themanupstairs

For footballing reasons it was wrong to play Tiote last night. He knows he's sitting out the next 3 games, whereas playing one of the fringe players in his position would have given them the chance to prove something. IMO we should have lined up with Bigi, Anita and Cabaye, with a clear game plan for the former two to sit and hold, allowing the latter to link up play with the forwards.

We didn't need Shola in the 2nd half. What we needed was a missile up the back side to make sure we came out focused. We lacked an overall team concentration which is why the likes of Tiote, Bigi, Sammy and Obertan were so wasteful at times. Ferguson was the only one who was switched on, but he had to improvise to make up for wrong decisions made by his teammates.

The game essentially seemed like a friendly afterthought to Pardew, which I don't really blame him for. But if we are going to give the competition a go, we need to start playing with more cohesion and a bloody game plan.

We'll win 4-0, with Perch getting his first goal for the club, and Ehti will start all match threads from there on.

433 picks itself, with Perch taking the place of Tiote.

442 and Jonas shouldn't play. Perch alongside Cabaye, with Obertan and Ben Arfa wide.

We're just not getting the ball into Cisse's feet enough, he's not terrible in the air but he's not great, he likes to play on the shoulder, have it into his feet so he can get a shot away. Part of the problem is that the rest of the team are so desperate to help him score that they try and give him the ball too early, it was the same with Ba last year. Goals will come for him if he and everyone else stops worrying about it, like they/we all did with Ba over the summer. I really don't want us to start jerking knees and be starting Shola ahead of a player who is still one of Europe's most lethal strikers.

 

Sammy had a great chance to slide him into a position where he simply would not have missed, just after we scored, but opted to be a bit greedy. Very frustrating.

This. Word for word.

Watching slow motion replays of the lead up to the goal.... and

Sublime from the first touch outside our area to the last one that set Obertan up.

Can be a very good option for us in the PL this season. I like him a lot more through the middle than out wide.

Gave the ball away with his first touch, and I thought, "here we go again".

Fantastic throughout. Excellent goal. Well played son.

Judging off the first 40 minutes and last 10, I liked what I saw from Sammy and Obertan. Both looked very comfortable attacking today.

 

And Ferguson has some nice crosses.

 

Obertan definitely went missing for a bit but he looked a lot more like the player he could actually be. Was far more confident, tricky, used his pace which he should be doing a lot more etc..

What I also liked about Obertan tonight is that he didn't just hug the one touchline for the entire 90 minutes. He looked confident enough to switch wings, and got a lot more involved than usual. Had the look of a senior player about him trying to get us to play. MOTM for me.

Will take that.  Win next home game and a draw at Bordeaux and we should be top come the end of the group stages. 

 

A few positives but Cisse not looking quite right still!! Wtf the happend?

We're not creating enough for him imo

Shitting it near the end there, but an excellent win without really having to get out of 2nd gear. I wish we had shown some semblance of a cohesive attacking plan, but the apetite was there which is always great to see.

Excellent win

Absolutely immaculate from Coloccini there

Great. Protecting the lead then. Taking off the one player who can drive with the ball through the middle.

Why the fuck are we in such a hurry? It's one thing playing fast incisive football, and it's another to rush everything.

Lad who;s just come on for them is tricky

Save Harper!

Lovely finish.

Well played Sammy. Goal coming from an attack down the middle 

Shola coming on. More long ball. Yay.

Enjoyed that.

 

Lots of slick, patient football and been the better team by far. Just need to fashion a couple more chances and we'll win the game.

 

We've been repeating the same moves over and over again. This isn't some no-mark friendly. When we attack out wide, there are massive empty spaces in the middle that we aren't exploiting, and we should be. Cisse needs to touch the ball during play and not just when having a pop at goal. The directness of Fergie, Ameobi and Obertan has been excellent for what it is, but we have to vary our play.

 

Apologies for having a different opinion to you. I'm sure I'll pay for it in my next life by coming back as a mackem.

 

The problem is the centre of the pitch. You have Tiote, Bigi and Anita - none of who are inclined to get forward and in the box. Because they all sit its difficult for anyone to get the ball to Cisses feet either. Thats why 'd get Cabaye on asap

Anita is not a "sitter" at all. He is highly technical and can link up play if the wide players moved in tandem carrying the ball forward. He can be the one to link the play. What we're doing instead is jet heeling it down the wing every single time - counter attacking essentially - when we don't need to.

Enjoyed that.

 

Lots of slick, patient football and been the better team by far. Just need to fashion a couple more chances and we'll win the game.

We've been repeating the same moves over and over again. This isn't some no-mark friendly. When we attack out wide, there are massive empty spaces in the middle that we aren't exploiting, and we should be. Cisse needs to touch the ball during play and not just when having a pop at goal. The directness of Fergie, Ameobi and Obertan has been excellent for what it is, but we have to vary our play.

Apologies for having a different opinion to you. I'm sure I'll pay for it in my next life by coming back as a mackem.

This is f***ing s***. We shouldn't be playing it out wide EVERY SINGLE TIME. Vary the f***ing play! Get Cisse more involved in the build up. This isn't the f***ing premier league. Really frustrating s***.

 

what?

This is fucking shit. We shouldn't be playing it out wide EVERY SINGLE TIME. Vary the fucking play! Get Cisse more involved in the build up. This isn't the fucking premier league. Really frustrating shit.

Just about to post that Tiote has been shit so far. Wrong decision to play him imo.

Santon 

Who the fuck is singing YNWA? fuck right off with that that shit

He'll bury the next one.

Ferguson looks like he's been in the first team for ages. Really is the pick of the bunch when it comes to our younger lads.

Gwan up front Sammy man!