NSG

If they do they could be without Lampard, Cole, Carvalho, Terry and Drogba.

Banned for Saturday?

Hence the swiftly deleted post

gunnarsson sent off

I don't care about the past, tbh. All that matter is now. Unfortunately Given has looked very poor in recent weeks, and was slower than a bus when he went down for Barnes' effort.

Are you saying there's some kind of anti-Brummie conspiracy in the ranks of ST holders? Sorry, just wanted responses from people who are seaon ticket holders or attend matches on a regular basis who are in agreement with our southern friend TBH I'll raise my hand here, in that case. Ditto.

Ridding the squad of: Titus Sibierski Moore Babayaro Srnicek Dyer Bringing in the likes of: Faye - Best defender at former club Beye - Captain of Champions league side Caçapa - See Beye Viduka - Bags of PL experience, natural goalscorer Fully improved the scouting network. We now have scouts all round Europe and we're looking to snap up young English talent. Massive improvement in fitness levels of squad, which have been vital in recent weeks. He's not had a chance to get the players he wanted over the summer, mainly due to the fact that the man he signed up to work alongside was removed within weeks of him getting the job, and replaced by total strangers to the region, the sport and to himself. Give him time. If someone had offered me what we have now, this time last year, i'd have snapped their hands off.

What you fail to realise, Wullsten, is that the game has never been so cat and mouse. It's a game of chess now more than ever. So what if Martins isn't a winger? I want hard-working wide players, not wingers. He's not a proper player like. Get City of London nick on the phone, see what they want for Amdy Faye. I wouldn't mind trying to get back Andy Griffin in January and giving him a run out on the right, not only does he get stuck in but he scored past Juventus. Proper player. Chipped in with a second a few days later against Charlton. He was on FIRE that week

It's Ghana be hard to replace Beye when he goes to the ACN

Viduka and Owen would be the slowest front line in the Premiership, with no pace at all from midfield the opposition would just play a high line making it hard for us to get in behind. We've already seen this when they've played together this season. I'm not entirely convinced that against a fully fit Michael Owen you'd see too many defences playing a high line, even at this stage of his career, there still aren't that many centre halves in the Premiership quicker than him over 10 yards. Given the right service I'd have far more confidence in these two than in Smith/Martins/Ameobi to bury whatever comes their way. Martins has pace, but how many times this season has he utilised it effectively? I've personally never seen such a quick player who doesn't know how to properly utilise his major asset, which is a great shame. Think we've been spoiled with Bellamy in his prime as far as pacey strikers go. At St. James' the higher the opposition defends up the park the more hope I'd have of us scoring, personally, because we seem to struggle the most against two deep banks of 4. When teams come here and try and play, we usually find a way to put some goals past them. (West Ham, Everton, Spurs being examples this season - although I realise Viduka/Owen were only paired in the first of these.) The part I've highlighted couldn't be further from the truth, the Owen we signed could but the player we've got now isn't going to sprint away from anybody. We've seen a few times this season that Owen was put through but doesn't have the pace to get away from defenders anymore, meaning he has to shoot from distance, something he's s**** at, I had hoped it was down to fitness but when he can't even out pace Michael Dawson ten you know there's a serious problem. And last week at Fulham, 3 times Martins had the chance to run away from the defence but his general sh*t control meant it was pretty pointless. Same today when he was clean through only to fall over the ball

Rubbish. Which bit? All of it. Indeed. Other options? Stick with the usual shite of trying to knock peoples heads off after a slow paced dance. Good performance for me. 100% better than the usual shite. Not great but vertainly better. Lets face it,he doesnt have to do much to outperform the others. That's probably it. So used to having the same old same old trundle down the wing, that when a proper winger turns up I go overboard

What you on about man, don't you know pace is everything....

Given Beye Caçapa Faye Enrique Butt Barton N'Zogbia Milner Duff Viduka Harper, Taylor, Emre, Smith, Martins Milner and Duff switching flanks throughout the game.

Rubbish. Which bit? All of it.

Fully agree mate, but I seriously doubt we'll see a properly fit Owen.

Agreed. To play effective 4-3-3 you need clever adaptable players. Oba is very instinctive and totally unflexible. Play him as a striker in a 4-4-2 or not at all. Yep. In a 4-4-2 he could basically be played as a luxery striker. Alongside someone who is guaranted to score goals, Martins could provide the 'special' and 'unpredictable' touch. In a 4-3-3, with Martins always wanting to come infield, it in effect nullifies half of any potential width for us, putting more pressure on the left flank. But he has scored the most goals for us this season, while being played out of position alot. Doesn't this make him the automatic starter in a 4-4-2? i think he is the main striker in a 4-4-2 that gets those goals. Another player should support him imo. I've just said, yes, i'd play him in a 4-4-2. But as the luxury striker. Since he has scored the most this season, why shouldn't he be the main starting striker? Does it really matter if I call him a luxury if he's still playing?

He's been poor, like. Still willing to give him a few more games before i'd say we should drop him.

Title amended to suit current thread title trend

Agreed. To play effective 4-3-3 you need clever adaptable players. Oba is very instinctive and totally unflexible. Play him as a striker in a 4-4-2 or not at all. Yep. In a 4-4-2 he could basically be played as a luxery striker. Alongside someone who is guaranted to score goals, Martins could provide the 'special' and 'unpredictable' touch. In a 4-3-3, with Martins always wanting to come infield, it in effect nullifies half of any potential width for us, putting more pressure on the left flank. But he has scored the most goals for us this season, while being played out of position alot. Doesn't this make him the automatic starter in a 4-4-2? i think he is the main striker in a 4-4-2 that gets those goals. Another player should support him imo. I've just said, yes, i'd play him in a 4-4-2.

Agreed. To play effective 4-3-3 you need clever adaptable players. Oba is very instinctive and totally unflexible. Play him as a striker in a 4-4-2 or not at all. Yep. In a 4-4-2 he could basically be played as a luxery striker. Alongside someone who is guaranted to score goals, Martins could provide the 'special' and 'unpredictable' touch. In a 4-3-3, with Martins always wanting to come infield, it in effect nullifies half of any potential width for us, putting more pressure on the left flank.

He'll never fit into a 433 system.

Except for the fact that he is a clinical finisher. 3 half chances, 2 goals.

Worst thing today was the frigging leaks in the Gallowgate roof. Half my tier were getting dripped on all the way through