Dr Gloom

dunno if i'd be happy with 12th like

he's no worse than Robinson and James

he had three glorious chances. the first one was well saved by the keeper. the second one he ballooned over the bar when well set. the third one was probably the worst miss. he rounded the keeper then hit a really tame shot into an open goal, the lack of pace on the shot allowing sendaros to get back and clear off the line. overall though i thought he was our biggest attackign threat. shame he didn't have anyone alongside him until the last 5 minutes of the game. leading the line and winning long balls in the air isn't his strong point...

got to agree to disagree then. on this season's evidence i haven't seen anything to convince me that he can do a good enough job in midfield I was agreeing with you man!

got to agree to disagree then. on this season's evidence i haven't seen anything to convince me that he can do a good enough job in midfield

To prove you right? no - because we don't need him. i wish i was wrong but i don't see what he offers as a midfielder or as our vice captain. I still think he'll turn out to be a good player for us. He's struggling wide-right though as I think we all agree. I actually think we do need him too, mainly because of his versatility. i wouldn't mind him as back up striker but sam seems to view him as a first choice midfielder and 5th choice centre forward. it's all well being versatile - it is useful to for any squad to have players that can play a number of different roles - but he keeps being picked in positions where, in my opinion, he contributes little.

To prove you right? no - because we don't need him. i wish i was wrong but i don't see what he offers as a midfielder or as our vice captain.

If he had a bit of luck he could have scored have scored 3 last night. I still think he is a valuable player to have in a pool of 4 strikers. So do I. I don't think he's that good though. He's lively, pacy and likely to produce the occasional bit of brilliance. He's also inconsistent and has a poor touch and movement though. I concede we'd have been fucked without him last season and I'm glad we've got him for the upcoming games too. the problem last night is he was asked to play up front on his own and like owen he needs a player alongside him to win the flick-ons. but he was still by far our most lively attacking player despite being deprived of service throughout the match. shocking finishing though. our midfield looked horrible at times yesterday - so sloppy and pedestrian. we were basically playing a 4-5-1 with smith, feye and n'zogbia in the centre with shola on the left and milner on the right.

we should sell smith in january

i watched smith closely tonight. all he does is give the ball away. absolutely shocking player. we were far too cautious against a young arsenal side. martins was isolated up front for pretty much the whole game. shola was terrible on the left and zoggy was wasted in the middle of a 4-3-3. as soon as they scored we pushed smith alongside martins and straight away created our first real chance of the second half - i think we might have got a result if we'd been more adventurous from the outset. faye impressed and should be challenging butt now for the defensive midfield role.

pens i think

That's because you've been fuckin shite, Alan. has he really been worse than he was on sunday?

i wonder if leazesmag is available to comment in their absence

no martins?

i'm going for a 3-1 home win

Different yes, looks like a big lego set also. Surely Foster considered the culture of the city, the history of the football club and the surrounding buildings near the stadium and you would have thought it looks completley out of place in the city itself. IMO, petty as it may sound, would be an insult to Barcelona football club. Arena's like that deserve to be in New York for music concerts. tbf, the ground is in a bit of a shithole area of barcelona. it will probably brighten the place up a bit.

Bit like all of your posts about him Dan. yup.

don't fancy the earl of durham's chances much tbh

if he's going to start every week, he has to play up front. he's hopeless at right wing. offered nothing going forward at all.

aye. in one of the executive boxes i fancy a home win but hopefully the free food and champers will drown me sorrows

How about Marcel Desailly last night on MOTD2? Fucking weirdo as a pundit imo Hanson was just laughing in his face absolutely shocking. how was he ever given a job at the beeb? he just came across as weirdo who couldn't string a sentence together and knew nowt about anything.

how the man ever got a job as a pundit is beyond me. his punditry skills make john barnes look an acomplished anchorman.

i agree it would be harsh on harper but given has to play for me. your best player should always walk back into the side. martins looked lively too. shame he couldn't take his chance.

when he plays like that, he's one of the best strikers in the league. not just the goals but the hold up play, distribution and strength on the ball - when he's on song he offers a target and an outlet that neither of our other strikers that can manage. shame he can't play like that week in week out. i loved the way we looked a different side second half with n'zogbia at left wing. i think smith has to be dropped next game to allow milner to play on the right, zoggy on the left and enrique at left back. beye looked decen too. good game from harps too. given must be scratching his head though.

"Actually" is a very matter of fact statement, I think you'll find thats a matter of some disagreement. shola was bad the other night. smith was worse