Legod Third Coming

I did the anlaysis before that we have beaten plenty of top sides earlier in the season when they were the top sides... When we lost to Swindon they were something like 10th/11th. Yes, we've lost to Leeds and Colchester - big deal. We've yet to play Huddersfield at home - forget the away game, it was the 3rd/4th game of the season. And forget Swindon, that was also pre-half our current team. Let's just see what happens when we play those sides now. We matched Nowrich twice - that looks pretty bloody good form to me, based on the fact they are now runaway form leaders. We drew with Charlton at their place and beat them at home in the cup comfortably. We wallopped Bristol Rovers away in the cup, only for a couple of sloppy goals to make them look good. We are a decent side, we've just gone a few games without playing sparkling football, it happens. We're in League One - some games will be a battle and some won't. All that matters is we win the war.

How are Norwich and Charlton doing in the JPT? Didn't someone put them both out? Oh yeah, us.

Er, with no pre-season we are 7th, 2 points off the play-offs... Hardly cause for this sort of nonsense yet is it? Last 8 games, won 5 lost 2, drew 1. One loss to league leaders and one to a team who are on fire at home, but both of whom has worse 8 game form than us. People seem to have got confused about having a couple of 'poor' results and some sort of malaise of which there is none. A few weeks back I watched us tear MK Dons apart with no Jimmy Case. And then do the same to Bristol Rovers away, Charlton at home and Walsall away. I think we've been invaded by goldfish.

I a hopeless at Maths but I take your word for it... I like the fact we are only conceding .87 of a goal per game...

But realistically, that is as long Pardew has. With modern transfer windows, a manager has one season, maybe two to make his mark or time's up. That's just life. Even a five year plan has six month milestones. And if Pardew hasn't got us promoted by May 2011 he will either have been fired or quit because he will know targets have been missed. There is nothing wrong with ambition. I think it won't come to that because I expect us to go up this season.

Quite right, the goals from open play have always counted double. 5th highest. Unarguable. Top scorer in the league plays for us.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. We should expect a team that WINS. When others complained about 4-5-1, I asked them to look at the score... But no, all the experts want 4-4-fecking-2... because it is 'more attacking', more attacking my arse! I just want us to win. If our defence had done it's job and not played like the Ted Bates Statue on Saturday all this would be immaterial...we would have three points not one. If we attack and lose every game 5-4 you will be the first to complain, trust me! The last month has been tough because we've lost two and drawn one, such are the current standards. On Boxing Day we beat Exeter 3-1 and yesterday they beat Leeds 2-0. That's football. We haven't played like Brazil because we're a bloody League One football team. Some games we will win handsome, others we will win ugly. I don't give a s h i t which, let's just win. Last 8 games, won 5 drawn 1 lost 2. Not the end of the world yet is it??

Good point. As long as people accept that 'instant' means a season, ideally a full one with a proper pre-season. Personally, I think we're on track to get to the play-offs. You simply can't bound up the league every week. Teams lose or draw some days when they shouldn't. In a fortnight we could be 8 points off the play-offs, in a month 5 points and the world will be a different colour again for all the fickle feckwits....

You said if we were still in this division... think about it.

http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/D2/oform.html 4th on last 8 game form 5th highest scorers in the league So why not chill the feck out and enjoy life for a change?

We're the fifth fecking top scorers in the league.

Norwich had no more pace than us in the two times they failed to beat us. Nor did Leeds who got lucky. We'll see what happens with Huddersfield in a few weeks.

The way I see it we should go back to 4-5-1 which was destroying oppositions and not play the fecking expert's called-for 4-4-2 which seems almost wholly ineffective!!!!

I do read some Bull crap on this site. Can anyone name me a team in this division with pace to burn and width galore?? I didn't hear people complaining when we stuffed MK Dons and Walsall. So what's changed?? Losing two games to top six sides? It's bonkers. Pardew has a 46% win ratio from a standing start. Feck me, what's a manager supposed to do. And when did our fans become Flavio Briattori??

Yes, but Hammond gets stuck in 100% more than Lallana!

Is that not a horribly lightweight midfield? What shall we do when the opposition run right through them?

This is what I understood Hammond was, and he started brightly. As for Prutton, what does he offer that Hammond doesn't?

We would have to have been relegated for that to happen...

Two previous Pardew signings.... credited to him by the more open-minded Charlton fans who accept he was a bit unlucky to lose both to injury.

Yep would be happy with that also.

Dictionary definition of the word lightweight...!

I agree. We have the capacity to pass our way through most teams and then pass it to wide players (Holmes, Antonio, Waigo) who can run at defences and cause problems - ok Holmes needs fitness but he has the cacpacity in time. Our best games have come where we have played at a high-tempo even including some long hopeful punts from Kelvin. To me, we look tired. Maybe this is the result of a poor preseason, maybe just mid-seasonitis. I don't know. But earlier in the season we were playing with more pace/tempo with exactly the same players...

I think the team selection was designed to nick a win and it nearly worked - in the sense that AP threw in all three new boys and Holmes and will have learnt a great deal that may serve us very well for the rest of the season. He's bought new players, he needs to see where they fit and whether they can work with his game plan. Your wider concerns about the midfield I share. Early in the season Hammond was pushing forward more and Lallana and Antonio/Waigo were having great success feeding off this forward momentum - the FA Cup at Rovers for example. Until we get back to that tempo and urgency we will struggle to break teams down.

Shocking defending from Waigo...

Agreed. We need a Holding midfielder (Morgan/Wotton/James), and attacking midfielder (Hammond - although I don't think he's been playing this role properly) and two wide men if we're going to play 4 in midfield. I would rather play 5 and put Lallana behind Lambert and give him the freedom to go and find and use the ball anywhere.