chicago_shearer

Why does Milner do that?  He just hangs on far too long, knowing he's going to lose possession.

Very impressed with our overall play and the performances of Martins, Jonas, Milner, and Duff, although it's still a bit worrying that we can concede out of nowhere like that. 

Some of this stuff has been really, really good.  I'd be tempted to start the same team at Old Trafford.

COLO!!! 

Looking good so far.

Are you sure it doesn't say Kaboul? 

I'm sure we have.  Once the deal for our Argentine international defender fell through, Keegan's next thought was to replace him for equivalent money with some poxy flop from an 11th placed side.  A player who couldn't displace Michael fucking Dawson.

Seriously, have you people completely disappeared up your own arseholes?

Milner taking the set pieces then I guess.  

I'm glad Cacapa is getting a second chance under Keegan.  You don't accomplish what he has in his career with the sort of performance he put in against Pompey.  Let's get our moneys worth and find out what he is capable of.  

At least Oba is back.

Or maybe we're just being annoyingly slow.

Ray Parlour

The question that should be asked is whether Butt, Geremi & Guthrie are sufficient for what we realistically want to achieve: 5th-8th place.  (Forget Barton.  Until it's confirmed that he can play a major part this season, you might as well assume that he will face a lengthy suspension and plan accordingly.  No good whining when the inevitable happens.)  Secondly, does the prospect of shifting square pegs like Milner or Faye to central midfield strike you as creating substantial improvement?  For me, the answer is no on both counts.  In fact, it's a stupid idea.

Last season, the single biggest problem was the inability to retain and distribute the ball in midfield.  We got bossed about and allowed our opponents to dictate the game in the middle.  When we had the ball, we lacked both the creativity to create chances for our strikers and the technical ability to execute.  Your argument seems to be that our attacking players were to blame, and that our strikers and wingers weren't making the runs or getting in the right positions to take advantage.  That may be true to some extent, and the addition of Jonas will fix it.  But I have zero confidence in the abilities of Nicky Butt or Geremi.  I saw enough last season to convince me that you can't build a midfield around them.  This is a league where the top tier means players like Fabregas, Ballack, Essien & Carrick as their counterparts.  Even the second tier has players like Diarra, Modric & Cahill,

So you are left with Guthrie - looked good in preseason, but you are asking a Liverpool reject from Bolton to make a big step up in order to compensate.  If we can spend 10 million on a central defender, we should have invested in someone more proven.

I agree with you that the distinction between "attacking" and "defensive" midfielder is overdone.  What we really need is quality and we just don't have it. 

Why on earth would you play Butt at Old Trafford?  That's just a recipe for disaster.

 

Assuming Colo signs and nobody else does, I hope we'll see:

 

-------------Given--------------

Beye--Coloccini-Taylor--Enrique

Gutierrez-Guthrie-Geremi-Duff

--------Viduka----Martins-----

 

Bench: Harper, Faye, Bassong, Butt, Milner, Ameobi, Owen

 

 

Thank god your not the manager man ...no offence

No Zog not even on the bench even though you have Shola?

Owen a sub [our captain?]

Ah Vidukas injured.Geremi ahead of Faye?

I'm assuming Owen and Zoggy, who haven't played, aren't fit.  Keegan won't play Faye in midfield, and I don't understand this weird consensus that he's a quality DM.  How many times has he played there for us? 

Forgot about Viduka (should have guessed by default), in which case I'll swap him with Milner and do the same thing that worked in the first half against PSV.

Why on earth would you play Butt at Old Trafford?  That's just a recipe for disaster.

Assuming Colo signs and nobody else does, I hope we'll see:

-------------Given--------------

Beye--Coloccini-Taylor--Enrique

Gutierrez-Guthrie-Geremi-Duff

--------Viduka----Martins--------

Bench: Harper, Faye, Bassong, Butt, Milner, Ameobi, Owen

http://a619.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/87/l_57b89ccccc521c2d589777d9d030d66a.gif

Bafetimbi Gomis? No.

Royston Drenthe? No.

We get a completely obnoxious 17 year old delinquent who was binned by Southampton. 

If our squad were automobiles, we would have a Rolls Royce defence, a Jaguar up front (nice, expensive car if it wasn't constantly breaking down), and a 1985 Nissan Maxima with 50k miles and no re sale value in midfield.  

 

Does the maxima come with AC and central locking ?

In this finely crafted metaphor, Emre represented the automatic windows, ac, power windows, stereo and other optional extras.  So no. 

If our squad were automobiles, we would have a Rolls Royce defence, a Jaguar up front (nice, expensive car if it wasn't constantly breaking down), and a 1985 Nissan Maxima with 50k miles and no re sale value in midfield.   Watching Taiwo, Coloccini and Beye clean up the messes made by Butt, Milner & Geremi will be good entertainment value at least.

Let's hope he has a big impact because if he doesn't we're screwed.  You've not left a lot of margin for error when your other options are a 34 year old and a 30 year old, both well past their best.

Oh yay another defender. 

Inler signing for Arsenal according to Blick, a Swiss paper.  Gutted if that's true.  But they are also reporting on a Lilly Allen nipple slip, so I'm hoping it's the Swiss equivalent of The Sun.  

Everton are among the clubs to have expressed an interest in Michael Johnson after the Manchester City midfield player turned down City's offer of a five-year contract. The England under-21 player has also been closely followed by Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool, who bid £4 million for him last summer.

Hope so. 

I especially like the white box in the middle to ensure that the essentially defunct state owned shirt sponsor gets its moneys worth. 

Well you are left with two possibilities:

1. It's complete BS made up by journalists that hate us, and in reality we have nothing to worry about.

2. Keegan actually does rate Alan Smith to the point that he's willing to put his job and reputation on the line to keep him, in which case he has gone bonkers anyway.

Central midfield is still our big weakness, and it is the position holding the team back.  Butt, Geremi, Guthrie, moving Milner to the center and (possibly) the 15 or so games we'll be lucky to get out of Barton this season are frightening no one.  We need more and I expect more given how blatantly obvious this is, even to supporters of other clubs.

If those 5 players are our options in the middle come Aug 31 then the manager and the board have failed to do their jobs, simple as that in my opinion.