Tiresias

Just to play devils advocate, are Blackburn's problems really anything to with Kean? Venkys are clearly incompetant but I dunno if their squad is really much cop, and apparently he was very high rated as a coach for a while behind the scenes (think got this from football weekly)

Well this thread has finally imploded from any kind of Ben Arfa theme

Mick McCarthy all time greatest manager?

Oh really? Ok maybe got to work on defending lol

just going by mentions, obviously going to back him up, and it's perfectly possible to have 1 good defender and a shit defence

I don't disagree with slowly bringing him in, but just saying would like to see him getting some game time now

Oh dear, our defence seems a shambles, but sounds like Santon was very good

He's starting in the reserves I suspect with Pardew watching as an audition for saturday.

I was at school with Steve McClaren's kids while he was at Middlesbrough, they quit the school over being bullied about it, and the schoolyard gossip was that most the comments were positive but they massively overreacted to slight banter when mboro lost a game, but looking back of course possibly could have been horrid for them. I barely knew them.

Tony Pulis just annoys the fuck out of me in general

FFS keepers are hardest things to judge quickly over, doesn't sound great obviously but tis a bit of a jump to conclusions Also sounds like Santon is showing class

Devil's advocate, play 4-3-3 to accomdate Ben Arfa and Ba and Best... Only trouble is absolutely no width imo

This seems an entire argument of technical terms vs used terms. Technically winger is a distinct thing, and yet it is used interchangably and is generally understood to be a broader role. What a ridiculous discussion.

I love the betting odds for them to be relegated above every thread

Is he good in any of them though?

He's out to prove a point which is great. When things go wrong I suppose we'll see the true measure of the man, but right now he's doing everything asked of

I know what is meant when said winger implies inside forward type players but it's also used for wide men. You also don't say defensive midfielders for his type of player do you? it's defensive winger...

that dink over last defender to set up Ba header recently against Stoke was it? (mind has gone blank for some reason) was everything he needs to do, if he can do it more regularly he'd be entirely worthwhile

Well when next game is against another game where he'll be pressured like that again there is logic, though ultimately it is also the wrong time to be testing out Santon, so it can go either way for me. I'd probably keep Raylor but tell Jonas to be especially defensive. As I've said before this is the flipside of Pardew's style of keeping together winning side in form, I approve mostly, but then you do get in trouble when you haven't bedded in a potential improvement when form dips when you least want it to.

He's also a great finisher, when he's through one on one with keeper one of those players you don't expect to mess up.

Christ, pathetic.

could this be the worst shot ever? http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/Dz8q39nUx5i3P31Wy0jr

As it should be with any team trying to win the league. well yes

Yaya Toure isn't so much a defensive midfielder at the moment, seems to have an almost free role in just rampaging anywhere. Not sure about Man City defence to be honest, their defending tends to be done further up the pitch