Gallowgate Toon

I'm giving him credit for going for it much more of late, hopefully he can now see we do actually have some attacking potential and not revert to the terrible shit we were playing before. The defence however, is just not functioning, some of the protection they've been given of late has also been poor which is probably a reason but we just need to find some balance. Those subs were abysmal too and the main factor in us getting hammered for that last 15. They're one of the quickest teams in the league, so leaving them acres of space to burst into was always a bad idea, although he doesn't seem to know how to handle speed, considering his use of high lines against quick forwards. It was good to see him admit his mistakes but this isn't the first time he's done this, hopefully he'll learn this time.

I don't think he's as useful in games where we're on, or need to be on, the attacking front, he's a much better player when we're under the cosh. I'd rather try and dominate the middle with genuine skill, which I think we can do against the majority of teams at home. It's not a case of not defending at all either, Cabaye and Anita are very astute defensively and as long as we have discipline in our shape, we'll remain solid, you don't necessarily need defensive midfielders in there all the time. I've watched a lot of teams come here this year and put in a massive defensive shift and we've really struggled to break them down. We need as much creativity as we can get, there's plenty of crap in the league that don't need the amount of respect we've shown them so far this year.

Totally agree with this, I think he's a necessity away from home and against the 'big' teams but we don't need him against the lesser sides. At home, I'd like to see a midfield 3 of Cabaye, Anita and Marveaux with Ba, Cisse and HBA up top. Away, I'd want Tiote, Cabaye and Anita as the 3 with HBA, Marveaux as the wide forwards and either Ba or Cisse in the middle.

It's not the only tactic but has looked our best bet. Also, Ba really isn't rendered useless as a wide forward, considering he's played the majority of his senior career there and scored plenty. It's not like he didn't have chances there last year either, he just wasn't putting them in. I don't remember Ba being anything special out wide personally and the chances he was missing are the same chances Cisse is missing this season. The main fact is it's almost a year since we signed Cisse and while we've played them both together on nearly ever occasion, they still look like strangers. As you've said though, he only played there for a few matches last year. Facts are this, he played there for Hoffenheim and still managed a very respectable scoring record, I don't see why he can't do the same here. Spurs.

It's not the only tactic but has looked our best bet. Also, Ba really isn't rendered useless as a wide forward, considering he's played the majority of his senior career there and scored plenty. It's not like he didn't have chances there last year either, he just wasn't putting them in.

Spot on. Plus didn't Ba score one goal in something like 16 games out wide. That isn't both of them scoring. But Ba HAS played out wide a fair bit in his career and scored regularly there, Cisse's never been that type of player. It's not like Ba didn't chances there last year either, he just didn't finish them off. In my opinion they should both be on the pitch rotating but they need someone with a quality delivery too, it's what they thrive on, if that link's not there, then it's all a bit pointless, which is what we saw yesterday.

What I don't understand is, Jonas is a poor crosser of the ball on his left, we all know that and yet none of our players ever gamble at the front post. Around 90% of his crosses must end up there, surely someone has thought about anticipating where it's going to end up?

Or how about when he's having a poor game, you simply sub him off and leave the one that looks up for it on, who also happens to be a goalscorer?

Proper harsh that a player played well (considering) and got subbed off, while another who played poorly stayed on.

He had every right to be furious, the lack of faith AP's shown in him has been horrendous.

Yep.

I didn't think today was too bad in all honesty. There are still massive areas to improve upon but at least we're approaching games like a football team now, Pards just needs to be more proactive in his selections. Marveaux should have been on from the off today, normally I'd want him centrally but we really need a decent left footer in that front 3, we could have been in on numerous occasions if we'd more potency down that side but we had Jonas, who's a useless crosser (as we all know). I'm confident we'd have won this far more comfortably, if we'd had a starter with that little bit of creativity in the final third. We're edging back to our old level and I thought it was good to see we didn't go overly hoof when Shola came on, it's a step in the right direction. On a sidenote, I felt sorry for Cisse. He played relatively well in my opinion, with some nice touches and movement off the ball, it wasn't really fair that he was sacrificed.

He'd be an excellent addition to our first team, he's a very handy footballer with some fantastic qualities. It certainly seems promising.

I had always hoped Ba's vociferousness would've helped us change our style of play this year but he should only be saying this within the camp.

I'm surprised at Ronaldo's reaction to this one, City had undeniably taken their foot off the pedal after their second goal and were just looking to counter, but that makes it all the more impressive that we managed to create chances. We usually really struggle against defensively minded teams, not least one of the toughest in the league. I think there are plenty of positives to take from yesterday and I hope Pards keeps on doing what he's been doing tactically.

Same team as today, but with Marveaux on the right of a front 3 and Cisse on the left. I'd normally prefer Marv in the middle but he's the only one I can think of that could actually be of any use as a wing forward with our limited options. Anita's fine as a stop-gap creative midfielder anyway, I just hope Pards can see that his one-touch passing around the opposition's penalty area is probably our most dangerous weapon in terms of creating chances.

He should have started really, I prefer him in a middle 3 in general but I think he'd have done a lot more damage instead of Jonas out wide.

If we continue to play with the same style and shape when he's back, he'll be a monster. He'll add a lot more threat in the final third with his short passing, vision and shooting.

The way the midfield was organised was appalling in the first half, 2 players either following Toure or following the ball, Anita closing down the full back from their goal kick when it was Jonas' job. It was no wonder they sliced through us so easily in that half, we were all over the shop in the middle. We shored it up in the second half, the players seemed to have more defined positions and consequently protected the back 4 better, as well as retaining possession more easily too. Credit for the second, we actually made some chances and played well, it's great to see us mix it up a bit now too, hopefully our approach won't change when others come back from injury.

Excellent today, his one touch play around the box is fantastic and something we should really try to build on. I always thought he was a good player, but not as diverse as he's shown.

I'm not at all confident of a win but I don't think we'll get hammered. Could be the best time to play them, after their result from last week.

I think they've been linking up a little better of late but I think that's been aided by having someone occupying an attacking midfielder's space. Anita, Marveaux and HBA have all had periods of the game playing just behind them, in recent matches.

He slotted in there really well before he went off last night, gave them a headache. He certainly wasn't playing wide at that point.

One of these and I'd be happy: Krul Simpson Perch Colo Santon Anita Tiote Marveaux Ben Arfa Cisse Ba Or Krul Simpson Perch Colo Santon Anita Tiote Marv Ben Arfa Ba Cisse I can't see us winning but we might as well have a go and try to get something. We won't be able to simply contain them.

Cisse's underrated in terms of his general play, he's useful with the ball at his feet, he played a lovely through ball to Ba in the second. I think he's played relatively well of late.