Parky

With the side looking so creaky all over the park and SA signing so many reasonable rather than good players did he or the board mis-handle the summer window? Did both or either show enough ambition? It's clear that SA can't really get the players he has to play how he wants hence the lack of continuity in certain positions. In many ways I was happy with the summer window, but a couple of months ago I was sure SA knew what he was doing now it seems he doesn't really or isn't sure the best way to move forward. Might it have been better to spend more on a couple of bigger players just to be sure? Quality players breed confidence throughout the side and also in the long run would attract more quality players to the club.

OMG! Emre is average...!111 Agree with all of that Chezzer.

It's more or less what happnes innit? But in my version Terry Mac speaks fluent Latin.

He likes his percentage football but so do Benitez and Mourinho.

Can't disagree with your analysis. 2 watercooled mainframes are chugging out the possible almost randomised positions of our players for Liverpool.

In a strange way we are more suited to playing a team like Liverpool than Derby etc..

Use fresh local produce don't over do the sauces let the the simple clean ingredients speak for themselves.

Not exactly quantum physics is it? Exacertedly. So why can't/won't he do it iyo Parky? Not being arsey, I just wonder why he can't see what thousands of us can. Square pegs, square holes etc. IMO he's lost some of his vision as a manager under the pressure of moving to us and thus lost some critical distance on his own descisions. We have to accept it will take HIM time to get his balance...It's a big job and there is a lot going on. I seriously think he underestimated what managing us was all about. In some ways he's overcompensating now and seeing problems or forseeing danger when in reality there probably isn't that much of a threat ie bad choices he's made in some away games and the very startling comments about 0-0's. He's also trying to micro-manage too much the postional variations on a very new side who haven't played together much...Far better IMO to give them simpler goals and expectations and postions they like playing in (tinker 20 games in not now). I've got grave doubts about the coaching atm. Play a pass to someone 15 yards away and roll your foot over the ball (crazy I know) don't semi-chip it cause the extra 2 seconds that takes to control the player is closed down (Look at Blackburn today). Crisp positive passing without silly touches (Emre is the worst for this). Give players time to think and appreciate space (Man City). His inner doubts are making him think about the opp too much is the crux of it hence all the conservatism and tinkering. No one has got away with playing narrow football (we don't always do it tbf) in the PL bar Chelsea and had success and thier staff and players are on another planet.

Not exactly quantum physics is it? Exacertedly.

It's nothing to do with transitional its all to do with trying to be too clever. Put yer best players in thier correct positions on the park week in week out for a start. [GordonRamsey/]

The one ray of hope we have is that Benitez is thier manager.

My thoughts on Big Sam are borne out of close study of him, his methods and watching a hell of a lot of Bolton over the years because I've always thought "he'd do for us" so I like to think I have a good understanding of his methods and what not and an insight into how he thinks. My next victim target is Aidy Boothroyd. I don't buy into Big Sam's comments about Smith replacing Dyer, as a body maybe, but not positionally. I think he was signed as a striker with the possible intention of letting Ameobi go eventually and maybe to replace Viduka long-term, or both. I think Martins carries arguably our biggest goal threat so I agree, however he does require a number of chances to get on the scoresheet, perhaps more than Owen, and Sam being into his stats and whatnot, perhaps Owen just gets the nod. I'd ditch Owen though and start Martins alongside either Smith or Viduka because of his pace, explosiveness and his ability to harass which Owen rarely does. Regarding Sam whinging it - well this is one job that will find him out so we'll know if he really is whinging it the longer he is in the job. His Bolton record suggests to me though he's not as daft as he looks. There really is a lot of method to his madness. I don't think Smith was brought in with the idea of letting Ameobi go, I remember quotes from Allardyce when he spoke of his four strikers naming Owen, Viduka, Oba and Shola, he also spoke about English target men and said there was only Crouch, Davies and Ameobi out there. I stand corrected then. I actually thought Ameobi would do well under Big Sam but doesn't seem to get a look in, perhaps the manager doesn't rate him. Interesting he talked about Crouch, maybe we'll be after him in January? Would be a good signing and while this may shock some I'd personally trade Owen for him if that was the deal. On Crouch. I'f you're going to play like monkeys you buy a zoo. I don't get the stick Crouch gets Scores goals - check Creates goals - check Works hard - check Has good technique - check Good option up front - check Like Sam, he's not as daft as he looks, although ideally I'd prefer a more rounded striker at the club but I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up if we were interested as he's a good proven player ideal for 4-3-3. Pace and movement the lynchpin of the 433 for a forward nocheck. Ah that old chestnut, pace. I prefer mobility and intelligence myself which Crouch has. Centrally pace isn't too important anyway, Davies never had any and Bolton were successful using 4-3-3. Providing you have pace either side of course. I've said before that Crouch playing the same role as Davies did at Bolton would be unstoppable in the air, he's not the best when he needs to get power and direction into a header but for flick on's we'll struggle to find better. Being great in the air is important if you as the striker want to score goals from crosses ala Shearer or Sir Les but if you want to cause havoc for the opposition and create openings for team-mates you don't need to be great in the air, just an ability to flick it on and as Allardyce is big on the second ball, what better player for such a job? Who's he flicking it to out of interest?...All the play is behind him if he's just received a hoof from Enrique. Barton I imagine will be used in a similar way to how Nolan was, the main support of attack from midfield. And if we are playing 4-3-3 I imagine there will be players either side of Crouch, pacy players to get in between the full-backs. It isn't just about flick-ons though, it's about holding the ball up and having a presence centrally to focus opposition minds away from other areas. I see. What worries me about all this systems lark is that we don't have one single forward who has one clue on how to play in a 433 apart from Duff who looks like he's going to be the next permacrock. Then we teach the players we've got to play that way, similar to how he trained Diouf and Anelka to play it when he was at Bolton. That would be ideal but the two players you mention have assets our forwards can only dream about apart from the fact they have a lot of football intelligence compared to the likes of Martins and Milner and the still learning zoggy. In a 433 the forwards are always needing to analyse the game and re-positon so they can make the extra man (the core of the system). We have Owen (goalhanger) Martins (derranged run anywhere shoot if poss). Not ideal.

My thoughts on Big Sam are borne out of close study of him, his methods and watching a hell of a lot of Bolton over the years because I've always thought "he'd do for us" so I like to think I have a good understanding of his methods and what not and an insight into how he thinks. My next victim target is Aidy Boothroyd. I don't buy into Big Sam's comments about Smith replacing Dyer, as a body maybe, but not positionally. I think he was signed as a striker with the possible intention of letting Ameobi go eventually and maybe to replace Viduka long-term, or both. I think Martins carries arguably our biggest goal threat so I agree, however he does require a number of chances to get on the scoresheet, perhaps more than Owen, and Sam being into his stats and whatnot, perhaps Owen just gets the nod. I'd ditch Owen though and start Martins alongside either Smith or Viduka because of his pace, explosiveness and his ability to harass which Owen rarely does. Regarding Sam whinging it - well this is one job that will find him out so we'll know if he really is whinging it the longer he is in the job. His Bolton record suggests to me though he's not as daft as he looks. There really is a lot of method to his madness. I don't think Smith was brought in with the idea of letting Ameobi go, I remember quotes from Allardyce when he spoke of his four strikers naming Owen, Viduka, Oba and Shola, he also spoke about English target men and said there was only Crouch, Davies and Ameobi out there. I stand corrected then. I actually thought Ameobi would do well under Big Sam but doesn't seem to get a look in, perhaps the manager doesn't rate him. Interesting he talked about Crouch, maybe we'll be after him in January? Would be a good signing and while this may shock some I'd personally trade Owen for him if that was the deal. On Crouch. I'f you're going to play like monkeys you buy a zoo. I don't get the stick Crouch gets Scores goals - check Creates goals - check Works hard - check Has good technique - check Good option up front - check Like Sam, he's not as daft as he looks, although ideally I'd prefer a more rounded striker at the club but I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up if we were interested as he's a good proven player ideal for 4-3-3. Pace and movement the lynchpin of the 433 for a forward nocheck. Ah that old chestnut, pace. I prefer mobility and intelligence myself which Crouch has. Centrally pace isn't too important anyway, Davies never had any and Bolton were successful using 4-3-3. Providing you have pace either side of course. I've said before that Crouch playing the same role as Davies did at Bolton would be unstoppable in the air, he's not the best when he needs to get power and direction into a header but for flick on's we'll struggle to find better. Being great in the air is important if you as the striker want to score goals from crosses ala Shearer or Sir Les but if you want to cause havoc for the opposition and create openings for team-mates you don't need to be great in the air, just an ability to flick it on and as Allardyce is big on the second ball, what better player for such a job? Who's he flicking it to out of interest?...All the play is behind him if he's just received a hoof from Enrique. Barton I imagine will be used in a similar way to how Nolan was, the main support of attack from midfield. And if we are playing 4-3-3 I imagine there will be players either side of Crouch, pacy players to get in between the full-backs. It isn't just about flick-ons though, it's about holding the ball up and having a presence centrally to focus opposition minds away from other areas. I see. What worries me about all this systems lark is that we don't have one single forward who has one clue on how to play in a 433 apart from Duff who looks like he's going to be the next permacrock.

My thoughts on Big Sam are borne out of close study of him, his methods and watching a hell of a lot of Bolton over the years because I've always thought "he'd do for us" so I like to think I have a good understanding of his methods and what not and an insight into how he thinks. My next victim target is Aidy Boothroyd. I don't buy into Big Sam's comments about Smith replacing Dyer, as a body maybe, but not positionally. I think he was signed as a striker with the possible intention of letting Ameobi go eventually and maybe to replace Viduka long-term, or both. I think Martins carries arguably our biggest goal threat so I agree, however he does require a number of chances to get on the scoresheet, perhaps more than Owen, and Sam being into his stats and whatnot, perhaps Owen just gets the nod. I'd ditch Owen though and start Martins alongside either Smith or Viduka because of his pace, explosiveness and his ability to harass which Owen rarely does. Regarding Sam whinging it - well this is one job that will find him out so we'll know if he really is whinging it the longer he is in the job. His Bolton record suggests to me though he's not as daft as he looks. There really is a lot of method to his madness. I don't think Smith was brought in with the idea of letting Ameobi go, I remember quotes from Allardyce when he spoke of his four strikers naming Owen, Viduka, Oba and Shola, he also spoke about English target men and said there was only Crouch, Davies and Ameobi out there. I stand corrected then. I actually thought Ameobi would do well under Big Sam but doesn't seem to get a look in, perhaps the manager doesn't rate him. Interesting he talked about Crouch, maybe we'll be after him in January? Would be a good signing and while this may shock some I'd personally trade Owen for him if that was the deal. On Crouch. I'f you're going to play like monkeys you buy a zoo. I don't get the stick Crouch gets Scores goals - check Creates goals - check Works hard - check Has good technique - check Good option up front - check Like Sam, he's not as daft as he looks, although ideally I'd prefer a more rounded striker at the club but I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up if we were interested as he's a good proven player ideal for 4-3-3. Pace and movement the lynchpin of the 433 for a forward nocheck. Ah that old chestnut, pace. I prefer mobility and intelligence myself which Crouch has. Centrally pace isn't too important anyway, Davies never had any and Bolton were successful using 4-3-3. Providing you have pace either side of course. I've said before that Crouch playing the same role as Davies did at Bolton would be unstoppable in the air, he's not the best when he needs to get power and direction into a header but for flick on's we'll struggle to find better. Being great in the air is important if you as the striker want to score goals from crosses ala Shearer or Sir Les but if you want to cause havoc for the opposition and create openings for team-mates you don't need to be great in the air, just an ability to flick it on and as Allardyce is big on the second ball, what better player for such a job? Who's he flicking it to out of interest?...All the play is behind him if he's just received a hoof from Enrique.

Save for the cameras I'm afraid. Nowhere near as difficult or "great" as it was made to look. And the more I see the goal the more I think he could have done better with it. He certainly didn't play that well He came out late and slipped as he was trying to 'make himself big'. When caught out with a man coming round the back on a long cross (heading attempt) it's normally better to stay on your line and make him pick a spot. It's better to run out if the ball is going to their feet. Not sure who the goalkeeping coach is these days but those are the basics.

My thoughts on Big Sam are borne out of close study of him, his methods and watching a hell of a lot of Bolton over the years because I've always thought "he'd do for us" so I like to think I have a good understanding of his methods and what not and an insight into how he thinks. My next victim target is Aidy Boothroyd. I don't buy into Big Sam's comments about Smith replacing Dyer, as a body maybe, but not positionally. I think he was signed as a striker with the possible intention of letting Ameobi go eventually and maybe to replace Viduka long-term, or both. I think Martins carries arguably our biggest goal threat so I agree, however he does require a number of chances to get on the scoresheet, perhaps more than Owen, and Sam being into his stats and whatnot, perhaps Owen just gets the nod. I'd ditch Owen though and start Martins alongside either Smith or Viduka because of his pace, explosiveness and his ability to harass which Owen rarely does. Regarding Sam whinging it - well this is one job that will find him out so we'll know if he really is whinging it the longer he is in the job. His Bolton record suggests to me though he's not as daft as he looks. There really is a lot of method to his madness. I don't think Smith was brought in with the idea of letting Ameobi go, I remember quotes from Allardyce when he spoke of his four strikers naming Owen, Viduka, Oba and Shola, he also spoke about English target men and said there was only Crouch, Davies and Ameobi out there. I stand corrected then. I actually thought Ameobi would do well under Big Sam but doesn't seem to get a look in, perhaps the manager doesn't rate him. Interesting he talked about Crouch, maybe we'll be after him in January? Would be a good signing and while this may shock some I'd personally trade Owen for him if that was the deal. On Crouch. I'f you're going to play like monkeys you buy a zoo. I don't get the stick Crouch gets Scores goals - check Creates goals - check Works hard - check Has good technique - check Good option up front - check Like Sam, he's not as daft as he looks, although ideally I'd prefer a more rounded striker at the club but I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up if we were interested as he's a good proven player ideal for 4-3-3. Pace and movement the lynchpin of the 433 for a forward nocheck.

I'm not bothered about City, different clubs different circumstances. For all we know, if the jobs were reversed, part of your recent disdain for Sven could be based on how quickly another manager (Sam) has got his team playing his football successfully. See my point? Why Boothroyd? Because he thinks outside of the box and has interesting opinions on the game and management which first alerted me to him, then he got Watford promoted, relegated and has them top of the Championship based on nothing more than a set of philosophies, I like managers who work by philosophies and not old skool text books (hence Big Sam). I think he might make a name for himself as a manager and is one I've got my eye on, someone who I'll look out for. Look at for Boothroydforthetoon.com and Boothroyd dossiers Good spot.

He'll be spending more in Jan as well if you look at the noises he's been making.

My thoughts on Big Sam are borne out of close study of him, his methods and watching a hell of a lot of Bolton over the years because I've always thought "he'd do for us" so I like to think I have a good understanding of his methods and what not and an insight into how he thinks. My next victim target is Aidy Boothroyd. I don't buy into Big Sam's comments about Smith replacing Dyer, as a body maybe, but not positionally. I think he was signed as a striker with the possible intention of letting Ameobi go eventually and maybe to replace Viduka long-term, or both. I think Martins carries arguably our biggest goal threat so I agree, however he does require a number of chances to get on the scoresheet, perhaps more than Owen, and Sam being into his stats and whatnot, perhaps Owen just gets the nod. I'd ditch Owen though and start Martins alongside either Smith or Viduka because of his pace, explosiveness and his ability to harass which Owen rarely does. Regarding Sam whinging it - well this is one job that will find him out so we'll know if he really is whinging it the longer he is in the job. His Bolton record suggests to me though he's not as daft as he looks. There really is a lot of method to his madness. I don't think Smith was brought in with the idea of letting Ameobi go, I remember quotes from Allardyce when he spoke of his four strikers naming Owen, Viduka, Oba and Shola, he also spoke about English target men and said there was only Crouch, Davies and Ameobi out there. I stand corrected then. I actually thought Ameobi would do well under Big Sam but doesn't seem to get a look in, perhaps the manager doesn't rate him. Interesting he talked about Crouch, maybe we'll be after him in January? Would be a good signing and while this may shock some I'd personally trade Owen for him if that was the deal. On Crouch. I'f you're going to play like monkeys you buy a zoo.

There's no need to sit on the fence man.

Anelka/Diouf cut wide to let the AM time to catch up with play and stretch the back 4 to leave gaps for this oncoming rush. Football is a v simple game.

I'm not convinced Allardyce really undrstands the 433 as well as HTT.

It's rare to see a manager given a blank cheque to buy his own squad straight away, so it's generally accepted you've got to work with what you've got until you can build your own. I don't think Benitez had long term plans for Traore or Baros, but he tried to get the best out of them while they were around. That was his job. Same with Bobby Robson, as the orignal post points out. Any manager starting out at a new club needs to be flexible, he has to build a system to suit the players until he can put his own stamp on things. You can't just wander into a club like Newcastle and expect them to play to Bolton's tactics, launching high balls to Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins, you have to be flexible until you can make your mark. Allardyce is the one being too impatient, if you ask me. Michael Owen is being totally misused, while other players are struggling in unfamiliar positions. Against sunderland, (not the sort of game where you mess about), he dropped our only fit full backs (who have done a decent job up to now) for a winger and a centre back, moved our only fit right winger to the left wing, moved our only fit left winger to defence and put Barton on the right wing. He didn't have to do any of this. The fact he is "his own man" is turning out to be as much a weakness as a strength, as it proved to be for Souness. At what point does strong-willed become stubborn? Allardyce needs to start playing these players to their strengths and get the team performing. Results come before the system, he'll have plenty of time to build the squad up next summer. To cut to the chase I think he is letting a sense of anxiety and defensive mindedness pervade the squad and switching postions around needlessly gives the wrong signals I don't care if you're Trappatoni or Cruyff.

Duff's finished.

Like the one that Doctor David Banner had? mackems.gif