dl2009

Lucas was the one taking the pictures.

Photo's? Oh, you mean the Hicksbowl. As for Riera, was it Pellegrino, in the physio room, with the spanner?

I really, really don't want to, but I think I'm going to have to watch the Reading match again as I swear I saw Babel tracking back (I saw him in the RB position on two occasions) and trying to press the opposition. He was s*** in attack - but then so were the rest of the players.

I'm still waiting for your report. Slacker.

Insua, in the canteen, with lead piping?

Sammy Lee, in the physio room, with a candlestick?

6 at the back? Not sure the PL would allow it, even under extenuating circumstances.

I'd say the opposite really. I think we tend to give lesser opposition too much respect. Tell the players that we're 100 times better than Stoke and that they're inferior to us, so go out on the pitch and tw*t them aside like the pets they are. We need to add a bit of arrogance and swagger to our play

I don't think we can get both Riera and Maxi in the squad quick enough. Them two, Masch in the middle, Aurelio at left bck and some youthful energy and flair in Pacheco and we could see a turn in fortunes.

There must be more to this as I cannot believe that it's all down to bad luck. I'd like a full review of our medical team, their methods and our training regime. Torres' appearance figure for Atletico was remarkable; hardly missing a league game in 3 seasons. Now he looks like he had a limb transplant with Kewell being the donor. Talking of Kewell, I'm sure I read somewhere that our medical team cocked up with the diagnosis and treatment of his injuries. He seems to be flying in the admittedly weaker Turkish league.

I think it's imperative that we play either Aurlelio (if fit) or Agger at left back as Stoke will no doubt look to expose Insua's weakness in the air, which will affect the entire back line. I think it was Fulham away this season where they consistently launched long balls down our left and had their striker contest Insua for the knock down. Kyrgtr Kgryi the Greek had to step across to cover which caused a big gap down the centre. I think they scored form one such foray.

I thought he struggled badly. It seems like he has the vision, but his execution was mostly poor and he has far less pace than I thought (granted, he's still not 100%). Another thing that concerns me is that he has absolutely no power or presence in the middle of the park. I don't think it's a case of him hitting the weights, I just don't think he's that type of player. Of course, my assessment above seems incredibly harsh as it is reasonable to give him until next season before we fully judge him. It's just that I suspect (and I hope I'm wrong) that he's never going to have any sort of impact here and he's not strong or quick enough... and he's allergic to tackling.

Technically, yes. The more considered opinion is that he was indeed an RBS led appointment and his interview today has shed light on his brief - sell the club or bring in an investor.

His best position was as an inside left. He was terrific as the left of a 3 in a 4-3-3 and he'd be perfect in our 4-2-3-1 formation. Roy and then GH tried, unsuccessfully, to play him as an orthodox winger much of the time. On the occasions that he was allowed to float (see the youtube vid below), he was one of the most devastating creative players in the league. Shame about the injuries, too.

But so will Lennon...

Maxi hasn't been able to get a fli..... this just in - Liverpool have asked the premier league to suspend the Spurs game.

The main thing for me is, I'd like him to modify his approach to games. So far this season, it's been 'let's control the opposition for 60 minutes, then use up our energy in the last 30mins to try and win it if we can'. I'd like him to send his team out to press the opposition high up the field with the defence 15 yards further forward and try to tw*t teams from the off. Of course, fielding up to 8 defensive players a game (and I include Kuyt in that; he's a high altitude right back) would render the above pretty difficult.

Well, if nobody else is going to do it, then I will: ----------Reina Glen Carra Agger Aurelio --- Aquilani Masch --Maxi Gerrard Berger ------- Torres

I'm not Babel's biggest advocate, but the example of Kuyt is a bit off, especially this season. I'd say 90% of Kuyt's performances this season have been 4 or 5 /10. Of course, Babel's injury has a lot to do with his lack of playing time this season, but even when he has been fit, I don't think he's been given a fair shot. Rather than banging his drum, I'm thinking of the benefits a player with blistering pace would bring to our team instead of some of the insipid performances we've been seeing from Dirk.

Yes, I do. Purslow negotiated a PIK.

I maintain that they did not give the £60m to RBS. Purslow has said as much himself.

G&H did not give RBS £60m either.

As they say, pace creates space.

Absolutely. We lack pace at the centre of defence when Agger doesn't play (the sad thing is,. the quickest person in our back line tonight was Reina), Lucas is slow in mind and body - though he played quite well - our flanks are so one paced it's untrue and if Gerrard is injured/off form, there is no one who can support Torres in a quick attack. Shirley, the manager can see that a team without pace and power cannot hope to compete in this league? Even though they're young and, some may argue, too inexperienced to come into this side and make a difference, I'd love to see the likes of Ecclestone/Amoo/Pacheco inject some pace and attacking verve into our side. I'd love to see raw attackers playing on pure footballing instinct rather than the overly cerebral and cautious collection of attackers we have on display at the moment (Gerrard and Torres excepted, of course).

Yes, very good point. An attacking right flank will somewhat mitigate the absolute s*** storm Lennon's going to cause on our left flank.