STM

Didn't put a foot wrong all of the first half. His set-pieces cannot be faulted. Him and Nobby look a class above when it comes to passing and intelligence on the ball.

Going out on loan for a couple of months will benifit him greatly and if he isn't getting the games we can always bring him back.

Probably the reason behind his good left back performances. We all know he's good enough technically to be a left back but today makes me think he has what it takes physically. Can't help thinking that this Juve side isn't as good as it once was but there were some cracking performances all over today.

N'Zogbia looks so much fitter and stronger. Normally when he plays in centre midfield he doesn't quite cut it physically but today he out muscled the opposition. Ramage deserves credit for his display too.

Oh and Buffon shouldn't be on the field, he knew exactly what he was doing.

Half time report: Given-7 One good stop from the captain. Carr-7 Some good challenges but failed with crosses. Rozehnal-7.5 Looks very very composed. Ramage-7 Good performance, barely giving his man a sniff. Hunty-6 Only man beaten in the first half, can be forgiven. Nobby-8 Great passing contribution Geremi-8 Heartbeat once more, good set pieces. N'Zogbia-7 Doesn't look out of his depth. Milner-7.5 Won the penalty, looks very threatening. Martins-7 Worked hard, play part in second goal. Luque-7 Took penalty well, coped physically. Carrol-8 Great workrate, took goal well. Performance-8

blueyes.gif Diop has hardly set the world alight in the last two seasons due to injuries, but before that i'll admit he looked a cracking player. A real powerhouse but a big gamble considering our proneness to injuries. Do we really want another crock? If Sam believes he can sort out his fitness i think he's worth a shot. Especially considering he is injury free right now.

Alot seem to have think he has gone down hill for the last couple of years but i still think hes a very strong midfielder.

Haven't seen a thread but these two were linked with us this morning. Personally, i think they would both be cheap and good squad players. Which is what we need. I haven't seen a great deal of Abdoulaye Faye, am i correct in thinking he can play both DM and CB? If he can and Sam rates him he would be a good addition for a couple of million. PBD is someone i have always rated and he would add some much needed cover to the midfield, along with some important attributes such as strength, tackling and long range shots. Your thoughts?

I am sure someone said before its about £8 a game but £10 to have the channel for the month so you may aswell pay the extra £2 and see the other games they show. Cheers mate.

Does anyone knwo whether you can order individual games on setanta, or do you have to do the whole package thing?

James Milner is a good winger, no two ways about it. He's a very good crosser of the ball (not quite beckham, nobby standard) and has a very good shot on him (see the goals he scored and how many he has scored).

The only reason a footballer needs pace is if he wants to get to the ball first or beat his man whilst with the ball. Milner does both of these without having an abundance of pace. Plain and simply his end product is top draw in my eyes and doesn't deserve and negitive critisism. Sure there are parts of his game that he can improve on but for me he is the most exciting young player at the club.

What a load of tripe. They are what they are, bollocks to this "good bad player" shite. The guardian has gone down hill in my eyes.

What channel is it on?

The same could have been said about Ginola, it didn't stop him from being a good player for us. Ginola had bottle, he got clatterd all the time trying to go past players, luque gives the ball away the second it looks like he will be closed down. Ginola was lazy and would not track back, had nowt to do with lack of bottle. Define bottle? Bottle as in bravery as in being scared of getting hurt but still keeping a hold of the ball anyway.. It would make more sense if you said "Luque isn't tough enough and he doesn't get rid of the ball quick enough" If thats your critisism of him. Bottles a bullshit word. I did say higher up the thread that he is not very tough and my complaint is that he DOES get rid of the ball to quick, he will not hold the ball up at all, he could have played Butt in the other night if he had held the ball up for a few seconds but he gave it away, Butt let him know so too. Bottle is a term widely used to describe bravery, made up word I just think he is a wimp and being that way stops him being as effective as he could be in a game. In Spain they get lots more time on the ball without a player flying into a tackle on them, its that part of the Prem game that I think he is finding hard to deal with. Haha, i was just messing. I agree with what you have said in terms of the different style. Lets hope Sam can find a solution.

The same could have been said about Ginola, it didn't stop him from being a good player for us. Ginola had bottle, he got clatterd all the time trying to go past players, luque gives the ball away the second it looks like he will be closed down. Ginola was lazy and would not track back, had nowt to do with lack of bottle. Define bottle? Bottle as in bravery as in being scared of getting hurt but still keeping a hold of the ball anyway.. It would make more sense if you said "Luque isn't tough enough and he doesn't get rid of the ball quick enough" If thats your critisism of him. Bottles a bullshit word.

Richard Dunne would be cracking swap. Always thought he's solid. Lee Young Pyo would be canny considering the positions he can play.

Oh no no. Owen against Boumsong!

The same could have been said about Ginola, it didn't stop him from being a good player for us. Ginola had bottle, he got clatterd all the time trying to go past players, luque gives the ball away the second it looks like he will be closed down. Ginola was lazy and would not track back, had nowt to do with lack of bottle. Define bottle?

Excellent point. I find it funny when people say he scored his goal against Palermo because it was put on his head, or that he scored two against Celtic because they were excellent crosses. I've seen Van Nistelrooy (no I'm not comparing the two, calm down people) score loads like that and people spunk everywhere over his movement and anticipation to create an easy chance for himself. Those two goals against Celtic, if we were talking about someone like Ruud everyone would be going on about his movement, yet cos it's Luque they make out like Solano and Milner made him score. I've just seen both goals and they show very good movement, anticipation and composure, real poachers goals. I'd be surprised to see Ameobi or even Martins scoring those types of goals and it shows Luque does have something in his locker. He might have done nowt else for the 45 minutes, but he scored two goals in the first half against a decent team and people are trying to knock him for it. At the end of the day it's difficult to judge a player objectively when you really don't like him (eg Luque), just as it is when you love a player (eg Shearer when his legs were going). Luque deserves a fair bit of criticism but he also deserves credit where it's due. I also tend to think that somebody with his pedigree deserves a chance to show it with a run in the team. I think he's lost serious pace because of that injury and it's sad to see, but I remember him raping Cafu as they put Milan out of the Champions League and I think a player who had that ability is worth a bit of patience, espescially when noone is bashing down the door to sign him up. I'm glad Sam sees this because he's paid handsomely to get as much as he can out of every player in the squad and isn't looking to wash his hands of players who will require hard work. i think both were excelent finishes, very well times volleys, but at the same time you have to recognise that luque and V.N are very different types of players. its ok that V.N (or Owen) have limited skill on the ball, and can be absent for 89 mins of a game, because they are 25 a season strikers, there to score goals, and natural predators. Luque is none of these things, he scored 2 vs celtic, but won't score 20 in a season, even if he starts every game, because he's not a natural finisher. He took both his goals well, and very good movement for the second, but his skill on the ball was woeful, and if he plays with limited on the ball skill, and won't score 20 a season, then what does he offer? he needs more confidence on the ball. The best bit of him at the moment is funnily his end product. He has good crosses, and has shown good shooting technique. If the other parts improve to PL standard (off the ball and on the ball skills) then he will be a good player for us. TBF Luque does have skill on the ball. He just hasn't shown us much of it yet. Like you say he needs confidence and with a but more fitness and man management and there is a CHANCE he could become a good player for us.

Thats a canny formation. Doubt it would ever work but it could tell us alot about certain players in different positions. TBH i love the idea of N'Zogbia as a left back. Would be great if Sam converted him into a left back. Just to mess with your formation a wee bit: Given Ramage Rozenhal Hunty Nobby Geremi N'Zogbia Milner Luque Martins Owen

As much as i like to think he's going to come good, i do agree with the strength thing. However, when it comes to fitness and attributes i wouldn't look further than sam to sort him out.

I didn't really want to vote because i think he's a fantastic player on both flanks. When we have injuries (which we always do) he's very valuable to us. I voted right just because it will be more natural to him in the long run.

Excellent point. I find it funny when people say he scored his goal against Palermo because it was put on his head, or that he scored two against Celtic because they were excellent crosses. I've seen Van Nistelrooy (no I'm not comparing the two, calm down people) score loads like that and people spunk everywhere over his movement and anticipation to create an easy chance for himself. Those two goals against Celtic, if we were talking about someone like Ruud everyone would be going on about his movement, yet cos it's Luque they make out like Solano and Milner made him score. At the end of the day it's difficult to judge a player objectively when someone really don't like him (eg Luque), just as it is when they love a player (eg Shearer when his legs were going). Luque deserves a fair bit of criticism but he also deserves credit where it's due. I also tend to think that somebody with his pedigree deserves a chance on that alone, because he does have natural ability. I think he's lost serious pace because of that injury and it's sad to see, but I remember him raping Cafu as they put Milan out of the Champions League and I think a player who had that ability is worth a bit of patience, espescially when noone is bashing down the door to sign him up. One of the best posts in a long time. Some people have agendas on here and it annoys the f*** out of me. The lads scored three in two games against celtic now. If he listens to Sam he will become a good player for us. I'd be suprised if he is good enough to come back to his best but if he can become a good squad player i will be delighted after everything thats happened.