Sissoko settles it! Newcastle 2-1 West Brom

Moussa's magic moment
Moussa’s magic moment
Newcastle maintained their 100% record for the month of November by beating West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at St James’ Park yesterday.

Goals from Yoan Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko either side of an equaliser by Chris Brunt proved to be enough to give United the points in what was a game of few real chances.

The victory moved us into fifth position in the table ahead of the matches on Sunday where results will likely see us drop a couple of places. Not that it really matters at this stage of the season as it’s all about getting points on the board and we’ve done that in an impressive fashion since the defeat to Sunderland by going on a run that has eased the pressure on Alan Pardew who now must surely be in with a chance of winning the Manager of the Month award.

Tim Krul had to be on hand to tip a long range effort from Chris Brunt round the post but West Brom hardly troubled Krul or our defence for the majority of the first period. Mind you the same could be said for Newcastle who could only muster a headed effort from Loic Remy which deflected wide before taking the lead in the 36th minute.

Yohan Cabaye sent a corner in from the left which Boaz Myhill failed to clear. The ball bounced high into the air in the centre of goal allowing Yoan Gouffran to rise highest and head home from just a couple of yards out. 1-0.

Added time in the first period brought a note of controversy as Yohan Cabaye played Loic Remy through on goal only for the striker to be seemingly pulled back by Jonas Olsson which would have surely resulted in a red card for the West Brom defender had Phil Dowd deemed it to be a foul but he waved play on.

Half-time: Newcastle 1-0 West Brom

The opening exchanges of the second period saw more controversy after Chris Brunt’s robust challenge on Yohan Cabaye went unpunished with many feeling that a second yellow should have been waved in his direction. If he was off the pitch he wouldn’t have been on hand to level the scores in the 53rd minute, finishing powerfully past Tim Krul at the far post after getting on the end of Morgan Amalfitano’s cross.

Parity only lasted four minutes however as Newcastle broke forward. A sequence of neat play saw Loic Remy head to Moussa Sissoko who let the ball roll across him before firing an unstoppable right-footed shot past Boaz Myhill and into the top corner of the Gallowgate net.

A late rally from the visitors failed to conjure up a second equaliser for Steve Clarke’s side who bombarded our penalty area with crosses only to find the United defence, and Mike Williamson in particular, equal to most of them with the one exception I can think of being a header for Victor Anichebe which went wide.

At the other end United had a couple of handball decisions turned away, most tellingly when Yohan Cabaye’s effort bounced of both hands of Billy Jones before being cleared.

Full-time: Newcastle 2-1 West Brom

Not a fantastic win but another three points all the same. It’s reminiscent of the 2011/2012 season where we ground out wins for the majority of the season, not that I’m fussed by that of course. Away trips to Swansea in midweek before a Saturday lunchtime date at Old Trafford await us now. Tough games where positive results are hard to come by.

Howay the lads!

Newcastle: Tim Krul; Mathieu Debuchy, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Davide Santon; Moussa Sissoko, Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye, Yoan Gouffran; Shola Ameobi, Loic Remy

Subs: Rob Elliot, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Vurnon Anita, Gabriel Obertan, Sammy Ameobi, Hatem Ben Arfa, Papiss Cisse

West Bromwich Albion: Boaz Myhill, Billy Jones, Gareth McAuley, Jonas Olsson, Liam Ridgewell, James Morrison, Youssouf Mulumbu, Morgan Amalfitano, Stephane Sessegnon, Chris Brunt, Shane Long

Subs: Luke Daniels, Goran Popov, Victor Anichebe, Saido Berahino, Diego Lugano, Zoltan Gera, Claudio Yacob

Attendance: 49,298

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

297 thoughts on “Sissoko settles it! Newcastle 2-1 West Brom

  1. Hold the phone. Scratch what I say @127
    http://www.soccer-blogger.com/2012/01/04/newcastle-vs-manchester-united-3-0-highlights-2012-demba-ba-cabaye-goals-video-jones-og/
    I had completely forgotten that Shola had started that game with Ba 😯 Assist for the first goal, creates the space for Ba to subsequently win the freekick for the second.
    Seems like there’s a link to our shock results over the last couple of years 😉
    Didn’t Ameobi also set up Cisse’s goal of the century 😆

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  2. @kimtoon

    I’ve never had depression but from what i’ve heard it’s not nice.

    I’m quite fickle because i think as long as players put the effort in, they can’t be blamed.

    If i was cabaye, i would also want a move to arsenal & play under wenger.

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  3. Someone has already said but we have to hold onto Cabaye and our other world cup bound players until after it is over. If they have a good tournament their value could double.

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  4. KK, Yes ,for sure I understand him wanting to play under him and in the CL and for more cash, as you say, who wouldn’t, but his attitude when it didn’t come off stank imo. To refuse to play which he has freely admitted since was bang out of order, most ex pros condemned him for his actions and rightly so. That said he has played well since but a part of me thinks it’s to secure his WC place for France and put himself in the shop window. I suppose as long as we’re benefitting we can’t complain really , he’s not a local lad so we shouldn’t expect undying loyalty .

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  5. @santii

    That’s the perfect time to sell!

    @solanostrumpet – nice link.
    Tiote was pressing everywhere, even high up the pitch. Rooney looked like he wanted to just give up.

    Tiote was doing what anita does now. Our current midfield is champions league quality.

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  6. @kimtoon

    Yeah it’s odd to refuse to play. Surely you would want to put yourself in the shop window.

    Plus he should have known mike ashley won’t sell cheap.

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  7. KK I fully support people with depression if its through something major and not just through mental fatigue as that IMO isn’t the same thing.
    I also noticed in his BT interview tht Cabaye talked the talk and said the right things but you could see his face light up when they started to talk about the WC

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  8. Above Man U, Spurs and Southampton, this seasons surprise package. Not bad going is it? Like Newkie said though, the problem now is that we are above the radar again.

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  9. Just got confirmation one of my uncles died in the helicopter crash in Glasgow.

    Great start to the week.

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  10. Sorry to hear that Funky, my condolences go out to you and your family mate… 😕

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  11. So who would have predicted the PL ladder as it stands 13 games into the season.. I knew Man U would struggle without Sir Alex in charge but for us to be above them is more than I imagined. 😀
    The Hull vs Liverpool result just shows that you can’t take any team/result for granted this season.. If you are off the boil you will get punished. Some can say we have been a little lucky at times but in each of our 4 wins on the trot, we have been on the ball mentally. We did switch off a little against Norwich in the second half but apart from that, the effort and commitment has been there to see.. It is nice to have a run of good form, it is good for a Toon supporters soul. We need moments of peace like this to make up for all the turmoil we normally have to put up with! 😛 Long may this continue 😉

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  12. Our reserve youth team did ok… although I thought they might get trampled by a cow or two on the paddock they were playing on.. 😉

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  13. 😆 Missing your arch thug, eh? Pitch was a bit churned up – after 3 weeks of rain and hail I suppose it had to show up somewhere. But what does the state of the pitch have to do with anything? You guys kick the ball in the air most of the time.

    Has to be the most comfortable 1-0 win I’ve seen. What was it? 97% possession, 5000 chances to 1? It’s just a pity the shooting was a bit off.

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  14. yeah, yeah, we were missing 3 regular fullbacks our captain and for some reason Edwards decided to play with a back 3 for the first time this season. It was a strange decision to be honest.. Your guys did well playing aginst our youngsters, it was a crushing 1 nil win 😆

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  15. Speaking of getting trampled.. Where is Newkie?? I have to ask him how his fantasy team is doing atm 😆
    How is yours doing Vegas ? 😉

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  16. 😆 it certainly can be at times! I’ve had a couple of good weeks but before that it was slim pickings…. 😕

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  17. Vegas, if you had spent during the transfer window you wouldnt be in this position.. spending = success 😆
    oh well you could be Newkie who is the fantasy league version of Sunderland 😛 😛

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  18. Check out Aussie giving it large again after he flukes a good week with his pardo-negative 4-4-2, seriously that formation is dead-who even uses that, wins, and plays good football. Bet you can’t name a single side!

    😛

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  19. Newkie 😆 all my mids are attacking so it is more of a 3 7 formation.. we have to hang on for dear life when we dont have the ball but by f*ck do we look good going forward 😆

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  20. Aussie 😀 I shot myself in the foot this week, swapped bloody Rooney for Aguero! And then I smashed my phone and didn’t get home in time to do the predictor league on saturday 😥

    I see KK is at it again. Changed his mind on dropping Remy now, now it’s Cabaye who must be dropped! Well after our current streak who can blame him for wanting wholesale changes…. 🙄 😆

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  21. Funky – sorry to hear that mate.

    Prem – my FF team took a pounding this weekend that’s to pissing Hull!!. Still going ok tho.

    Funny morning for footy tho. Feel sorry for Jol, probably deserved the sack but seems like he’s been done up a bit with getting Rene in first.

    But the maddest one is AVB for me!. What a hammering he’s taking at the moment!. He wasn’t given 5mins at Chelsea and it looks as tho he’s not getting much time at Spuds either.
    I think if Sir Bobby were still about he’d be fighting his corner for him a bit but AV doesn’t seem to have many friends at all at the moment

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  22. Sharpy-AVB doesn’t do himself many favours mind. I think the Chelski sacking was a joke but he seems so full of excuses. People think Pardew whines but AVB is genuinely hilarious. Blaming fans and everything, great stuff!

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  23. Newkie 😆 good old KK, well at least Anita is not our modern day Tevez any more.. that is such a relief 😆
    and AVB.. well he has a big expensive team and big expectations on his stewardship so he needs to at least show signs of life with his management. He continually plays one up top and they are not scoring many goals. Both goals against manu were long range efforts. He seems very defensive with his set ups, he makes Pardew of last season look ultra attacking 😆

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  24. Newkie – no I know mate, but I think in the same way as Pardew at times, when people are under attack and backed into a corner they come out with some stupid stuff.
    The Daily Mail seem to really have it in for him and Alan Sugar is ***** slapping him via twitter.
    Sugar saying get rid and get sir Alex in, but that’s never gonna happen so what’s the point?!.

    People are comparing his impact with Arrys, by Spurs were right in the **** when Arry went, he just had to make them better and yes he done a good job, but his level of expectation was just to improve. AVB is expected to turn them from a 5th spot team to a top 4 team, which doesn’t sound much but we all know ain’t so easy.

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  25. Aussie-that’s true. Pardew’s use of players out of position is a joke, Tevez was right! I mean it’s not like Sissoko’s form has actually improved since being out on the right, he’s not using his extra physicality to bully full backs or score or anything… 😛

    Re Spurs, I felt for Soldado for the first few weeks with lack of service but he had a really good 1v1 chance yesterday and scuppered it. You can’t lead the line in a team like Tottenham if you can’t take those opportunities. It will take time for Spurs to gel but the money spent was astronomical. I think their fans and management are only just realising how many games Bale won on his own for them.

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  26. Sharpy-aye it’s true. People say they want managers to own up to it-but if a manager does that too often all the fans will turn on them and point and say “see, even he sees it”-and the owners/media won’t be far behind. People are very fickle when it comes to owning up for responsibility, and all managers, rightly or wrongly, start clutching at straws after a period. Even the best do it.

    No idea what Sugar’s game is, probably just cracked because Arsenal are doing so well 😆

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  27. Aussie – I know, it’s strange really coz most of his signings in the summer were attacking players, yet his set up does appear defensive. Maybe those players just haven’t settled in yet, or maybe he doesn’t know his strongest 11. But the players he signed certainly seem good enough.
    2 things though. 4-2-3-1 that he seems to play is a horrible formation IMO. Also, as Pardew seems to have learned, you play your in form players – so for Defoe not to be starting every game amazes me like.

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  28. I’m aware theres a long way to go but …..

    If money bought success table vs real table

    Spurs 109 Arsenal
    Citeh 86 Chelski
    Chelski 64 Citeh
    Liverpool 52 Liverpool
    Arsenal 42 Everton
    Southampton 34 Toon
    Cardiff 31 Southampton
    ManUre 30 Manure
    Norwich 26.5 Spurs
    West Ham 21.5 Hull
    Everton 21 Villa
    Swansea 20 West Brom
    Villa 20 Swansea
    Mackems 19 Norwich
    Palace 16.5 West Ham
    Hull 12.5 Stoke
    West Brom 12 Cardiff
    Fulham 8 Fulham
    Stoke 5 Mackems
    Toon 0.35 Palace

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  29. Interesting crack from some very relaxed toon fans. Nice to see for a change.

    Heard a journo saying he’d chatted to Pardew about the team’s improvement and he said he didn’t know what had happened. It’s not the tactics or formation. Sometimes a team just ‘finds’ itself and then everything goes well. Strange but believable.

    See Michu is expected to be back for Wed 😥 However that will be 3 games in seven days for them. Too many? Let’s hope so. He let Shola go for 90 mins on Sat so I think he’ll leave him out. Hopefully bring Hatem back in. He must be full of it wanting to play again.

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  30. Stevep-aye it’s good reading for Ashley at least 😆 need to double check on our whole in/out outlay but i’m guessing we’ve probably spent like 5 mil more than we’ve made from Transfers in the last 4 years? Saint spent like 70 mil since being back in the PL…

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  31. Newkie and Sharpy, yeah it is hard to work out.. Bale certainly won his share of points for AVB and it may have glossed over some issues. Soldado really seems out of sorts, he is obviously a good player but he looks like he couldnt hit a barn door with a hand full of wheat. He and Cisse should sit down and talk through their similar issues.. AVB does have an impressive head of hair, I will give him that 😆 Richie must be envious 😛

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  32. STEVEP
    December 2, 2013 at 11:33

    Think we can only make judgments like that at the end of the season as the teams that have spent money generally have better squad depth than those who don’t and it pays dividends from Christmas onwards.

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  33. Aussie – Soldado got alot of goals from crosses and balls into the box. He’s a hell of a CF in the right formation. I think Soldado would benefit from Lennon being out on the wing getting the ball into the box for him.
    The 4-2-3-1 formation seems to suit the likes of Townsend and Sigurdsson but they aren’t gonna get you 15-20 goals a season. That formation needs a CF more like Ba or Lukaku type player I think.
    I think most of the players he signed in the summer would work in that 3 attacking midfield but Soldado signing doesn’t. I kinda think that AVB and his team may have signed good players without fully analysing how they would all fit together. Maybe it was a case of here’s £100m Andre, knock ya self out son and he’s been like a kid in a sweet shop – wow ill have that one and that one and that one … without a great deal of thought.

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  34. Sharpy, to me Cisse and Soldado are both very similar. Neither like working really hard for their goals. They are poachers that like lurking in and around the box…they need their wide men to give them plenty of service..

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  35. Aussie – totally agree. Superb players if played in the right formation and with the team set up around them but if not, they look very average at best.

    I think that has kind of been the secret to our recent success. Shola is doing all the ugly stuff and Remy and Goof are loving it. But put Cisse or Hatem up there and the balance has gone.

    Fortunately we now have Joe overseeing that finely balanced process 😆

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  36. Sharpy-aye, I bet AVB is livid he was at Chelsea when he signed lukaku. I think he would be a great player for those attacking midfielders to play off.

    I still can’t pick a MOTM for saturday….Goof? Sissoko?

    Shola? 😛

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  37. Good point Sharpy, Shola has almost become the sacrificial lamb for his team mates.. Cisse is a little too worried about his own game and the same could be said for Benny. If Shola could add some goals to his game he would be….ahh forget it, ya cant have everthing 😆

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  38. Newkie – I think it was either Sissoko or Tiote personally. I think Tiote kept things solid while Sissoko drive us forward. But if Goof or Shola got the vote I wouldn’t argue too hard either 😉

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  39. @newkie & amf

    I see you both have had a scratch at me.

    I think cabaye should be dropped because he said himself he needs a winter break. Based on form be should still be in the team but by the end of the last game, he looked knackered.

    We have good depth in midfield so why not rotate players to stop them burning out or getting injured?

    Sissoko on the right might be effective but it’s not his best position. It’s kind of similar to playing mbiwa at right back – it will work generally but it’s not their best position.

    Sissoko was also at fault for the goal conceded, sure he scored a wondergoal but most fans didn’t think it would go in – he doesn’t have great technical skills.

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  40. Pretty sure Cisse’s assists have come from the result of his shots being saved or attempts being deflected but Shola is naturally an unselfish player-and that’s arguably another reason why his goal record is so poor. You certainly don’t catch Remy squaring it for a tap in when the shot is on 😉

    Sharpy-this is true, Tiote had great match but he is in such good form lately that I guess I am starting to accept it as the norm again. I said at the start of last season that while his general play was poor his long passing was improving (or it seemed so to me) although he did start trying a few too many hollywood’s. Whether that’s a result of coaching or playing alongside Cabaye I don’t know-but if he could learn to shoot on target from 20-25 yards he’d basically be first on the team sheet for me 🙂

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  41. Sissoko is looking better though. He seems to finally be getting used to how physical the league is whereas just a few games ago he was being brushed off the ball.

    It will be interesting to see what team we line up with on wednesday. Some players should be rested. Perhaps ameobi, gouffran, cabaye?

    It’s a hard call. Too many changes might lose consistency. Too few changes & we’ll be too tired.

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  42. got to goofy by a mile if you re-watch the game his graft and movement were very good,what always stuck in my mind as a young lad i played with a guy that was a scotish internationl C/H what he told me is very true you play football with Head not with your feet 😉

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  43. Tiote is playing better because he’s playing alongside cabaye. He needs someone who is always available for the ball & will bail him out when he does too many turns & gets dizzy.

    I think anita could also play well alongside tiote. Maybe even force tiote further forward to press high with cabaye.

    Whilst remy is our star player, i think he is just doing what cisse did when he first came. Other players help them score (demba ba, ameobi etc).

    We shouldn’t be suprised if he goes through a dry spell. It’s the people around him that are more important.

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  44. Aussie – aye you don’t want much like do you mate?! 😆
    I think of our suggested targets probably Shane Long is most similar in that he does alot of work for the team, however he offers pace where Shola has the ariel threat. Maybe Gomis, but I think he may have that focus on his own game as well. Not a bad thing if that gets him goals whilst complimenting Remy and Goof at the same time, but that would be one hell of a find.
    A very tricky task really, and the frustrating thing is that us fans always get it right, and those who actually buy the players are rarely as successful

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  45. Hiya KK 😛

    A scratch? Nah I’m just putting my line out, I thought you’d appreciate it!

    I agree we will have to shuffle some but I think it will be Ameobi to make way – who for though is the question. I’d like to keep Cabaye and Goof starting but perhaps give them earlier substitutions. Cabaye is notoriously lightweight playing the box to box role. Agree with you on Sissoko-he should have done better for their goal, but blame should be shared throughout. Santon was again allowing crosses in and giving away dangerous free kicks. Long also sped past him at one point which made me shiver, we still lack real pace at the back because he’s the fastest of what we’ve got!

    Only thing that annoys me with Sissoko is if he doesn’t win the free kick he still puts his arms in the air and strolls back-he doesn’t immediately try and chase it down as he should.

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  46. Goofy is my favourite player. Tries so so hard. He’s quick, smart, he even has a good finish.

    I think he still lacks the confidence to be a bit more greedy, otherwise he might have a few more goals.

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  47. Ice-I’d probably agree with that. He might lack that “extra” bit of quality our other Frenchies have given he’s basically the only one uncapped for the frogs-but he is working that much harder than them and everyone else on the pitch, he doesn’t spit the dummy out either as I’ve seen all the others do.

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  48. KK, I thought Anita was your favorite player 😯 a week or two back you said the whole team should be built around him 😉

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  49. Hi newkie 🙂

    Just jokes from me!

    Earlier subs for cabaye & gouffran might work but if the game isn’t going our way, some fans (& players) might look at it negatively perhaps?

    I thought haidaira was quicker than santon? I think he might be better than santon at left back based on his performances last season.

    Swansea will definitely want to bounce back & we might start getting a little complacent so it will be a really tough game.

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  50. @AMF

    Gouffran is my favourite player because he tries so hard & is so committed.

    The team should still be built around Anita. Anita is our best team player & so he should be the first name on the teamsheet.

    Ben Arfa is our best player in terms of pure ability – we shouldn’t forget that he won us 2 games on his own (& probably saved Pard’s job)

    Marveaux is our best creative player in the final third. Better than Cabaye.

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  51. It wasn’t a bad decision to only bring in 1 player in the summer.

    Otherwise we’d have 2 or 3 first team players or new players on the bench.

    It’s silly that nobody inserted a clause into Remy’s contract to say we have first option over him.

    I would threaten to drop him to the reserves & ruin his World Cup chances if he doesn’t agree to a permanent deal 😈

    Seriously 😈 😈

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  52. I think Remy will leave us at the end of the season. If he has a good world cup then his worth 20 million at least. Ashley wont pay that on any player, unless we by some miracle finish in the top 4 ?

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  53. Funky@162, That’s terrible news mate, thoughts with you and your family.

    Got the lad home today, bad chest infection again, back on the anti biotics , hope he doesn’t have to go in to hospital as he doesn’t cope well in there and I have to sleep on a hard chair 🙄 Anyway he’s having a nap on sofa at the mo, so thought I would grab a bite and take a peep on here.

    On the Swansea game, I would be quite happy with a point considering it’s away. I can see Cisse coming in for Shola, reckon Shola will be needed for the Man u game.

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  54. As others have said, it really wouldn’t matter at all whether we had first choice or a built in price clause. All it means is QPR accept, and then Remy knocks us back because someone else is offering 150k while we’re only willing to offer him 75/80k a year and a half after we should have given it to him the first time. Remy is the one we need to convince, not QPR and sadly if he stays in this form, it won’t happen. This is why we need Cisse to hit form or to buy another striker in Jan, to take some of the glory/media attention off Remy. Interest can cool remarkably quick in strikers, the only problem then is that we suffer for it 😕

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  55. To throw another name into the mix – Santon is a player who is standing out for me.
    He’s very quietly going about his business and improving very nicely for me. I think without standing out he’s become a very dependable and important member of that back line.
    Still very young and everytime there’s any talk of him leaving he’s very quick to dismiss it.

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  56. Swansea vs Newcastle on wednesday.

    I hope we don’t get complacent or we might get punished like Liverpool. I really hope we can win that game and get a draw against Manchester united but I would prefer a win ?

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  57. @newkie

    Apologies, i must have not explained it properly. Remy has a buy out clause of around £7m, so that’s not an issue.

    Remy needs to agree to a permanent move to us – it’s his choice,

    We should offer him a fair contract with the proviso that if he doesn’t sign, he will not play for the first team.

    He will have 2 options:

    1) sign a permanent deal, do well in the league, go to the world cup & hope a big money move comes in for him, or…

    2) train with the reserves, lose his last chance to play in the World Cup & hope a decent team comes in for him at the end of the season or else he’ll end up at QPR.

    If he stops playing, he’ll stop scoring, so he won’t be of much interest to the really big clubs.

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  58. All the best for your boy Kim. I know what you mean about them waiting chairs, I was hanging about for a few hours in a hospital a few weeks back, i’m not sure what was more uncomfortable-those chairs or the fact that Casualty was on the TV in a room full of people who probably would have preferred something a little quieter..

    Not sure what to do for Swans. Given that we tend to start games well and look to score from 15-45 mins and are currently full of confidence I’d play Benny or Cisse, possibly Marv, but at the same time we are usually pretty good at frustrating the opposition in their own back yard. Do we try to take an early lead and use our work rate to see it out, or do we frustrate their players and fans and look to hit them on the counter? 😕

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  59. It would be a risky gambit, but there is not much point in letting a loan player take the place of a permanent player.

    Either he signs or we look for a replacement. No point waiting on a player.

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  60. Sharpy- I feel he is generally improving but not hugely. Bearing in mind he’s been first choice and started every game for pretty much two seasons I would have hoped for more progression. He is still very young though. I still feel he is quicker going forward than going backward -you can tell what he prefers doing- and his tackling can still be suspect. Still a few too many cut ins and long shots as well-although on sat he managed a great cross into the box with his left. Let’s see more of it Davide!

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  61. KK-That is very cutthroat 😆 We can bargain harder now that we’re doing well in the league, but doing that could easily backfire hugely on us. We are relying on him just like we were Ba last year.

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  62. Who have swansea got up top with Michu and Bony out ??

    Last season they had the dog and duck standard Luke Moore (Who still managed to score against us ffs) but im assuming they brought someone half decent as back up with europe to contend with.

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  63. Swansea need the win much more than we do. Anything less for them & they will end up just above the relegation zone.

    They play possession football, they’re at home & they need a win. All signs point to them bringing the game to us.

    Our work rate won’t last the game, so i think a counter attacking game is probably best. Sit deep, conserve energy & break fast.

    I haven’t seen any Swansea games. How have other teams beaten them?

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