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themanupstairs

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Posts posted by themanupstairs

  1. How good is this Armstrong kid supposed to be? 4 goals in 4 games for the U21s isn't bad.

     

    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.

  2. Dunno about anyone else but i certainly blame Pardew for the crap football, and any excuses for it are utter nonsense. Europa, fatigue, not buying in the summer are all nonsense in regard to how the team passes the football (with the squad we had/have).

     

    If i can get a team of vegetables to pass a football around on a Sunday morning, a professional football manager should be able to get a team full of internationals to at least resemble a passing team. Something Pardew failed to do throughout the whole of last season, except for maybe 3 or 4 games.

     

    Saying that, he then certainly deserves the credit for getting the team to play decent attacking football like we played against Villa. And funnily enough he did that with just the addition of Remy, hence my reasons for calling the excuses trotted out as nonsense. He could have done the same last season but for reasons we are all arguing about but the pillock didn't, adding Remy is not a good enough reason to use, to claim that's why we haven't been to attacking. He claims he had no Ba as the reason for it (we have Remy now), yet we still played awful football with him in the team and Pardew even dropped him for the Everton game. So again the excuses are total bollocks.

     

    Bimpy man :clap:

  3. I can't decide right now, sticking with him is all good and he is getting more chances, but I wouldn't be against giving him a couple of games out of the team to regroup. Depends on his mindset I suppose.

     

    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.

  4. I can't decide right now, sticking with him is all good and he is getting more chances, but I wouldn't be against giving him a couple of games out of the team to regroup. Depends on his mindset I suppose.

     

    Sammy          Remy          HBA

  5. I wouldn't argue with anyone who say's Gouff should start but personally think we should stick with Cisse for the time being, we are starting to create more and i think it will only take one goal to set him off on a run. Along with that, i'd like to see that team from Saturday remained unchanged until we see some glaring errors, for now i don't think Cisse is one.

     

    :thup:

  6. funny as f*** that 5 year olds who change usernames think they know more about than people like me.

     

    And Malcolm Macdonald thinks the same as I do. He knows nothing about football either.

     

    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.

  7. I'm losing patience with him.  Isn't it 10 games without a goal now?

     

    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.

  8. Ben Arfa barely played the first half of that season. It was more often than not Best partnering Ba.

     

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

  9. 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.

     

    What in the hell are you talking about? :lol:

     

    :lol: 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.

  10. He sees his next pass before he's even got the ball.

     

    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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. I reckon a 19 year old skipping past seasoned internationals for fun is fairly special like.

     

    :thup: 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.

  14. 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.

     

     

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