Is subbing Martins causing these late reversals?

[TRon]

 

And my point is, what changed in the way we played when he went off? Why didn't Portsmouth think, "Right, Martins has gone, we can now push up further and press them more"?

 

We kept going at them after Martins went off, we don't usually do that and it made a difference.

 

And that's the point I'm trying to make. It should be that way with or without Martins, today it was, last week it wasn't.

 

But Martins was our outlet when we were defending the lead, that is undeniable. He was a constant thorn in their side, although he did lose the ball an infuriating amount of times when trying to beat the last man. Without him I think we'd struggle to hit teams on the break.

[Optimistic Nut]

Oh yeah, and against Bolton at home we were poor, Owen came on for Martins early on in the second-half, we won.

[Baggio]

Oh yeah, and against Bolton at home we were poor, Owen came on for Martins early on in the second-half, we won.

 

We were not up against it though, Bolton only had one shot on target all game and that was from the penalty spot.

 

The point of the opening post is that if you're under constant pressure from the opposition then it's only going to put more pressure on the team if you take away the only pacey outlet up top.

 

I think you know this though and are just being argumentative.

[Optimistic Nut]

Not really because we came under threat even before Martins came off last week, so putting on a striker who generally holds the ball up a lot better isn't particularly a bad decision.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

We win one match in a game Martins was subbed... doesn't make any points raised about his removal from games before this match redundant however.

[Baggio]

Not really because we came under threat even before Martins came off last week, so putting on a striker who generally holds the ball up a lot better isn't particularly a bad decision.

 

But he didn't hold the ball up better, he gave it away too much when it was at his feet and is too slow to attempt to run onto anything that goes past him.

[Parky]

We win one match in a game Martins was subbed... doesn't make any points raised about his removal from games before this match redundant however.

 

He was subbed very late however and was left on long past the 60-65min which allowed him to score.

[Optimistic Nut]

We win one match in a game Martins was subbed... doesn't make any points raised about his removal from games before this match redundant however.

 

He was subbed very late however and was left on long past the 60-65min which allowed him to score.

 

Still think it was more down to Beye being pushed to right-wing, Jonas midfield, Taylor right-back, etc.

[Unbelievable]

Not really because we came under threat even before Martins came off last week, so putting on a striker who generally holds the ball up a lot better isn't particularly a bad decision.

 

They would need to get near the ball first though, which requires mobility well beyond that offered by the likes of Viduka and Owen when defenders just thump the ball towards the front to clear the immediate danger first and foremost..

[ChezGiven]

We win one match in a game Martins was subbed... doesn't make any points raised about his removal from games before this match redundant however.

 

He was subbed very late however and was left on long past the 60-65min which allowed him to score.

 

Still think it was more down to Beye being pushed to right-wing, Jonas midfield, Taylor right-back, etc.

 

Absolutely.

[Rich]

He either did his abdominal or quadricep muscle but I'm hoping it's just minor and he'll be fine. We'll beat Spurs if he plays.

 

By the way, Martins has now got 6 goals in 12 matches. 1 in 2 ratio in the league. Keep up the good work, Oba.

 

If he's holding his ribs how the bollocks did he do his quadriceps!? Is this an assumption or taken from a source somewhere?

 

Also, the abdominal is a group of muscles, not a singular muscle (unless you meant transverse abdominis, which is where he was grabbing at, although it's more likely to be his external oblique)

 

He is doing well though, but I'd be surprised to see him against Spurs unless he gets painkillered up.

[Taylor Swift]

He either did his abdominal or quadricep muscle but I'm hoping it's just minor and he'll be fine. We'll beat Spurs if he plays.

 

By the way, Martins has now got 6 goals in 12 matches. 1 in 2 ratio in the league. Keep up the good work, Oba.

 

If he's holding his ribs how the bollocks did he do his quadriceps!? Is this an assumption or taken from a source somewhere?

 

Also, the abdominal is a group of muscles, not a singular muscle (unless you meant transverse abdominis, which is where he was grabbing at, although it's more likely to be his external oblique)

 

He is doing well though, but I'd be surprised to see him against Spurs unless he gets painkillered up.

 

Haha, who are you trying to impress?

 

I saw him moving his hand from the rib/abdominal area down to the quadricep so it could be either. But obviously it's inconclusive.

[Rich]

 

I'm just seeing if I remember my anatomy to be honest. I was expecting to get well and truly shot down!

 

Papers are calling it a groin strain, as is PhysioRoom.com. He has had a couple of those in the past IIRC.

[Lotus]

It didn't make a difference yesterday because Pompey were gash and didn't fancy having a go.

[Skirge]

He is the only player we have that really can create somehting from nothing and he looks to do it alot too, that shot that hit the post came from no0where and he reaslly did smash it. There is that and then the fact he is our fastest player and he will catch teams out if we have a lead and our oponents need to push out a bit more, his pace can kill teams. Taking him off is a bit daft I think.

[Rich]

Done his groin in and could miss the Xmas period according to Oliver in the Chronicle today (assumed from quotes by Hughton).

 

He had treatment on it yesterday though so hopefully he might be able to play through it.

[Wullie]

Martins missing a Spurs game is unthinkable.

[oldtype]

Gutted to lose Oba, especially right before a Spurs game, but it'll be interesting to see how Viduka-Owen or Shola-Owen will work out.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

Terrible news. He's a really really crucial player for us. Oh well. We have five bloody strikers. So some people will have to prove their worth.

[TRon]

Done his groin in and could miss the Xmas period according to Oliver in the Chronicle today (assumed from quotes by Hughton).

 

He had treatment on it yesterday though so hopefully he might be able to play through it.

 

I hope Viduka's getting closer to full fitness, he's been training long enough now. We'll find out one way or the other whether Oba's a liability rather than an asset when we see how our other strikers pair up over Xmas anyway.

[madras]

Done his groin in and could miss the Xmas period according to Oliver in the Chronicle today (assumed from quotes by Hughton).

 

He had treatment on it yesterday though so hopefully he might be able to play through it.

 

I hope Viduka's getting closer to full fitness, he's been training long enough now. We'll find out one way or the other whether Oba's a liability rather than an asset when we see how our other strikers pair up over Xmas anyway.

how'd that work ?

[TRon]

Done his groin in and could miss the Xmas period according to Oliver in the Chronicle today (assumed from quotes by Hughton).

 

He had treatment on it yesterday though so hopefully he might be able to play through it.

 

I hope Viduka's getting closer to full fitness, he's been training long enough now. We'll find out one way or the other whether Oba's a liability rather than an asset when we see how our other strikers pair up over Xmas anyway.

how'd that work ?

 

It depends...we are still talking football right?

 

[madras]

Done his groin in and could miss the Xmas period according to Oliver in the Chronicle today (assumed from quotes by Hughton).

 

He had treatment on it yesterday though so hopefully he might be able to play through it.

 

I hope Viduka's getting closer to full fitness, he's been training long enough now. We'll find out one way or the other whether Oba's a liability rather than an asset when we see how our other strikers pair up over Xmas anyway.

how'd that work ?

 

It depends...we are still talking football right?

 

aye

 

 

are you thinking you can tell if one player is good or not by how the team does in his absence regardless of how the rest of his team performs or how the opposition do. ?

[TRon]

Done his groin in and could miss the Xmas period according to Oliver in the Chronicle today (assumed from quotes by Hughton).

 

He had treatment on it yesterday though so hopefully he might be able to play through it.

 

I hope Viduka's getting closer to full fitness, he's been training long enough now. We'll find out one way or the other whether Oba's a liability rather than an asset when we see how our other strikers pair up over Xmas anyway.

how'd that work ?

 

It depends...we are still talking football right?

 

aye

 

 

are you thinking you can tell if one player is good or not by how the team does in his absence regardless of how the rest of his team performs or how the opposition do. ?

 

I am interested to see how other partnerships work. This thread is an example of how many think Martins is very important because he gives us an outlet on the break because of his pace. There's another argument that Viduka and Owen would make an effective strike duo because they are both intelligent players, then you have Shola in the mix as well. If Martins is out for the Xmas period we should get a good idea how effective various other partnerships will look.

[Optimistic Nut]

Not going to say a word. 

 

Just simply imply it.