told him not to whilst holding his dick.

Stats or stfu.

Playing good football, some exciting players at the club, just about challenging for a European place. I cant think of a worse period being a supporter since the late 70s. Its just horrible what we have to go through.

Sounds like the agent has persuaded the player not to sign in this instance. As a replacement for Cabaye, the move is actually risky for the agent since if he fails to adapt to the premiership then his value is dented. We were also probably offering around 50k a week if not less. In the summer, he can command an even higher wage as the buying club will not be spending as much on the transfer and agents are normally paid a fee based on the salary across the contract. He has a better chance of going to the world cup playing in a team where he is on form and comfortable, rather than coming to England and struggling to make an impact in his first 10 to 15 games. There is no risk on that front playing for Lyon in Ligue 1. Kind of makes sense.

Platini has just decided that France will compete in the qualifying stages of Euro 2016 (!) whilst expanding the actual finals so that vast swathes of the matches in qualifying and in the competition are rendered meaningless filler. Disparity between risk and reward is the direction of travel for UEFA.

Have to wait and see if he signs and then if he starts first. If he does start, it would be the player who doesnt.

Happy Face playing Hitler?

So Ben Arfa is in. Lets hope he takes his chance.

Cisse isnt starting games so if de Jong comes into the starting 11, then no, it isnt the replacement.

On a brighter note, when we sold Carroll we thought we might develop a more fluid passing game but Shola took his place and we still hoofed it. So you never know....

Pretend to be aiming for a CL place when we aren't to make sure the players believe in you? I'm sure you see the flaw in that plan. Glad everyone agrees we aren't and will therefore lay off Pardew and focus on the problem at the club.

Biggest revelation of the day is not that Pardew has stated he doesnt think we are competing for a CL place, its the fact that there are people who think we actually are.

The Cabaye song for me symbolises the relationship between the club and its supporters perfectly. Impotent in the face of overwhelming economic and financial forces, the 'go nuclear' option is no longer a true reality at any club. I doubt there would have been a riot at Anfield if Suarez had gone last summer, or if Rooney had left Old Trafford. But its still threatened. There arent however many clubs like us that are hovering between the top spots and mid-table with the undoubted ability to bridge the gap with the requisite investment. The fans all know this but they are also, after 5 years of Ashley, perfectly clear what sort of chairman he is. The Cabaye song is defiance in the face of what is likely, a sort of 'i fucking dare you' spat at a drunken enemy in a bar brawl, go on then do your worst and fuck you for doing it. No one can have followed us last summer and not accepted that there would be an inevitable parting of the ways. The fans still sang the song and threatened that riot. The relationship between club and supporter, between supporter and the wider game is summed up in that song. its a defiant, possibly even a bit painful refrain from the stands, sung with gusto but really with an acceptance that if a club with the financial might and attractiveness of what PSG have now become comes in for a player, there is little the fans can do. That context is how the Cabaye song should be heard.

Great review.

Is Mata better than Cabaye?

The Place Beyond The Pines. Starts off with odd pacing and quite slow, our lass said 'this looks shit' after about 15 mins. Either the audio is deliberately poor to emphasise Gosling's mumbling or it was airplay but i had to keep repeating what everyone was saying for her. You slowly start to get the film and its suddenly an extraordinarily structured intense thriller built on intertwined lives. Not sure what it was about the way action and the story develops in the film but its unusual. Well written, bit contrived at times but great acting from Gosling and Cooper.