OTF

EVEN when we put Shola on... like he's some sort of secret weapon! If we're playing two 'wingers' then we're not playing a 4-5-1 Nolan you moron. If we're playing two 'wingers' then it's a 4-3-3, however with you out there it would have been a 4-2-1-3, with that 1 doing sweet fuck all. We weren't though, we were playing a 4-5-1 which is essentially a defensive formation where a lot of your attack is on the counter, just how kevin Nolan fits into a counter attacking formation mentality is beyond me. We see on numerous occassions the ball is played ahead to him on his own and he's flat out getting to the ball first with a good start let alone turning it into a quickfire scoring opportunity. A 4-3-3 is a different kettle of fish altogether and perhaps something we should be playing. Nolan thankfully doesn't fit into a 4-3-3.

If Nolan reckons that winning a game on the back of the brilliance of one players strike represents the whole team being brilliant then he's sadly mistaken. Several players in that game were very good, but Everton came mighty mighty close to at least equalising with a very good chance from Yakubu hitting the post, and Fellaini missing (though I think it was blocked by Willo) an excellent chance in injury time. Were both of those to have gone in we would have been looking down the barrel of a defeat - despite Ben Arfa's strike - in a match where we largely dominated. By my definition that's far from 'brilliant'. We need to be scoring more goals when we're on top of other teams as much as we were against Everton and were in the first half against Stoke. Of course Nolan is going to come out and say this, as he knows outside a 4-5-1 he has no chance of making the side. He'll be a handy player to have at various stages of the season, perhaps used as a sub late on in matches where we're equal or behind.

Time to trot out Sol Campbell? ...and Ryan Taylor for Perch.

Can play there but doubt he would be any good. Simpson is back training again so hopefully not too long before he is match fit. Sad isn't it that I'm eagerly anticipating the return of a player who I think isn't good enough, because he's still better than our other player who is an apparent stalwart in the side. Ryan taylor must be wondering what he needs to do to get a run in the first side, or moreover what Perch needs to do to stop getting one. Taylor's dead ball ability would have no doubt come in handy.

True that, I thought the same thing. He was blatantly taking the throw-ins wherever he liked as well. The one where the gap was should actually have been taken where the boards were.

Don't disagree with you that that is what we'll see, but Nolan doesn't deserve to hold onto his spot.

We have a team that's good enough to beat Stoke at St James'. Perch is a big weak spot that will be exploited. Williamson and Coloccini lacked the physicality in this game. Noone blames Hughton for not having a team of superstars on massive wages but we can rightfully be concerned about the way he made changes today. it goes without saying that if a player is ineffectual they should be taken off, or if a player is influential they should be left on. Hughton's changes today went wildly against this. Nolan did nothing all game and yet stayed for the full match. Tiote was again looking good, good movement of the ball and made some nice tackles yet he was removed. Ben Arfa looked lively in attack and had them constantly worried yet he was subbed. Routledge was a headless chicken yet he stayed out there. There's no sense to be made from those moves except to say that it indicates that Hughton is making substitutions not on the merits of the players in the individual matches, but on the influence of the players (perhaps off the pitch). He was probably justified in starting the same 11 as the Everton match, but substitutions shouldn't only be made when you're behind or even needing a goal, they should have been made earlier in the piece where we weren't making use of our dominance of possession and territory eg. bringing Nolan off and putting a forward on. It will be interesting to see what happens in our next match. I can't see Hughton suddenly growing a set and dropping Nolan, but I can at least hope.

Nolan must have way too much influence off the pitch. Watch the games Chris, he doesn't offer value over 90 minutes. He spent most of the game today feeding around behind Carroll for scraps that never came. When he did get a chance to put a shot in after good lead-up work from Jonas he sliced it well wide. No value = No point. The area in which he plays also prevents Joey Barton from pressing higher up the pitch, A Joey Barton who's actually looking relatively potent either having a shot himself or picking a pass through for someone else. Really really disappointing to get exactly what you expect from a side (in the second half) and to still lose to it in 45 minutes with a goal head start on our own pitch.

Routledge need a rest to revitalise. Jonas will give more value over a full game, and Routledge can add some punch off the bench with his pace. Always seems to start games brightly but then burns out quickly and becomes frustrated and frustrating. Amdy Faye/Cheick Tiote WTF?

What a spectacular capitulation that was. It was almost like Stoke were employing the rope a dope tactic from the start. Letting us get a false sense of security despite having a largely toothless attack. Really have to question the tactics behind the substitutions. Why Ben Arfa instead of Routledge. Ben Arfa was clearly the more potent of the two, unless your measure of potentcy is ability to run into empty channels. And Tiote, why take him off when he'd been one of our better players? Substituting an attacking player for a defensive one does not mean that you'll get more attacking play. It was Tiote's movement that helped to facilitate the movement of the ball from side to side in the first half allowing our wing men to penetrate. If he was kept out there we might have seen the benefit of having both Ameobi and Carroll out there. Carroll had a relatively poor game, didn't get into it early and his touch looked poor in the second half. Nothing more needs to be said about Perch - There's a point where effort isn't enough, he's found that point and continues to forage well past it time and time again. Our defenders looked weak against their set plays time and time again. Maybe this would have been a handy game to have the physical presence of Campbell out there? In the end that was some very critical points that we let get away from ourselves from a team that effectively played the exact tactics that anyone would expect from them.

I'm liking the way Ben Arfa moves from the left across the centre and over to the right, he looks comfortable in all channels. Could easily accommodate him with Jonas and Routledge. Routledge would have to improve on his current form though! He needs lots of space to run into, so in a game like this where they're playing for their own counter attack be doesn't get the space he desires. Them being one down may help him out there.

Stoke have been horrible, but thankfully not dirty. Hope that continues in the second half though you would have to think that Pulis would make some changes. Routledge for mine has been weak, maybe get Jonas out there early in the second half if he doesn't improve. We should have created more chances for all the ball we've had. I think having two strikers out there against thus Stoke side would be smart IMO. Lots of balls into the box with Carroll our only real target we're making it easy for them to mark him (with the exception of Huth for the penalty). Ultimately I'd like to see us creating more chances from open play. Canny game from Enrique.

Nice cross/corner for the winner against Chelsea.

How interesting. Maybe there's some off-field reason why his injury has taken so long to heal.

Yeah, best goal on the day for mine. Anelka's finish was pure class but very different as he was under no pressure at all.

Here's the actual contact from Tiote as he went by.... Here's Alex going down... ...and from another angle... Pay particular attention to the position of Campbell in the above images. He may have been obscuring Phil Dowd's view, given his hefty frame. Williamson trips over him to make it look worse... ...Dowd immediately after blowing the penalty walks away talking with Williamson grabbing his shirt indicating this is what the foul was for... ...Alan Smith comes across and Dowd points at Williamson while talking... ...and finally Williamson walks away muttering to himself like he just got dudded (which he did)... And.. The far too high pants of Sol Campbell...

The contact was definitely from Tiote on his way past, but the delayed nature of the dive meant that Willamson was on the scene when their player went down. Not a penalty obviously but I've got it in my head that it was called against Williamson, which makes it more blatantly wrong. I will watch it again and see if it changes my mind. There's no denying however that against Everton Williamson was more handy than a Swiss army knife AND more handy than Mike Tyson in a strip joint. Good in the air and pretty good positionally, I think he's a solid defender especially considering his lack of experience. Doesn't deserve dropping for it, I don't think but may struggle against Stoke if they're overly physical up front.

He cost us a penalty against Chelsea courtesy of the reputation he gained from the Everton game where he had hands everywhere all over their players - most notably Fellaini and Beckford. You can't ge away with those sort of fouls for long before the referees really start cracking down on you and being overcritical - unless you are John Terry obviously. Not saying that Campbell should start, though Hughton blatantly gave him game time with both Colo and Willo to see if they'd play well together. Campbell did do quite well, though I wasn't impressed with the height he had his shorts pulled up to. I know he's old, but really? THAT high?

In with a shot....

Don't worry, I'm enjoying it. Even though I was up before 5am to watch it then had a whole day of training that required concentration and focus in the city. On the train going home now feeling more than a little tired..... But still very happy!

I wouldn't say Perch is necessarily a better defender than Jonas, certainly though Jonas will stay on the ball and try to beat people a lot more than Perch or Simpson. Will beat people most of the time, but will be too costly on occasion. It's not a viable option. N'zogbia at left back was the same, ocassional attacking bonus is not worth the continual defense frailties. If we had a proper right back we'd not even be talking about this.

Our left back today was quality attack, similar to van aanholt. Not the greatest defender, he was supposedly marking Ranger when he scored our first. On topic Guthrie is a good player who usually doesn't give up possession cheaply. He can also chip in a few goals. There will be time and chances for him this season. Gosling I'd like to see first, don't know a great deal about him.

Vuckic was ordinary, but on the back of that Shola deserves a look in to the Premiership side. Next cup game we should play a mix of age and experience as we did in this. We'd be devastated if a couple o our key players picked up injuries like Benayoun and Kalou did, so if I was Chris I'd definitely have that in the back of my mind, alongside of course an ambition to win the cup! Some strong sides went out here, so it's now a heck of a lot more open for someone like us.

Even though we won with Alan Smith he was quite possibly our worst player out there. Vuckic was unfortunately poor as well, seemed to always rush in when defending and was consequently easily beaten with a jink or pass. Lovenkrands was quiet but was still making the runs off he ball. Should have scored obviously. Tiote was poor at right back, but it's obviously not his position, he was just filling in against their most dangerous side with van aanholt pressing right up the pitch and Anelka drifting out that way.

carlo ancelotti's eyebrow Really is crazy just how high that eyebrow gets. Must have some powerful forehead muscles!