Gallowgate Toon

Who plays the Owen role then though? IMO Lovenkrands is backup to Martins all being well. Can't see them being much use together.

 

I think Lovenkrands and Oba either side of Viduka would be pretty tasty in a Mourinho version of 4-3-3 when he was at Chelsea. I think I mentioned it somewhere in one of the other threads as well. Obviously this would make it hard to accomodate Nolan which would be a disaster of course 

 

løvenkrands needs to play wide left....he could be ok in that position you mentioned! up front middle or right wing would never work!

My teacher at school is a Rangers fan and said Lovenkrands is shite on the wing as he can't cross to save his life, his best position is CF.

The standard of player doesn't really matter. It just turns out that Tmonkey's example is actually a top quality player...

 

Xisco quite clearly had some decent talent in La Liga, and i believe Jimenez (or whoever it was) when they felt he was worth £6m, given the Jonas and Coloccini signings. The point Tmonkey is making is that a young foreigner can look absolutely doghshit for a s*** manager, and be regarded as a flop, and yet look a much better player under a much better manager.

 

The standard of player doesn't matter?

 

Could it be that Xisco is not much cop like his La Liga record shows. I am happy with Jonas, Colo looks decent when Bassong is at his side, you cant win them all. Maybe it is new for you but we have had a few players who just have not cut it here Glyn Hodges lasted 83 days, John Robertson a striker with a far greater record than Xisco lasted 12 games & he played in the SPL when it was decent. I don't think Xisco is going to get 12 games though but thats life, should Wise/TJ be burnt at the stake? Not at all as people rush into things near the end of a transfer window.

Based on what? On his 3 seasons seasons with Depor, he only ever really started in one season and that was 07/08 throughout his other years he was either loaned out or played sparingly as a substitute getting experience. Iirc last season he started 23 games and scored 11 goals and he didn't even finish a full game, now for someone who was 21 at the time playing in one of the toughest leagues in the world that's impressive, compared to 'Big Andy' who has never shown to me an ounce of promise, he is Pele. It's absolutely shocking Carroll plays ahead of him, but then again Joe Kinnear is our manager.

I'm very pleased with the reaction of the players after the shite of last weekend, very good that they aren't feeling sorry for themselves and came out fighting. Thought we played well, Guttierrez was excellent on the left like, he should play there more often. I also miss Martins and think Carroll will never make it at this level, Xisco has shown he can cut it in a good league and he's only a year older than 'Big Andy' so why isn't he getting a look in? JK is so inept at decision making.

Also glad after the Liverpool game Colo had a decent shift, he could have done a Boumsong but he didn't and made some impressive interceptions.

Andy Carroll is 6ft 3 and he lost a header to 5ft 9? Boateng, truly awful.

I want to see Xisco come on, sick of seeing bloody Carroll bumbling about with his rubbish first touch.

I really want to see Lua Lua come on, get Butt off he's shite.

Enrique looks like he has concentration issues.

looks unfit to me.

Why is Duff starting over Gutierrez?

If Wise is in charge Xisco is going nowhere, he bought him because he thinks he has potential and i'm quite happy that Wise is doing the deals, he bought some good people in the summer.

He looked a lot better than Reina on Sunday, he looked really shaky when the ball was in the air.

His position and CM are possibly the hardest to adapt to in the league, so it will take more than half a season, Vidic and Evra are great examples of this. Bassong is not better than Colo, he has looked better so far this season but he's onl played 6 games and has a lot less pressure on him. If people are saying Bass is better than, then look no further than last season.

He's not actually slow himself, he's pretty quick he's just not used to the awareness of other players, like Gerrard, who make clever and powerful runs. He basically just hasn't adapted to that side of the league yet, tbf he does win quite a few headers when he goes up for them, but that isn't his job, he's the sweeper and he certainly isn't weak.

He's got power, he's hit some rakers for the reserves hasn't he.

Just lives off being from Man U, managers will see that as valuable experience and he'll never be dropped.

I never mentioned the word consistency. I was merely pointing out that even if his form does take a nose-dive, he clearly does have the ability to be a Premiership defender - because you don't have 5 or 6 good games in a row (against some decent forwards too like Crouch, Defoe and Anelka) without having something.

I agree he has something, he has a lot of potential to be very good, but a lot of players have something and they show it over a period of some games it doesn't mean that's a true reflection of their ability. There's been so many footballers who've made very promising and great starts over their first 10 games but a lot of them can never really carry on the form and their true level comes through. All i'm saying is be careful here, some people are naming him player of the season so far and he's played 5 games out of a possible 19, i'd rather just let him develop than mega-hype him and put too much pressure on him a la Richards.

Thought their only decent player was Modric tbh, i like the look of him.

Stoke (h), Boro (a), Pompey (a), Chelsea (a), Spurs (h) and possibly Wigan (h) - might have to check that last one.

 

That's 6 games, and to me, you don't play so well for 6 games in 'fits and starts'.

I meant he has to prove that he can over more games or even a season. He's played 5/6 games but he's only had 4 good ones as everyone was rubbish against Stoke and the same for Wigan but that's beside the point, the fact remains he's still played 5 games, in all your time watching football how many players have you seen have 5 good games/or one good season even to completely flop later on, a certain Micah Richards springs to mind, as does Taylor when he first broke through and there's a hundred more i can name. If you're saying that playing well over a few games counts as consistency then that's just stupid, i'll call him consistent at the end of the season but not now. I like Bassong he looks a good defender and a great prospect but there's been enough footballers who have fallen into that category who have failed later on.

Richards is a great talent, and is bound to come good in the end. I don't know why his form has slumped at the moment - maybe he wants out.

 

Did his knee last season and was out for 6 months iirc. Pretty sure he was injured for most of the summer too, when he was writing columns for the BBC.

 

Not the first, nor the last, footballer to suffer a big drop in form after such a serious injury. Hope it's not permanent, he has the talent to be amongst the best in the Premiership, and was the real star a year and a half ago when Dunne and Richards were the in-form central defence partnership in the Premiership.

I remember he also took a pretty bad knock to the head earlier this season, that like the Given injury might have shaken him up and lost some confidence.

I think it would be fair to say that Bassong's recent performances wouldn't have been as good if he hadn't been playing alongside such a talented and experienced defender, if you watch closely Colo organizes a lot he tells people where to go and when to go that's what you get from being a captain. Bassong has played three games, the key is to play consistently throughout the season not in just fits and starts. Colo for me has been playing at a consistently good level, not outstanding or excellent but good and considering he's played in the slowest leagues for all of his career that's impressive.

I'd be careful here, he might turn into another Taylor if we get ahead of ourselves.

 

Taylor's never ever looked this good in the shirt tbh.

not true Taylor loked pretty good when he first came through, very promising indeed.

I'd be careful here, he might turn into another Taylor if we get ahead of ourselves.

I heard Richards is one of the most down to earth footballers you'll ever meet and he'll never let fame get to him as he had a rough upbringing, am i right or is that bullshit?

Playing with one of the worst CB's in football, the great oaf Richard Dunne, says it all really.

Lennon got past a couple of time but you have to say there was also at least an equal amount of times where Enrique blocked him or tackled him well and started a counter attack.

Perfect club for him, his mentality was far too 'small club' to suit us.