madras

see Peter Bolesław Schmeichel. we did want schmichael, but like most given the choice between them and us he chose them.

if i were a multi millionaire i wouldn't force somewhere into shutting down taking with it peoples livelihoods for that ammount.

On a free and low wages so hardly a risk in reality. and if it doesn't work he'll probably be able to sell for more than he's received in wages. even less of a risk in reality.

why don't they just borrow more money ?

yup, talk about kicking pompey when they are down. you'd think after them paying him an astronimical wage in the first place he'd waive anything like that seeing how bad a state the club is in Or, he's getting his claim in now before administrators are appointed since he'd be lucky to get 10% of what he's owed i the club goes into administration, but this way he might be able to jump to near the top of the list of creditors when the club does implode. knowing that he's helping push them to the brink for £170,000. even more of a gredy,greedy,greedy,greedy bastard in that case.

Nolans just slower off the ball in general, so i dont see him being able to play a solid part in either going backwards or fowards even if he limited his game to only that. so nolan attempts box to box and does it poorly, what does smith do ? maybe if when we attacked smith pushed up 10-20yds or so he'd be another option to keep possession (even butt knows you can't just be a defensive midfielder for 90mins). of all the players available to us i'd be choosing 2 from guthrie,nolan and barton to play centre mid. Nolan pushes up into the area during our attacks to be an option, smith stays in the middle of the pitch roughly 5 yards up from the centre circle, the ideal position for a defensive midfielder. During attacks Smith should be the emergency option, always going to be open if everyone else is covered. Granted he passed s**** tonight, but during attacks the job of a holding midfielder is to be open and and easy pass. do you really believe football is played like that, rigid positioning and movement like subbuteo players ? the quicker you get rid of of the idea of defensive/attacking midfielders the better. i may even print your post off so i can have the pleasure of scrumpling it up and throwing it in the bin. Think you're speaking a bit too soon there madras... surely the holding midfielder is the most trendy position now, and discipline is the key to playing that role well? the holding midfielder is a position not a designated player. any and every player on the pitch should MOVE to the area on the pitch which he considers best for his team and his teammates cover accordingly. that means if enrique goes forward someone takes notice of the gap and doesn't go to left back but takes up a position in order to cover if we lose possession. have you wondered why teams can playe 3 men against enrique/jonas...it's because another midsfielder can come over as cover to the full back and wide midfielder as they don't need to mark the "defensive midfielder" as he will rigidly stay in his position adding f*** all to our possession and forward momentum. also if both midfielders use their heads then the one who makes the move forward should be the better placed of the two (not a pre designated player) it means the other can lie deeper,perhaps having a breather or witing for a gap to open for him to make a move and someone else looks to cover (remember again cover doesn't mean taking up that position but simple getting into a position to get back should we lose possession.) it also makes it much harder to mark them if the defending team don't know which one or both will push on. as it is they only have to mark nolan. it's called movement, it's why forwards drop deep hoping a defender comes with them and it creates a gap in behind them hopefully for a midfielder to realise and get into, it's why defenders play the ball to a midfielder with his back to goal and get it straight back in the hope the player drags someone out of position and leaves a gap for the attacking team to exploit. i can't believe i'm even having to explain this. FM has f***ed the nations ability to think about football on the grass but only in narrow defined terms of a gpc game.

i'd like to see journalists banned from the training ground anyway and players adopt the duncan ferguson approach to the printed media.

Couldnt even see them at times in the second half from the Gallowgate, all that fog blocking them out :-) sitting in the gallowgate i heard them for most of the second half till we equalised.. they were louder than there numbers suggested.

greedy,greedy bastard.

alternativly when parker and mre were turning down £30,000 for £50,000.

darfuckinglingtwattington.

All Simpson had to do was keep him on his left foot all night and he even failed at that. he showed thpomas the outside (left) nearly all night,on at least one occasion thomas took it and got past him. guthrie may not be a winger but you don't need to be to help double up on winger.

Nolans just slower off the ball in general, so i dont see him being able to play a solid part in either going backwards or fowards even if he limited his game to only that. so nolan attempts box to box and does it poorly, what does smith do ? maybe if when we attacked smith pushed up 10-20yds or so he'd be another option to keep possession (even butt knows you can't just be a defensive midfielder for 90mins). of all the players available to us i'd be choosing 2 from guthrie,nolan and barton to play centre mid. Nolan pushes up into the area during our attacks to be an option, smith stays in the middle of the pitch roughly 5 yards up from the centre circle, the ideal position for a defensive midfielder. During attacks Smith should be the emergency option, always going to be open if everyone else is covered. Granted he passed s**** tonight, but during attacks the job of a holding midfielder is to be open and and easy pass. do you really believe football is played like that, rigid positioning and movement like subbuteo players ? the quicker you get rid of of the idea of defensive/attacking midfielders the better. i may even print your post off so i can have the pleasure of scrumpling it up and throwing it in the bin.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Beye. Million times better defensively than Simpson, even if he is slowing down a bit. simpson. we had beyes last good season and it wasn't his last one here.

seems strange that they change it mid season aswell. Its always been like it, 5 yellows = ban then around Jan/Feb it goes to 10 = ban Nothing strange about it, why should somebody get a ban for 5 yellows in say 40 league games? i see. i misunderstood your "the rule ended at ther turn of the year"

seems strange that they change it mid season aswell.

Nolans just slower off the ball in general, so i dont see him being able to play a solid part in either going backwards or fowards even if he limited his game to only that. so nolan attempts box to box and does it poorly, what does smith do ? maybe if when we attacked smith pushed up 10-20yds or so he'd be another option to keep possession (even butt knows you can't just be a defensive midfielder for 90mins). of all the players available to us i'd be choosing 2 from guthrie,nolan and barton to play centre mid.

the liverpool crime wave of 1998 ?

Smith is living on the fact that he is capable of running and doesnt leave all the work to the guy next to him defensively. Nolan contributes little both defensively or attacking apart from the few minutes of every game where he'd get a goal previously. If he's not scoring, he becomes a hinderance to our general play. Smith doesnt as that is not expected of him in the first place, it is expected of Nolan if he cannot offer much going backwards which he doesnt. smith may not leave all the work to someone else....he doesn't do it either. nolan gets forward and helps out defensivly. smith is a slightly advanced centre half. i think you may have it the wrong way round. maybe nolan would be better if he could take a breather in trying to do the box to box job that he hasn't the legs for while smith does....................you see, i still dont know.

i'd bet if we got creativity we wouldn't cry for pace.

smith drops in to cover enrique.....fuck off. whenever enrique gives the ball away (still too often for my liking) there is sod all behind him....no cover at all. so called defensive midfielders like batty,keane,bracewell even acuna all knew there was more to their job than standing on the centre halves toes. the way he plays we may aswell go 5-3-2.

his positioning ? 4 yds in front of the centre halvesw at all times ? i wonder if nolan would look a better player if being our only central midfielder in 60 yds of the pitch wasn't his role ? that's Smith's role though. I'm not saying he's amazing but it's not his job to go chasing up field. Part of the problem is we don't defend from the front which means they get at those two with ease. Nolan just isn't up to playing in midfield in a 442. his role, even when we are on the attack is to stay on our centre halves toes ? i don't think thats his role at all but it's what he does and he doesn't even protect them that much. and the biggest laugh is that you nolan isn't up to playing 4-4-2 whilst defending smith. The bottom line is (imo) that Smith next to say Barton or even Guthrie, we can get away with playing 442 and look fairly solid. If Nolan plays in a 442 we get exposed. Don't get me wrong, Smith's s***, but we can get away with having him in there, Nolan we can't. based on what, bartons and guthries performances when in the middle ? smith is living on a good solid start to the season (first half dozen games or so) when he even helped forward a bit. since then he's been very poor. we are a very rigid team. you can shut your eyes and ask where on the pitch the ball is and can tell who has the ball we have that little movement. smith is the worst of it as he is ina position that is supposed to be most fluid yet has the least movement of the entire 11.

his positioning ? 4 yds in front of the centre halvesw at all times ? i wonder if nolan would look a better player if being our only central midfielder in 60 yds of the pitch wasn't his role ? that's Smith's role though. I'm not saying he's amazing but it's not his job to go chasing up field. Part of the problem is we don't defend from the front which means they get at those two with ease. Nolan just isn't up to playing in midfield in a 442. his role, even when we are on the attack is to stay on our centre halves toes ? i don't think thats his role at all but it's what he does and he doesn't even protect them that much. and the biggest laugh is that you nolan isn't up to playing 4-4-2 whilst defending smith.

to be fair when we cleared any dead ball out the only player who ran out was mcloven. at least twice we broke to the edge of their box with smith still between our centre halves.

And yet he is our top goalscorer! Exactly, play him upfront where he doesn't have to do as much running and where he can be much more effective. (He's not a bad player on the ball, just has no stamina or pace to play in midfield) and yet you back static smith ?