Davide Santon had another good game yesterday, and the Italian International is currently leading our Man of the Match poll with 33% of the vote, but there’s still time to vote if you haven’t already done so – and it’s one vote per reader.
Davide Santon tackles former Newcastle target Modibo Maiga yesterday
Here’s the results of the poll so far:
Comments welcome.
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You can also reach Ed at admin@nufcblog.com
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232 comments so far
catchy in norway
Nov 12, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Comment #1http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/29670-tevez-hammers-pardew
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Nov 12, 2012 at 10:53 AM
Comment #2Catchy…..On the Tevez article, please find me one where Tevez praises a manager and what he’s doing and it might carry some water.
At present, I can find more players who praise Pardews contribution that those that criticise it, maybe that’s just down to him looking after his darlings (To bastardise one of Jespers lines), so they don’t disrespect him in public, I don’t believe that though. I think they like what he’s trying to implement.
Are you saying you think one season is enough time to get it all sorted then? I don’t agree.
The way I see it is we are a team floundering, not going backwards yet (I know, I know, by standing still you’re going backwards), but it is still early.
Come season end, I may be proven horribly wrong, but I am happy to swallow my pride at that time, not now.
BelfastMagpie
Nov 12, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Comment #3Hey Catchy
I heard a while ago from a West Ham fan,That Tevez and the other guy were signed behind Pardews back,and thats why he didnt play them.
He was in a dispute with the board I think.
I could be wrong like lol
(probably) 😉
nimo
Nov 12, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Comment #4nothing like bringing up the past to make a nonsense claim about the present..
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Nov 12, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Comment #5I would just like to vouch for Belfast…He could indeed be wrong 🙂 Although I have no idea in this instance.
BelfastMagpie
Nov 12, 2012 at 10:57 AM
Comment #6Ibiza were did you run of to yesterday,when all the fires needed putting out ? 🙂
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Nov 12, 2012 at 10:58 AM
Comment #7Belfast….Trying to squeeze some joy out of life!
Did it turn to chaos last night? Haven’t read over the comments, as Monday mornings are bad enough without reading what I imagine was a 200 post slagging fest.
nimo
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:01 AM
Comment #8i head he didn’t play them as the deal was corrupt not really was cos he didn’t want the 2 argies thinking they were bigger than the club and letting there egos upset changing room.. he did it with arfa n were better for it
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:01 AM
Comment #9Am I missing something? Why is Colo on the list and doing quite well? Is it some sort of indication of how bad we played that a suspended player did better than more than 50% of the players who actually stepped on the field?
BelfastMagpie
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:04 AM
Comment #10I was told that story ages ago,that West Ham board/owners nearly ruined them,with they’re big money signings.
Sullivan and Gold are still picking up the bill for it now.
catchy in norway
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:05 AM
Comment #11ibiza
its not just about tevez slating pardew,, that is tevez with every one
my point was about him being played out of position for the good of the team,,,
surley if you have tevez in your team you want him up front to score goals
but pardew is doing that with so many of our players
if he would only play players in there rightful position i dont think we would look so bad,,
jonas, his bast position was left winger, pardew sees him as a DMC
HBA i think he is not a right winger, more of a true no10 sitting behind a CF
cabaye he is an AMC , pardew has at DMC
last season, he signed cisse in jan, and moved BA out to the left wing,
to many players in wrong positions, this can not be good,,
should it take fans to work that one out,, or should a high paid premiership manager see that
obertan is one of the worst footballers iv seen at our club for a long time, he only does lollypops nothin else,,
a story about shearer
he was at an open training session asprilla ginola were doing lots of tricks, and one fan said, shearer why dont u do any tricks, he took the ball and started keeping it up, then said to the fan, i can do them but whats the point, it dont get you anywhere in the game,,
the best skill any player can have is passing
catchy in norway
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:07 AM
Comment #12BelfastMagpie
i dont think your wrong at all, i heard the same,, but if you got 2 of the worlds best players at the time ,, you would play them right,,
and is that situation much different to now, i dont think pardew has any say in players,,
IF IM HONEST LMAO
beefman13
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:12 AM
Comment #13I thought the lad diame for west ham was very good yesterday and totally outclassed cabaye in the middle of the park, i cant tell you how bad cabaye was yesterday, is he not fully fit? he really struggled for me,.
We played 85 long balls yesterday compared to west hams 57 that is some stat and shows that either our midfield are not going to the ball to demand it or the defenders have not much clue what to do when they get it so just play it long, most on here like cabaye as i do to be fair but this season he has been very average i would say, and yesterday was below average imo.
Santon did play canny and so did fergie who did not give up possesion once when he had the ball, that said i can only remember santon giving the ball to fergie once during the whole game which i thought was extrordinary considering he played behind the lad, they need ferguson to be used more during the game he tends to get by passed players cutting inside or going over to the right and in cases giving it to danny simpson who like willy havnt a clue what to do on the ball and 8 times out of ten just hoof it up field, both willy and simpson defended ok to be fair even though willys mistake second half could have definatly closed the show for us.
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:12 AM
Comment #14Catchy….Okay, you’ve highlighted all of the problems, so let’s accept Pardew doesn;t have a clue and needs the fans to sort it our for him. Where should everyone be playing?
You want Benny as a withdrawn ST and Cayabe in an ACM position, show me that one please. Not trying to be facetious, but it’s easy enough to highlight problems.
On Shearers comment….fair play, can’t argue with what Shearer did for us. On the same hand, I find it hard to criticise Ginola or Asprilla, they were very different players to Shearer and without them and others like them, would Shearer or Newcastle have been as successful? There isn’t one right or wrong way, football isn’t that simple.
shearermania
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:13 AM
Comment #15all right this is my 2 cents on how to solve the problem with epl and europe fixtures…..
in my book the reason why the team is playing absolute tosh without any purpose, confidence and flair is simply because were playing 2 teams…lets play our best eleven at all times – they will get used to run pattern of other players etc…when a player gets injured or fatigued then you replace him….simple
on another subject: time to put Ba on the left again..it works – so stop messsing with it!!!!
Transfer Sage
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:13 AM
Comment #16Ibiza
In sure that is a protest vote haha.
What I will say is that I’ve just been disappointed all season. We never look like we want to win.
It’s seems we go out there, try our hardest to not concede and pray for individuals to make a goal.
I’m not suggesting that pardew just wants to draw games but it seems like we are just too cautious.
In not asking for 9/10 players to bomb forward but I am asking for more support for the forwards.
We are so disjointed and seem to lack direction.
Players trie to play it out from the back yesterday, willo always had his head up but nobody showed for it. He can’t thread a perfect 20 yard pass between the opposition midfield so people like cabaye, Anita, or the wide men need to come and offer him options.
I genuinely believe a 3 man midfield would make it easier to pass out from the back, and give us a solid foundation to build a meaningful attack.
Indian Magpie
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:13 AM
Comment #17Played 11 Won 3 lost 3 Drew 5
No paying customer would have enjoyed any 1 performance. Surely something is wrong
Same old subsitutions, obertan, Ameobi.
We need drastic changes, if we can’t buy may be in house.
Transfer Sage
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:15 AM
Comment #18Can cabaye and tiote hand themselves in a 2 man midfield? Yes
Does it though hinder cabaye as an attacker? Yes
Simple. Give him help in their to let him get forward.
estechco
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:21 AM
Comment #19I was going to give my vote this week to Willo, who despite being massively unpopular generally, put in a really good shift yesterday.
If I were him and I would be rather dis-chuffed, that I didn’t even make the shortlist!?!
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:21 AM
Comment #20TS….It would seem so 🙂
The PL games have been very disappointing really, you’re right, no real desire to win – certainly not comfortably. Although I remember that being similar early last season too, but we held on better.
I have seen these players, under this manager play the football we crave, so I don’t think it’s as big an issue as some. A few little things could make a huge difference, the question is what few things and why hasn’t it happened yet? Is it injury, is there unrest, is Pardew a fool or are the players starting slowly much like Everton normally do?
I’m not inside the club, so must draw conclusions like most fans. Both my brain and heart don’t feel there are major problems, so I’d be inclined to side with the latter and put it down to new obstacles and a slow start…both of which can and should be sorted….hopefully soon.
As for Pardews subs, he seems to be trying to bring certain players in to the mix. Marveaux got a game and looked like with a few more he could start to fill the shoes we need him to, but clearly isn’t the finished article quite yet. Same with Sammy, Ferguson and Bigi.
Haven’t seen enough of Abeid to comment really.
BelfastMagpie
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Comment #21Really like your man Diame.
Very underated player.
We should of been in for him in the summer.
Free transfer too ffs.
south coast toon
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:28 AM
Comment #22i think we need to stop ba and cisse upfront until we can get the ball to both of them,we need to give pards time we all know we were lucky last season, finishing above chelsea well……we have loads of great players who are finding it hard to play as a team now, we got a couple more years yet, but wouldnt it be nice just to see a little bit of clicking,ben arfa and santon looked good yesterday, we need to get the team on the same wave lengh, we need to be going forward when we attack together not backwards
shearermania
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:29 AM
Comment #23my observation on the players yesterday..
Krul: great keeper – unfortunately he had to pick the ball out of the net, is fast becoming one of our greatest keepers, not his fault at all…
simmo: one of the better nufc players, very good defensively – attacking well its simmo so nothing to report, I swear i wouldnt be able to tell if Tony Hibbert was covering for him one day….
willo & taylor: I thought they both did well yesterday – only thing i dont understand why they actually run it the oppositions penalty box on corners..waste of time…
santon: one of the best yesterday – problem with him though he seems to have a fetish of running into defenders instead of at defenders..also poor left foot cant cross for toffee but again in our team no one can..
Fergie: apart from some awful crosses didnt know he was playing…
Jonas: well my mum taught me if you nothing positive to say dont say anything at all …so
Anita: way out of his depth in the premier league…..hope he comes good but jeez hes awful.
Cabaye: well i can find one positive: his hair…but really not understanding all this hype about him
Benny: when Benny has the ball the other players are watching…so at times yesterday it was benny against west ham…he got tired at the end but was the best player in my opinion just because he actually tried…
Ba: awful first touches yesterday but showed some good running at defenders…..time to get out on the left in a 433 give him the armband to stop him whingeing about it
Cisse: our own filippo inzaghi…and i thought Leon Best was off side a lot…
Shola: not his best day…was dissapointed he didnt win more in the end…prefer him as a lone striker…
Obertan: got a lot of talent but his decision making is the worst ive ever seen….will come good i hope…
Pardew: too direct….needs to sort this thing out with the dembas….or get rid of one of them
Pushy Pardew
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:30 AM
Comment #24We’ve seen Mulumbu and Diame excell against us in recent hoe games. Yesterday our pick were Krul, Santon,
Hatem and Ferguson. Simpson, Cabaye and Cise were poor.
beefman13
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:34 AM
Comment #25That last 25 mins was calling out for sammy ameobi yesterday, was he injured? coming from a very good game in the europa league to not being involved at all is very strange indeed, we desperatly needed some imagination which we could not produce yesterday and while sammy is a bit unpredictable he could have unlocked the door in that final third.
AP does baffle me many times certainly the way he sets up teams, you could feel the anxiety and frustration in the crowd yesterday, we just wanted something to happen but it was so annoying to be fair time and time again our attacks came to nothing, the crowd were up for it yesterday but its so hard to get going when it breaks down and you end up getting frustrated to hell.
Again he bemoaned the fact we did not get out of the blocks quick enough, well virtually every game this season we have not done that, it has to be looked at it really does.
It was said not much went our way yesterday but i felt we were out of ideas most of the time, the final ball being as poor as i can remember and the choices of it weree awful.
I am only commenting on the game as i saw it and i wont sugar coat anything up, i support the regime at the toon we have done very well over the previous three season, in fact marvellous last term.
It needs freshning up and certainly certain players need to come to the races a bit more often an show themselves this season and that is cisse and cabaye who are only a shadow of last season.
big bob
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:35 AM
Comment #26we should play our first team in europe get them used to playing with each other as to find a rythymn you need to play together if we were in champions league then we would play our first team man u chelsea arsenal all play there first teams on wed then again on saturdays and seem to do ok why cant we ???????
davybtoon
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:36 AM
Comment #27Diame for free why did we not do that deal he was class yesterday
Pardew please play 4231 like u do in Europe n have cabaye behind ba n sammi n hba either side with tiote n biggie sitting but put perch in for biggie once fit n have Anita right back which is what he is
davybtoon
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:38 AM
Comment #28We’re only 6pts off 4th it’s not a crisis but it has to improve n fast yesterday is game we should b winning
shearermania
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:41 AM
Comment #29my line up….
4231
krul
santon collo taylor fergie
tiote cabaye
obertan ben arfa ba
cisse
i definately think its time for ben arfa to play through the middle. its too easy to put two wide players on him when hes playing on the wing..it will also allow cabaye to push forward at times…obertan to provide the width and ba to actually cut in from the left….biggest problem yesterday was no one was trying to get in the box…too rigid. we need some creativity and flair in the middle
beefman13
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:43 AM
Comment #30pushy, ive got to say that fergie was ok yesterday did not loose possesion, he just did not get enough of it he plays out wide and was continually by passed and santon did that o be fair to him i thought they would link up lovely yesterday but that did not happen, you cant blame fergie if he goes wide were he is told to and looks for the ball only not to be given it, plenty of fans around me agreed with the fact that he got bypassed many a time, demba is one of the major culprits for not giving him the ball as well and i though he was a bit greedy yesterday.
tequilamag
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:44 AM
Comment #31Well Monday morning and the world has not come to an end despite our loss yesterday.
Was the performance good ? No
Does it warrent puttting everything we have gained in the last 18 months at risk by sacking our manager mid season ?
Again no.
What happened to perspective. Every team gets bad results and hits poor form at some point. Football by nature is cyclical, not everyone can win every game, The players and manager need to take it on the chin and put the work in that needs to be done to get improvement. Supporters need to do what supporters do and get behind the team when things are going badly. Having the crowd being hostile never helps, players become afraid to express themselves and performances only get worse.
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Comment #32So where are we this morning after yesterday’s effort. Are we in good mind or is it completely chaos in here?
Yesterday I did something bad; I made an assumption or a generalization you could say – it was all in a good course it served as a mean to an end!
…needless to say it did not go down well with a certain person. The day didn’t start well I might add – it all starting with be suggestion that booing was probably avoidable (in the case of AC and Nolan) and it had never killed anyone 🙂 I made the mistake of make a generalization by suggesting we were going to be watching ’22 overpaid footballer who would sell there own mothers for another payday’ 🙂
…yes that was of course a bold statement (one you are not suppose to take literally), but it served a purpose and was a means to an end!
A generalization is merely a foundational element of logic and human reasoning. In this case there was some common characteristics shared by there 22 prof. footballers; the are being paid alot of money!
This could start a whole new discussion – to be frank it did and even though that was not the intention maybe it was all good (now I don’t think money is the only factor at hand when players make career decisions, but it is a very powerful one).
To make it all worse I then made the mistake of contradicting myself by agreeing that not all footballers were indeed mercenaries, but they to look out for their own best interest.
I had just made the generalization and here I was saying not all footballers are mercenaries! Now one could argue that’s a contradiction (and if you take my statement literally it really is), but I was actually being accused of contradicting myself because I was suggesting that looking out for yourself does not necessarily mean you are a mercenary!
…I didn’t mean to set up a trap really, but just thought I would see if the person in question would suggest that everyone looking out for themselves by definition are mercenaries and there by make an assumption or generalization 🙂
For me this was really beside the point, but whatever I said or did, this would just not go away.
It also raise another question which I don’t really know how to explain without coming of a bit arrogant maybe. It was about the ‘good Samaritan’ – doing good deeds for others selflessly. Are Cissé or Colo good Samaritan’s because they either send home money to their family or donate money to an orphanage? I believe they are (if it is selflessly) I don’t to either to be fair; I donate what I was to a few charities such as ‘Saving the children’. Would I donate more if I somehow could convince my boss to pay me more if doing so? I would like to believe 🙂
Guess it is easy being generous or a philanthropist if you have money. But does also raise the question would Colo donate as much as if does if he earned significantly less or I could rephrase the question. Would Colo have signed a new contract if you offered significantly less, knowing a orphanage what counting on him?
Is money an important factor for players such as Colo, Cissé or even Tiote, who also send home money to help his family. Of course it is; would it be wrong to suggest that if we did not meet their demands them would start to look else where? I don’t think so, but I am also keeping i mind that as long as we do and as long as they are happy here there is no need to suggest that they will leave just because some one else comes along with a better offer.
Hence my boldly statement the other day ‘that all 22 footballers would sell their mothers for another payday’!
To quote TADS:
‘I may have over done it with my generalization but my point is still very valid theres no such thing as loyalty in football it’s all about the wonga!!’
I just thought I would share it all with you if you missed it. I don’t really know if there is a point in there somewhere 🙂 if there is please let me know… lol
It is just away for me to reflect on it all (maybe I did wrong by suggestion that a generalization once in a while do serve a purpose)
rainrix
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:49 AM
Comment #33Pards out. Replace with Nigel Atkins, 6th by the end of the year, sell cisse tiote, 4th by the end of the season, See ashley its all so simple!
beefman13
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:52 AM
Comment #34davybtoon, i say anita is a midfield player more than right back, ok hes a bit lightweight but is still getting used to the prem which is a million miles diff from the dutch league.
Many a player has take a bit of time to settle at the toon i mean colo enrique barton nolan had pants first seasons and nolan was a seasoned performer in the prem with bolton!
I think if we can keep tiote cabaye anita in that midfield triangle it could reap dividends but we must get quicker ball from the defence as they dally on it to long for me.
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:52 AM
Comment #35Did anyone have the time to read my confessions 😀
Ibiza…Is ‘kill your darlings’ a nufcblog catch phrase now (I did it, I really did it!! lol)
…by the way did I read earlier that you referred to Catchy as Cathy? (like you use to do with Beattie when you call him Beatrice)
I see where you are going with this; when you come along a blogger you don’t agree with you give them girly manes 😀 (nice…)
tequilamag
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:53 AM
Comment #36Good morning Jesper as the certain person you mention is me thankyou for taking the time to write an essay. Really CBA to get into this whole thing with you again other than to say your generalisation in general was correct, I was merely pointing out sweeping statements always have exceptions.
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:53 AM
Comment #37*manes = names
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:57 AM
Comment #38Tequila…that person was you yes, but that was really irrelevant cause it has no barring!
…it was a reflection and what went down yesterday (for me it doesn’t change the fact that I regard you as a nice person I respect and one who contributes to this blog – I don’t hold grudges. You just disappointed me yesterday)
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:57 AM
Comment #39Jesper…I seem to have missed this event, but to throw my thoughts in there (don’t expect anything decisive, more a fence sitting perspective).
Of course money talks in football. It is the players profession and they must take care of themselves. For me, football players all grossly overpaid, but that isn’t just down to them, who out of us would turn down more money if it was available? There does come a point though, where players should make footballing decisions over financial. At what point do people have “enough” money to have that objective taken care of?
We all sing Shearers praises, but how much was he on? Would he have been happier to be paid less? I’m sure he was probably offered more money elsewhere, so there is an argument that he was loyal, but it would be fair to say it wasn’t just about playing for Newcastle, he would have been paid and paid very well.
There are some players who clearly care more about money and I think it todays society we need to judge the mercenaries a little differently, as in essence, all players have an aspect of this to them when such money is being thrown about. Football has changed, so the was in which we determine who is in it for the money is much harder to gauge. What I will say is, by having wage caps in place, like we do, you can somewhat manage this aspect, we’re not a club to come to just to make big money anymore, there has to be an element of bettering yourself and therefore the club, which seems healthy enough, but hard to compete with those willing to pay what is requested from big players these days.
Tough issue.
tequilamag
Nov 12, 2012 at 12:01 PM
Comment #40Jesper if you go back a couple of threads I said the same thing in reply to a Pushy post about the conversation. I also don`t hold grudges just thought you were overly defensive to some gentle criticism.