Oba...Obafem

[Tooj]

Spot on there like Alex mate.

[TRon]

Out of Owen, Martins and Viduka I'd say they all offer different things with none of them being particularly outstanding and each having significant downsides to their game too. I'd be inclined to play Martins though because of the lack of pace in the side and playing him means the opposition have to defend deeper which creates more space for us when we attack.

 

Agreed. This isn't to say that Martins is a world beater (neither is he gash) and the same goes for Owen. I know Wullie thinks he's finished, but even a lesser Owen is going to score goals, and he's got the balls to do it when it matters. Start them both from now on.

[Optimistic Nut]

Out of Owen, Martins and Viduka I'd say they all offer different things with none of them being particularly outstanding and each having significant downsides to their game too. I'd be inclined to play Martins though because of the lack of pace in the side and playing him means the opposition have to defend deeper which creates more space for us when we attack.

 

Agreed. This isn't to say that Martins is a world beater (neither is he gash) and the same goes for Owen. I know Wullie thinks he's finished, but even a lesser Owen is going to score goals, and he's got the balls to do it when it matters. Start them both from now on.

 

What Martins has to realise is, it's not like last season where he had no competition for his place. This season, he has Owen & Viduka also competing for a place, and as Alex pointed out, it wasn't as if he was brought off early on due to his performance! Everyone knows he played well, but Birmingham had just about held us out, so bringing on N'Zogbia with ten minutes to go and leaving Viduka & Owen up front to try and nick the winner was hardly a bad substitution.

[TRon]

Out of Owen, Martins and Viduka I'd say they all offer different things with none of them being particularly outstanding and each having significant downsides to their game too. I'd be inclined to play Martins though because of the lack of pace in the side and playing him means the opposition have to defend deeper which creates more space for us when we attack.

 

Agreed. This isn't to say that Martins is a world beater (neither is he gash) and the same goes for Owen. I know Wullie thinks he's finished, but even a lesser Owen is going to score goals, and he's got the balls to do it when it matters. Start them both from now on.

 

What Martins has to realise is, it's not like last season where he had no competition for his place. This season, he has Owen & Viduka also competing for a place, and as Alex pointed out, it wasn't as if he was brought off early on due to his performance! Everyone knows he played well, but Birmingham had just about held us out, so bringing on N'Zogbia with ten minutes to go and leaving Viduka & Owen up front to try and nick the winner was hardly a bad substitution.

 

I don't have any arguments about that, personally I would have subbed Viduka though. He looked gassed.

[Skirge]

GS: Games started, SB: Used as Substitute, G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal, YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Commited, FS: Fouls Suffered, SV: Saves, OF: Offsides, W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses

 

MARTINS

2006/07

GS----SB-----G------A----SH----SG----FC-----FS---YC----RC

32------1-----11-----4-----89----44----33-----50----1------0

 

2007/08

GS----SB-----G------A----SH----SG----FC-----FS---YC----RC

16-----8------6------2-----46----23----17-----20----0------0

 

OWEN

2005/06

GS----SB-----G------A----SH----SG----FC-----FS---YC----RC

10------1------7------1----18----14-----7------17----0-----0

 

2006/07

GS----SB-----G------A----SH----SG----FC-----FS---YC----RC

3-------0------0------0-----3------1------1------3-----0-----0

 

2007/08

GS----SB-----G------A----SH----SG----FC-----FS---YC----RC

16-----5-------5------1----32----22-----7------26----2------0

 

 

 

[Skirge]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2008/03/18/oba-i-m-fine-with-keegan-72703-20639691/

Oba: I'm fine with Keegan

 

Mar 18 2008 by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle

Oba Martins

 

OBA MARTINS today assured United fans that his only aim is to help secure Newcastle’s place in the Premier League.

 

The Nigerian international – who was largely responsible for Michael Owen’s equaliser at Birmingham last night – was arguably the most dangerous player in a black-and-white shirt and looked devastated when Kevin Keegan replaced him late on with Charles N’Zogbia.

 

KK was captured by TV cameras consoling Martins as he trotted off – but the player says he has no issues with the Toon boss, with the flashpoint only underlining how much playing for United means to the £10m ace.

 

Martins told the Chronicle: “There are no problems. We have quality players and if we continue that sort of play, we will do even better.

 

“All I am trying to do is help get this club away from the relegation zone. The fans or the club don’t need that, so that is all I am concerned about.

 

“The coach plays attacking tactics and that suits my game a lot. I am satisfied with that and by the way we played going forward.”

 

Martins worked his socks off for United, with Toon fans chanting his name throughout the 1-1 draw with Birmingham.

 

There was an almighty groan from the travelling supporters when Martins was brought off, but the player concentrated on the positives of a team performance.

 

The United No 9 added: “The players did very well. We battled and we showed we wanted to pass the ball and go forward.

 

“I think everybody gave their all, but we just couldn’t get that second goal.

 

“One point isn’t too bad, but we know that we needed three.

 

“Yet this sets us up for Fulham on Saturday, and four points from six games would be very good for us after the results we’ve had.”

 

Martins has not scored for Newcastle since the home game with Birmingham on December 8 last year, but is once again looking sharp after shaking off an ankle injury sustained at the African Cup of Nations.

 

And the player is satisfied with his contributions in the last couple of games after coming close twice.

 

Martins cracked the bar at Anfield in the 3-0 defeat, and forced a great save from Maik Taylor before Owen slotted home.

 

He said: “I love to score, like all the strikers do. I did my very best, but I am more disappointed that we didn’t win as a team.

 

“From a personal point of view, it is very disappointing if you don’t score.

 

“But it’s important to get chances, so I am quite happy about that – and that I made some chances to score.”

[Shak]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

[Dave]

Clearly going for the John Obi Mikel look.

[Baggio]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

[Ally]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Yeh quite a few times the ball came out on the edge of the box and when watching it on tele your hoping that someone is going to be there just off screen to take it, but time and time again there was no one making the run.

[Skirge]

He does look like he has been given one almighty fright..

[Tooj]

Wasnt long ago when all you wankers were ripping the piss out of him

 

but anyway, he was immense

 

Have a word with yourself ffs.

[Shak]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Agree, just said in the Riise thread that I think both our full-backs could be replaced in the summer. Keegan will want more attack-minded players instead.

 

As for the second point, that's what Barton should have been doing I thought. But he wasn't really at the races getting forward. In the system we played last night I think we'd benefit from having either Emre or N'Zogbia on instead of Geremi or Barton, giving us a better balance with a leftie in midfield.

 

Ideally, if Barton started playing well we could drop Geremi and play Barton and N'Zogbia either side of Butt and encourage them to drive forward and get into wide positions.

[Baggio]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Agree, just said in the Riise thread that I think both our full-backs could be replaced in the summer. Keegan will want more attack-minded players instead.

 

As for the second point, that's what Barton should have been doing I thought. But he wasn't really at the races getting forward. In the system we played last night I think we'd benefit from having either Emre or N'Zogbia on instead of Geremi or Barton, giving us a better balance with a leftie in midfield.

 

Ideally, if Barton started playing well we could drop Geremi and play Barton and N'Zogbia either side of Butt and encourage them to drive forward and get into wide positions.

 

I think the problem in midfield comes from our fullbacks being poor going forward tbh.

 

If Enrique and Beye could get up and down better then we could have played a midfield triangle with two sat deep and Barton pushing on, instead we had to rely on Barton and Geremi to pull out wide which meant nobody was in the middle to push on.

 

 

[Guest alex]

Wasnt long ago when all you wankers were ripping the piss out of him

 

but anyway, he was immense

 

Have a word with yourself ffs.

[madras]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Agree, just said in the Riise thread that I think both our full-backs could be replaced in the summer. Keegan will want more attack-minded players instead.

 

As for the second point, that's what Barton should have been doing I thought. But he wasn't really at the races getting forward. In the system we played last night I think we'd benefit from having either Emre or N'Zogbia on instead of Geremi or Barton, giving us a better balance with a leftie in midfield.

 

Ideally, if Barton started playing well we could drop Geremi and play Barton and N'Zogbia either side of Butt and encourage them to drive forward and get into wide positions.

 

I think the problem in midfield comes from our fullbacks being poor going forward tbh.

 

If Enrique and Beye could get up and down better then we could have played a midfield triangle with two sat deep and Barton pushing on, instead we had to rely on Barton and Geremi to pull out wide which meant nobody was in the middle to push on.

 

 

or could it be we are that rubbish defensivly from midfield the full backs don't want to commit as neither of our wide midfielders have the tactical nouse to read a game and try to cover or be in a position to cover.............or dare i say it....the desire to cover ?

[KaKa]

It seems as though people are convinced the 4-33- was planned, but I'm not so sure.

 

It just looked like Martins decided to stop playing out wide in the second half because he wanted to try and score to get us back in the game.

 

I didn't one time see Owen or Viduka drifting wide right as you would expect the other wide forward to do.

 

 

 

 

[Shak]

Yes, you've already mentioned in the other thread that you believe it was the brilliant tactical nouse of Martins that saved us from certain doom last night.

[Baggio]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Agree, just said in the Riise thread that I think both our full-backs could be replaced in the summer. Keegan will want more attack-minded players instead.

 

As for the second point, that's what Barton should have been doing I thought. But he wasn't really at the races getting forward. In the system we played last night I think we'd benefit from having either Emre or N'Zogbia on instead of Geremi or Barton, giving us a better balance with a leftie in midfield.

 

Ideally, if Barton started playing well we could drop Geremi and play Barton and N'Zogbia either side of Butt and encourage them to drive forward and get into wide positions.

 

I think the problem in midfield comes from our fullbacks being poor going forward tbh.

 

If Enrique and Beye could get up and down better then we could have played a midfield triangle with two sat deep and Barton pushing on, instead we had to rely on Barton and Geremi to pull out wide which meant nobody was in the middle to push on.

 

 

or could it be we are that rubbish defensivly from midfield the full backs don't want to commit as neither of our wide midfielders have the tactical nouse to read a game and try to cover or be in a position to cover.............or dare i say it....the desire to cover ?

 

No, the fullbacks are just poor going forward, you can tell it's just not a natural part of their game.

[Dave]

Keegan OUT! Martins IN!

[madras]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Agree, just said in the Riise thread that I think both our full-backs could be replaced in the summer. Keegan will want more attack-minded players instead.

 

As for the second point, that's what Barton should have been doing I thought. But he wasn't really at the races getting forward. In the system we played last night I think we'd benefit from having either Emre or N'Zogbia on instead of Geremi or Barton, giving us a better balance with a leftie in midfield.

 

Ideally, if Barton started playing well we could drop Geremi and play Barton and N'Zogbia either side of Butt and encourage them to drive forward and get into wide positions.

 

I think the problem in midfield comes from our fullbacks being poor going forward tbh.

 

If Enrique and Beye could get up and down better then we could have played a midfield triangle with two sat deep and Barton pushing on, instead we had to rely on Barton and Geremi to pull out wide which meant nobody was in the middle to push on.

 

 

or could it be we are that rubbish defensivly from midfield the full backs don't want to commit as neither of our wide midfielders have the tactical nouse to read a game and try to cover or be in a position to cover.............or dare i say it....the desire to cover ?

 

No, the fullbacks are just poor going forward, you can tell it's just not a natural part of their game.

i think they do ok and will do better with confidence,however defending has been the worst part of our game this season so you can't blame them too much for not wanting to move too far away.

 

thought enrique done well last night when he had someone to pass to.

[KaKa]

Keegan is sound but he along with others before him seems to suffer from the big man + little man syndrome.

 

And in my humble opinion ...

 

if big man + little man = Newcastle upfront.

 

then little man = Martins.

[Guest float one in]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Agree, just said in the Riise thread that I think both our full-backs could be replaced in the summer. Keegan will want more attack-minded players instead.

 

As for the second point, that's what Barton should have been doing I thought. But he wasn't really at the races getting forward. In the system we played last night I think we'd benefit from having either Emre or N'Zogbia on instead of Geremi or Barton, giving us a better balance with a leftie in midfield.

 

Ideally, if Barton started playing well we could drop Geremi and play Barton and N'Zogbia either side of Butt and encourage them to drive forward and get into wide positions.

 

I think the problem in midfield comes from our fullbacks being poor going forward tbh.

 

If Enrique and Beye could get up and down better then we could have played a midfield triangle with two sat deep and Barton pushing on, instead we had to rely on Barton and Geremi to pull out wide which meant nobody was in the middle to push on.

 

 

or could it be we are that rubbish defensivly from midfield the full backs don't want to commit as neither of our wide midfielders have the tactical nouse to read a game and try to cover or be in a position to cover.............or dare i say it....the desire to cover ?

 

No, the fullbacks are just poor going forward, you can tell it's just not a natural part of their game.

i think they do ok and will do better with confidence,however defending has been the worst part of our game this season so you can't blame them too much for not wanting to move too far away.

 

thought enrique done well last night when he had someone to pass to.

 

I agree with Madras.

Playing full back in a 433 is not the easiest thing to do, especially when out of your midfield three, one's legs have gone and one is inexplicably poor, leaving the other one (who also happens to be getting on a bit) almost hopeflessly overrun. Alot of how effective a full back can be going forward depends on how confident he is that if he does push forward, something disasterous is not going to happen in his channel if we lose the ball - in our team I think Whitley Beye and Enrique have good reason to be a bit wary of pushing forward. A couple of times in the first half Enrique was looking for the 1-2 with one of his midfielders (should be Barton's job), but you can see he's not confident he's going to get it back. If he gives it inside to Barton and runs up the line, then Barton loses it (not out of the realms of possibility by any means) we are straight in all sorts of bother.

[TRon]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Agree, just said in the Riise thread that I think both our full-backs could be replaced in the summer. Keegan will want more attack-minded players instead.

 

As for the second point, that's what Barton should have been doing I thought. But he wasn't really at the races getting forward. In the system we played last night I think we'd benefit from having either Emre or N'Zogbia on instead of Geremi or Barton, giving us a better balance with a leftie in midfield.

 

Ideally, if Barton started playing well we could drop Geremi and play Barton and N'Zogbia either side of Butt and encourage them to drive forward and get into wide positions.

 

I think the problem in midfield comes from our fullbacks being poor going forward tbh.

 

If Enrique and Beye could get up and down better then we could have played a midfield triangle with two sat deep and Barton pushing on, instead we had to rely on Barton and Geremi to pull out wide which meant nobody was in the middle to push on.

 

 

or could it be we are that rubbish defensivly from midfield the full backs don't want to commit as neither of our wide midfielders have the tactical nouse to read a game and try to cover or be in a position to cover.............or dare i say it....the desire to cover ?

 

No, the fullbacks are just poor going forward, you can tell it's just not a natural part of their game.

i think they do ok and will do better with confidence,however defending has been the worst part of our game this season so you can't blame them too much for not wanting to move too far away.

 

thought enrique done well last night when he had someone to pass to.

 

I agree with Madras.

Playing full back in a 433 is not the easiest thing to do, especially when out of your midfield three, one's legs have gone and one is inexplicably poor, leaving the other one (who also happens to be getting on a bit) almost hopeflessly overrun. Alot of how effective a full back can be going forward depends on how confident he is that if he does push forward, something disasterous is not going to happen in his channel if we lose the ball - in our team I think Whitley Beye and Enrique have good reason to be a bit wary of pushing forward. A couple of times in the first half Enrique was looking for the 1-2 with one of his midfielders (should be Barton's job), but you can see he's not confident he's going to get it back. If he gives it inside to Barton and runs up the line, then Barton loses it (not out of the realms of possibility by any means) we are straight in all sorts of bother.

 

Which is why I thought Enrique had a pretty good game last night. Not much of an outlet for him so in the circumstances a decent shift.

[Baggio]

He needs to keep letting his hair grow, that's for sure. It makes him look even more electric.

 

I think that with a sharp, in-form Viduka that three-pronged attack could work very nicely. Viduka showed some nice touches but at times hung onto the ball that little bit too long or tried a turn that just didn't come off. Had he been at his very best, we'd have won last night I reckon.

 

Viduka as the focal point of the attack with Martins and Owen working off him should get plenty of outings the rest of the year given the problems with our wingers at the moment. Martins gives you the neccesary pace up front while for Owen playing from deeper might actually be of benefit to him. Did well dropping off and retaining possession last night, and while he's not got the pace to get in behind defences for through balls like he used to, but he still times his runs beautifully and could be tough to pick up drifting in from deep.

 

The big problem with playing all 3 is the lack of width in the team, it wouldn't be too bad if our fullbacks were better going forward but sadly they're not.

 

I also thought Viduka suffered by not having a midfielder pushing forward that he could lay the ball back to.

 

Agree, just said in the Riise thread that I think both our full-backs could be replaced in the summer. Keegan will want more attack-minded players instead.

 

As for the second point, that's what Barton should have been doing I thought. But he wasn't really at the races getting forward. In the system we played last night I think we'd benefit from having either Emre or N'Zogbia on instead of Geremi or Barton, giving us a better balance with a leftie in midfield.

 

Ideally, if Barton started playing well we could drop Geremi and play Barton and N'Zogbia either side of Butt and encourage them to drive forward and get into wide positions.

 

I think the problem in midfield comes from our fullbacks being poor going forward tbh.

 

If Enrique and Beye could get up and down better then we could have played a midfield triangle with two sat deep and Barton pushing on, instead we had to rely on Barton and Geremi to pull out wide which meant nobody was in the middle to push on.

 

 

or could it be we are that rubbish defensivly from midfield the full backs don't want to commit as neither of our wide midfielders have the tactical nouse to read a game and try to cover or be in a position to cover.............or dare i say it....the desire to cover ?

 

No, the fullbacks are just poor going forward, you can tell it's just not a natural part of their game.

i think they do ok and will do better with confidence,however defending has been the worst part of our game this season so you can't blame them too much for not wanting to move too far away.

 

thought enrique done well last night when he had someone to pass to.

 

I agree with Madras.

Playing full back in a 433 is not the easiest thing to do, especially when out of your midfield three, one's legs have gone and one is inexplicably poor, leaving the other one (who also happens to be getting on a bit) almost hopeflessly overrun. Alot of how effective a full back can be going forward depends on how confident he is that if he does push forward, something disasterous is not going to happen in his channel if we lose the ball - in our team I think Whitley Beye and Enrique have good reason to be a bit wary of pushing forward. A couple of times in the first half Enrique was looking for the 1-2 with one of his midfielders (should be Barton's job), but you can see he's not confident he's going to get it back. If he gives it inside to Barton and runs up the line, then Barton loses it (not out of the realms of possibility by any means) we are straight in all sorts of bother.

 

I'm not denying they don't go forward because they want to keep it tight at the back but in the past when they have gone forward both offer very little, in fact I'd say both of them look like a centre back playing out of position rather than what you would think of as a natural fullback, if you compare Beye's ability to go forward compared to the likes of Chimbonda, Neville, Sagna, Beletti etc you can telll he's really lacking in the footballing ability department, that doesn't mean he's not a good defender and defensively he's better than a few of them, but I'll be surprised if Keegan sticks with either of them long term.