Frazzle Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Barton is ten times the player Alan Smith is. People have short memories, 4 good games in 2 years and suddenly Smith is worth the shirt, honestly How many good games has Barton had in 2 years? About the same amount. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Do you honestly think Joey Barton is likely to pick up as many cards as Alan Smith? No chance Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozy Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 People at the game, how did the midfield combo of Guthrie and Smith look? I think this is our best partnership personally as both make up for the others weaknesses. Guthrie and Barton for me has the most potential, although tbf to Smith he is making a strong case. Guthrie holding spraying passes with Barton being the driving influence I just still don't trust Barton, both on and off the pitch. I like the holding player to be more like Smith than Guthrie, personal preference though, as both are more than capable. What risk is he on the pitch? Alan Smith is a lot more of a risk than Barton, he could easily have been sent off against both Reading and Sheff Wed Liverpool (a) last season, and we all know the fact that he's Joey Barton means he is under constant target from officials, players and fans. When he's on form he is a fine footballer, but against Reading he wasn't brilliant (granted, out of position). If it was a clean slate, maybe you're right, but Smith has earned this shirt for the short/mid future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Barton is ten times the player Alan Smith is. People have short memories, 4 good games in 2 years and suddenly Smith is worth the shirt, honestly How many good games has Barton had in 2 years? About the same amount. Since roughly when Allardyce was sacked, Barton has looked our best player every other time he's been on the pitch. He's an absolute class act on form Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza ladra Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Barton is ten times the player Alan Smith is. People have short memories, 4 good games in 2 years and suddenly Smith is worth the shirt, honestly How many good games has Barton had in 2 years? About the same amount. He was out most of last season and still had more than Smith. Aston Villa, West Brom Edit: Barton was awesome for us during the brief, too brief Keegan tenure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChezGiven Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Barton is ten times the player Alan Smith is. People have short memories, 4 good games in 2 years and suddenly Smith is worth the shirt, honestly How many good games has Barton had in 2 years? About the same amount. Since roughly when Allardyce was sacked, Barton has looked our best player every other time he's been on the pitch. He's an absolute class act on form Smith + Barton then? Personally have always said Barton + Guthrie is our best midfield but Smith sounds like he put in an excellent shift today. Certainly could be more combative with Smith. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajun Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Guthrie always fades after about 60 minutes. Good little player though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Heneage Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Joey Barton and Alan Smith are the most likely to share a bath on a match day. With Guthrie too though we have a mini selection problem in the middle of the park. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Barton and Guthrie presents by far the best functioning midfield to me. Especially at home Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Any combination of Smith/barton/guthrie will outplay nearly every side in this league Smiths ability is underestimated as i were saying before the game Great result, happy days Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazzle Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Barton and Guthrie presents by far the best functioning midfield to me. Especially at home At home probably. I think they're both too attack minded to work well together away from home, where we should use Smith. He deserves his place on his performances so far, dropping your in form players sends a terrible message to those wanting to hold down a first team place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozy Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Any combination of Smith/barton/guthrie will outplay nearly every side in this league Smiths ability is underestimated as i were saying before the game Great result, happy days Totally agree, people see the name Alan Smith and just think of the headless, aimless, positionless chicken of the Allardyce era Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainhaircut Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I would go with Guthrie on the right with Barton and Smith in the middle. Guthrie played very well on the right against Boro and with Jonas on the left, that midfield would have a good balance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Barton and Guthrie presents by far the best functioning midfield to me. Especially at home At home probably. I think they're both too attack minded to work well together away from home, where we should use Smith. He deserves his place on his performances so far, dropping your in form players sends a terrible message to those wanting to hold down a first team place. I personally though Smith wasn't great against Reading and downright poor against Sheff Wed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChezGiven Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I would go with Guthrie on the right with Barton and Smith in the middle. Guthrie played very well on the right against Boro and with Jonas on the left, that midfield would have a good balance. Barton did well in a wide position under Keegan too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Heneage Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 away Smith would be a blessing and a curse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Hughton will never have the balls to play Barton and Guthrie in the centre of a four so there's not much point speculating about it being our best partnership. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shak Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Hughton will never have the balls to play Barton and Guthrie in the centre of a four so there's not much point speculating about it being our best partnership. Aye. Butt and Smith in the middle, allowing Nolan to play the free role, is probably what the long term dream is. Depressing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Hughton will never have the balls to play Barton and Guthrie in the centre of a four so there's not much point speculating about it being our best partnership. Let's be fair though, when has any manager had the chance? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
indi Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I think context is very important in this kind of debate. In the context of the Premiership Smith is woefully inadequate, but in the context of the Championship he seems to work, going on the games so far. Yeah he still dives in too much, but that seems to be more acceptable in this league and I don't think he's going to pick up anywhere near as many cards this year as he does in the Premier League. Barton on the other hand, despite being a better player (although the difference between them will be less noticeable at this level I reckon), is always going to pick up cards wherever he plays in this country because he's Joey Barton and has a justified reputation for being a total cunt (sorry Cath but it's true). Smith has played well so far and seems a valuable player at this level (fuck me, I never thought I'd type those words!) and if he maintains it I'd be fine with him playing the vast majority of games this year, but I wouldn't let that blind me to his inadequacy at the next level and I'd flog him the moment we got promoted (if that happens), hopefully for a decent fee after a reputation-boosting season. So at the moment (as amazing as this seems) it's who plays with Smith, rather than instead of him, for me. My choice would be Guthrie, I think he adds a similar amount to Barton, is much less volatile and has the added benefit of not being a total scumbag. In fact, if a decent offer came in for Barton (£3-4m) I'd take it. We need a fresh start on so many different levels and seeing Barton leave the club is part of that in my view, as it moves us a step away from being a soap-opera and a step towards being a stable (and therefore hopefully a successful) football club and I think that's really important for our long-term future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChezGiven Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Barton - Guthrie - Smith - Jonas Ought to be a good midfield. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 While Guthrie and Barton are better midfielders in the playmaker sense, Smith gives us a nice aggressive bite in midfield, and he's pretty good in the air as well, I think we need a player like him in the middle. I'd be happy with any two from those three tbh, I think they all have the ability to dovetail very nicely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I think the best hope for our long term future is winning games. Which means we should go out of our way to keep Barton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakie Doke Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Smith closes people down well. That's useful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest optimistic nit Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Harper - 8 - Not much to do first half as Palace seemed to miss target with all their chances. Good second half. Simpson - 6 - Didn't do much. No mistakes but looks quite slow. Taylor - 7 - Decent. Colo - 8 - Very good second half. Seems to be just booting it clear now instead of messing about with it at the back. Enrique - 9 - Excellent again never made a mistake. Seems to win all the fifty-fifty balls. Good link up with Jonas. R. Taylor - 7 - Good goal. Not much else. Smith - 7 - Good defensive midfield performance. Dunno what he was doing on that Ranger break away at the end though. Nolan - 6/7 - Average Guthrie - 8 - Very good performance playing in advanced midfield role. Didn't look fully fit either so looks promising for coming weeks. Jonas - 7 - Good couple of assists. Not keen on his attitude. Only player throwing arms in air/ complaining at other players. Ameobi - 6/7 - Decent hold up play. Missed what looked to be a sitter after good work by Guthrie. Ranger - 7 - Showed promise and good pace on the one opportunity he had. Butt - 5 - Seems to play like he has got all the skill in the world and he hasnt. Done one bit of skill that actually came off though. Geremi - 5 - Got fouled and fell over to the amusement of the fans and the players (especially Nolan). Not sure if this has been mentioned but Ranger looked like he was sitting on the front row with our fans at HT. Didn't have a great view as was quite near the back. Anyone know what he was doing? that bit about colo is a bit optimistic like. i'd say he just go away with fannying about with it more than he usually does (although almost got fucked up once when he tried to do a cruyff turn at lb as the last man and almost got robbed. i'm not trying to bash him, overall i thought he was fairly good today but he had some moments where i was worriedhe was going to cost us a goal. i couldn't really single anyone out today, i thought it was just a very good if not completely flawless team display. cant really think of anyone who let us down or performed exceptionally. Smith enrique toss up for motm though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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