Philosopher

Too many backwards passes, too many long punt from guzan to Benteke when he was surrounded by three defenders most of the time and Luna and Lowton got torn to shreds (no to mention Lowtons awful passing). We carved Newcastle open at times, and apart from the final 20 minutes always looked capable of scoring. Unfortunately every time Ben Arfa and Remi / Gouffran got the ball we ended up backing up to our 18 yard line.

Both fullbacks were awful!

He has always looked best as a second striker to me but he is just to inconsistent to change the system to incorporate him in this role. So he should be sold.

I thought this too They basically say the pitch size has to be within certain parameters, but those parameters are quite wide, because ideally the governing bodies want to promote larger pitch sizes to promote more free flowing football. This would mean that Stoke for instance would have to rebuild their stadium to accomodate a large pitch!

I agree with everything you have said except that Luna is a million miles ahead of him Luna is ahead of him, but defensively Luna doesn't fill me with confidence either, to me both Luna and Bennett are in the same mold. Good going forward but suspect defensively. Fortunately defending is something that can be learnt and improves with experience. We have to remember young players need support and backing.

Don't think sigurdsson would be a good fit. Not a great workrate and a tad slow. The identity of our team now is about energy, effort, pace and tenacity. The one rumour I really thought was perfect was Kiyotake, he would be perfect, but its not gonna happen!

That goal is just what he needed!

looks like a dutch version of Milner!

He is just a nightmare for defenders and every season his technique seems to improve! At first it was shit, then it got to decent, now I would say quite good, he first touch is still a bit iffy though!

I think he has something. He looks quick with good balance and has good technique.

Agree with that Lowton didn't even start? Weimenn scored a screamer and westwood controlled the game!

Ince scored most of his goals from the no 10 position playing in hole. He has talent, but I am not sure how high he can go, looks like he should at least be a handy premier league no 10. His best assets are his pace and creativity.

I have to say Savage is at least honest and gets people talking. He's the only one that has any place being to TV (as divisive, love to hate character), The rest are just boring! I quite like Keown though, he at least seems like he has actually put some though into his words! These guys are all big 6 cocklickers, so of course we along with every other fan of a team outside the top 6 will hate them! The bias is out of this world. Brain little was commentating on the Arse v Villa game and he was terribly biased towards Arsenal pretty much saying every decision in our favour was called wrong, I was disgusted I thought he was a Villa man!

Then do what I do and stream that shit! Just so you know Delph has been a colossus! The form he is in makes him undropable right now, he outshone all the chelsea central midfielders last night, and completely shut out Wilshere on the sat!

The thing with spurs is their massive ticket prices, they essentially make more than double we do on a match day with a slightly smaller ground all because of the London (and rich Jew) factor!

Based on his squad number (i.e. the fact that he's not in the 'bomb squad') it would seem as though he still fits into Lambert's broader plans. Agree that a loan until January would be the best option. Agree with fab! Albie has a high workrate gets into goalscoring positions and can finish so he can fit into the system, whether he is good enough though is debatable! Personally I think if it wasn't for injuries and McLeish he would've shown he is good enough to be a squad player at least. Under MON and Houillier (until he got burnt out) he was easily our best crosser and scored a few good goals. He has the right attitude for Lambert to at least give him a chance! With him its about restoring confidence and staying fit, only then will we see what he's really capable of!

I reckon PL with get to full amount but once the contract values of the player / s goes over Bentekes contract then the contract value (wage over the contracted period) will be deducted from that amount! So if we sign a 20m striker who wants 80k per week for 5 years, then 30 per week (assuming tekkers is on 50k) over over five years will also be deducted so 27.5m will be deducted from the transfer fee! So if the fee recieved for selling tekkers is 50m then that would leave 22.5m left for any other signings plus their wages.

I'd agree with this but the term box-to-box as applied by some in this thread is the Gerrard/Lampard version not purely the destroyer version. Personally, I'd term the destroyer version defensive midfield or central midfield (with no reference to "box-to-box"). It seems though you agree with me Delph's main assets aren't attacking? This is my point and I'm getting criticised for it. Box to box is about WHERE you play not what your qualities are! b2b players are usually jack of all trades but a jack of all trades is usually better in some areas than others. I believe Delph's attacking is being overlooked by you because of how he has been used up until and that his tenacity and tackling are what immediately catch the eye! Delph has nice technique, a good first touch, and at leeds he showed he can shoot (and not just blast it, can curl it or sidefoot it too). He is also a capable passer. The thing is when you play at such a high tempo counter attacking style, and when you're playing teams that will control possession its the defensive traits that will come to the fore! When team look to sit back and defend Delph will have show the other side of his game and hopefully he will show improvement there too! Delph is not much of a goalscorer, but he is actually very technical, and his dribbling ability is a quality that is used to attack! He is not the goalscorer, but does have a bit of playmaker about him. Many of our best attacking moves came from a Delph dribble or him winning the ball in the opponnets half. Remember defensive qualities can also be used to attack! Your interpretation is too narrow! Players have many different qualities so even though players play in the same area of the pitch the way they play, and what they bring to the style of play is going to be different! When you have the energy Delph has the only way to expliot it is by giving him the freedom to roam! rmember Roy Keane also scored and assisted goals as well, his strength was his energy, aggresson and tackling, but his movement and positioning were also first class! I am not saying Delph is as good as him but their games are similar. Previously Delph used to get caught out of position a lot, but thats improving as he has finally had a chance for A. a run of games and B started getting used to the tempo of the prem. I personally feel he is still adjusting, and that a 10 to 15 game run will see the finer points of his game come out.

A box to box midfielder doesn't need to assist or score to be a box to box midfielder. What a box to box midfield does is rather than stick to either the defensive half of the middle or the attacking half of the middle, he works both, operating from the edge of his own box to the opponents box! Using high energy, stamina, workrate and good antisipation skills to always be in the thick of the action! There are differnt types of box to box player within this. There are playmaker types that get lots of assists and dictate the play as well as poping up with a few goals (think Gerrard), there is goal scoring type who is adept at making those late ghosting runs lnto the box (think Lampard), and then there is the destroyer! Delph I would class as the destroyer, he uses his pace and tenacity to quickly close down and dispossess opponents all over the pitch and when in possession runs with the ball through the middle creating space for others. So basically he breaks down oppostion moves and then destroy's the opposition midfields shape! I would best compare Delph to Roy Keane (as I have mentioned previously)! Now if we had a Scholes (who is a combination of playmaker / goalscorer b2b) we would achieve a new dimension in our play. Currently we play with two destroyer types and a sitter in midfield, makes it very hard to play through us, but lacks a bit of attacking threat! I think Lambert is currently looking for the missing piece, a hardworking, energetic midfield playmaker. With our three forwards goals won't be a problem so long as the supply is there!

The lads were fantastic, the ref was shit and Delph bossed that midfield (and I include our opponents midfielders in that too) for the second game in a row! The sending off and peno in the Arsenal game were at worst dubious and at best correct, however in this game to clear clangers and one (the ivanovic fouls) should really have been a red! The spirit and quality of the team in the last two matches makes me think top 7 this season!

1Well deserved equalizer. Hopefully we can keep this up and show the Arsenal win was no fluke (as we all know we have got something about us this season)!

What? Why would they want to do that after a couple of games lol Read THIS

I reckon its Suarez they are looking at! Rooney offers something different from what they have, Benteke isn't much different from Lukaku or Ba, it just doesn't make sense for it to be Benteke. Also Monaco want to sell Falcao now apparently so it may be him. Although Suarez makes more sense to me!

So from what I can just about understand from that, you think Lambert should select and play footballers that he doesn't rate so doesn't want at the club? That is genius! No but the fact of the matter is.. we couldnt sell him. They are happy to pay his wages but not a fee? Parker is older and Tottenham have sold him. I think it appears to other clubs that they are problem players by making them play with the kids.. I never said play them. Dont play them but to alienate them and make them play with the kids is a bit harsh.. especially if some of them didnt do anything. Simply do what we did with Stephen Ireland a few years back and just send them out on loan.. dont freeze them out.. let them play in the reserves.. they have lost fitness and match sharpness now so noone wants to gamble on them. I think hutton will find a club as he played matches and still was in the shop window. Good luck with the rest. Thats ofcourse if we want to get some sort of fee for them. If we dont.. well then this is what we get.. they rot and collect their wages to say 'stuff you' to the club. Its all about squad harmony and DB that is upset about not being first choice won't help nurture a tight knit mentality. Also by putting them in with the kids it benefits the kids, as they see that no matter what your reputation or ability if your not working hard and doing you best for the team you won't get anywhere.

Darren Bent stated at the end of the season that if he was going to be on the bench and not in the team he would have to leave. Lambert made it clear to Bent he wasn't in his plans! Whats the point of having a dis-satisfied player in and around our first team squad its hardley going to help the atmosphere and comradery of the group. Lamberts priority is to build a winning team so why waste time and money on a player that to incorporate means weakening the team! Obviously Bent isn't ging to be happy because he want to be in the team and scoring goals and he's been doing neither for a while now! DB is in a fortunate position compared to the rest of the bomb squad in that he's a proven performer at this level so finding teams willing to sign him up was never going to be a problem.