the_eristic

No thoughts on the actual topic at hand, but, yeah, first thing that came to mind when I read the thread title:

Why do I still find this movie to be so funny? :cry:

Somebody, anybody, please start playing balls through the center for Gabby. We're very rarely utilizing his pace to get him behind anymore, just playing him into blind alleys out wide and/or trying to use him like Heskey, backing into his defenders.

Watched The Road this afternoon. If you're lucky enough to have a theater in your area showing it (only 111 in the US; release is early January in the UK), make sure to catch it. Lives up to the book about as well as a film can. A couple scenes that were left out of the theatrical release would've made it even better, though I understand why they chose not to include them. They were fully filmed and went through post, so I hope they'll be in a "director's cut" DVD release.

TERRIBLE date movie, btw.

The mother of all flukes tonight.

Indeed.

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/bundesliga/matchStats?gameId=2009121210102

The team that won did so by 5 goals to 3. The team that lost scored 6.

I'm changing my opinion as to what we need in the transfer market. Watching this and Spurs, instead of just an attacking mid and/or striker, we need a defensive or center mid who can and will actually keep the damned ball and make tempo adjustments. Otherwise, my nerves are bound to be shot by March.

I'm trying to find the game on the American TV listings, no luck so far.

ESPN2 is carrying a different game tommorrow morning.

The late Saturday game is always on FSC.

Yep, it's showing at 12:30 PM EST.

Just don't force him to play on the wing, no matter how tempting it is.

Had Halfhuid ever played up front before? I know he was signed as a defender, but I haven't heard much about him since.

Oh lord almighty. I just know that I am going to accidentally call him that now.

My mate got kicked out of the ground just on half time for standing up...

:?:

My thoughts.

Their basic tactics:

A: park the bus, in which case, our wing play won't be especially useful, meaning we'll need to actually try shooting

B: try to bully through us, which should leave them open to the counter, and they do not have a quick central defense in any regard

C: spread it wide, then rely on their fullbacks to get forward to support their wingers and attacking mids, but Megson probably realizes that would be suicide against us in particular

The battle between our defenders and Kevin Davies should be interesting. He seems to be the real trial by fire when it comes to defending aerial attacks.

Nullify both Taylor and Cohen, and we ought to control the center with ease and eliminate their midfield goal threat.

We need to limit their set piece opportunities, not only because of their height and strength, but because Matty Taylor's left foot is a danger from just about anywhere.

I would start Carew, because he will take Knight out of the game and create spaces in the defense and room for the rest of the attack to operate.

Our mobility is key, even more than usual, as we cannot hope to out-muscle them. Delph and Delf might actually be good choices (due to their pace and energy) if our formation affords them space, but if not, Delph in particular doesn't have the build yet to handle the battering.

The right team and the right attitude should give this one to us comfortably. Here's hoping.

Maybe a reversion to 4-5-1 and a rare appearance for Gardner? We have to make sure we shut them down in the middle and neutralize the likes of Noble, because their only real threat lies in the midfield supplying Carlton Cole just in front of defenders. If we force them wide and/or to rely on aerial attacks, we should be comfortable.

Check out Friedel's stats: very interesting! I also imagine he'll start, though maybe since he's hit that 200 mark now, that'll be enough and Guzan will get a shot?

What I expect/would like to see:

Friedel

Young (if he's fully fit... if not, hopefully our other actual RB gets played at RB!)

Collins

Dunne

Warnock

NRC

Sidwell

Gardner or Delph (Delph for energy and attack, Gardner to steel us up and stare people down - would likely start Delph if NRC is on the pitch)

Albrighton (I think he should be OK in this particular game)

Young

Agbonlahor

Switch to 4-4-2 if we're looking toothless.

The subs wouldn't have bothered me much had we changed the formation to better utilize them. By the time Heskey (and definitely when NRC) came on, City was on the up and we couldn't keep possession for any real period of time. We needed someone in the middle to try to prevent the ball from getting to Ireland and coming right back at us, and in a traditional 4-4-2, that wasn't happening. When Heskey came on (who, by the way, wasn't too bad, though it seems the rest of our team still doesn't understand his playing style, and until they do, our "threat" with him on the pitch will be nominal), I figured one of our attackers would move into a withdrawn central role to put pressure on Barry, thereby taking some pressure off Petrov and Sidwell, freeing them up to work wherever needed; I thought, then, failing the former, when NRC came on, we'd see Gabby go wide on the left (he drifts out there all the time anyway) and deploy three in the middle, but for some reason NRC was played wide, and was completely useless.

Friedel - 7

Cuellar - 6

Collins - 8

Dunne - 9

Warnock - 7

Petrov - 6

Sidwell - 5

Milner - 6

Young - 6 (NRC - 4)

Carew - 6 (Heskey - 6)

Agbonlahor - 8

Summary - Decent all-around performance, with generally great displays by our defenders. This style of play, though, is nerve-shattering stuff at times, and we are still in desperate need of a midfielder who is willing to pass the ball forward. We're far too hesitant to take the game to our opponents far too often.

No, this is Georgia, man.

You are Frank Muir, I claim my £5 prize

I've got like $7 USD and a variety of canned soups.

Also, in my previous post, I didn't mean to imply that the Blues didn't already regularly sacrifice infants to divers and sundry demiurges for an assortment of purportedly putrid and profane purposes. It's just that they'd readily add a new one to the list. Any excuse will do 'em, I suppose.

By the way, if you do a google image search for Wilson Palacios you will find that pretty much every picture of him looks like its his head photoshopped onto somebody elses body.

The Hippo-Headed Honduran!

Is it me or do Blues always have a player that their manager doesn't pick, but they obsess over him and think they'd win the league if he started?

Benitez, Zarate, Forssell, Figueroa and Dunn all spring to mind. Even De Ridder I think.

What's even more amusing is that some of those players actually would have improved on their starting eleven significantly, but their manager has always been too daft to use them and subsequently let them go. Bet they'd resort to human sacrifice if it would get them Zarate back now.

Some **** retard has just phoned WM and said that a player (I missed the name) is going to score twice against Villa and scum heath will win 2-0.

Two can play at that game. Via my Pro Evo Predictions™, we'll beat them 2-0 via goals in the second half by none other than Carlos Cuellar (with his feet) and Richard Dunne (with his head), both from corners.

:^D

Wonder what the specific odds are on that actually happening?

Very happy with the points and the performance overall, even if it wasn't the most seat-clinching, balls to the wall kind of game.

I do wish MON would've subbed in a couple more players near the end, though. Ashley was looking a bit gimped in the last few minutes, so we could've pushed Shorey forward and brought on Warnock at LB, and maybe Delph for Petrov or Sidwell. Games we're winning comfortably are perfect opportunities to start working our new and/or inexperienced players into the side; we desperately need them to get time with the squad in league matches so we'll have reliable options in those games that might not be so comfortable.

some radical kit ideas

The black top w/ red lion kit is badass.

Stay. He's at the absolute top end of managers available to our class right now, and the season is far too young, the game far too fickle to dispense with the services of such so readily.

Last New Year, before I grew out my Baron Münchhausen 'stache:

I'm actually drinking Brooklyn Brewery's Winter Ale; the pub didn't have the correct glass. :^/

The criticism of NRC so far is both harsh and justified. He does some things as well as anybody in the game. However, those things alone often prove fruitless in the system we're playing, and those things which he does poorly are highlighted. Relying on him to carry the ball forward and distribute will not work, it seems.

Playing him in the right three-man midfield would be successful, I think, as long as his ONLY responsibilities are harrying opponents and winning the ball. If we were to let him just sweep up behind a player who retains the ball and connects the play to an actual attacking mid, he'd be quite useful.

With who we have now, they'd have to line up:

----NRC--------

-----------------

--------Petrov--

-----------------

--Sidwell-------

Swap in an ideal new signing or two, and it could be beastly.

A similar system works very well for Liverpool. Though Mascherano is a better player technically, he plays very much the same role as NRC would. In any game where the opponent is pressuring, he just wins the ball, gives it to Alonso, who in turn gets it to Gerrard or the wings. We have great wingers and a midfielder who loves hanging around the attack in Sidwell, so it could suit us just as well.

I know this is a risk, but who is Captain?

Somebody's had too much to think.

Damn you edit and quote buttons being next each other. :?