tomasjj

the price argument is moot imo the two players offer different things on the pitch

as inexperienced as ngog is, and not being ready to lead the line against a very good team, babel lacks one of the main attributes we needed from our striker today. when sitting as deep as we were, to avoid counter and negate them space to play in, we need someone with link up play to hold the ball up and bring others into play as we move the team up the pitch babel completely lacks link up play sad that, cause we coul dhave used his pace on the flanks

If moyes had any tactical insight at all he would have put that russian winger in to stretch us and have a go at insua....

yep for the first 10 min he appeared to be twice as interested as normal..then he fell back into his usual groove which is poor in application and abysmal in effort as a forward, 10 against 11, if you cant even be bothered to press hard to force them into poor passes when we are sitting back, you might as well be in the stands

Great post. I am keeping it for a rainy day when my scum supporting colleagues get a bit lippy.

Really? I didn't know that. A bit like here then

I am not sure. I think he would have more hunger than someone like Hiddink . And to be fair, Rijkaard did turn Barca around, shipping out the old guard and getting them back to the top - winning the league twice(?) and the CL.

What about Rijkaard? Turned Barca around when he came in, and then won their league a couple of years and also a CL. Now at Galatasaray, surely just waiting for a bigger job? Played under Michels, Sacchi and them big thinkers. He is also still young - 2 years younger than Rafa.

Degen has no end product for me. As for Agger, I read that he had a groin strain and was not yet fit.

I am not sold on Aquilani behind the striker. I think he needs more of the play in front of him, to make use of his good passing.

Looking at our current players, the thought of a 433 set up seems a good fit if we want to change things around to kickstart our form. The lack of attacking threat needs to be adressed, as does the overtly rigid approach, pedestrian tempo and complete lack of movement off the ball. The typical crisis management routine of going back to the tried and trusted does not always work. Sometimes a bit of reorganising can do the trick, certainly attacking wise. Imo anyway... We lack proper wide players, but have ok forwards and central midfielders. Now I usually think formation is a bit of a red herring, but in this rut, shifting things about could create some dynamics, and the time has come for more desperate measures. Our current set up has been found out, and we need an alternative that might loosen up our players and wake them from their sleep. I'd also consider giving pacheco, kelly and eccelston more game time instead of slumping squadies A set up like this could be an alternative: gerrard - masch - aquilani maxi/dirk - torres- babel/benny certainly seems we have better squad options for this than a 442 which many are asking for. at a stretch, even a 352 seems to fit our personell better. -----------skrtel - carra - agger --johnson----- masch --------- aurelio ------------gerrard----aquilani ----------Torres-----Kuyt

Can someone tell Hicks "January is poor and summer is big" that it is a world cup year?

Disregarding the daftness and lack of context of some of his suggestion, why the f*** would you stick the boot into our manager now when there is still lots to play for and we need everyone at the club to pull in the same direction? A passionate fan he may be, but he is an idiot.

What's with the "if we lose this game we will never get 4th"? The line gets peddled out every game now. It's a long way to go, so no need to be overly dramatic yet.

we have 6 wins and 5 draws in the last 11 at villa park, I read somewhere.

Yeah, possibly. Take Gog off for Torres and play him slightly in front of dirk. Just found it baffling to change the shape when we were dominating and playing well when we didn't really need to. Perhaps Wigan would have gotten a good spell regardless. Games move in phases and it is difficult to regain the momentum for long periods. The change just intersected with them then getting a hold of the game.

3 points are what it's about. One thing that puzzled me was why Rafa opted to change the shape of the team by bringing on Lucas. At that time we had them on the ropes and were playing really well. After the sub, they took over the initiative for a good spell. Ok, Aurelio might have been tired, but by using Dossena, who was ok when given a game at left midfield earlier, we could have kept the shape which was working well.

Can in no shape or form be compared to the tripe above.

As to your comment on Lucas and Masch sideways passing, that is of course an observation most of us have made. However, I think they will pass forward when the risk of losing the ball is low, which brings me to my point: I think they play the percentages because of where they are positioned on the pitch. It is more dangerous to lose the ball in their area, which probably means that Benny and Stevie who are higher up the pitch will do the more incisive and risky passing, which is often the most creative as well. I'd say it is typically Rafa, as he tries to avoid conceding possession in dangerous areas and minimise risk of counters.

He'll get there. He is good. Tell you what though, I think Johnson's first touch rivals Kuyt's. Not sure who makes the ball bounce the highest up in the air when they receive it, but when I find out I'll let you know.

In games where Gerrard is crowded out, I often wonder if it would have been easier for him to find space out wide, in a similar way that Yossi does when starting out on the left and then cutting in.

Agree. Several times I noticed that he shifted the ball in an instant because he had already copped on to where his teammates were before he got the ball.

I disagree. I think that is taking it to an extreme. While disappointed with our current form, I don't think we are at panic stations yet. During the current managers tenure, we have gradually improved as a team. Looking at the time he has been here, I expect that to continue regardless of this speed bump we have hit now.

In the fans eyes probably, yes. I doubt Rafa or the management team would take the same outlook.