Shak

Good on you Smithy. What does the 4-3-3 look like then? Milner on the left and Martins on the right? Or vice versa? Neither, they're bot playing centrally, with Smith out wide. -------------------- Given Beye ------- Faye ------ Roz -------------- Zoggy --------------------- Butt ------------ Barton --- Geremi ------------------Milner ----------------Martins Smith Sort of like that...

"An unbelievable mistake from Titus Bramble"

Don't want to sound too negative, as I still think Sam deserves time as he's trying to change so much about what's wrong with us. But if we get any result today I'll be truly shocked. Blackburn are one of the most physical sides in the league, if you show even a hint of weakness they'll just power through you. They'll also have that bit extra to prove after the batterring Villa gave them in midweek, they'll want to make that up to their own fans. Our last few games we've been so lethargic, half-assed and generally easy for teams to bully. Unless that improves drastically we'll get absolutely thumped. That said, there's no reason whatsoever we should be so poor again, and if we actually show up and show a bit of desire we'll be able to give them a game. But, with that starting 11 out it's really very hard to see where our attacking threat will come from. Butt, Geremi and Barton in the middle should give us a chance to match them physically, but where precisely is the service from the middle gonna come from? Who's gonna keep the ball for us? Out wide, Martins may do something spectacular at some point but other than that he doesn't effect the game positively in a consistent manner at all, while Milner just plainly isn't much better than above-average. Smith will get about up front, which is key for the lone striker, but don't expect his name on the scoresheet. Be surprised if we score at all today personally, if we do it'll almost certainly be a Martins thunderbolt or a scrappy goal froma set-piece. If we go behind, we're 99% gauranteed to lose. What does that say about any football team?

Will we fuck

I don't have too much of a problem with that. N'Zogbia at left-back is the only real thing that you can properly criticise; but if we're playing 4-3-3, there's no place for him in midfield and he's done well from deep earlier in the season. Good line-up imo. Just hope it's not all-out long ball. Am I the only one who thinks N'Zogbia could be absolutely lethal playing as left sided striker/winger in the 4-3-3? He has a great eye for goal and if you get him one on one with the full-back he has about a 800% better chance of actually going by his man and getting in a cross than either Milner (who'll go by his man before checking back and allowing the defence to get in position to deal with his cross) or Martins (who can beat his man with sheer pace but seems determined to not do so if possible). But no, lampoon him at LB where he's a liability defensively and can only effect the game getting forward when we're on top, which is pretty much never. Well according to HTT, Allardyce wont play him there until he learns to defend. Expect to see Martins at right back next week. I'll just assume he actually said that.

Where he has scored all his goals and created all his assists from this season. And cost us goals as well (Man City for instance). Does well from full-back getting forward but, as I said above, he'd be about 800% more effective than either Milner or Martins playing out wide just off the striker.

I don't have too much of a problem with that. N'Zogbia at left-back is the only real thing that you can properly criticise; but if we're playing 4-3-3, there's no place for him in midfield and he's done well from deep earlier in the season. Good line-up imo. Just hope it's not all-out long ball. Am I the only one who thinks N'Zogbia could be absolutely lethal playing as left sided striker/winger in the 4-3-3? He has a great eye for goal and if you get him one on one with the full-back he has about a 800% better chance of actually going by his man and getting in a cross than either Milner (who'll go by his man before checking back and allowing the defence to get in position to deal with his cross) or Martins (who can beat his man with sheer pace but seems determined to not do so if possible). But no, lampoon him at LB where he's a liability defensively and can only effect the game getting forward when we're on top, which is pretty much never.

Great, our most dangerous midfielder at full-back.

Do you envision N'Zogbia, or any young player for that matter, becoming "that good" despite being played out of position ina tactical abortion every single week?

Yeah, that'd be sound.

He's not helping his own cause at all. Negative approach, even when we're losing he still hasn't the balls to take some chances. Fans would be a lot more supportive if we at least tried to go out and play some good football, we know that we're in transition as a team and for the most part we'll be happy to give him time to get it right, so long as there's some sort of desire being shown. But when we're basically going out week after week and basically just trying to kill the game without any apparent attempt to impose our own ideas on it, then fans won't be happy, and rightfully so. Much as it does seem folly to sack him after such a short period in charge, I can't say I'll be upset in the least if we do it.

I really don't know what to make of this. I'm not calling for Sam's head. But I'm getting less and less bothered about keeping him. So many things we've done today that have just been baffling really, a gutless, pathetic joke of a performance today.

Agree with that, I think Martins and Milner either side of Viduka is the best we've got for the 4-3-3. Been wanting to see it. We'll need to scrap in midfield, and that's why Smith starts IMO. We need a big game from Emre, if we get that I think we'll have a good chance.

Know nothing of him tbh, but a bit of pace won't go amiss at all and sounds like he can play a number of positions and is ideal for the 4-3-3. So bring it on tbh.

An absolute travesty of a game, we'd have been favourites in the final as well had we won. Smacked them round the place, I remember going absolutely mental in my living room when Lee buried that header, was sure we'd go on from there and win. We just switched of for a split second after the goal and Poyet the cunt has to get a brilliant goal. I'll hate him always.

I reckon Ronaldinho is a cert to leave Barca soon enough tbh. Agree with you about Iniesta, he's immense. Fabregas is twice the player Iniesta was at the same age though tbh, and will prove better in the long run in my opinion. We need a focal point CF, a playmaker in midfield and someone who can do something a bit special out wide anyway, those are the three needs I see. A suggestion I'd put forth for the winger is Quaresma from Porto. Poor man's Cristiano Ronaldo, which is pretty good really. Would give us that spark and player that full-backs just hate to play against, definitely make us so much more entertaining. If anyone says he'd never leave Porto to come here I'll flatten them, by the way. Only due to the fact Iniesta never broke into the first team later on due to Barca's strength in depth at the time, I'm sure Fabregas wouldn't be half the player he is now as well if it wasn't for Wenger playing him at such an earliy age. Doesn't really change anything regarding who will ultimately be the better player though.

I reckon Ronaldinho is a cert to leave Barca soon enough tbh. Agree with you about Iniesta, he's immense. Fabregas is twice the player Iniesta was at the same age though tbh, and will prove better in the long run in my opinion. We need a focal point CF, a playmaker in midfield and someone who can do something a bit special out wide anyway, those are the three needs I see. A suggestion I'd put forth for the winger is Quaresma from Porto. Poor man's Cristiano Ronaldo, which is pretty good really. Would give us that spark and player that full-backs just hate to play against, definitely make us so much more entertaining. If anyone says he'd never leave Porto to come here I'll flatten them, by the way.

Then sulked when we wouldn't let him move to Barca, the c***.

Ginola was fantastic value for money, only cost about £2.5m or so wasn't it? He annihilated teams in his first year.

1-2-1 / 3-1 formation, not sure what you'd call it. Best way to play it is. One man, your paciest player ideally, up top at all times, rarely dropping back too far inside his own half. His job is to press the opposition when they have the ball, nothing too cavalier but not just goal-hanging either. Leaving him up top will always give you the threat of one quick ball forward and an easy goal if the other team doesn't keep a good eye on him. The 3 at the back then play in zones, one in the middle and one either side. Going man-for-man is tricky as you can get dragged all over the place very easily. 5-a-side pitches are generally quite small so you'll never be too far from your teammates and thus won't leave much space for the opponents. When you have the ball the two wide defenders become wingers/strikers and get forward to support the lone striker, while the centreback sort of hangs back and makes himself available for the easy pass for his teammates and can burst forward the odd time when a blatant chance develops. You generally want your best player playing CB as he basically will dictate your playmaking and has to be able to read the game well, while you want a small pacey fucker up front.

My uncle grew up as a Chelsea fan, said winning the title the way they did was rather hollow after the initial euphoria of winning it. Supports Barnsley now. Glory-shunner I suppose would be the term for him. The way things are going at the moment though, there's gonna be lots of clubs throwing ridiculous money around all the time so it's unlikely a Chelsea-esque domination of the transfer market will come about again, simply because there's so many minted clubs. So yeah, bring it on Mike.

do we have the players for a 4-3-3? who occupies the all-important target man role and who plays as wide forwards? Martins and N'Zogbia either side of Viduka is the only forward line that would be in anyway suited to the 4-3-3 IMO. Viduka won't bully people around so he's not ideal for it (Drogba being the perfect 4-3-3 CF for me) but his touch and ability to bring others into the game is top notch so he is someone you can play the ball into feet to.

4-3-3 surely, given how wretched we've been the last two games with a 4-4-2. ------------------- Harper Taylor -- Rozenhal -- Faye -- Enrique ----------------- Geremi ----------- Barton --- Emre Martins ----------------------- N'Zogbia ----------------- Viduka Would be my choice, Smith instead of Viduka if Viduka isn't fit. Could do with the extra man in the middle for what will obviously be a very physical game, while I'm very keen to see Martins and N'Zogbia either side of a front man as they have the pace and direct style neccessary.

It may be his best position, but it doesn't make him a good option there.

I was positive about his appointment and still want to give him time, but there really is no excuse for doing stupid things like playing Milner and N'Zogbia on the wrong sides or sending out the starting line-up he did at Reading last week. There's no real margin for error with the style of football he tries to play, if you lose there's generally not going to be much in the way of positives to take from the game because the football isn't great to watch. Still supporting him, but I'm not as confident about him now as I was when he took over.