Granted Mandanda will be away but palaces back four will not be away during the next two weeks. Pardew simply has to concentrate on working with the back four what does he do with the defence during training?

Let's be honest here, is Pards any good as a defensive coach ? If not, is he then able to see this and allow somebody to run this ? If so and this is happening they are clearly not up to the job as we have not had a clean sheet for 16 games. Hopefully internally within the club somebody is asking these questions ? Then if they are not being answered to their satisfaction something proactive is happening.

Edited by Booted Eagle (05 Nov 2016 6.18pm)

“ [T]here are known knowns; there are things we know that we know.There are known unknowns; that is to say there are things that, we now know we don't know.But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know. ”
—United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld

I thought exactly the same thing. It was the same when Cabaye took the ball off Benteke for a penalty, insisted on taking it, and then fluffed it. And then when Mandanda expected the wall to jump against Lukaku and it didn't.

If Pardew doesn't think these decisions are either his to take or else to be delegated to the captain with his instructions and control, then he clearly doesn't know what he's doing. Possible exception of the one about the wall, but even there there needs to be clear command and control; Mandanda expected the wall to do one thing, Delaney another.

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The Ferret
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