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2-0 Agbonlahor. Great run from Ashley Young.

Commentator's right, Laursen's been immense.

Chelsea are finding it very hard to break down Villa. Goes to reason that maybe our draw with them was more down to them being very good defensively rather than us being able to create fuck all (though that is true to an extent).

fucking hell, 1-0 Villa.

I didn't consider it an insult and neither should you Jon.

No way Faye, Roz, Beye or Cacapa are getting that much.

I think it's different for goalkeepers. There needs to be continuity so a relationship between the defence and the keeper is established. I'd feel much better if it was Given who's first choice. Harper's kicking is frustrating and dodgy and like someone's mentioned, he won't make the saves Shay will make (like the Anelka goal, which I reckon Given would have saved).

Schmeichel with some more dodgy keeping from a corner. He looks a decent prospect and is a good shot-stopper but by God, he needs to be more confident and sure when he's gonna stay on his line and when he's going to come out and claim the ball. Dunne sent off btw and Blackburn dominating.

All fair enough but surely our main concern should be the good of the team rather than maximising individuals? Barton taking the hit and playing out of position (where I still think he could do a good job) allows us to play a system that suits Owen and Viduka, yet doesn't leave us exposed in CM as an orthodox 4-4-2 with say Milner and N'Zogbia on the wings may do. OML, I'd like to have seen us bring in a winger instead of Smith, but the fact that we haven't says to me we're not going to be playing with two pure wingers all the time, wo we're not really short there as much as we're not in need of much depth there. Yes, I agree about the team (obviously ) but I just think sacrificing the effectiveness of Owen and Barton isn't worth it. A system should be created for our match-winners (Owen and Barton imo). The difference in quality between someone like Barton in the middle and Butt/Geremi is too much, and how effective Barton would be on the wing is unknown therefore not worth the risk. I also think this system reduces how effective Owen is and Martins would be a better fit. If we revert to a 4-5-1 when we're defending, Owen won't be able to hang on the shoulders of the last defender and he no longer has the pace to burst through when we try to launch a counter-attack. Martins would fill this role better but then we're left with Owen on the bench, which is obviously not good as he's our best striker. Edit - ohmelads makes the point I was trying to make in a more articulate and intelligent manner (as usual)

Santa Clause was 3.5m. Never lived up to his potential at Bayern but then again, how could he with the likes of Sonny Anderson, Makaay, Jancker, Klose, Toni etc. etc. ahead of him at different points of his time in Germany?

Good points made but I'd rather we not try to fit players into a system. Rather a system should be designed to maximize our players' respective strengths. I think Barton's one of our best midfielders, which means people should be accommodating for him, not the other way around. Though Gerrard was effective for Liverpool on the right, he's now back in the center again because this way he can exert more influence on the way Liverpool play. Same thinking should be applied in Barton's case. Same applies with Owen. Put our best players in their best positions and then sort out the rest of the team. The way I see it is Zoggy starts on the left, Barton and Geremi start in center midfield and Owen starts as a central striker, not a winger-cum-striker. Edit - This is a reason I think Chelsea weren't at their best last season. Instead of sticking their best players in their best positions, they tried to accommodate players, which resulted in their disjointed play. Mourinho stuck Essien at CB or RB at times, stuck Lampard in a midfield role with defensive duties and they tried to play a 4-4-2 to accommodate Shevchenko instead of staying with the 4-3-3 which had won them two titles.

Yeah, the same "aura" that got them knocked down to Serie B. Fucking horrible club. Should have been down to Serie C and deducted more than fucking 15 points or whatever it was.

There was definitely something dodgy about the referee in that game. Cagliari played well but of course, Juve are now on 6 points. They seem to have this aura about them that scares the opposition team and the officials.

Some dodgy refereeing there

That's bull, tbh. If we signed Ronaldinho would people be calling for him to be dropped if he had a bad game? And with a keeper it'd be even worse, playing one bad game and getting dropped would make them lose total confidence. Given is our number 1, and by far the better keeper. If he's fit, he plays. Totally agree blueyes.gif

Schmeichel is so dodgy on crosses and corners.

Arsenal have dominated the last 10 mins.

Nugent's not cut out for the Premiership. His football brain is too slow.

Benni Mc 1-0 Blackburn lead.

maybe it's because of the red card? Either way, come on Pompey.

3-0 then 3-1 Flukey shit from Kanu. Quick thinking from Fabregas gave them a 3-0 lead. What a special talent he is.

Even though I thought and still think Chelsea will win it, I think a few people are underrating Manyoo. They'll be the force they were last season when Rooney and Ronaldo returns. I just think a 5 point gap is enough of a head start for a Chelsea team showing the ruthlessness they showed a few seasons ago.

Funniest thing is he's had 43 caps already.

Yep Derby are terrible. We'll give them a roasting if their defence is as shit as it was yesterday. Torres missed a couple of chances (as usual) and they still won 6-0!! As long as we put pressure on the Derby defence, they'll crack.

IIRC Owen stopped (voluntarily) taking penalties for Liverpool after he missed a couple in a row. Since then I don't think he's been the designated penalty taker for the teams he's played for. Milner's a good shout, so is Shola though obviously Shola's going to be on the bench more often than not. Geremi seems the calm composed type who could slot home a penalty in the dying minutes so he'd actually be my pick.