Cronky

I had the pleasure of watching this bloke, in Germany, a couple of times. I'm glad somebody raised the worth of his link-up play & work-rate in the deeper attacking slot, because it's something i noticed. Much like Defoe this area of his game is very underrated, probably due to the praise he has received in other categories ie. clever movement in & around the box, single-minded strikers' instinct, clinical finisher with both feet. That's an interesting point, because he does look capable of adapting his role to our team's requirements and Premiership football. He looks like a decent all-rounder who has the skill and the mobility to drop a bit deeper to link with the midfield. I don't really like the idea of an Owen-like poacher who's there just to finish off chances created by others. It feels a bit old-fashioned for the level that we're aiming for.

He's been moving out wide a lot all season, whether it be with Taylor or Williamson. It worked quite well because unlike most centre backs, he defends quite well out there. He's also not the greatest in the air or when the ball's played behind him, so we're making the best of him.

He hasn't looked the same player since his comeback from injury. I hope it's just a question of fitness and that a good pre-season will restore his confidence. His ability in the air is still there, but on the ground, he's being turned more easily. Taylor is a strong athlete, and whilst he's not the most refined of centre backs, he's been excellent at getting out to opponents and blocking shots.

Victor Moses seems to have come out of his shell this season. Given Wigan's likely relegation, he's likely to be available and within our means. We don't have a player of that type at the moment.

It seemed to me very obvious on Monday that Shola was better than Ba when it came to holding on to the ball when under pressure. Not that Shola is the long-term answer, mind. Many of us were hoping for a Bellamy-Beardsley type striker to add to what we had. Cisse looks like a good player, but I think there’s still a situation vacant. Cisse and Ba have different qualities, but to me they both look at their best in the more advanced striking position. At the moment, it almost feels like we’re forced to play the ball long. As Loki said, a genuine Number 10 would really help us to keep the ball on the deck and build through the midfield.

It bothers me that we seem to have four number 9's, and no-one who really looks the part as secondary striker in a 4-4-2. (Jury's still out on Ben Arfa) We'd all like to see Ba and Cisse in the same side, but maybe we have to go 4-3-3 for that. From what I've seen so far, and admittedly it's early days, I've got my doubts in this area. Ba's reputation has been built on his goalscoring, not his link-up play, and we've bought another goalscorer. They don't yet look like a combination to me.

Not bring Cisse back? I'd bring him on at HT if we're still drawing/losing. But i'd just keep the same team, with us at home, it should be a very attacking team, and the only person to really drop is Obertan, but at the same time he has pace, and was involved in us scoring at Arsenal. In reality Cisse probably will start though. I'd agree with that. I like Cisse, but I'm not sure about his combination with Ba. It means Ba dropping deeper, and he doesn't really have the mobility for that secondary striker role. He ends up losing the ball a lot. The formation against Arsenal looked promising and I'd give it another outing. In the first half, it seemed to bring out the best in HBA.

Simpson often seems to lack initiative. On the wider point about injuries, there needs to be more clarity about what's expected from refs, linesmen and players. If a player goes down clutching his leg or a muscle then there's no need to stop play. It's only when there seems to be a head injury that play should stop. Otherwise play would stop every time a player goes down. I thought it was going to be made clearer as well that refs should decide when to stop play, not the players. With instant communication with linesmen and the fourth official, it should be easy for the ref to be quickly alerted to any serious injuries. I thought Tiote was being too generous on Monday.

Not sure about the final three words but otherwise yes. He's such a brilliant improviser. With the first goal, he managed to instantly find the right trajectory and placement for that shot, with his weaker foot, and made it look easy.

We were better in the first half. Ben Arfa certainly had much more opportunities.

We didn't deserve anything from that. We offered no threat for most of the second half. Things improved marginally when Shola came on and we had a striker that could hold the ball up, but overall there was quite a gulf between the sides.

I quite like the shape of the side, and Ben Arfa looks very good. Santon looks half-hearted in his defending, and Obertan in his attacking. We're not out of it.

When I hear the term box-to-box I usually think of a midfielder who can actually make runs to get on the end of chances inside the penalty area. They're finish off chances set up by others as much as set chances up themselves. I suppose in Premiership football, a player usually has to be very athletic and strong to play like that. Whatever Cabaye's role in France, he may find it more difficult in this country. At the moment, I'd agree with those who say we've got a bit of a problem because Cabaye's role as a playmaker often leads to him playing side-by-side with Tiote, rather than in advance of him. Ultimately, I hope we're able to switch to a 4-3-3, and make better use of Cabaye that way (ie enable him to get forward more)

They seem to have perfected the art of playing well but not winning games.

For sure, there was talk of 'trading'. As we've seen with the Carroll / Ba / Cisse situation, that could well leave us stronger. Tiote has some weaker areas in his game, and if the offer is big enough, we should accept.

Of course the other way of looking at it is that he's the only owner that's ever put his own money into the club.

I disagree. If anything, the impending requirement for ongoing cash injections (due to contracted wages in the future) would have been the key deterrent, not the level of debt, which was there for all to see. And even then, the club would have been able to find a buyer, albeit at a much lower (and more realistic price) than what Ashley paid for it. As I recall, SJH had been trying to find a buyer for some months beforehand. There was lots of talk of Hedge Funds, but I think that nothing materialised once the buyer looked at the books and / or was asked to provide proof of funds.

A figure that doesn't tend to get enough credit is Freddie Fletcher, the Chief Exec during the SJH era and the first half of the Shepherd chairmanship. I think SJH relied on him a lot, and he did a lot to establish the club that we know today, which in terms of scale and resources is very different from the pre-SJH era. Once Shepherd and Fletcher parted company, we became a one-man band and things went downhill.

I assume the 'possession won in defence' stat is the one you're pinpointing. With the 4-4-2 that we usually play, the wide men are expected to help the full backs. It hints at what lots of us have speculated on - that either Hatem needs to adjust (and I don't think he's that bad at defending), or he needs to play further forward (didn't seem to work too well) or we change to a 4-3-3.

It's not massively complicated you dildo, just write his fucking name on that teamsheet that you give the ref an hour before kick off. And then repeat that for the rest of the season, even if he has games where he "loses teh ball!!" now and then. To be fair, I think Deschamps said he found it difficult to get a full 90 minutes out of Ben Arfa. I don't know if it was a fitness or a concentration issue. For a player like Ben Arfa, it's more difficult to have an impact right from the start of a game, when the pace of the game is at its height and there's less space in which to operate. Pardew hasn't quite trusted Ben Arfa to perform in that situation just yet. He may be about to give him another chance.

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Cattermole should have been sent off in the first minute. That tackle on Tiote looked like a deliberate attempt to nobble a player.

Tbh, I think the wrong decision was appointing him. It was all a bit flavour of the month. He'd attracted a lot of attention as a really talented, up and coming manager, but it looks like this appointment was the wrong one for him at this stage in his career. In fact, it would have been tough on anyone. There's a streak of amateurism about Abramovic's decisions. Guardiola would be another one. His judgement came off spectacularly well with Mourinho and I wonder if that gave Abramovic too much faith in himself. The fact that he had worked under Mourinho at Chelsea previously, and knew the club, was certainly in his favor. Don't think he was a "flavor of the month" appointment, as he wasn't unknown to Abramovich. I think it was wrong to appoint him and expect instant success. It was the right appointment if they were to give him charge of the entire rebuilding process. It all came down to a personality clash between him and the dressing room. He'll go on to bigger and better things than Chelsea in the future imo. Too nice a bloke I'd say. I don't think he lost the entire dressing room by the way, just the established players who were losing their status.

Tbh, I think the wrong decision was appointing him. It was all a bit flavour of the month. He'd attracted a lot of attention as a really talented, up and coming manager, but it looks like this appointment was the wrong one for him at this stage in his career. In fact, it would have been tough on anyone. There's a streak of amateurism about Abramovic's decisions. Guardiola would be another one. His judgement came off spectacularly well with Mourinho and I wonder if that gave Abramovic too much faith in himself.

He went past defenders so many times today, it was great to see. Just as important, he seemed a bit more disciplined about his positioning. For once, his team-mates knew where to find him.