anny road

i think he has contributed to the fact that in the game v Villa we kept the ball better....he finds a red (white shirt) easily enough, and in a positive way....he likes a forward pass too He is obv nowhere near the pace of the game and not fully fit.... I think there are encouraging signs from him

way way way way too early to judge him What I will say is that he has the ability to shift the ball quickly, and once he gets with the pace of the game I can see him and Torres being a good partnership from middle to front

mmmmm indeed I thought he did ok.....obviously not at the pace of the game, and got caught a couple of times...but he can pick a pass, and is a positive player....given a few months I think he will look a class act

we play Wolves before Villa

he isnt there to start v Pompey imo And yes I do think the manager could have played him more and he maybe further on

or.......he hasnt played a lot of football Rafa has been over cautious with him He will be ok

yeah I would like to see if he can pick Torres out with one of those first time passes

cant see him starting Sunday, he was blowing through his a*** after 35 / 40 liked the look of him.....

are people repeating the same stuff over and over and over and over for a reason?

i am not making excuses, I am giving my opinion the derby wasnt right.....the manager got his subs spot on in that game other games, I think he got it wrong

I think he should have had some game time, but the derby wasnt that game imo

he f***ing is an all

I dont think so, but they have hardly played

i have just made this point, but thought I would put it in here Alyson Rudd was sayinf TB was speaking to Carra last week and he said that Aqualani look a class player in training but wasnt putting himself about and maybe was still worried about hsi ankle

yeah I am agreeing with you

he has been caught between a rock and a hard place and has made it difficult to introcduce him The perfect time really was Brum at home in hindsight, maybe Citeh

I am not really disagreeing with you Wayne see my last post (new thread)

i didnt think he would come on yesterday, and wasnt suprised he didnt Was I dissappointed? yes I was....but then I think it would have been hard on him to expect him to turn that round

There is no way he could have started yesterday...... I would against Blackburn though, esp if Gerrard is like he is I would play him in Gerrards role yesterday and leave Ste out all together

I dont think he will play in a classic midfield two I think all being equal he will play with one of Masch or Lucas holding with a three of Benayoun, Gerrard and Aquilani playing in and around Torres with Kuyt doing the leg work on the right he is lookibng for mor fluidity and movement from midfield Against the top sides this will change and I think he will play Masch and Lucas, a la Man Utd

This has been a strange one I could understand him not being used the other night... I think he was going to bring him on, but the way the game panned out meant that with 20 to go we were struggling on a bog of a pitch, in wet conditions and it was the time to play it ultra safe....at that point we need to hold out for a win, cause of what could happen in Florence, and for confidence (any win was a priority) Plus other subs were a priority (no way Aurelio was playing 90, and N'gog is our only fit striker) But I do wonder why he hasnt played in other reserves games, and why we he wasnt brought on earlier v Brum

2 of the subs were obvious Aurelio wasnt lasting 90 mins, and N'gog had to come off as he was our only striker playing on a dog s*** pitch in the rain, if he turned an ankle.... The last one was bizarre...i assume it was to waste time

I know you dont agree But we were better than we have been, and I am not having it that we werent, we still lack creativity....we still could have scored 2 or 3 more........ Lyon away was a good perforamce, to say anything else is ridiculous..

But there has to be middle ground ANyone with any f***ing sense SHOULD know that the issues we have are thee fold 1) crippling injuries.....its been the worst I can remember (nobodies fault) 2) Lack of depth in the squad....(fault lies with the owners, not providing any money and lying to the manager) 3) s*** defending., gifting teams at least a goal a game..(Fault of players and the manager) Could he (Rafa) have done anymore? Yes I think he has made mistakes in games (Sunderland away was a prime example)......However, i think his hads have been tied by points one and two, and I dont thin many managers could have done any better...In fact, many would have walked after Purslow told him his account was empty And Wayne, there are people calling for the manager to go....Maybe not on here, and maybe not at the ground but the internet and phone ins are full of them You can call them c**** but they are impossible to ignore We are all f***ed off at the minute However, I was say that versus Lyon (a) and Brum we showed an improvement...Against City it was bobbins, but the injuries didnt help.....That, and the lack of confidence when going in front.....It is natural when we are on the run we are to drop deep and try to hold on to what you have instead of pushing on.....On saturday, the fact we went 1-2 down and they had Tevez, Adebayor, SWP, Bellamy and Ireland on the field and we got out of it witha point, and looked the stronger at the end is a positive...I know it sounds like I am settling for draws here, but I am looking at reality......

I think certain managers would THINK they could Wether they would I am not sure i dont think we are the attractive proposition Wayne is making us out, but I do think a certain type of manager would take us on,... That said, you would have to trust Dumb and Dumber to make the right decision, and I dont think anyone would think they would Which is why anyone advocating a change of manager may regret what they wished for