Shak

Downing came within inches of giving Boro the lead there, keeper was beaten.

I think he's surely played as the lone target man type at Liverpool at some point, if not though it doesn't take a lot to see that he's blatantly cut out for that role. He's not really much of a risk either, and with none of our current strikers being ideal lone strikers he'd be a good option IMO.

There's another thread for the other games mate.

wh<at was it like Went by a couple of players then hit one from out wide, went over the keeper rather than past him. Type of goal that would never have happened against a decent side, as he went by them far too easy. Still, a good strike.

1-1

Was just about to start this thread with an opening line of 'I'm disappointed in you Dave', but I knew you'd beat me to the punch. Good goal from Nani tbh, United look like they'll kill them.

Nani scores a cracker for Man U.

I'd expect Barton would be the most advanced. Butt anchoring in the middle with Geremi and Emre either side.

Judging by today's team it would seem that maybe we can't drop him? Butt has been terrific recently, so can't really drop him. While we want to get Emre and Barton involved and playing games so their selection seems natural. Geremi, who I think has been pretty poor the last few games and doesn't seem like a winger at all, would seem to be the odd man out but he's kept his place, resulting in a system that will likely be devoid of width. Would have preferred Milner or Zoggy in the team playing wide instead of Geremi today, with Emre or Barton playing tucked in on the opposite side. Interesting to see how things develop over the next few weeks.

Ideal for tthe 4-3-3 as Baggio says, maybe not unplayable but very effective. His control and link-up play is generally overlooked due to his appearance, a better all-round player than most give him credit for. Not my ideal option, but I'd be happy if we signed him.

Unless Geremi is playing RB I'm not particularly enthused with that tbh. Here's hoping Sam knows what he's doing.

Wonder will Martin Jol (the poster on here) keep the same username? Someone change it to Juande Ramos.

I am. Still not forgiven me for the 'Gullit Incident' then?

What are you talking about? Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady? Two best teams in the NFL head to head? It'd be cracking.

Don't forget Fulham... I certainly haven't. You're banned from home games. We're on a roll at the moment, last thing we need is you turning up. I'm genuinely worried about my next home game, I can see Paul Mosley taking me out if we lose. You'll be glad to know I'm struggling to afford any more trips this year though.

Don't forget Fulham... I certainly haven't.

If it happens I hope they make a better choice than the NFL have with the Giants vs Dolphins. I'm actually going to it and am not arsed in the slightest, the Dolphins are fucking woeful. Would it have been so much to ask to wait a week and get Indy and New England over?

Thank you Captain Obvious.

If ever an avatar intermingled nicely with a post, this is that instance.

There's little room for error with the style Allardyce plays. When it works, as it did on Monday night for instance, it's great as it comes accross as an organised, efficient style that will win you games. When you lose, however, it just looks like flat out ugly and uninspired stuff. The Man City game for instance. You'll get a bit more slack from fans if you're really trying your best to play eye-catching, "sexy" football as even in defeat the team will generally be showing glimpses of the good stuff they're capable of with a bit more work. But at the end of the day the main thing for fans is results and, sadly in my opinion, the style Sam plays is growing more and more popular in the game today as it gets results.

The only time Owen would be good on the shoulder of the last man is if their defence was no further out than the 18 yard box. Martins should be starting every away game as far as I'm concerned. Agree with the second point, not the first though. You act like pace is the be all and end all of it. Timing of the runs and passes is far more important and a lot harder to defend against than just blind pace. And he's not exactly shit-slow either tbh. He won't just purely outpace and go go bounding away from players anymore but once he gets in the space you'll have a hard time getting to him before he gets the shot away which, given his finishing quality, still makes him very dangerous.

You're really wasting Owen when they play as a partnership, as he has to play as the link up man a lot more as Martins is abysmal at linking the play tbh. Owen's all-round game is good enough to be effective there, but ideally you want him playing on the shoulder of the last defender. He may not have the pace anymore, but he times his runs and reads the game so well that he doesn't need it to still be top quality. Good to see them do alright together, though Spurs are awful at the back and I think against other teams the partnership would struggle. I'd not want them as the front 2 too often.

you're missing my point. he's not as good now as he was. You can say that about most players as they reach their early 30's though surely? yeah, but not many players have the reputation scholes has. Yes, but do people generally believe he's as good now as he used to be? I don't think so. No way he's over-rated at all, still absolute quality tbh.

Good to see Owen getting a run out, should be fit and ready for the World Cup with a bit of luck.

All about the money at the end of the day. Outside of the likes of the Milans and Juve in Italy and Barca and Real in Spain there simply aren't any clubs that can offer a manager the wages teams like Spurs or ourselves can, regardless of the lack of CL football. Same with players, which is why I always laugh when we're linked with foreign players playing for Porto or Werder Bremen or some other club of such standing and we have hordes of people on the forum going "OMG, he'd never come here!!" The Premiership is the place to be these days, which can only be good for us as fans.