the_eristic

Should get the club in on it and have them hand out a hundred to be chucked into Liverpool's box at the break, especially if we're behind.

Just make sure they don't wind up on our end of the pitch!

Somewhat confounded that he wasn't playing CB from the start. He's much better suited to it, would've balanced us nicely and we wouldn't have been forced to play a natural RB (and good attacking outlet) in the middle.

Played straight into their hands with all the crosses, we won nothing in the air and couldn't/wouldn't compete physically. Should've thrown on Bradley and/or Heskey to give us some height and strength in midfield/attack. On a related note, I didn't see the first 30 minutes or so, why did Baker go off?

We have zero aerial ability with this lineup, so why all the crosses?

Isn't that just about the entirety of Spurs' tactical approach anyway? Lennon or Bale runnnnn -> whack it to Crouch at the far post -> knock down to VDV, Defoe, or Modric. Not saying it isn't effective, mind, because it is, often incredibly so.

Just watched the delayed broadcast over here on FSC. That was nowhere near as bad as I expected, based on many of the comments going around. Everybody was actually pretty decent on the whole, only to be undone yet again by poor finishing and simple, stupid errors at the back, namely the inability of the back four to clear and slowness to react to the second ball. Even taking their goals into account, we should've won 6-3.

I believe Lichaj has played at CB quite a bit for the reserves, though he's probably too short to be at all useful in that role against Bolton. We do have Halfhuid (who is 6'4" and rather physically capable) on loan at Volendam, anybody know if/how he's been playing and if we can recall him?

Can you fairly accuse a 21-year-old built like a 12-year-old of being too weak and poor in the air? He may be able to strengthen up some, but he's never going to beat the likes of Yaya Toure in a typical 50-50.

Friedel, not a lot he could do with the lack of help the defense gave him. Dunne and Clark, they were there, anyway. Herd at right back, eh. Delph at left back, eh. Not really working. Petrov, just, just, yikes. Perhaps the worst performance I've seen from him. Bradley and Bannan looked good in the first half, dunno what happened, aside from being stranded in a too weak and/or inexperienced and/or out-of-position side try to hold it all together and keep it up in the second. Delfouneso couldn't get the ball enough, but at least tried to do something when he could. Team looked for the increasingly Gabby and heskey too often.

Would almost prefer Baker be in the side somehow. Of our options for the left half of the back four, he's probably the best suited to the physical and aerial challenge of Blackburn.

Just wish he'd try to get to the outside more when he's 1-on-1 with his fullback, even if it is on his weaker foot. Needs some variety, balls being sent in from closer to the goal line, rather than always looking to cross/shoot from the top of the 18 or pass it back or infield. Can still cut back and cross with his left, just try to get the defensive line pulled deeper and give our other attacking players the time to make runs (if they will!).

Quit drinking carbonated and HFCS-sweetened drinks over almost two years ago (well, except for Cheerwine with my bbq whenever I go back home to N. Carolina), but preferred Dr. Pepper to most others for most of my life. Btw, if you've never had Cheerwine, don't, because if you like it, it's addicting, can be a massive pain in the ass to get, and is only drinkable extremely fresh (loses its extreme carbonation pretty quickly, then it's like drinking funky cherry syrup). The "retro" glass-bottled version sweetened with cane sugar is **** glorious, though.

Ethan Moore?

Need a clean sheet and a substantial win, as the league is tight enough for goal difference to play a major role! They're probably going to park the bus and hold out for 0-0, and have been uber-stingy by doing so, but we should be able to put a couple past them if we really have at 'em.

PES for me. Still has its obnoxious aspects (frustrating opposition AI scripting is a hallmark of PES, really), but the new passing system in 2011 is nigh magical once you get the hang of it, and the new modes (and improvements to the old ones) are excellent. Wish Copa Lib players were accessible in ML, though. What I've played of FIFA 2011 has been decidedly unimpressive. While FIFA has never captured the creative game and individuality of players as well as Pro, the last couple efforts were massively improved in terms of gameplay. '11, though, seems a step back in terms of evoking an "organic" footballing experience. Tactics don't have as much of an effect as they should, midfield play in particular is dodgy, and the physics seem off, maybe too smooth or something, which creates a sort of disconnect from the game.

SOTC/Ico Collection + The Last Guardian.

Friedel - Didn't have too much to do, but was there when it counted, made a couple great punches and collected more than usual. Cuellar - Last name should be changed to Alberto. Seriously, where has this technical and attacking confidence suddenly come from? Fantastic. Utterly brilliant tackling as of late, too. Dunne - Great, no gaffes, covered brilliantly at times for his inexperienced left back. Collins - Great, like Sunday. Couldn't do much about the deflection, at least he was in the way instead of ahead/behind/letting it go through his legs like the past few months! Baker - Not a true left back, but good enough against one of the league's better wingers. Tall, powerful, and looked great with his head. Showed he could go in hard, but without the recklessness of Clark and brainlessness of Warnock. No pushing him around. Makoun - Solid debut. Pretty good positionally and excellent one-touch passing to keep the ball moving. Already seemed to know where his teammates were before he even received the ball. Looking forward to more! NRC - One of his better games. Harried and harassed, but also passed unusually well and made some great bursts forward with the ball at feet. Needs to work on his composure/concentration when in advanced positions, though, as he seemed to run out of ideas once he got into the final third. Downing - Did well last night until it was time for that final ball. Either couldn't see it, got greedy and wouldn't attempt it if he could, or couldn't get it to where it needed to be when he tried. Gabby - Happy to see him get on the score sheet and to see him driving forward with the ball more, that's what we need from him. Would prefer him playing closer to Bent, though, to give the central defenders more to worry about. Young - Great, his vision and audacity are coming back to potentially devastating effect. Bent - Make a number of fantastic runs to create opportunities, but his first touch was off. Should've had one or two! Too isolated at times. See Gabby comment. Petrov - Solid, experienced, but we were starting to invite pressure by the time he came on, looked a little weary and probably not the right player to attempt to nullify heavy pressure from a relatively quick and athletic side. Albrighton - Worked hard, didn't get the ball enough to be of any real help. Probably should've come on for Downing instead of Gabby. Herd - Put himself about, tried to get in the way or get his head on everything. Love the energy, but can't tell too much about his actual abilities so far. Biggest change I would've made from Houllier tactically is I would've brought on Heskey for Gabby or Ashley. He's good at tracking back and defending his own box, and would've pushed Wigan's defensive line back when we won goal kicks or cleared. Bent was winning a few aerial battles, but there was nobody to pick up the balls he won, so they came right back at us. Heskey with Bent would've forced their defenders back to cope with Bent latching on to Heskey's flicks, and generally would've made the ball stick in their half better, alleviating pressure for longer periods.

Who the **** is he??? It's a belly fetish This is either the single best or single worst post I've ever seen on this site.

Some good, some bad. Better than it's been in a while, though. Hard to pick a MOTM! Back to proper "hard" defending from the back four but dodgy on set pieces, Petrov upping his game massively, Albrighton always dangerous if inconsistent with his delivery, Bent poaching like he does but too isolated otherwise, Downing playing well in a new central role but perhaps not quite strong enough to play in a two against a powerful and aggressive three, Gabby working hard but mostly too wide to prove a regular threat. Brightest spot for me was Young starting to look like his old self again, audacious, lightning-fast footwork and trickery to create space and fool opponents, playing more direct football and willing to let fly with real venom. Hope the boys keep it up and push on!

Traffic was from Birmingham, right? The Low Spark of High Heeled, uh, Blues?

24m outright for Bent is ludicrous, English or not. He's a great finisher, and I'd like him here, but should be 18m (assuming that starting point has been accurately reported) rising to 20m, max, imo. Hope we've wrangled them down.

Haven't read the whole thread yet, but can someone ask Collins what on earth he was trying to do by charging down the free kick for City's goal from 10+ yards behind the wall? He basically just created created the gap for the ball to move across and Johnson to move into. :^/

Want: Torquay Will get: Man United or Blues

Thrilled with the win and the glimpses of quality football, but we still can't clear the ball properly and are still too slow to the second (and occasionally third, even fourth) ball.