ponsaelius

3-0, FT. Welbeck with the finish but lovely combination between Wilshere and the mackem to set it up. Welbeck will probably get MotM for his 2 goals but he's missed a heap of sitters aswell. Wilshere and Albrighton the most impressive for me even though they both came off the bench.

Aye, because they don't have anything behind it. Aye because Nesta and Thiago Silva aren't probably one of the best center-pairing in Europe? I was referring more to the midfield, full backs and keepers. The CBs are obviously excellent, especially Thiago Silva.

Ferguson, McLaughlin, Vuckic, Edmundsson and Kadar all ruled out through international call ups.

I've got nowt against Cole when it comes to playing for England tbh. He's a wanker of course but he's probably the most consistent performer in an England shirt, aslong as he's doing it on the pitch I can't dislike him in a footballing sense. It's when they're wankers and shite for England which is unbearable.

Why doesn't Paddy McCourt get in the Northern Ireland team? I know he's probably not very good but he always seems to be scoring wondergoals in the SPL Surely he's worthy of a place in the squad?

:lol: Who was it who said he'd become a parody of himself?

Wow didn't know about kids and smaller pitches. I distinctly remember playing on massive fullsize fields when I was about 9/10, at the time it was just normal but looking back it was really ridiculous. Dominating at Youth level really shouldn't matter, at all. Even U21 international football and the like. Ultimately the main purpose is producing players who will hopefully go on to play at a high level for clubs and then represent their country. It's all about development and promotion to the level that actually matters, the results in Youth football don't count for nothing at the end of the day.

Well yeah, I totally agree with you. The attitude of the guy ringing in just riled me up totally, his logic was totally faulted for the reasons you just gave. Surely the FA and footballing academies across the country have to realise what's best, and changes have to be made? I personally don't think kids should step onto a full size pitch until they're about 13/14.

Don't suppose you ever listen to 5 Live's World Football Phone In, Chris? Anyway, a caller was questioning the lack of technique and skill amongst English players at the moment. The Spanish football expert they had on gave a very interesting insight into the way players are coached at a young age over there, to be taught how to play with your head up and know when to give the ball at the right time. The technical side of the game is ingrained into players from around the ages of 7 or 8, hence by the time players develop into adults the physical side of the game can then be added to their natural, honed ball playing ability. Hence producing more allround footballers in the long term who have vision, ability and technique. The pundit (his name escapes me) then mentioned how he talked to a number of coaches at Valencia, and when they came over to do football schools in England and Wales they were absolutely stunned by the lack of ability in the players. That it was almost a waste of a generation because the players played with braun rather than their brain. Anyway, the thing that amazed me most was later in the show a caller rang the show in defence of the English methoding. He mentioned how he was a coach for an 8 year old team aswell as a team of 16 year olds. He explained how he seen it as important to make sure the players were physically capable above anything else, and that he coaches the players to be commited and strong above actual footballing ability. He said that the way he saw it was skill and ability can be taught to the players once they make it, and that readying the youngsters for a physical barrage was top of his agenda. I genuinely couldn't believe what he was saying, he was basically saying the Spanish way of doing things was wrong and that he was right. The pundit then retorted at why England hadn't won anything in 40 years, the caller then just blamed tiredness from too many matches in the club season and subsequently went off on a tangent about how foreign imports and too much money was strangling the game. He really wound me up to be honest, I despair if this is the national standard for football coaching in this country? People like this bloke shouldn't be given the responsibility because their sporting ideology is so, so wide of the mark. Anyway, I know you're doing coaching badges and taking a keen interest in this kind of thing so is this attitude commonplace throughout the UK? Is it actively encouraged to train kids in this way? The show is worth a listen to if you want to hear what he said.

LFC TV, is this on Sky? Does it cost?

They're the 4 I know of.

----------------Hennessey---------------- Gunter----Collins----Gabbidon-----Bale Davies----Collison----Ledley-----Giggs ----------------Ramsey-------------------- ---------------------Bellamy--------------- Bench: Myhill, D.Collins, Williams, Ricketts, Koumas, Vaughan, Earnshaw Actually, that really is a bit s**** Plus to get close to that you'd have to persuade half of them to come out of retirement. However it's a better XI than the current Scotland team and I reckon could push Switzerland for 2nd place in the current group. EDIT: you'd also have to magically heal Ramsey

Wales would have a half-decent side if they could get everybody available I think.

I think most of us on here would be in agreement with that. Hope Hughton sees it.

If push came to shove I'd probably drop Jonas, but it's hardly ridiculous to suggest otherwise like Ronaldo says. They both have their merits and Jonas' ability to get the best out of Enrique should not be undermined. For example take away Jonas and you don't get that 2nd goal against Villa. Like JH says though, it should really be a moot point. HBA should be through the middle and both wingers should remain.

I don't think there's been that much between Jonas and Routledge this season tbh. They've both contributed.

Oh aye forgot about Aduriz, scored on his debut too.

Soldado is the one that shouts out at me as being a sound bit of business, a replacement for Villa. He's obviously not as good but he's still a very good La Liga player. Feghouli for nothing could turn out to be a coup, he is highly rated. Topal impressed me when I saw him play for Turkey also. The most important thing for them though was despite losing the big two they managed to keep Mata, Pablo Hernandez and Banega. Add to that the likes of Vicente, Joaquin etc and they've still got a very solid side.

Why do you ask? I seem to remember that you could do but I don't ever remember us doing so in U18 games.

Are you allowed to play any over-age players in youth team games?

Aslong as we were safe, I'd want Blackpool to stay up for sure. However until that ever happening I want all the crap teams to do...well crap.

Sounds good whether we sign this kid or not. Getting in youngsters like this was always a good idea, so It's nice to see we remain reasonably focused on doing so. Think recently the likes of Vuckic, Ranger, Kadar, Bassong etc were all brought in under similar circumstances. We've made a massive profit on one of them and the other 3 are still young but pushing for places in a Premier League side. It could save us a lot in the long run. Plus these players don't have to fill a squad position either if they are very good.

WTF did I just read?

I'm hoping if Hughton is giving him the greater responsibility of being chief playmaker he'll have drilled it into him the need to look up and pass the ball aswell as just dribbling by himself. He clearly has the abilty and vision to do so, and I think Hughton is thinking that by showing faith in him we can reap the rewards of it.