Tiresias

While Modric obviously can play out wide, doesn't that rather limit his influence? I assume Lennon is injured then? I'm skeptical that we'll avoid being pinned back most the game, haven't yet played a midfield of this quality.

He will be I suspect. Where's he playing for France? I was wondering if he was playing further forward for them. Heard someone say he did well but did too many long balls, looks like premier league might have ruined him internationally already

lol and entirely fair, just meant depressing about santon and HBA not making it in

I'm pretty sure it'll be a depressing starting lineup of Krul Simp Saylor Colo Raylor Obertan Tiote Cabs Guti Ba Best But hopefully we'll be able to keep them out, but i imagine ba and best'll be pretty isolated, and worried about Bale attacking down the left...but at 60 mins ish it'll become Krul Simp Saylor Colo Santon Tiote Cabaye Obertan HBA Gutierrez Best And then Sammy or Marveaux on for Guti for last 15 mins. (providing no injuries) Hopefully then we can be fresher and stronger side at end, and can see us clawing back a deficit at end, or even winning. Still worried though. I'd have liked Marveaux on left and Guti on right from start but doubt it.

eeerm...you did fail. I mean how pathetic is that? You don't deserve to be in the ACN because you failed to understand the rules and also because you only drew.

I think the media loves Redknapp more than Spurs, but yes I'm painting with a broad brush

the media basically hates every club apart from man u, who also believe the media hates them

Though this conspiracy against Sunderland in particular is pretty funny, to be fair on the mackems ( ) it's true I think generally that media will try and rile up any story about any kind of disharmony at a club as it makes a better story. Player quotes get taken out of context etc etc all the time, and coverage is a lot lazier on clubs not in London or Manchester, but lol it's not all against sunderland.

So that's what happened to the Carroll money

wow incredible

Oh god, can just see him watching the world cup final and shouting GET IN as Holland tried hacking spain into oblivion, he'd show it to our team in prep for euros

We'd have got further a long time ago if Capello had been willing to leave out media favourite players who weren't pulling their weight a long time ago, but I suspect as much due to FA politicking etc as anything that's never going to happen. For friendlies should have happened a long time ago anyway, give everyone else a chance, everyone knows Rooney's good when he wants to be. (not for England though).

Pretty much agree, I think he has sadly failed to develop a great crop which has led to this drop, and with City's muscle forcing way in there's some inevitability to the small spenders eventually losing out to clubs with big money, and particulaly since the massive influx of money hasn't really lead to the best league in the world, and one has to suspect the bubble will burst sometime. TV revenues are going to fall sometime due to the recession limiting peoples ability to pay for Sky, and what happens when Sheik Mansour gets bored with it?

after all the exciting formations you know pardew is going to do this against totenham, everyones jinxed it with their aggressive 4-2-3-1s and such krul Simpson Saylor Colo Raylor Obertan Tiote Cabaye Gosling Guti (shola)

I don't think we'd be thaaaat fucked without him for a bit. Not saying anything about him, he's quality, I just think we have more cover in midfield than anywhere else on pitch, and Tiote is a beast. I think sometime this season we do want to be giving Abeid, Gosling etc some gametime anyway.

Still don't like redknapp, i maintain Ian Holloway for england manager, it'd be a right laugh

Just wait till they replace him with John Terry

God can see it Beckham appointed and the press would fawn and we would never win a game

Pretty much spot on, though I do wonder how successful any manager would be, just don't think we have the players, or at least players willing to give a good shift. The FA however is terrified of ditching players the press would whinge about not being in squad I suspect. Genuinely feel if a player 'doesn't enjoy' playing for england as they put it, probably shouldn't be playing.

pessimism can be healthy, it softens the blow when proved right and makes anything above that a pleasant surprise. Having said that I don't think i'm being that pessimistic with 9th as a prediction, i would have bitten your hand off for that at start of season

Good news, and now let him be left out the squad just to be safe

Will Gerrard really be fit for next year? Or even good? I think we have to plan for not taking him to the tournament. I'd hope Cleverly even if it is very early for him. I think Capello's thinking is that we have no incisive ability in midfield so we might as well try and be solid defensively there and hope Rooney and co can generate goals.

I've gone for 9th, which I think would be a pretty solid result to build upon and a compromise between the great start and the optimism of that and the nagging worry it can't go on forever and we're going to have a slump.

As I said in the post, I think HBA is likely to run forward and attack and not contribute to keeping possession and defensively, with HBA then it's a like for like replacement of Cabaye with Abeid/Gosling who probably isn't quite ready. More people sitting in the midfield would help them with confidence, and HBA can play on wing and probably have a fairly free role anyway. With Cabaye and Tiote behind him HBA can attack and play in the hole with more confidence.