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Whilst i'm not an Obertan fan and he was typically very poor first half i thought he was far better second half and must have run down the wing beating his man and put over 4 or 5 decent first time crosses over. I did have high hopes for Marveaux, who looked pretty good in flashes last year. Thought he was completely anonymous tonight and on that showing Obertan deserves to be on the bench ahead of him on Saturday again. Really worries me if Ben arfa gets injured, he's our only really creative player/winger. Against spurs he was our only player who looked capable of creating anything and hurting them. If he gets injured then who on the right? Marveaux looked very poor today and i'm not surprised he wasn't on the bench if he's been like that in training, i like Sammy but can he create against top premiership teams? Debuchy our number one priority transfer wise, but i'd love it if we did manage to sign Adam Johnson and Carroll too. Harper 6 Hardly put a foot wrong, experienced and dependable Tavernier 5 At fault for their goal. Looked good at times too though. Mixed bag, may get better with experience. Needs another loan ideally. Perch 6 Pretty decent again Williamson 6 Decent Raylor 7 would have got a six but his free kicks are incredible Obertan 5.5 bad first half better second Anita 7 Really thought he played well. Made himself availiable to play ball out through the back and he definately helped us keep the ball much better. Bigi 6 mixed bag looked good at times but gave the ball away very cheaply on several occaisions Marveaux 5 Very poor anonymous Gosling 5 tried but very poor Cisse 5 had a few half decent moments but generally lethargic Jonas 6 Good Campbell 7 looks a real prospect very lively Amafilato 6 Some good moves wish he started

Disagree we need to keep Harper match sharp. He is still a very good keeper and god knows he deserves it.

He's not a one trick pony and even if he was, his left foot is so good at striking the ball it'd be a damn good trick. He is excellent at cutting in, very fast, can beat his man and deliver decent crosses. Really think as soon as he gets out of Man City he'll get a lot more respect I like Johnson too and agree once away from Citeh he'll probably prove a few doubters wrong and he'd be a great addition for us. Probably an improvement on all our wingers/wide forwards bar HBA and possibly Jonas. However agree we deffinately need a RB first and formost.

This, some pace on the fella. This. Rapid and quite small. He dropped a bollock with his first touch but can't remember him putting a foot wrong afterwards. Made one really eye catching run and so bloody quick. Looks very promising thus far.

Fully expect Vuckik and Gosling to start but don't really rate either from the snippets i've seen of them. Obertan i don't rate either but expect him to start. Harper Raylor Willi Perch Ferguson Anita Mehdi Amafilato Marveaux Sammy Shola Krul, Good, Tavernier, Bigi, Obertan, Vuckik, Gosling/Campbell 2- 2 Draw or Narrow 2 -1 win. Marveaux and Ryan Taylor over the wall special !!

That is a cracking team, want you to be right, but can't see Anita being thrown in so soon. Also Ba has been playing more central in pre season. Although I prefer yours, for Spurs i can see more of a: Krul Simpson Taylor Colo Santon/Jonas Tiote Cabaye HBA Ba Jonas/Marv Cisse I can see us dominating them in middle and still getting chances (especially if HBA is fit), in which case we should win.

Agreed i know Pardew said one more but i'd really like a RB and a CB in tbh. Agree with this. Hopefully Debuchy may still come and Douglas once he sorted out his dutch nationality. They are the priority. However would love a creative/goalscoring forward player who can play on the top right of a 433 (similar to Hoilett). Right side sorted with HBA. Marveaux looks promising but has it all to prove still, as does Sammy imo 433 looked by far our best formation last year but Ba looked like a round peg in a square hole in that formation.

Well it's probably the best we've got for now if HBA is out. Marveaux i really like the look of but very early days still and Spurs will be a big test for him. Can he be effective ? Let's hope so. Jonas we know what we will get and he'll possibly double up on whichever winger he plays against.

All of which apparently have knocks. I'm praying it's a bluff and he starts, but HBA never seems to be fit to play at the start of the season . Also as has been mentioned wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's not a knee problem at all and there is more to this one. There is certainly no problem with him and Pards, i saw them beofre and after the pools game laughing and joking together. Thats reassuring and good to know thanks for that (i'm not being sarcastic at all here btw). Puts my mind at rest a litlle bit, as he has had a reputation and it has worried me they could fall out. Pardew seems pretty good thus far at man management I'm praying it's a bluff he's out but wishful thinking on my part possibly. Love watching HBA and Spurs will try to cut our service to Cisse & Ba but with HBA he can tear a hole/score/create against any deffence, probably my favorite player for us at the moment One of those players who can light up a game and i get excited everytime he gets the ball. He and Cisse linked up well and were in sizzling form at the back end of last season. I was hoping they could start where they left off against Spurs

All of which apparently have knocks. I'm praying it's a bluff and he starts, but HBA never seems to be fit to play at the start of the season . Also as has been mentioned wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's not a knee problem at all and there is more to this one.

Massive blow to our chances of winning the Spurs game. Probably THE ABSOLUTE LAST player i would want to lose. We needed another quick creative player on the left of the front three, a CB and Debuchy was my thinking. Even if we do make signings they possibly won't be thrown straight in. What now: Krul Simpson Taylor/Willo Colo Santon Jonas Cabaye Tiote Marveaux Ba Cisse Is probably what i'd half expect/hope we might go with. Not sure who will play RW now. AP may play Jonas, Sammy or god forbid even Obertan now. We suddenly look weaker down our left flank without Jonas. Can Marveaux track back effectively against a quality team like Spurs? Not at all convinced with Santon defensively. Looks amazing at times, a world beater but keeps making mistakes. Both in big games last season and in the preseason games against much poorer opposition too. Still a ? for me.

Complete rubbish he'll more than likely be in the starting XI Not sure if he'll chuck Anita straight in (IF we sign him), Marveaux i really like the look of alot but he still has alot to prove. Obertan are you having a laugh now or what ? Managers including Pardew love hardworking players like Jonas, he'll more likely than not start . Obviously hoping AVB messes up at Spurs. That gives me extra hope that we can win this game.

we have a worrying lack of creativity without HBA!! If he gets injured or Pards decides not to play him again next season we could really struggle to create. Obertan is just shockingly poor at times. Sammy i like alot but still has to prove he can create against the cream of the premiership yet. Jonas was fairly creative at one point but has become more and more defensive. Santon looks fairly good going forward in flashes sometimes, although still a question mark over him defensively imo That's why i was fairly keen on getting a Hoilett type of player in who can create on the left of the forward 433. Hope we still do but looking more and more unlikely. The other thought is if we do get Carroll and i think we will if not in this window then next especially if Ba refuses to sign a new contract. Pardew could well revert to hoof it long to Carroll with Cisse or ba playing off him.

Sounds like we have a worrying lack of creativity without HBA!! If he gets injured or Pards decides not to play him again next season we could really struggle to create. Obertan is just shockingly poor at times. Sammy i like alot but still has to prove he can create against the cream of the premiership yet. Jonas was fairly creative at one point but has become more and more defensive. Santon looks fairly good going forward in flashes sometimes, although still a question mark over him defensively imo That's why i was fairly keen on getting a Hoilett type of player in who can create on the left of the forward 433. Hope we still do but looking more and more unlikely. The other thought is if we do get Carroll and i think we will if not in this window then next especially if Ba refuses to sign a new contract. Pardew could well revert to hoof it long to Carroll with Cisse or ba playing off him.

From Mirror link above: "QPR might be able to avoid having to agree a fee or going to a tribunal, as Ewood Park boss Steve Kean would take Mackie in exchange for Hoilett". Hmmm wonder if they'd fancy Ranger, Obertan and/or Simpson . We could then not pay the fee either. He seems (from the papers) hellbent on going to whover is going to give him the biggest weekly wedge. Surely we'd be able to offer him say £35 to £40k per week plus some bonuses and/or the option of more if he does well and/or a really nice signing on fee. After going through relegation last year and playing in a poor team you would think the lad would relish playing in a set up like ours with the exciting players we now have, a team that looks like it's going places and could challenge for a CL spot (well if we sign 3- 4 quality players). He looks a hell of a talent and would fit perfectly imo. Shame he seems a bit of a mercenary. If he does sign hope everything goes tits up and we buy him next year when QPR go down. He'll probably keep them up though : ( ...Very good signing for QPR really ...definately our loss imo

Got to agree with Kid Icarus too. Talks alot of sense here. Would also agree that Debuchy, Douglas (or similar ) should be prioritised. I'd also love Hoilett to sign as unlikely as that now looks and could see us pushing for champions league spot again just with those three (not losing anyone). Carroll on top of those three would be mind blowingly good Add Anita and Curtis good and that really would be an amazingly brilliant transfer window.

Gutted as i think he was just the player we needed and we should have pushed the boat out to get him : ( Bit of a mercenary though just going for whover stumps up the most cash to hell with who your likely to do really well with. Hope they get relegated now and we may then get him next year. Hopefully learning by his mistakes. Quality player though he'll probably keep them up.

We were still bidding for Debuchy, Douglas, Anita etc as well as De Jong for £10-£12m ish whilst if it was either or i'd agree with you we'd have to leave Carroll (unless on loan) but don't think that's the case.

More i think about it more i like the idea. Loan him this season with option to buy for £10m ish (prefferably) or a straight £10 m ish purchase. If we just loan him and he does really well they will really jack up the price and could really hold us to ransom. Similiarly i think if we bought him and then wanted rid we'd get at least most of the £10m we paid for him. Worth a gamble imo. We do have more pressing priorities though Debuchy, Douglas, Hoilett (or similar players). But this would be the cherry on top...Anita would also be good too.

Coulden't agree more with you ATB, some above definately missing the point. We need three good strikers anyway (plus Shola as well) and could yet easily lose at least one of Cisse (big bid) or Ba (buyout clause) . Which makes me think we should definately go for Carroll. Could be the best piece of business i've ever heard of in football to sell a player for £35m and buy back for £10m. Still would prefer we went for Hoilett first. Just really want to see: HBA Cisse Hoilett/Ba as our front three. Carroll to come on off the bench if things aren't working or to rest one of those three once the game is won, when Cisse is injured away in the ACN. Great if Carroll digs his heels in and says i'm going to Newcastle or no where and Rodgers just wants rid. They may have to offload to us for £10m or Carroll just picks up his huge wages. This is a very interesting situation for us.

Given our success with ripping Liverpool off, I suggest we offer them a straight swap. Brilliant

Perhaps if we were two nil down and getting played off the park with our usual system we could throw the dice and try that if all else failled. Hoof it Carroll bound for him to score or nod down to the Demba's and Cabaye lurking behind when we have the ball, dropping back when we didn't , everyone hoofing it Carroll bound with Tiote and Jonas holding. Not sure what the french contingent would make of that Hmmm yes i agree i deffinately woulden't start with that personally though unless desperate. Not the way i'd want to play ideally. Although could arugably be effective, the ultimate long ball football. Would scare the s*** out of defences up against Carroll Ba and Cisse and be very hard to defend against. Our possession statistics would be shocking other teams would have to try and cut our supply lines. Like most people had more of this in mind: Krul Debuchy? Taylor Colo Santon Cabaye Tiote Jonas HBA Cisse Ba/Hoilett type player Bench, 7 from: Harper, Willi, Douglas?, Raylor/Tav/Fergie, Marveaux, Shola/Carroll(now Maybe?), Sammy/Abeid/New french guy/Bigi If we get Carroll back on loan or for around £10 mil then great. But i'd prefer the resources went on someone like Hoilett first, there is a possibility Carroll could disrupt the way we play and results suffer, but a handy sub at the very very least and we have alot of games this season. Even if it didn't work out you would think someone like Stoke or someone would still give us £10 million ish for him. So worth a gamble imo. p.s. can definately see the possibility of Liverpool coming in for Ba now at £7m trying to save face as we end up with Carroll.

Crazy. Also, we won't be buying Hoillett. The all knowing oracle has spoken

I like Santon he will hopefully be alot better this season as he was in flashes last season, but he struggled quite alot deffensively in some games last year and Pardew took Santon off and put Jonas LB instead. So is Pardew the man who got us to 5th last year crazy as well? Jonas is too good to leave out of our team and i think Pardew would pick him over Santon if it's a straight forward choice between the both of them for 1 position. Just my opinion, no need to get upset honey

Agree with most of this. Would be happy if we signed some of the players we have really been strongly linked with: Debuchy or similar: simply the most essential signing imo. Should really make the most drastic improvement to our team. Douglas/Sakho: we desperately need more CB's don't want what very predictably happened at Nowich etc to happen again this season that cost us a few very precious points. I am a Taylor fan and would probably start with Taylor but his fitness record is very worrying. Hope he has a great season. Hoilett - What an awesome exciting young talent!! Scores, keeps the ball and very very creative with great passing. Which is great when we have the likes of Cisse, Ba, Ben Arfa and Cabaye to finish. Really exactly what we need on the left, should slot in beautifully well in either 442 or 433. We need to push the boat out as far as we can to get him. Not cheap wages he is apparently demanding i know, but doubt we will be able to get a better player for less in that position. Really suited to our team. Give him same wages but make it up in a signing on fee/bonuses? Really would be great for us imo. Shame he's probably going elsewhere for the money. If we do play 433, Ba as much as i like him looks a little like round peg in a square hole at times in that position. Anita -Looks to be a fantastic squad player or even starter to really hot up competition for places. Good to have an alternative to Santon in particular, but will also be pushing Jonas and Tiote hard for a slot in the team. Krul or Krul Debuchy Taylor Colo Jonas Debuchy Taylor Colo Santon Ben Arfa Cabaye Tiote Hoilett Cabaye Tiote Jonas Cisse Ba Ben Arfa Hoilett Cisse Subs: Harper, Douglas,Willo, Santon, Anita, Marveaux, Shola Subs: Harper, Douglas,Willo, Anita, Marveaux, Shola, Ba Can't see Ba on the bench seems an outrageous waste of a fantasic player. But Ben Arfa and Cisse were on fire at the back end of last season and Ba looks like a spare part at times in a 433. We have some great youngsters pushing as well. Can't wait to see some of them.