buzza

Jeesuz, he's only 23, looks about ten years older! Finally starting to get to grips with taking on the final defender!!!

Tiote needs to stop doing those twirls in the middle, he's getting caught out too often ! Anyone remember Scotty Parker doing much the same??? Agree with everyone on the 433 stuff, we aren't dominating midfield enough to play only two in the middle. Think Obertan is getting better and is finally taking on the last defender, really liked the look of him last night, dropping back to defend aswell... I would even go as far to say I would prefer him or Sammy in a 433 formation with ba upfront, we could play some awesome counter attacking football with Ba spearheading the attack, solidity behind them through chieck and jonas with Cabaye setting the rythym (dribbles)...

Is that not Bigi? Legs a little bit scrawny to be Tiote surely?

Thoughts about the game were: Crapp refereeing Sunderland were really lucky Tiote got sent off We are going to tonk someone soon, players seem to be returning to form, just that "team" isn't quite clicking. Colo makes a huge difference to us. P.S. Any chance of making a bid for that Rose lad? He had an awesome game for them!!

I reckon we should play 433, stock the middle with Tiote Cabay and Jonas and then give the front three a bit of freedom whilxt attacking and getting the full backs to bomb on... When defending all men to the pumps leaving Cisse up front alone.

I really hope he scores a blinder against the mackems, elevation to "Legend" instantly...

Watching the game yesterday, one thing stuck out, our midfielders coming so deep to receive the ball, we actually start our ttacks from thirty yards out from our own goal. If we don't have Colo to bring the ball further up the field it means that we wait on midfielkders to drop and our "atacking" players are easily crowded out and the ball is lost quickly. Chieck was well below par in passing and getting caught with the ball yesterday, this just added to our problems. The movement aswell was something we need to look at, Manu's movement off the ball was unbeleivable in the first twenty or so, even if they hadn't of got those soft goals they 99% would have scored from free play. They took their foot off the gas after that and allowed us to get into the game somewhat. I really do think we need to play a five man midefield or 433 or whatever as 442 is becoming hard to swallow, we aren't good enough to play this against decent teams, we were dominated yesterday in the midfield through their movement, crisp passing and the fact that Rooney and Wellbeck played much deeper helped them a lot, VP (Tw*T) was the lone front runner a lot of the time. With that extra man in there we can make it more difficult for opposition and we can play possession football easier. Praying for both Taylor and Colo to be fit for next game, would also revert to santon and simpson as fullbacks, not convinced by fergie as fullback, rather have him on left wing tbh...

Any further news on Colo? Really hoping Pards is playing his "injured" trick again (HBA - Spurs...)

I gave him a five because he was neither good nor bad, did more or less the minimum which was required for his place in the team, nothing more nothing less... He's only played a few games for us so I am sure more will come but he left me apathetic on Thursday.

Hopefully Pards saying Colo is out is another ruse to confuse Taggart???

Anita, Cabaye and Tiote are all far better players. Don't see where he fits in a 4-3-3. Anita hasn't shown enough to be considered above Jonas. In a 433 or if Jonas is in central midfield his workrate and ability to hold the ball up in tight spots and not lose it and his capability to start off attacking play is really underated here. played in the right place he is still a major asset for us, I just don't think he is right for the left winger spot any more...

Thanks for posting it again so others can...Very kind!

God, I despise Rio ferdinand... hope Ba shoves a few goals down his throat, and not forgetting old whiskey nose himself, Taggart's going to have a difficult case to solve this weekend!!!

Just been on the Manu board, they are really worried about their defence and central midfield. they reckon Rio and Evra are playing pish poor and they haven't got a settled midfield, Carrick playing badly, giggs and scholes too old and fletcher unfit! Their front line abundance in riches worries me a bit: Shrek/VP/Japanese bloke/Hernandez... I reckon we need both Fergie and ben arfa to torture their full backs, Ba and cisse to run rings round Twitter self appointed Copper Rio "Bernie from the simpsons Lips" Ferdinand and Evans.

Yeh, I also thought the same but I would prefer him to play if it were in a 433. He just hasn't made so many hazy runs into the opposition half this season and that makes me err more towards Ferguson. You made a good point about Nani and Valencia, i suppose this is where Jonas really shines, helping out his defender... Contain or attack? That is the question!

I think with the verastility he has we can employ him either at left back or left wing depending on the formation we use. In Left back in a 433 where you need full backs to move forward more (a la Barcelona -Alves) Left wing in a more rigid 442

I have two clear formations if we have a fully fit team: 442 -----------Krul----------- Simps--Tayls--Colo--Santon HBA---Cabaye--Tiote--Fergie --------Ba---Cisse----- (**Ba plays a deeper role- helps midfield out more) 433 -----------Krul-------------- Simps--Sayls--Colo---Fergie ---Cabaye--Tiote---Jonas--- HBA-------Cisse-------Ba (I would even try Santon at right back to give us the attacking width needed on right)

It was difficult to leave Jonas out but I would only play him if we reverted to 433, replacing santon with Fergie and moving Jonas to the left of a midfield three...

Based on last night's performance and availability I would play the following team: ------------------Harps---------------------- Simpson---Willo---Colo--------Santon HBA----Tiote-----Cabaye----Ferguson --------------Ba-------------------- ----------------Cisse-------------- I would have Ba play a role similar to what shrek plays for Manu i.e. playing in midfield and playing up front in between the lines. He can give us that extra man in midfield to stifle them a little and he can push on when we are in possession. We should be attacking Manu on Sunday because their defence looks really out of sorts at the moment!!

I don't think we played quite as well as some people may think judging by the scoreline, it was more a case of the second goal completely stunning them into submission, after that they were under our control even if we weren't in possession. Pard's quotes about more energy, verve and ambition was deffo palpable in the way we were passing the ball around. Great to see the defence pass it out, think Ferguson, Tiote and Cabaye made this easier to do and were instrumental in bringing the ball out. Funny that Shola is so good in Europe, I sometimes think to myself "what the Funk has he got that keeps him here", then I see him play in Europe or against the Mackems and hope is restored for another few months...Good on ya Shola!! My points for last Night (although viewed on stream): Elliot (7): Excellent game and was impressed by his footwork, some good passes from goal. Typical that he gets injured. Harper (6): A steady performance from Harps, looks like he has regained some of that form he had a couple of years ago. Still do not like how long he takes to kick it out and he is very averse to the long punt... Ferguson (8): I really think this lad makes a huge difference to us, his energy, trickiness and good technique when bringing the ball out make him a great asset. He has looked great the last couple of games. If we revert to 442 he NEEDS TO BE OUR LEFT WINGER. If we play 433 I would have him there instead of Santon for his overlapping ability. Perch (6): Much better game from Perch, passes ball out well but wasn't really pressurized much. Willo (8): I have given him an eight because he gets on with it and gives his all every game. He didn't put a foot wrong last night and even passed the ball out of defence well. Please copy and paste if playing on Sunday! Simpson (7): Without having seen Santon at right back, Simpson is without a doubt our best player for this position. He played well last night and seems to calm our central defenders, he looked in great shape considering he's been out a few weeks. Obertan (8): He did play well last night but he still isn't taking on the oppositon enough for my liking, quite a few times I was shouting at him to take him on as he has the pace and tricks just doesn't seem to quite have the confidence. With another 5% added on to last night, he would be a superb player! P.S. Defended and covered very well last night and great counter attacking outlet. Tiote (7): Passing was great, running and tackling also, would like to see him push on now and again as he seems to be repelled by some bi-polar "attack magnet" stuck in the opposition's area. Cabaye (7): Whether it was because it was a french team and he wanted to impress or he is returning to form, it seriously annoys me that we have seen such sub-standard performances from him when he is capable of much better. Repeat on Sunday! Anita (5): Didn't do a great deal last night but I suppose he was out of position. He hasn't impressed me so much, he is at the moment on a par with Marveaux in that you can see he has something but has yet to impose himself on a game. Shola (8): Can't fualt the bloke! Excellent performance up top and when he stepped back into midfield (when he was kanckered). Ran his legs off and bossed their defenders quite a bit. Cisse (7): Returning back to form, confidence thing for me. He tried a couple of really audacious attempts last night, speaks volumes! Roll on the Mancs, just hope him and Ba can gel on Sunday... Bigi (8): Did really well, looks a fantastic prospect, we didn't miss Tiote at all even though the game was being played at a different pace. Gosling (7): I thought he got into the right positions and played some neat football last night. We have to give this lad a chance, it may be he is another Guthrie waiting to happen... Patience please!

I can't see anything but a Manu win, we have been pretty shabby up to now and I can't see a huge change in us before sunday. Saylor is out judging by Pardews comments and williamson will get shat on by VP and shrek, I hope Colo is back and cabaye is fit enough and mentally ready! I would love Pards to revert to a 433 for this one, have jonas and Tiote a little deeper and cabaye with a license to roam, HBA and Ba on wings when Manu in possession then all out attack when we have the ball with Ba and Cisse all working hard but making lots of movement. Dream on!

One of our biggest problems is that the defence can't bring the ball out very well and get panicked very easily, Harper likes to punt which isn't really helping our cause. I also see the central midfielders dropping very deep to pick up the ball (defenders scared to pass further than 10 yards!), this causes big gaps between midfield and forward line which is easy to defend or to cut out through balls. Jonas seems to not want to go up the wing anymore and just waits on Santon passing by or passes it backwards, I actually prefer him in the middle of midfield at the moment. I think we are better off with only one forward up front and a midfield five, gives us more options and we seem to elaborate and dictate play much more, I am frustrated seeing the big punts up to our forward two when we know they are much better players reciving on the ground... I think the cuatious approach is hurting us because we are not right mentally when we go out on to the pitch or that is what it seems like, on saturday we should have tonr them a new one in the first 20 mins or so because they were lamentable, we just didn't show up or really want to win the game. Hopefully because its Manu on Sunday we will go out with a different attitude.

I cannot believe we didn't beat reading yesterday, they were horrible in the first half albeit we were also horrible. We seemed to play in fits and starts and never really got any momentum, had we scored a goal in the first twenty I reckon it would have been a rout. In the second half they came out a lot more confident and started to attack us, it worked for them as our defence yesterday was a shambles, the only player with some credence was Santon and that was only because he offered us something to put them on their back foot. The positives to take out the game are very simple, we played crap and got a draw, we have players to come back for Manu (I hope) and Bigi/ferguson both look like they will make the grade in the near future. The negatives are our lack of confidence and inability to get some fluid passing going, I am struggling to see the movement in midfield and our full backs only come into the game when we go behind...Why? Shouldn't we be attacking teams like Reading and playing a more conservative game against the big boys? I am beginning to dislike Pardew's conservative approach to games like this. He only implements an attacking formation when we go behind or at the 70 minute mark (see shola/Ferguson). Why not play ferguson from the start if we are trying to play a 442. Why not get the full backs kicking on early in the game and then defend our lead instead of having to chase games later on? I don't like playing a 442 with no width and two strikers who are struggling to play as a pair, if we had Ferguson on from the start and instruction to HBA to go wide and attack the byline I think we would fare much better. I understand we are without a few first team players and that they should bring some more stability and it seems like the whole team is lacking confidence at the moment, hopefully things will "click" soon and we will put a hatful past somebody... I have my fingers crossed that Colo and Cabaye are back for the weekend otherwise we will get whopped, wouldn't mind seeing Simpson back either as no one has really grasped that opportunity either (dons tin hat). Last of all, our set pieces are GASH! Whoever started the thread about Willo at the back... I applaud you! what a load of Bolsheviks! Anyway, here's to putting 4 or 5 past Taggart's red scum and finding a bit of form...

I thought he had a decent game for us. Shame he didn't get a goal with that shimmy and curler to far post.

Bad goals we let in though! Midfield and front line looked good, Marveaux looked very shabby and does absolutely no defending. Glad Cisse got a goal and colo and tiote got a run out. Tiot my MOTM.