skarroki

used the premier league table predictor on the BBC to see where i think we will be. i've just put 1-0 for a win, 0-0 for a draw for all teams so ignore the GD. Got us down to draw against Stoke and Liverpool, beat Wigan and lose to Spurs and Chelsea. If Norwich and Newcastle don't do as i expect then we could be 13th by new year, can't argue with that after the start to the season we've had

i think that is a reasonable expectation. Reading have a dangerous couple of games, the next 2 weeks will decide if they stay up or go down IMO, i've also been very kind to QPR with their results and they are still right in the mess so not too worried even if they start to improve.

That's football.

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why is that in any way football? i don't get your point.

i just think it is madness to leave out better players with obvious talent. If you need goals, but the players that get you goals don't fit in the team set-up, change the set-up. It's not hard. if ireland and bent will get us goals, build a team around them, because what we need is goals! not a team of youngsters that try hard. i like the players that are currently in the team but the fact is for the last 2 games we have been lucky not to get torn apart, lucky the other team hasn't shown up either.

Just listened to Chris Kamara on Soccer Saturday. He said we were well worth the point, the back four played well and Bannan was tidy in midfield.

if it's Kammy saying it i will take it as gospel, the living legend!

for me today is not about the 3 points, it's more important that arry loses. Cannot stand the man, need to melt the smugness off his face. 3 points and pushing up the table will be a bonus

can i point out that after reading norwich fans two pennies on this topic, this sort of stance seems very much a PL trait, going cold turkey on some of the best players at the club for seemingly no real reason, then bringing them back in out of the blue, and when they come back in they are fully-fit and raring to go, more determined as their ego is wounded and they don't want to be sat in the reserves again. if he is doing this to make Bent more motivated and determined, and a harder worker on and off the pitch, then it's a great idea, as long as it works.

Another must win game

We have to beat these teams in our relegation mini league

Now now... QPR haven't won a game all season anything less than a draw will be pathetic IMO

i would be happy with a draw although i hope and expect a win from this, i had a bad feeling about the Reading game but we pulled through that, now we just have to go out there and prove we are better than these teams. this could start to change our season completely, back-to-back wins after decent performances against top sides, then heading into a winnable game. could be great. I think the main battle is going to be the mind games, our nerves versus their morale

How long are people normally out with calf strains? would quite like him back for the QPR game to feel a little more comfortable, but don't want him rushed back as i feel we'll need him much more badly against Stoke

ireland improved the team when he came on but was that pure fluke? i think the guy can be great, can make the difference, but his inconsistency is ridiculous. At least a bad Bannan performance is uncharacteristic, you normally know what you are going to get from him in my opinion. I would leave Ireland on the bench again and bring him on at half time if we need something. Also think Bent has to start against QPR, leaving him out the 18 is getting too risky now and frankly i don't see the point. What is Bowery going to contribute coming on late.

talking about the game, bad performance but 3 points is 3 points. What a relief! Really liking how we can we can play awful and still pull through with such a young side, despite them looking nervous it shows how much they have matured over this season and how important they could prove to be.

really getting into this now. previous 4 years i have won the league against my mates so to now be doing rubbish in every league i am playing in is quite frustrating. this is my current team after a big re-shuffle

Jaaskelainen - Ruddy

Rafael - Baines - A.Cole - Shawcross - Riise

Nolan - Yaya - Cazorla - Lennon - Michu

Crouch - Long - Lambert

Thoughts?

have got to say the usage of this blocking feature is getting a little silly now. It's understandable having a dislike for wind-up merchants and point-scorers, but to block any fan that has a differing opinion to you must make this website incredibly dull. the banter, debates and differing opinions from the members of this site keeps me entertained in the office every day, doesn't just reading the same opinion worded slightly differently 20 times annoy those of you using the feature?

i have a bad feeling about this game. i appreciate the confidence of the fans on here who are claiming we WILL win this match, but i don't know where the positivity is coming from. Watching this one is going to be a horribly nervy 90 minutes for me personally, really hope the team plays well and makes me more confident of the upcoming fixtures

also have been debating whether the option to do some sort of swap with sunderland involving Sessegnon + cash for Bent, whether that would be a realistic option. they need goals and we need someone to create goals, could work out well for both parties. thoughts on the likelihood of this?

I've noticed nathan dyer doesn't seem to start on a regular basis for swansea this season.

Think he could be a good signing for us.

This. i thought he was a great player last year, i think he would fit in with the team well. Clearly the new manager at Swansea just doesn't fancy him for whatever reason so if we can bring him in too then brilliant

if he is available, or if QPR do go for him, i would really like Dawson here, even on loan till the end of the season when we can sign or he can go back. i feel what with Gallas, Vertongen and Caulker that he could be tempted away, it's just whether a short-term deal with us would be tempting enough. he would be my top priority in January if he is a realistic option.

I understand the links with him and Redknapp but Redknapp never played him as much as he deserved in my opinion, an almost guarenteed first place in the team to prove himself again with the option to either go back to spurs or stay with us i think would be ideal. thoughts?

Why is he wearing a bra?

looks a lot like Routledge to me

Does anyone on here think he could do a job at LB?

I'm not saying that players don't make mistakes. Of course they do but Benteke should have enough about him by now to know when to shield and hold the ball up and when to pass when your team's under pressure. FFS I was taught that at trials for school boy internationals and even before that by my P.E teacher but i guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

after reading your comments on the last few pages i am finding it hard to take your criticisms of Benteke seriously. Are you suggesting that if a coach tells you to shield a ball in certain situations, that you will be able to perfectly perform this task every time it is required of you for the rest of your career. This schoolboy coaching that you had clearly taught you everything you needed to know to be a world-beater, so why are you not playing in the premiership?

Just a side note: Bannan, Ireland, and Weimann have started all the games we won.

and out of those 3, Bannan is probably the only one i would want in the team week-in, week-out

That a few decent results for us, and a few bad results for others, could turn tables around completely?

a few bad results for us, and a few decent results for others, could put us right in the shit. seeing as this is football it is not easy to predict what is going to happen.

Having said that, this month looks horrible on paper and seeing as our next 3 games are games any onlooker would expect us to lose, then relegation is still a massive threat, as things currently stand

i think since Lambert came out and said about improving the squad in January, that it is impossible to call whether or not we will survive until February 2nd, when the team till the end of the year is in place, and we have got a big chunk of our hardest games out of the way.

if the rest of November isn't as bad as i am expecting (3 points max) and we get a few good results in December then i will be very optimistic about the next calendar year, we shall see though

Guzan

Lowton Vlaar Dunne Bennett

Albrighton Westwood Bannan Agbonlahor

Bent

Benteke

That's the team i would currently be picking, and i think it looks better than Wigan's, Reading's Norwich's and Southampton's. Arguably on par with Sunderland's and West Ham's

I am not stating this as fact; this is my opinion.

So i believe that if we stop this rot and get back on track before january, the second half of the season should be much more positive. i have concerns about relegation but we have JUST enough quality to get out of it, if we add a little more we can easily avoid the drop.

Serious question, am i deluded?

Na he was pointing round the the three home stands saying you guys were up here tonight, then points to the away stand and motions that they were down there.

He's just playing up to the fans and they seem to love it. I'm sure we'd enjoy it as well if our manager was doing something similar.

this. Swindon are one of the teams that i reguarly look out for with results and news, i desperately wanted to go watch the game but i am in China for a few months so it wasn't worth the money to go.

Since Di Canio has come in he's been as flamboyant in his post-match interveiws and on the touchline as he could be on the pitch, but i also think his honesty is paraphrased badly, and normally what he says is reasonable. There's been no revolt against him from any of the players despite the way he acts and talks so there has to be some respect from the players there. He's passionate, an intelligent manager and a born winner, which is a great combination and i can see him managing a big club in the future.

Just wanted to say my tupence about him. With regards to Villa, i hope this gives some form of confidence ahead of saturday, i really want us to beat O'Neills side but i just can't see where the next win is coming from. It's worrying how poor our entire defence and midfeild can look at times, including during this game. No point using the "2nd choice" excuse, they are back-up and should be able to come in and do a job.

got a great chance here and it's the QF's now, you can't hope to get a league 2 team because it's a miracle they've even made it this far. i think we have a great chance of getting into a final this year now with our draw so the players just need to motivate themselves and pull together. we are not worse than Norwich

if we haven't got ten points by december 1st then i wouldn't expect us to get out of relegation. i am already very pessimistic about our chances of avoiding the drop and after every game my pessimism grows. our team has young championship squad written all over it, its a team that would push for promotion not the one you play week-in, week-out in the prem

my stepdad is a fan of swindon so i have followed them for a few years myself now. the few times i saw them play i thought he stood out from the rest, but i would never consider him for villa, just simply did not look premier league class. he may have come on leaps and bounds since moving to burnley, but championship looked like his level to me at the time. i would definately call him a poormans Bent at best

i thought he was great at Swindon and i've got a soft spot for him but not enough to want him here.