OTF

No, it's not really a good article. Not bad either.

With the players coming back I'm optimistic about this match in isolation.

Some people are really missing the point here I feel. When you more or less have to play players who are patently out of form it erodes not only that players confidence and ability but also that of the players around them. In an ideal situation you have the squad to ride out the lack of form in players by moving them out of the first team and replacing them with someone of sufficient quality. This way you prevent the out of form players confidence disappearing altogether and insulates he rest of the team against it. If you're playing alongside players who are making the wrong decisions, turning the ball over, going missing in defense etc then it will naturally begin to eat away at your belief in your team and even your own ability. This has clearly happened to a number of out players. The buck stops at Ashley on this front as we don't have the squad to cater for injuries, loss of form etc and subsequently when things go wrong it can quickly snowball.

See how old the 'source' of these rumours is... seems most likely the whole thing is fake

Game over, yeah /SegaRally

Cisse appears to invent a new way to turn over the ball every time he gets it.

...and a nice interchange there.

Great ball Ameobi.

Sammy Ameobi again looks capable and dangerous in attack, end product not amazing though.

Our defense is so so fragile.

De Jong looks better than decent in the air, and should have an assist from the knock down to Cisse earlier.

Man... Sissoko did the hard work there then made a poor challenge... And goal conceded. Oh well, next week we'll have a 'strong' team.

No, what he said is we don't have a strong side now. As much as it might be true, as a manager you don't say anything like that. It's a pre-emptive excuse for a poor performance. He should be motivating the players that will be playing not undermining them. Hope you can forgive me for not being a condescending twat

With Pardew's comments indicating that this one has been written off he might as well use this match to give some youngsters some time on the pitch. In fact make CT honourary manager for the game, so we can finally see Marveaux's magic unrestrained. The only thing working against that is the 10 day break before the next game.

He's a very tricky player, I wonder if he will fill out at all like his brother, a bit of extra strength could make him much more effective.

An expected result with the players available and the morale. Sadly nothing on the horizon indicates any change. If I was in a relegation threatened side I'd be dying to play Newcastle at the moment.

Decent little interchange there with De Jong.

Apparently defending with your arms is acceptable if you're wearing blue.

Will let you know when he's on the pitch

How is that not a yellow?

Gosling on for Ben Arfa. Can only assume Pardew is trying to save his legs for the Wednesday home match.

What the heck was M'Biwa doing...

That could have been very embarrassing...

That's the way they play.

Pretty much. That was a lovely goal from them though... Fair shot of the title for them I would say.