barry'sboots

Game of two halves. We played really well first half and they had the second. Two great goals for us one soft goal for them. I thought all of the team did well with no particular standout. I thought Stan was a weak link in the second half as he tired - he really doesn't have the engine to play 90 minutes in these type of games. I also thought Wolves showed us what decent movement looked like?

I would do Ireland for Albie and Gabby for Emile.

Didn't think Brad was putting that out on purpose??

How about a Citeh formation for the front 6 of: ------------ NRC ---------- Petrov -------------- ------------------- Sidwell ----------------------- ------- Ireland/Gabby ------- Young ----------- ------------------- Heskey ----------------------- A more defensive three so we should win the midfield battle - the same three that dominated Plop last year at Anfield. Also probably narrower than we would normally play with only one winger deployed and he would be encouraged to get inside more and buzz around Emile like he did on Wednesday night. But the defensive three CM'ers would encourage Luke and Warnock to overlap more. I think this could be a good side to play the likes of Wolves away and come back with points. Also leaves us plenty of attacking options on the bench for the last 30 when the Wolves tire with DJ, Marc, Gab/SI, JC and Bannan in reserve.

I thought this was the topic? Looked very good in the last 30 minutes once Heskey had come on and we had got on top.

Reason why it's great MON left #253 Have you only got to 253??

Agreed. He's a great player in the opponents half/final third. He's more or less a forward and not many forwards can play CM. I would echo this and I think this is why he wasn't getting games at Citeh where Mancini seems to like to play a very solid central 3 with little attacking threat and leave that to his front three of a striker and two wider players.

1. 2-1 villa. 2. Ashley Young, obviously and Big Emile if he plays like he did v Blackburn. 3. Doyle. I really like him and had hoped we would make a move for him last summer, although he seems pretty happy with you guys. 4. Petrov, if he plays (hoping he won't). Lacks energy and I think your higher tempo midfield could exploit this. 5. Dont know your team well enough 6. Bannan, Albrighton, Delph, Delfouneso, Clark, Gary Gardener. 7. 7th-8th 8. Bottom half avoiding relegation 9. Who knows, things change so quickly in football. The UEFA rules coming in will hopefully have an impact. 10. No. Typical London media bias stoking this up.

Not a very optimistic picture you present. If MON (or K-Mac for that matter) were here I would defo be agreeing BUT I do think we should be giving Ged a chance. I am hoping that he understands your concerns!

I like the idea of having the Fonz/Gab out on the right but drifting in if Ash is doing the same on the other side. Makes them difficult to mark when they come inside, creates space for SI/DJ/Bannan to go outside them and looks a lot more fluid. I think it will take them a while to really learn this but will stand them in good stead.

Quote from Bannan saying SI was due to start but had a potential injury and he was put on standby the day before I think. Obviously, that injury kept him out.

I think Ged might surprise you. Isn't it great to have to guess our line ups again??

I was there, but only because a friend who gets free tickets as his wife works at the Villa took me. I am a ST holder. I still think that there is a lot disappointment in the Milner move. For me he was a big part of our "bright future" that the mercenaries of Citeh have stolen away .... to use as a winger as well!! I don't blame Randy for selling (he had to when Milner wanted to go) and I don't blame Jimmy for wanting to go (earn more money and, probably, win trophies) but it kind of dulls the hopes and resets expectations for many. IMO, two things are killing football at the minute - money via Champions League (creates such a big earnings differential) and wealthy backers AND the Bosman ruling which gives all the power to the player. I would like to see the Premier League seek to replace the CL as the pre-eminent global brand in football and a change in the Bosman ruling such that, if a player runs his contract down, then he can move on but at a market value set by a panel. This is fairer in my mind.

I would play: ------------------ Friedel ------------------- Young --- Collins --- Cuellar --- Warnock ------------------- NRC -------------------- ----------- SI ------ Downing/Bannan---- --- Gabby/Fonz ------------------ Ash --- ----------------- Heskey ------------------ Subs: Guzan, Dunne/Clark, Beye, Petrov, Downing/Bannan, Gabby/Fonz, Carew I think Ged hit on a formation that works for the last 30 minutes of last night - 4-3-3 with Heskey at the point and two wider players that are not playing as out and out wingers (but can drift out) and can get close to Heskey with midfield runners also getting in on that act. I don't normally disagree with you, AVFCPoB, but I am desparate not to see a return to 4-4-2, especially with the flat CM pairing of Stan and NRC. I also don't like Ash starting in that central role and think he is more effective when he plays like the last 30 minutes of last night i.e. out on the left but not as an out and out winger and with a licence to come inside and play off the striker when appropriate. I think that this also makes him harder to pick up.

Brad: Did okay. I am still not wholly convinced. Warnock: Better performance IMO. Looked solid and won a lot of headers. Cueller: Very solid. Our best defender and deserves a run now. Carrying on from his second half performance against Bolton where he was the only one of the three to really get to grips with Davies. Clark: Very promising Lachaj: Not really sure about Eric. Good long throw though! Bannan: Cam into his own second half when the system changed slightly and it seemed to suit him better. He ended up more on the left side than at the point of the three. Reo-coker: Great to have a bit of energy and bite in CM. Not his best game and what he does do goes unnoticed but he keeps going for 90 minutes and that inspires the team IMO. Sidwell: Not great but got better in the second half Young: Excellent. Again, he was better in the second half when he was clearly left side but had the freedom to come in and play of Heskey. Carew: Not suited to a 4-3-3 Gabby: Looked a little lost when not playing as the point striker. I think he could play this role but needs to learn it. Fonz: OK, I thought he grew into this role and again could learn it Heskey: Excellent. At last a manager that realises that Heskey is not a third CM'er and, if you are going to get the best out of him, you need to play him as the main striker and get bodies, like Ash, in and around him. Davies: Reasonably solid when he came on. Ged: An interesting first game. I think he has hit on a 4-3-3 formation that works with Emile at the point of it.

------------------ Guzan -------------------- Young --- Collins --- Cuellar --- Warnock ------------------- NRC --------------------- Downing ---- SI --------- Bannan ---- Ash ------------------- Gab --------------------- for me

I agree that he needs to be off Gabby. I would have also preferred it if we could ease him back into things. He didn't play much last year and had a disrupted pre-season so is not particularly match fit. We have seen, with the Chelski cast offs (Parker, Sidwell, Bridge etc.) that when you have that long effectively out of the game it takes a while to recapture your form. I would like to have seen Ireland gradually introduced through sub appearances and cup games getting up to speed with his own game and his team mates but the size of our squad unfortunately does not allow for this. I think he will be a great asset if handled well. There is no doubt in my mind that he is a quality attacking footballer but he is also, it appears, a complex individual who needs handling properly. I hope Ged can do this.

For positional sense I would say that Stan doesn't really move from his "sitting" position. I do not see him passing and moving to receive a return pass ever. For me, NRC demonstrated that he can play this role against Bolton H last year (the only chance MON gave him as the sitting midfielder in the last two years) but when he is played alongside Stan he has to be the box to box midfielder as Stan couldn't do that role. Stan is also one tempo IMO, just a lot slower than NRC. I think you are not reflecting NRC's recent performances when you say he gives it away continually. He has to be much more forward looking than Stan because of the role he is asked to play when alongside Stan. Going forward means that there is a risk of losing the ball BUT he does this much less than he is credited with IMO. I think this is evidenced in performances against bottom half teams last season - the likes of Wigan H, Wolves H&A, West Ham H&A, Burnley A etc. where our performances were lacklustre and lacked any drive. Compare this to the one game that NRC played the DCM role - Bolton H -when we dominated throughout the whole 90 minutes. I can't think of another home game where we did this playing 4-4-2?? Small sample I know but I can only refer to the games he is given a chance to play this role and, IMO, he deserves a run of being able to show this. I assume that was the away game that I can't claim to remember. I thought Delph was assume in the first 30 minutes against Man U H when he stole the show. We lost the impetus when MON failed to respond to Man U going down to 10 men. I really rate Delph and think he has England international potential but in a 3 IMO or with a good link striker. Agree on Sidders. Like most, I see him as a second striker or ACM in a three although I wouldn't mind seeing him with NRC in a pair against poorer teams. I think NRC could bring the energy to that pairing.

Maybe he means play a formation that utilises SI's skills to the max i.e. not a 4-4-2 with him and Stan as the CM'ers??

Seems a bit of a kop out? You are probably right that you will struggle to convince me (as it appears I with you) but I would like to hear why you think that he is our best CM'er and your counter arguments to mine about balance etc.. In short I think he's our best all round central midfielder. NRC may tackle better and have a bit more energy, but he's shite at passing and is much less creative. Ireland might pass better but he has less energy and can't tackle as well. Couple that with some of the best technique out of anyone on the team coupled with some decent leadership skills (although Dunne should be captain IMO) and you have our best central midfielder. Over the past 2 and a bit seasons he's been on eo four most consistent performers. Do you really think NRC or Ireland (at the moment, I recognise Ireland's potential once he's settled) or Delph (again I recognise his potential but whilst he's shown prommise fo rus he's far from the finished article) are better than petrov? (I'm assuming our other CMs don't come into the equation) I struggle to understand it if you do. Firstly I don't think Petrov is anywhere near as good as I think you do. I think he is not fit enough to play 90 minutes in a 4-4-2 and fades in the second half. I believe that this was partially masked last season by Milner's fantastic engine. I think he can play in a 4-3-3/4-5-1 but even there I would prefer someone with more energy. Again, I am not sure what attributes you think he has that make him our best CM'er. You talk of technique but I am not sure how this manifests itself. He does slow things down and retain possession but I think this loses us the momentum against poorer sides allowing them to re-group and I think this was evidenced in several home and away games last year against this category of team e.g. Wigan H, Wolves H, Wet Spam H & A. I do think his ball retention is useful against better sides although again, I think Delph is better at this as evidenced in his display against Man U at home. Our ideal CM for me with everybody fit would be: --------------- NRC ---------------- Agressive tackling ---------------------- Delph ------- Controlling the game/keeping things ticking over ------- SI -------------------------- Getting around the striker

Seems a bit of a kop out? You are probably right that you will struggle to convince me (as it appears I with you) but I would like to hear why you think that he is our best CM'er and your counter arguments to mine about balance etc..

I assume you mean Utd away. Great result and professional job but not a great performance for me. We scored a great goal on the counter attack and then were backs to the wall for the rest of the game and Utd looked somewhat deficient - no attacking threat from CM and Rooney didn't get any breaks. Liverpool away was a very good performance BUT with a three including NRC - probably our best away performance as we snuffed them out and thoroughly deserved the win. Chelski at home was very good for the first hour and then we faded badly and it was only their poor finishing that prevented them gaining a point or three. Maybe I should have said most dominant performance for the Bolton game. We were on top for the whole 90 minutes.

I don't understand how anybody can say this. What does he do that makes him our best CM'er?? Nice hair do? Good tan? I just don't see it and the results are supporting this, especially in a 4-4-2 where he is particularly exposed. Last dozen or so games of 08/09 he was shown up in a CM pairing of him and Barry. Last season this was somewhat masked by Milner's energy BUT our best performance in a 4-4-2 was the drubbing of Bolton at VP and he wasn't involved! This season, since Jimmy has moved on, he has been exposed again. He might be a reasonable footballer (although I am really struggling to see this fine array of passing that many speak of) but he has no energy or drive and is not working in our current sides. Football is about balance and Petrov in a two is poor unless he has a beast of a partner like Milner. Maybe in a three he can do a job.

Thought you could say the same before we took SI off??

Not convinced with this. Personally, I would love to see the following for the next game at Wolves. --------------- Friedel ---------------- Young --- Cuellar --- Collins --- Warnock ----------------- NRC ----------------- ----------------------- Downing ------- ------------ SI ------------------------ Albie ------------------------------ Ash ----------------- Gab ----------------- Much more energy and aggressiveness with NRC holding to combat a poorer side and our two best "footballers" - SI and DJ - in CM combining to hopefully keep some possession and feed the front three. JC and Bannan off the bench if needed in the last 30.