Dr Gloom

now that is a player you'd need to build your team around.

so he hasn't done all his homework but i think the fat beardie touches on a bit of a conundrum for big sam, namely whether owen can fit into the manager's system. if you were big sam would you build a team around owen and revert to a 4-4-2 or continue with a 4-3-3 and play owen in a position where you arguably aren't going to get the best out of him? Two of the three points I higlighted were his opinion though, and laughable ones at that. Barney is right about the shit-stirring too. To answer your question, I'd go 4-4-2, although that isn't building the team around Owen imo. It's just playing to his strengths which isn't the same thing. yes it is - sam would be completely changing his prefered system to acommodate one player. What other forwards do we have that fit into the system the way he played it at Bolton then? Viduka isn't even a Kevin Davies type of player really. i think martins and milner or duff would be suited to the wide positions in a 4-3-3, certainly more than owen. i'm not convinced the formation gets the best out of viduka either but it's the system that sam has been successful using.

so he hasn't done all his homework but i think the fat beardie touches on a bit of a conundrum for big sam, namely whether owen can fit into the manager's system. if you were big sam would you build a team around owen and revert to a 4-4-2 or continue with a 4-3-3 and play owen in a position where you arguably aren't going to get the best out of him? Two of the three points I higlighted were his opinion though, and laughable ones at that. Barney is right about the shit-stirring too. To answer your question, I'd go 4-4-2, although that isn't building the team around Owen imo. It's just playing to his strengths which isn't the same thing. yes it is - sam would be completely changing his prefered system to acommodate one player.

i went to benares in mayfair recently. posh michelin star curry and so good. the head chef is that atul kucher fella who beat gary rhodes in the great british menu or whatever it was called.

so he hasn't done all his homework but i think the fat beardie touches on a bit of a conundrum for big sam, namely whether owen can fit into the manager's system. if you were big sam would you build a team around owen and revert to a 4-4-2 or continue with a 4-3-3 and play owen in a position where you arguably aren't going to get the best out of him?

why exactly?

good player but not sure he's the kind of player we really need. i'd sooner we got a more attacking midfielder to replace dyer

agreed. he doesn't really have the pace to play in a modern 4-3-3 where the front man is expected to do a lot of running for the team. he needs someone playing off him. but do you sacrifice the new defensive solidarity we've seen under big sam for more attacking football? i think at home you have to.

good piece which raises some interesting points. i don't see how owen would fit into our current system. you don't want him working the channels out wide on the right in big sam's prefered 4-3-3 formation - he's lost a yard of the blistering pace he had as a youngster. owen is a poacher. he's a bit like shearer in the respect that you might not notice him for 89 minutes but then he'll pop up with a clinical finish. so you do you build your team around a natural goal scorer, or you do you potentially sacrifice 20 goals a season for a more hardworking players that will contribute more to the team? personally, and assuming own can recover to a similar level to what he was before he did his knee, i'd play owen and viduka up top in a 4-4-2.

anyone itk on this story? has it got any legs or is it complete tosh? it's not the first time we've heard of us being linked with him so i wonder if our interest is genuine. whether he would come is another matter

we've hardly seen the best of emre but i'm surprised at the amount of criticism he gets. at least we've seen glimpses of what he can do. i'd blatantly swap him for deco if we had the chance but i'd wager that emre could force himself back into the starting eleven under big sam. he never looked suited to playing alongside parker but he was one of our better midfielders last season when he had a few games alongside nicky butt. i'd certainly rather have him as a centre midfielder than smudger smith

i always fancied sven to be well in the premiership. wouldn't surprise me if city do better under him than we do under big sam

it was a decent finish

you couldn't hear much booing on the telly

stevie gets it spot on again

it'd be a coup if we pull this off. not sure we need to spend £5m on shorey though

loyalty or lack of ambition?

would be much appreciated. otherwise updates in this thread please

6 year contract? he'll be 38 by then

howay, curbs isn't that bad shirley

newcastle 1 villa 2

they could always lower the prices a bit.

he's blatantly got something in his contract about always being allowed to play for england

nobby has to stay like. i can't see us getting replacements in for him and dyer between now and the end of the window

he needs replacing like.