Papillon

This arguement kind of fails by the fact that you think Lowton is a good defender. And your stupid attempt to tell me something failed even worse, since you read my two sentences and added something I clearly didn't write. I said Lowton is a defender, I did not say he is a good defender. Bacuna is not a defender, he is a midfielder. It's hard to say how good Lowton is these days, or for the future, but he is better at defending than Bacuna every day of the week. Lowton has the defensive gene, which means he knows if he looses the ball they will most likely create a big chance - Bacuna is always positioning himself like a midfielder, which means he knows there will be a defender behind him to rectify his mistake. It doesn't of course, because he plays at the back and it's painful to watch almost every game. Say what you want about Lowton, but a bad defender is still better than a bad midfielder trying to play right-back. The first thing you learn about defending is taking out space, anticipating runs, staying on line with the other defenders, playing people offside, clearing the ball instead of taking risk and so on - I would say Bacuna is failing at all these things. Silly attempts to trick a player instead of just whacking the ball out of play is a common denominator with this guy, leaving him exposed all the time. That tackle for Crouch's goal and the mistake for the third was just pathetic, you couldn't even do that on purpose and succeed. Get him out of the team, a few free-kicks doesn't make up for all the goals we concede because of him.

Having Okore back, or someone else, will be extremely welcomed. I have said it all season, Baker is a liability and I don't care how young he is. He is rash, makes stupid errors all the time, doesn't read the game well, positioning is off and anticipation even worse. Must be a nightmare to play next to him, because he cannot be trusted at all. Sure it was Bacuna who made the initial error for the worst goal today, but when under pressure you saw what happened next. The header he lost to Crouch was totally inept too, he is obviously going to lose to Crouch in 99 out of a 100 challenges in the air, but it was the way he gave 100% to reach the impossible ball instead of just trying to put Crouch to the ground or take out room instead to chase the next move. He was left completely exposed and they scored, it was inevitable from the moment he went for that ball. Baker likes to tackle and he is very tough, certainly good assets to have for a defender, but that goes for pretty much every other defender in the league as well. His toughness often leads to chances against us as well, because instead of anticipating what will happen next, and maybe change his position, he throws himself in and leaves the door all the way open if he misses the ball. I would say he is one of the poorest defenders in the league right now and he is playing all of our games. No wonder we are letting in four goals at home to Stoke. He is the next James Collins. Tough, vocal, goes for every challenge there is and ends up with a cut in his face - but he cannot read the game or position himself for shit.

He is obviously out there to harass and pick play apart, tackle and hustle and bust the other team, but he has a touch and pass of a Conference-player. Sure, many players have that role and suck at everything else, but he isn't very good at his main job either and when you cannot make a 5 yard pass you can't play in the Premier League. I just watched two of the best teams in the world play and it's beautiful to see every time a player controls the ball and plays it perfectly to the next one, almost like if the ball was glued to their feet. Sylla, I wouldn't trust him to make a single pass 10 yards ahead of him to a player completely unmarked, standing still. He just can't play football!

No no, didn't annoy me, but the first description was a bit rosy. I just remembered it from last season, so many were talking about Westwood, Lowton, Guzan, Benteke and so on being exceptionally good and definitely top 5 in the league in their departments, often coming after certain good games, but we all know the reality is a bit different when they aren't having the best days. This season Lowton is barely getting games and the woeful Bacuna is chosen instead of him, even though he cannot defend for his life, so superlatives are being thrown around a bit hastily IMO. As for Guzan, I too agree that he is a very good goalkeeper, just like many others in this league.

You can shape the perception of the word distribution in many ways though. Passing 15 yards to the nearest player is easy, do that a hundred times in a row and you get a perfect score of course. However, distribution is about setting the ball in play as fast as you can when you get a good opportunity, throwing the ball 50 yards right on the path of the winger, playing 60 yard Xavi-esque passes to create an attack out of nothing is something just a few goalkeepers are capable of doing, and I have never seen Guzan dominate in that area. The best goalkeepers almost acts as sweepers in that regard, for me Guzan either plays it short or just kicks it upfield with an upcoming 50/50 header between our striker and their defender.

Now this is the kind of thing that annoys me with forums such as this one, the ever-present overrating of certain individuals. In no way is Guzan miles better than Szczesny or Mignolet. Not a single fan from their teams would take Guzan over them, and no single pundit in the world would say anything close to what you are saying. They are all good goalkeepers, all of them being best at stopping shots, and I would even say Mignolet is above the other two when it comes to that department. None of them are particularly great at distribution, which is very important in my opinion, so that's why none of them are mentioned among the elite goalkeepers in the world or the Premier League for that matter. The level of the goalkeepers in the Premier League is very high in general, switching Guzan with Marhall, Vorm, Boruc, Ruddy, Howard, Krul, Begovic or Stekelenburg wouldn't change anything for us I think - but if De Gea, Cech or Lloris was swapped with someone else they would feel it instantly. Being a goalkeeper for a top team is immensely different from standing in goal for a team that often loses, gets many shots on goal and often ship in two at the back during a weekend. How many times don't we see a player like Guzan or Marshall get MoTM even though the team lost 3-0? If Hart or De Gea ship in one decent shot and they lose, they always get the blame or big tabloids thrown at them. Every time Guzan makes a mistake, nothing is written - but when Joe Hart loses a soft goal it's a huge problem. It's easier to look great for Aston Villa or Norwich, compared to Man City and Liverpool. Guzan is safe, he is dependable, he is consistent - just like 10-12 other goalkeepers are in the Premier League. He is, however, not even close to being one of the best. Ask anyone supporting a team in the bottom 10 and they'll most likely tell you that their goalkeeper is top 3 in the league.

You never bring up any sense. Juan Mata is a midfielder, Jay Rodriguez is a striker. Juan Mata has warranted moves to Chelsea and Man Utd, he has won the Champions League and he plays for Spain. Jay Rodriguez will warrant a move to a bigger club if he deserves it, and credit to him if he does make such a step in his career. Why you are comparing the two and grudging Mata is just weird, he is obviously a very good player and a nice person to boot. I can understand people having things to say against Suarez, Ronaldo and Pepe, but seriously, Mata? If Mata played for Southampton he would be their star, if Rodriguez was playing for United, he would sit on the bench most of the time. His finish today was lovely though. Juan Mata forked up 29 goals/assists last season, and when he gets back after a full pre-season, more accustomed to his new surroundings, I expect him to do the same next year. Jay Rodriguez? Will probably play for Southampton and struggle to score more than 10 goals, as we have seen with many players with high, but not exceptional ability.

Exactly why I laughed off the link to Arsenal as their replacement for Bacary Sagna. Bacuna is never going to become a good full-back, his anticipation and positioning is never going to be up to standards. The way he fails to see the smart move before a ball comes down is astonishing, practically asking for trouble every time. Lowton is a defender, Bacuna is not. Easy as that, so what the hell is Lambert seeing?

Lovely painting, although I guess Wimbledon-fans said the same at one point

I disagree. Liverpool and Everton were two games we could have got more from if the manager hadn't resorted to this failed tactic of lumping it to a target man. And against west brom I think we we're very fortunate to score when we did because 3-3 I don't see us winning with holt coming on. And I disagree with you. Against much better teams you are dictated to play like that, it always happens when you are leading and they are going gung-ho to get a point or three. Doesn't matter what the manager says, the team is harrassed and end up protecting itself in the easiest way

When we scored we actually looked good and high on energy, they looked absolutely lethargic. Now we are showing just how poor we are at the back. Bacuna is a horrific defender, he should never play anywhere else than midfield. Can't wait for Okore to throw out Baker, I cannot think of a single player worse than him in the PL

What the hell!!! Bacuna the full back creating havoc and Baker being awful as usual

Sylla has the touch of a drunk pub player. Just not anywhere near good enough

Whaaat? It was never a free-kick and Odemwingie did not use his arm, at least look at the replay before commenting

And congratulations to Lambert for his 175th goal at the back in his Premier League-career. In 105 games and 25 minutes that is

Defensive display from hell!

What is your point? Juan Mata was one of the best players on the pitch last night in their victory, and Jay Rodriguez (the striker) has been good today.

Arsenal failing to play well against a top team, again. Why they will never win the league in this environment, they have won 5 out of the last 22 games or so, against the top 7. Only won against Tottenham (x3) and Liverpool (x2) in that period, and those aren't exactly the top dogs in the pack either. Well, at least not at the time they played them. Arsene Wenger is a genius, but compared to Mourinho's tactics he's a novice. He plays the same team and formation no matter what, Mourinho moulds his tactic to beat every single team. Even if it's City away or Cardiff at home, he knows how to beat them.

Yeah you are right, and around Europe the emphasis is clearly on attacking full-backs on the right side. Probably on the left as well, but the market is much smaller for left-footed players being able to swing in crosses or deliver good passes. I would say the only world-class right-back in the Premier League is Branislav Ivanovic. Extremely good at the back, fast, has some goal-threat to him and he is 100% consistent, unlike players like Rafael, Sagna, Walker and Johnson. Of course we have to mention Zabaleta too, he is also world-class (well, certainly amongst the top right-backs in the world as there aren't that many good ones to mention) but Zaba also gives his best attacking the bylines.

An awful defender, so awful that he had Eden Hazard, a player widely expected to win the player of the year award this season, largely in his back pocket for the majority of the match - I think Hazard beat him once on the byline in the second half. I think most full backs suffer from being caught out of position on occasion as they either go chasing the ball upfield or get dragged inside by the movement of attackers but Leo has the pace and desire to get back at them quickly. He's also quite composed which is refreshing. In short, I couldn't disagree with you too much more really and I cannot believe that you've actually seen him play to even make such a statement. Ah, the classical "he marked out one player in one game"-argument. That always sticks right? A bit like discussing importing players from the Championship and then someone comes along and mentions one player that didn't make it. In football you have a lot of variables, in short, on that particular day it might not be down to Bacuna for making sure Hazard played badly. Top players, like everyone else, have bad days against even poor teams like Villa. Leandro Bacuna has been guilty of woeful positioning when playing at the back, leaving gaping holes for the other team to exploit - and they do. Also prone to dribbling and making poor assessments when he is really playing like a midfielder taking too much risk. The initial article mentioned Arsenal's interest in him as a replacement for Sagna. It's ridiculous, Arsene Wenger will take one look at a video and see he is as bad at defending as Titus Bramble and Zat Knight. Why? Because he is a midfielder, a pretty decent one, and not a defender. Wenger certainly don't need midfielders, so the article is obviously bullshit and made-up.

Arsenal interested in Leandro Bacuna as a replacement for Bacary Sagna you say? Obviously bullshit. Now Bacuna has been decent, mostly because he has scored five goals this season already, including a few quality free-kicks. However, as a defender he is awful. He completely lacks defensive nous and positional awareness, which you know, is pretty important. He is never going to be a good defender and surely not one for Arsenal. All his ability is in going forward, and it's not like he is awesome every weekend.

No they can't. The "brand" depends on winning. Utd are losing. They're the in the position of a Man City before they spent the big bucks on quality players. Now no real quality players are going to go to Utd they're not going to win anything for a while. End of brand. Mata went to Utd because he didn't have a place a Chelsea. He's a limited player. Rodriguez has more goals and assists during the time he's been at Utd. Not so much over-rated as over-priced for what Utd are going to get. Christ, you are all about black or white. And highly delusional. United are losing? Yes, in a 28-game perspective. They have built a brand for 20 years and that does not falter in a year. What you are basically saying is that if you don't reach the Champions League you are doomed forever, which is of course not true at all. Chelsea finished 6th a couple of years ago, they are right back at it and I suspect United will be as well. Hefty and balanced signings in the summer will bring them right back to contention, they have a lot of cash to spend and we all know that leads to better chances in the league. How can you say they are in the position of Man City before they spent a lot of money? They currently have David de Gea, Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Adnan Januzaj amongst others on their books, Man City's best player at the time was Joey Barton. United definitely have the squad, they just don't have all the first picks to compete with City and Chelsea, on top of the new regime of David Moyes which was always going to be a huge transition for them. No real quality player is going to come to United? It's not like a player is necessarily picking his new club for next season, but for the next ten years. They just signed Juan Mata, a player that would have been first-pick at Chelsea for every single manager except Jose Mourinho. He was their best player two years in a row, including the season where they won the Champions League. He has played six games for United, including three assists, and you are writing him off and comparing him to Jay Rodriguez? You have no idea what you are talking about, Juan Mata is one of the finest players in the league - but also he needs time to settle with a new club, new players, new city, new environment etc. Arsenal haven't won a single trophy in 8-9 years and they signed Mesut Özil in the summer, your arguments don't hold up. Say what you want about these players, they are both the kind to thrive in a set environment I would agree, but it's not like they are suddenly at the level of a Newcastle or Soton-player. Juan Mata has nine goals in 31 games for Spain, the best national team on the planet, but I guess he is limited! In general, I argue the things I think will happen, rather than the things I actually want to happen. You obviously want them to fail, but writing them off for failing to reach the CL and saying they won't sign a single decent player is just naive. Let's say the compete with Liverpool for a player in the summer: They will afford higher fees and wages, they have a much bigger brand and tradition the last 20 years, who do you think will get the player? Well, that was a stupid question as it's you I am asking, but we'll just have to see.

Yeah I believe it's way too little to be honest. He's not a player, he is not some hotheaded 19 year old with a lack of education - he's 52 years old grown up and the leader of the clubs' operations. Not that it was an intense skullcrusher, but making contact with a player is pretty severe in my eyes, they should have given him the rest of the season outside the stadium.

Then let's pray Lambert changes things around, as basically none of our players fit into the system. We're not winning games (could have stopped the sentence right there) because of our wicked tactics, but we have certain players who would walk into every team in the bottom 10 and should play to suit them rather than the other way around.

Johnson is shit and kiyotake would cost like 3-4m with the season he's having. Adam Johnson is obviously not shit. He can change a game on his own, which he has certainly done for Sunderland lately. Why he struggled to play well for Sunderland I don't know, but I always remember him doing special things even for Man City. Has a style and touch pretty similar to Gareth Bale in many regards, being able to twist and turn on the side before unleashing shots from all angles. Again, why he played so poorly for Sunderland over time beats me, but sometimes teams aren't suited for a certain player and I guess it's the case here. He is still only 26 years old, so lots of time to get the best out of him. Scored six goals in four games a couple of weeks ago, you're not crap if you manage to keep a run like that when you're a winger. For a certain price, hell yes. As for Kiyotake, I have never seen him play and I seriously doubt many on here have seen him regularly. I mean, when are Nürnberg on TV? Seeing him curl in a few crosses and goals on YouTube means very, very little.