Time to take the following

[CHRed]

Insua - One for the future but not in a crises

Lucas - Public opinion against him causing too much tension in him and team

 

Babel - No heart

Voronin - simply not good enough

Martin Skytel - Not in form

 

 

 

 

Martin Kelly has got more bottle and heart than some of them. Needs to be considered

 

 

 

I think we better get used to the fact Stevie and Nando will not play on Sunday. We need them 100% not 60%

 

 

Reina

 

Johnson/Kelly Carra Agger Aurelio

 

 

Kuyt Mash Plesses Doss

 

 

Beni

Ngog

[Paddy T.]

Plessis?

[Hassony]

what did skrtel do that was wrong today? and he only came on because kelly got injured, he was out of the firing line

[Raj]

Lucas - Who's going to play in centre midfield then? Eh?

 

Voronin - He's barely played anyway

[Flanders]

Reina

 

Johnson/Kelly Carra Agger Aurelio

 

Kuyt Mash Plesses Doss

 

Beni

Ngog

Back 5 potentially great if they can find form but the other 6 looks a pathetic unit.

[Hassony]

Lucas - Who's going to play in centre midfield then? Eh?

 

Voronin - He's barely played anyway

 

lucas was ok tonight, won his share of tackle with masch

 

of course we can improve on him but at the moment he is the only available option we have

[Nebraska Red]

i thought Dossena was injured?

 

we may as well keep Lucas and Mascherano for Sunday as we will be playing for a draw if we don't have both Gerrard and Torres.

 

 

if Johnson is fit, put him in midfield and put Kelly at RB (if he's fit)

 

Aurelio in midfield with Benayoun and Kuyt as the forwards.

 

is this what we are reduced to? 2nd in the league last season, 1 decent player leaves and we have a team sheet that looks like it would struggle against a team of blind men.

[surf]

i dont care which XI we field on sunday, if we play for a draw we lose

[Hassony]

i dont care which XI we field on sunday, if we play for a draw we lose

 

we can't play for a draw, we need to win

[Nebraska Red]

we can't play for a draw, we need to win

 

we play for a draw without Gerrard/Torres.

 

with them we can win.

[Hassony]

we play for a draw without Gerrard/Torres.

 

with them we can win.

 

we beat them last season without gerrard and torres, and with Keane upfront!!!

[Toni]

vs utd if all are fit i would go with

 

 

 

riena

 

kelly carra agger aurelio

 

johnson gerrard masch riera

 

benni

 

torres

 

 

 

johnson and kelly should do a great job down the right both defensively and attacking

 

riera would give us some needed balance and width down the left. aurelio s sweet left foot should whip in some dangerous crosses. he s solid defensively as well

 

gerrard/masch partnership should win the tussle in midfield possession

 

benni is our creative force, is in good form so is preffered to kuyt.

 

we will batter those manc t***s.

 

with this win at our backsides in will come aquilani and things will get rosy again. mark my words.

[Mike]

we beat them last season without gerrard and torres, and with Keane upfront!!!

 

keane played really well that day.

 

and no, i still can't get my head round that one.

 

(we had alonso playing obv)

[D.Boon]

Insua has needed replacing with Aurelio for a few games now. The kid looks lost.

[_00_deathscar]

Insua has needed replacing with Aurelio for a few games now. The kid looks lost.

 

And Aurelio's playing like he's never seen a ball before.

[surfaris]

marsch - lucas partnership looked outfought, simply doesnt offer enough going forward, lack good passes & movement.

really bad.

 

+ we need a real top quality winger . either right or left, who can beat players, with pace & skill. & we havent got that in decades.

[micmij]

is this what we are reduced to? 2nd in the league last season, 1 decent player leaves and we have a team sheet that looks like it would struggle against a team of blind men.

What's that quote- "if you stand still, you go backwards"?

 

Well we've gone backwards in the first part of that phrase (at least until we see what AA has to offer...)

[richwilks]

The one player in that team that needs to be taken out of the firing line is Carragher. His lack of mobility is turning into a joke.

[bazz]

Unfortunately I have to agree re Insua, maybe he has played too many games, but he was constanly getting skinned last night and actually looked like he lacked pace.

 

I have been one to defend Lucas in that he hasn't been doing a bad job in the middle of the park, but I had a close watch of him last night and I got the feeling that a) Mascherano either doesn't trust him or want to play with him as he rarely gives him a pass and b) he gets around the park, but actually doesn't do much to change the game. A midfielder should be helping to dictate play and he just wasn't doing it. We are really lacking in Midfield and as much as Masch hasn't been his best, at some stages last night he looked alot better.

 

How anyone can have a go at Ngog last night I will never know. He is a young lad who had to play up front on his own. He worked his socks off and really was isolated on so many occasions and I think he would flourish with someone upfront beside him. That said, Rafa has to be asked why he played him upfront on his own for the full 90mins and didn't replace him with Babel.

 

As Mark Lawerenson was commenting on, Ryan Babel was warming up on the sidelines and wasn't even wearing his boots. He was wearing runners/trainers, so wasn't even expecting to get on the pitch.

 

Alot of questions about what team will start on Sunday and I think it depends on whether Riera/Johnson/Torres/Gerrard are fit, so until we know that - its very hard to pick the team.

 

But if they were all fit I would like the following team at United;

 

Reina

Johnson

Carra

Agger

Aurelio

Kuyt

Gerrard

Masch

Riera

Benayoun

Torres

 

Is they aren't, then we really are going to struggle.

[anny road]

the problem with Masch and Lucas in midfield is that neither of them can play

 

Masch has his attributes but football ability wise he is limited

[Chili Palmer]

The one player in that team that needs to be taken out of the firing line is Carragher. His lack of mobility is turning into a joke.

 

 

If Skrtel was anywhere near form I would agree with this. Unfortunately at the minute Carras mindset as soon as he walks onto the pitch is PANIC!!!!

[richwilks]

If Skrtel was anywhere near form I would agree with this. Unfortunately at the minute Carras mindset as soon as he walks onto the pitch is PANIC!!!!

 

Yeah, Skrtel seemed shaky when he came on to the pitch as well.

 

If only Sami had stayed.

[beejay]

Insua should have been rested a month ago, as soon as Aurelio was back. He had shown signs of diminishing form and it was the right time to pat him on the back, put him on the bench and tell him to come back refreshed, strong & confident. Instead, we have overplayed him to the point where his belief has gone and he is completely shot (Maradona probably didn't help either).

 

Lucas is also going missing now. As my lad said, he is adept at marking space - moving into an area where he will be marked so he can't receive the ball aka hiding. He is constantly on the move but doesn't influence the play at all and just like v Fiorentina, he is attempting outrageous interceptions in the middle of the pitch which, when they invariably don't come off, leaves the opposition with a clear run at goal. He was even more culpable than Insua for their late winner last night, jogging back & failing to track the runner who made the overlap. IMO, he is just not suited to our current style of play and is losing heart. He likes to pass the ball short but we don't have enough players comfortable on the ball to adopt this style and is forever on the fringes of the game.

 

Mascherano & Riera are just going through the motions, neither of them look like they want to play for us.

 

Carragher is in desperate form, probably guilty of more individual mistakes than anyone else this season & costing us the most points.

 

Trouble is - if you take them all out of the firing line - who do we replace them with at the moment at a time when many of our best players are injured (Johnson, Gerrard, Torres)?

 

Good luck Rafa

[JRC]

Them scoring with 20 to go was critical - along with having to make our 2nd forced sub; those who had travelled a long way over the past week - Lucas, Insua, Mascher, Kuyt - (and all of whom had at least been working hard, if not necessarily effectively) very quickly went very leggy, and Lyon took control, whilst we didn't have much option to freshen things up (and the one chosen was, imo, wrong, although I had just remarked to my mate that even Benayoun was fading). Insua had a mare all day anyway, but when they broke down their right, there was nothing in the tank from him, Lucas or Masch to make a serious effort to get back...I would even suggest Carra was too gone to make one of those dramatic interventions to divert the ball out - perhaps a little unfair there, it was a good cross - whilst SKrtl's little slip didn't help him get into the right position.

 

Ah well - here's to Sunday.

[Walrus]

the problem with Masch and Lucas in midfield is that neither of them can play

 

Masch has his attributes but football ability wise he is limited

Spot on.

 

I don't like Gerrard in CM either and most likely Aquilani is too attacking / lightweight for that role as well.

 

In other words, in case someone hasn't noticed, our squad is a bit f***ed at the minute.

Edited October 21, 2009 by Walrus