windy city red

thanks for the heads-up then.

Erm, didnt he say that was one of the worst performances from us EVER? Its funny that you are not the first person who's saying Rafa seemed delighted with the Marseille result...I just wonder if something's lost in translation.

It tends to be easier when you are playing at walking pace for most of the match. But yes, his ball control is quite excellent.

Thought he linked up with with Torres, held the ball up and brought others into play brilliantly.

Read again. I said almost 100%. The ball to him from Torres was nicely weighed and Voronin had all the space /time in the world. He would have had no problems getting it on target and with that lard a$$ in goal, I am pretty confident it would have been a goal. Anyway, its academic.

Totally agree, although i dont think it was just coz of Voronin that cost us the game though. The defensive errors contributed heavily to that.

Its wasnt Voronin's fault but he didnt make it very easy for Gerrard. It was going to be placed on Gerrard's left and we all know hes not too comfortable shooting with the left foot. Had Voronin shot from Torres's pass, it was almost 100% going to go in. Dawson was extremely lucky to get a touch on that goalbound shot though.

Havent gone through the whole thread but I see people calling for Rafa's head. Is it his fault our defence made Keane look like RVN with his 100% shot/goal ratio and our failure to convert the numerous chances in the first half? I thought we played well in the first half and should have buried them before the interval. What Voronin was doing with that pass to Gerrard I have no idea, but he did well with the goal and the rest of his performance. I am starting to think he's a good strike partner to Torres. Our defence needs sorting out asap. Carra doesnt seem to trust Hyypia at times and going for the same balls. I couldnt believe Hyypia was losing to Berbatov in the air throughout the second half, thought that was very uncharacteristic of him. Riise was playing his usual self - shooting when there were more options in the box and losing the ball with no one near him at the 87-88 min. His ability to continue a passing move with his right foot is almost non-existent. I was impressed with Benayoun in his brief cameo. He held the ball well and pulled defenders to him, something Pennant failed to do much today. Spurs were extremely lucky today, they probably had something like 4 shots on goal and 2 went in. Berbatov's ability to hold the ball up is magnificent but when you are playing at walking pace almost 90 mins of the match and hardly breaking a sweat, it tends to be easier. And Dawson can seriously feck off for all I care, that overrated piece of crap. He was frigging time wasting 52 MINS INTO THE GAME.

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I agree he needs to be more dominant in the air. But in terms of being stronger in the right foot, i think hes pretty ok. Didnt he provide a cross for someone's goal last season? Forgot the game. I might be ignorant, but I havent seen a central defender who can ping the ball from back with either foot comfortably like alonso, they are usually stronger on one than the other.

He also mentioned "...it was just a question of kick it and run and he can run quicker than most. " I am surprised by that statement really, thought we sold Cisse already.

I know this is abit out of context, but how can anyone think that the exclusion of Jenas is a "surprise"? Might be just me but I think he's not very good.....

It was disastrous, probably contributed directly/indirectly by his partner in crime, bramble, but still. I think we can do better.

Choked on my water as I was drinking and opening the page at the same time, thats impossible. tribal is talking cr@p.

The clip wasnt too clear but who was it who back-heeled the ball back to babel in the run-up to the second goal?

still think they are the team to beat this season. but it will be interesting to see how they cope without rooney/ronaldo.

How fast is Elmander? - never seen him play before. Some comparables please....

Haven't read the rest of the thread but my thoughts on some individual performances: - Impressed with Torres and Kuyt (the latter especially - he was lively and linked up well with Torres. I see he got some new nifty footwork going too) - Pennant did okay, he didnt do anything wrong but he didnt do anything of note too. I would like to see him cut inside more and make himself more of a goal threat. Not sure why he stood up to Bouma though, thought it was a fair tackle, albeit went in hard. Nevertheless, he kept the ball well for us when needed. - Riise was horrendous. I wish he would stop that stupid trick where he tries to go past his man and failing which he will immediately appeal for a obstruction. - Sissoko, wtf? You lost the ball 4 times in a span of less than 3 mins.

Today was the first pre-season game I watched and I almost couldnt believe what I was seeing from Momo. Surging runs, good touch, I really hope he keeps it up for this season.

oh yes how can I forget.

Er, are you on a wind up? Casually forgot the goals he scored for us last season? The least you can give him is another season to prove himself.

Just came back from watching the game at a bar and slightly upset that we lost but hey, its a pre-season friendly and I thought that we played a hell lot better than we did last season. Pennant, Benayoun and Momo stood out for me. I thought James got lucky for Torres penalty (Bena's was poor), but then again, that idiot always seem to raise his game when its against us. Btw, just signed on and have been reading the posts. Is Kuyt the new scrapegoat now?

Navas is 21?! Damn...I didnt know he's so young...

Cant see us fitting SWP in the team, we have too many players in midfield and up front and I think we will have enough trouble keeping all of the happy. And.. Who the f$%^ are those idiots calling bin dippers? I hate spurs and I hope they stay in mid-table mediocrity for a long time. How they think they are a top 4 club is beyond me. Sorry Mods, rant over.

Not sure if this subject was discussed anywhere but if Rafa wanted Babel for the left wing, how does the initial interest for Malouda fit into the picture? Was Babel considered a "second option" to Malouda? Just wondering...