Parsley

He's a good player who might not offer enough for the first team but would certainly add depth and usefulness to the squad. Honestly I don't see the harm in giving the lad a slight pay rise - his demands will probably be very reasonable and would certainly cost us less than shelling out on SWP or Lennon who aren't as big an improvement on Milner as many seem to think. Would rather keep Milner and use that replacement money on a quality AMC tbh.

As said before, I doubt Portsmouth will be able to afford him.

Doubt Pompey can afford him given their financial plight.

Not happy with this at all. If he'd done this a month ago I wouldn't mind but to leave it so late is just taking the piss.

How can you be comfortable defensively and yet not be dependable as a defender? Surely as a full-back your priority is to defend first? His distribution admittedly wasn't up to usual standard but it was hardly shocking and defensively he was excellent - he didn't lose out on a single challenge all game. If that isn't 'dependable' as a defender then I simply don't know what is. And this one 'mistake' leading to Morrison's goal is all a bit of bollocks tbh, Bassong and Colo were at fault as much as Beye in that situation and yet they seem to have slipepd under the radar. aye i think colo and bassong could have done better for the goal, but beye was a lot more guilty than those 2, who were mainly caught out by a lucky deflection. beye wasn't dependable in the same way that taylor isn't dependable, he cost us a goal and gave the ball away quite a few times. he was pretty comfortable when they were in possession (what you would expect, as we were playing championship oppersition). he did nowt in the attacking third either. The ball was behind Beye and he was forced to deal with it at sprint speed as well as coping with pressure from his man. That's not an easy clearance to make and it hardly cost us a goal. Yes his distribution and attacking play wasn't great but as a FULLBACK do your defensive duties not come first? Beye was strong in defence and in being dependable surely this overshadows average passing/attacking.

How can you be comfortable defensively and yet not be dependable as a defender? Surely as a full-back your priority is to defend first? His distribution admittedly wasn't up to usual standard but it was hardly shocking and defensively he was excellent - he didn't lose out on a single challenge all game. If that isn't 'dependable' as a defender then I simply don't know what is. And this one 'mistake' leading to Morrison's goal is all a bit of bollocks tbh, Bassong and Colo were at fault as much as Beye in that situation and yet they seem to have slipepd under the radar.

Given - 7; Not many saves to make but responded well when it mattered. Beye - 7; Consistent and quality in the tackle. Coloccini - 8; Class on the deck and only missed one header all night. Bassong - 7; Very composed and clean performance from the lad, look forward to seeing more from him. Enrique - 8.5; My MotM. Best I've seen him play, contributed to the attack well and was faultless in defence. Looks to have a good partnership going with Zog down the flank. Brilliant assist to top it off. Geremi - 6; Sluggish and sloppy at times but linked well with Milner and Beye and delivery looked a notch above the usual. Guthrie - 8; Played some killer passes and displayed excellent work rate and vision. Looking like a really shrewd piece of business. Butt - 7; Nothing remarkable, good distribution and strong in the tackle and yet had a few little shitters here and there where the ball was lost far too easily. Zog - 8; Our most threatening player today, showed plenty of buzz and industry as well as real quality in one on one's. Surely deserves a spot on the left after that. Milner - 8.5; Played very well tonight albeit against a lower league side. Brilliant play for his goal and assist and passed well. Kept it going for the whole game also, great performance. Jonas - 7; A bit quiet I thought but won't hold that against him playing in an unfamiliar role. Looked a constant threat in possession and combined well with the rest of the midfield. Owen - 7; Took his goal well and worked well coming in deep. Hoping he starts against Arsenal. Very impressed with the performance despite two moments of complacency, we were a joy to watch at times tonight and played Coventry off the park imo. Hope Keegan fields a similar side against Arsenal with Milner behind Owen and Enrique and Zog going on the left with Jose on the right.

Course all the plaudits will go to Coventry despite us completely outplaying them for the vast majority of the game.

One way of doing it! Fuck me..

Bring some subs on man!

You couldn't make this shit up. Completely undeserved.

Come on Newcastle!

This sort of formation worked alright against PSV didn't it? Granted the circumstances are a bit different but surely the cohesion is there.

Viduka's been out and he was one of the main reasons for the success of the 4-3-3 last season imo as he could sustain possession while Owen and Martins could make runs off of him. Without that targetman type player in the front-line, I guess Keegan sees it better to go with more width and midfield support.

I thought he was excellent despite what a few on here have said. Definitely Premiership class and I can understand why Bolton wanted to keep him so badly, but don't really understand why Liverpool let him go so easily, he'd have been a decent saquad player at least and potentially much more. But can you see him viably challenging Gerrard, Alonso, Lucas and Mascherano for a first team place? The impression I got was that he was rated highly but would fail to break into the first team.

Given Beye Colo Taylor Enrique Jonas Butt Guthrie N'Zogbia Milner Owen

Didn't see or hear any of the match but am chuffed with the result.

Clearly not a left back but I wouldn't say he did too bad. Probably our worst player but was far from terrible.

Fuck yes lads Absolutely delighted with the result and the performance - excellent in retaining possession and looked fit and hungry throughout the match. Given - 8; Kept us in the game, some excellent saves. Beye - 7; Solid and dependable as per usual, dealt with Evra very well. Taylor - 8; Won everything in the air and didn't put a foot wrong. Coloccini - 7; A decent debut under alot of pressure and a severe transition to a new way of play - no mistakes and superb in the header. N'Zogbia - 6; Didn't offer an awful lot going forward to justify being picked over Enrique if I'm honest. Looked a bit shaky and had to be helped by Jonas too much for my liking. Milner - 6; Delivery was better, tracked back well at times but didn't offer enough going forward. A bit average. Butt - 6; Alright but was sloppy at times in passing and possession. Made my heart skip a beat as well in that last minute. Guthrie - 8; Excellent. Very quick footed, tidy and dictated all of our play in the first half. A true bargain if this match is anything to go by. Jonas - 9; MOTM. Fantastic shift defensively and our biggest threat on the counter attack. Superb. Duff - 6; Tidy and sharp but didn't offer much. Martins - 7; Didn't see too much of the ball but exhibited good strength, pace and touch and kept Van Der Sar on his toes. Was unlucky in possession on a couple of occasions as well. Absolutely ecstatic, bring on Bolton.

Agree, done nowt wrong tbh.

Agree, Guthrie's been our best player alongside Jonas imo. His set pieces are quality as well, great corner he put in for Martins there. Coloccini looks solid as well, good in the air and strong as anything. Proud as anything with the performance, went crazy when the goal went in, awesome stuff. We look a tad blunt going forward but that's to be expected against the best defence in the country I guess and we've been excellent in maintaining possession. Really chuffed, just hope it continues.

me neither, was at the game but too pissed to remember it Which run are you guys talking about? N'Zogbia vs Man Utd in the 6-0, left about 6 players for dead.

Goalkeepers: Scott Carson, Ian Turner ( ) Defence: Scharner, Upson, Hreidersson, Ooijer, Ferreira, Skrtel, Ryan Taylor, Silvestre Midfield: Michael Johnson, Bowyer, O'Hara, Deco, Shawky Attack: Torres, Bent, Boa Morte, Derbyshire, Bednar Not too bad.

With Martins back I'd go with Given Beye Taylor Coloccini Enrique Jonas Guthrie Butt N'Zogbia Milner Martins ...but I reckon we'll go with Zog at left back, Jonas on the left, Milner on the right and Duff just behind Martins.

Trejo looked excellent against us I thought.