Saint Garrett

I would guess about start/mid Feb then?

Hopefully they won't play. They'll stay up if those 3 play the rest of the season for them IMO

Hopefully. Sooner the better, ideally so he can play on Sat.

Whatever happened to our little clever corners and free kicks 'off the training ground' which we used a lot last season and in L1.

Not really. I'm not having a pop at all, I'm stating a fact. Just because I don't agree with your opinion it doesn't mean I'm 'having a pop'. I think we have some good players at this level, maybe some 8-12th position players. I also think we have some very average players, and some who are improving all the time. There is no doubt whether the younger lads will be good enough to play in the Premiership, just unsure as to whether they're ready yet. Some are still making errors as often as you can get away with in the NPC but unable to make them in the Premiership. Nigel said in the week, 'Luke Shaw is best staying with us as he can learn and make errors at Southampton'. Yes he can, and yes he is a very very talented player. Which is why if we stay up I don't think we'll be struggling next year. Our players will have a seasons experience uner their belts and will have 'wised up' to the premiership. You look at West Ham and they have players who have been there before, players which know when to pull a shirt or step in front of an attacker, to the point where they get away with fouls. I don't think it's necessarily the talent that is holding us back, but just being a bit cleverer when we have the ball and without it. Also we do need a few more players. IMO, a keeper who is good enough to save us multiple points a season, i.e. Vorm for Swansea last season or Al-Habsi has done for Wigan. And then a commanding CB, maybe a bit more power in the middle of the park, and then also a forward who is going to offer a bit more. Quite a few times this season when J-Rod has played, the balls been punted up to him from CB and he's got no chance is getting it. Going the other way, there has been quite a few 'through balls' to Lambert where he's just not that kind of player. You get the breaks in the lower leagues, you don't get that in the Prem.

I didn't mind that much no, because I didn't have a season ticket.

But Stoke came up and played their way. Very solid at the back, bought very solid defenders and the midfield was very disciplined, then hit the balls long to a big lump up front. I coudln't watch that every week, you're lucky you don't go to games so it's easy to say you'd be happy for us to play like that and stay up.

Yes

Lallana and Ramirez do track back, but they're not particularly defensive minded are they. Plus they're both pretty weak. Coutinho is the same kind of player. A 'luxury' player.

Harewood was always quite good though, he done a job for Forest in the prem and was very good for West Ham in the prem. Harewood Prem Apps: 132 Lambert Prem Apps: 19. You make out to say all these players were sh*t and our squad is so so much better and hugely underperforming. The average age of our squad is probably about 26, and the first 11 is far less than that. The players we bought are good players but unproven, we decided to go down this route rightly or wrongly it's still unproven. It's not like we have spent £30m on players in their prime or even on their downward spiral is it. This season was always going to be tough as the players that we bought had never played in the Prem apart from Steven Davis who is a pretty average player. The fact that Steve De Ridder and us having 2 17/18 year olds in the matchday squads everyweek shows that our 'squad' is actually not that great. We always knew it was going to be a very hard year, but if we can just stay up this season, then I don't think we'll be in the same position next season fighting against relegation.

I do rate Graham, surprised he hasn't played this season as he looked very good for them last year.

Can't agree with this. Ok Ramirez tracks back but nowhere near strong enough for us to play him Coutinho and Lallana. Would be awesome going forward but we'd let in bucket loads. Were you not at Fulham where Gaston just watched their full back run away from him ?

To be fair, I missed the Arsenal game, and was pretty drunk when I watched it on TV.

Would have been tempted to play him vs Benteke anyway, although it does leave us in a very precarious position should either Yoshi or Jos get injured. And I worry when he plays against a nippy frontline.

Maybe.

Can't see this happening, the boy is pretty much world class, I'm surprised he's not playing for Inter TBH.

Lol, Coutinho is knocking on world class, not a chance.

4-1

Guly's were pretty crap yesterday! Just very frustrating, we get a bit of momentum and then a free kick or corner is just cleared without pressure!

We're better than them. What's your Sunderland supporting mate had to say about this one?

No chance

Just to compare with the new prediction thread...

Woeful yesterday, the amount of balls that didnt get past the first man was ridiculous. Missing Lallana big time in this department. Even when Ramirez takes them he'll have a few which are superb deliveries with 'whip' but too few get to their target.

Was Fraser injured yesterday? Thought it was odd him not on the bench atleast.

Good, benayoun would be a waste of time imo