themanupstairs

21st in the NO league Last year I had to click about 5 times before I could find my team in the table.

First time i have seen him play tonight and i was impressed, small nippy player like Campbell and scored a cracking goal tonight following good play from Vukcic and Campbell, ball got laid back to him and he smashed a low left footed striker into bottom corner from about 20 yards. He could/should have scored a couple more but then most of the team tonight could have scored 1,2 or 3 goals. Still can't believe we ended up drawing that game 1-1 after such a dominant performance. Chronicle called it a poor performance from us iirc. Armstrong's goal the only highlight they said.

76 points for the week. Keeper and defenders all with clean sheets, Shelvey, Ben Arfa and Sturridge. If I had captained anyone but Walcott, it could have been a sensational week.

Wow wtf? Unlucky for the lad. Looked like a good player.

Bimpy man

knew it was him

Sammy Remy HBA Not sure the sum of that is better than with Cisse in TBH. I agree, but it could have its merits. A recovering Remy will have less to do in terms of running up and down the pitch, and Sammy's unpredictability will still keep fullbacks on their toes. It would work better than hoying Gouffran in either position (LF, CF), as IMO he is best coming off the bench to impact the game. If Cisse needs to gain some perspective watching a couple of games from the bench, then that's the way to go IMO.

Sammy Remy HBA

What exactly are you expecting from a player like Anita? He obviously hasn't made it as a pro footballer at Ajax for his goalscoring prowess, dribbling ability, Overmars pace, or tank-like build. He made it as a pro footballer for his speed of thought, excellent technique, vision and an uncomplicated understanding of the pitch all around him. The fact that he can more than hold his own in multiple positions on the pitch tells us that he's somewhat a utility player whose best position happens to be as the lynchpin in a 3 man midfield. His pressing and closing down snuffs out opposition movement before he has to "put the tackle in". How does that NOT benefit the team? How does him doing immense work off the ball leading to opposition rushing passes, and resulting in us winning the ball, NOT benefit the team? How does him being uncomplicated in posession, giving time to our attacking players and those around him to position themselves for an attack before releasing the ball to get us underway NOT benefit the team? He's clearly still learning about the league and opposition, and needs an extended run in the side before he can add to his repertoire. At the moment though, he appears to be dovetailing very nicely with Sissoko (and Cabaye) if the last two or three games are to go by.

Its not that is concerning me so much, its the utter lack of overall play which to me is limiting how good the team can be. You're getting it Mole. Everyone always asks what the other lads can do for him but what does he do for them? He offers so little in general play that it's one of the prime reasons we struggle to create chances or sustain momentum. The goals highly concern me though.. he's not scoring... so what is the point of him? I'd give him Hull to find the net.. if he doesn't score against them send him to the glue factory.. I don't disagree with the overall post. Just one point though, about him not doing enough for others. He created the space for both goals at Villa imo. His movement was correct in that he drifted towards the penalty spot and preoccupied 2 CB's, while Remy/Gouffran and HBA had the space to move into and make a telling contribution. Aye he wasn't really involved much throughout the 90 but he is still a lethal finisher that teams will worry greatly about especially dead center of the penalty box. Yet another reason why we absolutely MUST play 433 as it's the only formation that suits Cisse, especially Cisse lacking in confidence and seemingly out of sorts.

Thought Cardiff City's goal this weekend was a great team goal- excellent first touch passing and movement. Finish was stupendous as well

Lively and has a bit of "pace" but fuck all else.

Yes, but when he did, he played the number 10 position. Remember Pardew going on about using him there for a while.

What in the hell are you talking about? Apologies. Narrow was blatantly the wrong choice of word. Had it in my mind that HBA didn't play out wide, and the word just popped right out. We did play with Obertan and Jonas out wide of course, with HBA central adding to the midfield numbers.

This, over and over and over again. And again. Haven't had anyone in CM of that ilk for a long time now. Hope AP appreciates what he does for the team, and keeps him in the team. Also, he continues to show that his perceived "lack of physicality" is utter bollocks.

He worked very hard indeed, and did the simple things OK, but the creative stuff just didn't come off for him. Noted 3 or 4 times when he sharp filled in at LB after Santon had been further up the pitch with Villa on the counter attack. Very important to see players (who are apparently in a huff) do this sort of thing, as it shows commitment and good preparation.

Credit for finally figuring it out? I don't think so. When we played 433 last, we got a few emphatic results, and produced some great attacking football. Didn't see it once last season iirc (maybe bar Spurs at home - first game of the season). The reason we need to play 433 is HBA. He is our best player, and this is the formation that suits him best in the PL. Mind you, the narrow formation we played in the first half of the season we finished 5th, when we had HBA playing behind Ba wasn't too bad either, and we went toe to toe with some of the bigger teams. But that was then, and it was a platform we needed to use to build confidence and get solid points in the bag. The only credit I give Pardew for is the 3 points. Get 3 points more often than not, and I couldn't care less about the amount of bollocks he talks. Get those players motivated and focused enough to defend leads, add to leads, or claw back results, and I couldn't care less what formation we play.

If he keeps his head down and works hard, and if he has a good support network around him to keep his head straight, he'll be one hell of a player in a couple of years' time.

51 with Shelvey and Sturridge to play. Getting a further 6 points when G Cameron gets subbed in for Welbeck.

What's agent Bruce's record like up at SJP down the years?

Fabpou

Apart from the obvious majestic performance from Ben Arfa, I thought Yanga-Mbiwa was outstanding today. He snuffed out potential threat after potential threat on the half way line without breaking a sweat. His reading of the game and explosive pace could see him develop into a world class defender. Much calmer today in possession as well. If Ben Arfa was 10/10, Mapou wasn't too far behind IMO. Debuchy, Sissoko and Remy had excellent games, and Anita stood out in midfield once again, without actually being noticed (if that makes sense). Put in the tackle to win the ball to set Remy on his way for the first goal. Gouffran is an extremely intelligent footballer and a cult hero. Cabaye and Cisse were relatively poor I thought, but both still worked their socks off pressing the opposition. Villa were decent IMO, and they have more about them than they did at times last season. They are a tad one-dimensional though and I'm not sure if it's the lack of experience, or a lack of variety of personnel. Probably a combination of the two. Fucking get in. I really hope we put out the same team against Hull and put 4 or 5 past them.

Erm, last season?

Would like us to try to go on a little unbeaten run to have something to build on. Hate Pardew with a passion, but if the fella can somehow regain the focus of two seasons ago, and try to build on little runs, we could do well in the coming set of fixtures. We really need a good points return before our fixtures start to get really tricky.