How many eps did Paul Abbott write this year then psx?

I don't see how that matters avidmc, hes giving other writers than chance to shine which is a good thing really. I assume your implying hes already run out of ideas? well hes been asked about that before and i'll qoute an article from the Indpendent:

quote:

For the time being, Abbott is delighted to exploit the freedom to write what he likes over here. He certainly shows no sign of running out of ideas " he is already mapping out storylines for the fourth and fifth series. 'I've got 45 years' worth of stories to draw on,' he laughs. 'If Shameless ran for 15 series, I'd still have too much material.'

Full article: here

so he has to continue

I refer you to focusdonna's thread 'gutted'.
And no, I wasn't implying that he's run out of ideas, simply acknowledging the fact that, for whatever reason, he's decided not to be as involved with this series. However good the writers who've scripted this year's eps are, I doubt any of them would argue that they can rival Paul's wicked inventiveness, particularly on this show that is so personal to him.