Relegation: Fear not!

Well our curly haired on field leader has stepped forward out from the off field shadows to reassure fans that there is no fear of relegation this season. To quote our captain directly - “No, it feels very different because we have controlled games. Last time we went down, we could not control games. Now we do. We try to create chances.”

Don't worry about a thing!

I am not really sure what to make of this statement. It really seems the leaders around the club are singing for the same hymn book when it comes to media quotes. Pardew has stated numerous times that we have controlled games but with no results. I have always been suspicious of talk that comes across as lip service. To me actions always speak louder than words and I really don't draw much confidence from the quotes we have seen in the press recently. An example of this is the Mike Williamson "We are behind Pardew 100%" quotes from a few days ago. Once again, it rings of lip service, so maybe they should take a leaf out of Tiote's book!  To me he has dead set made his mind up to leave at the first opportunity based on what he has been saying. If that is the case, I would be looking to make sure he had plenty of bench time from now until  December if he was not interested in signing a new contract.  Well that is what I would do if I were in charge but I can't see Pardew benching his main man.

I guess it is a double edge sword in regards to the amount of information we want to be fed through the press from the players and coaching staff. Many of us now regard most of what we read with deep suspicion, particularly when times are tough as they are now. Like I mentioned earlier, I would prefer actions over words in these circumstances. Captain Collo doesn't speak to the media very often so maybe his words carry a bit more weight as a result, or maybe he has been backed into a corner through bad results and simply feels the need to say something in response.

If things keep going the way they are and we do indeed get relegated, Mike Ashley will find out that talk is not very cheap at all!