TRon

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. Football coaching master class right there. Maybe if Graeme Souness had read it we wouldn't have ended up with two midfielders running into each other and getting him the sack.

At least the lad has shown he really wants to be here by signing a comparatively low wage contract. He's young as well so I am ok with it although i think he's short of the quality needed to make us play football. Good value signing.

Quality finisher who will thrive with regular football. Please, PLEASE bring him in! Another 30 yr old to go with the tired bunch we already have here. Ashley's Arsenal blueprint in action

If we are going to resort to players who's legs have gone, then why not just play Geremi on the right? He's already on the payroll so it's at no extra cost as well.

My take is that once Allardyce is sacked at Blackburn - which is inevitable given his haphazard signing policy and awful football - Fat Sam will never work at the top level again. It'll be a great day for English football when this dinosaur is put to rest and we can see a new breed of English coaches more in the image of Roy Hodgson and Keegan. Football coaches who play a style which makes fans want to spend their Saturday afternoons at the match. Don't expect the media to admit that us demented Newcastle fans were right all along though.

We are better off making no signings anyway. We will just end up collecting a load of mediocre no marks.

Beckford has signed a pre-contract deal with Everton according to the Sun. I haven't seen much of him but it just backs up my intial view that he looks like a player who has something about him. Now run out and sign some 3k a week tosser instead Mike.

There is no problem with selling sulky players, it only becomes one when you replace them with garbage. N'Zogbia out, Taylor and Nolan in was a fucking joke and it made a mockery of Ashley's supposed Arsenal bueprint. James perch will be some other non-entity brought to the club because we don't want to pay for genuine young talent.

When and where have I criticised his performance yesterday? I stated my opinion of one of our players, something which i believe is allowed and actually encouraged on football forums. There is no doubt that Colo is a good defender but just not in the Premier League. Yesterday's performance hasn't infuenced my opinion of the guy either way - all defenders make mistakes, it's just part and parcel of football. He's been pretty solid all season and fair play to him for it. I just don't think he'll help our cause if we go up. Do you think replacing him with some jelly legged t*** like Andy O'Brien will improve us? No I don't. Why, do you? Given our budget what sort of player do you think we'll be signing then? Bearing in mind we can't afford Kilgallon's wages.

Bullseye.

Turned out to be a great decision to play the game. Not only did he score a very big goal on an emotional night, but he's underlined his role as a front line striker. Hopefully he won't be wasted on the wing again.

Sounds like a pointless signing. We would be better off saving the money and using it to up our offers for the players we really want.

No chance of wor Lee getting a ban from St James any time soon.

WBA aren't the best team in the league they got their arses handed to them on a plate by Forest last week. Other than that i agree with your post, it's pointless wasting money on players if they aren't the ones we want. A couple of loan signings will do, hopefully that will see us through to promotion.

When and where have I criticised his performance yesterday? I stated my opinion of one of our players, something which i believe is allowed and actually encouraged on football forums. There is no doubt that Colo is a good defender but just not in the Premier League. Yesterday's performance hasn't infuenced my opinion of the guy either way - all defenders make mistakes, it's just part and parcel of football. He's been pretty solid all season and fair play to him for it. I just don't think he'll help our cause if we go up. Do you think replacing him with some jelly legged twat like Andy O'Brien will improve us?

As others have said, that was usually down to being out-numbered with WBA having an extra man in midfield. Simpson's problem is that he's haggling over wages when he's really not that good.

Bang on, but you are fighting a lost cause here. Rather than look at the real problems, it's easier to have a go at Shola, who while not a quality striker, doesn't deserve half the flak he's getting on last nights performance. Similar to the crap Dyer used to get, now here we are in the championship.

we don't have any players in this squad up to the job, Lua lua has looked clueless when he's been given a start. Pancrate would be my choice at a push, but we desperately need a right midfielder and a central midfielder who can run. Otherwise it's long ball and a prayer to the end of the season.

In the modern game most footballers are athletes. I say most because clearly there are exceptions.

Good post. Whether Hughton is a good manager I'm not sure, but there's not much more you can get out this squad. Personally I would like to see the likes of Guthrie given a run in the centre but I don't really think he's going to make much difference.

He had one or two others but for the most part he sat back and got bummed royally by the West Brom midfielders.

Exactly how I saw it. The midfield, particularly Nolan was a disgrace.

i'd bet if we got creativity we wouldn't cry for pace. Pace and creativity are great attributes but athleticism isn't just about that, we really need central midfieders who can run up and down the pitch. All the nous in the world isn't much use if you can't keep up with the opposition. Jerome Thomas hardly got a kick against Forest but he was allowed the freedom of the park yesterday as our huffing puffing heroes caught their breath bless em.

i will. we lack technique and nous more than any athleticism. lee clark was hardly an athlete but we are crying out for someone like him. he'd rape this division. I'm pretty sure you were one of the more vocal critics of the idea of a creative midfielder, in favour of box to box players. So in which capacity would you want a Lee Clark as a player?