derry

Probably the best attacking header of a ball of all time. Certainly the most lethal striker in the world in his prime. Hang in there, while there is life there is hope. May God be with you.

I'm not looking for 'beautiful' football, I'm looking for efficient teamwork with proper width, getting down the touchlines and allowing the midfielders to get into the box. All we are doing at the moment is playing narrow huffing and puffing football. Pressure and possession on it's own doesn't win matches proper one on one chances have to be created and we aren't doing that. The only statistics that will show progress is multiple goals from play and clean sheets . Multiple goals won't happen until we play with width and introduce some pace especially wide.

Progress:- Not losing games-6 undefeated. Reality check:- 3 league goals from play in 9 games. Paterson, Harding, Lallana. 1 goal from God knows how many corners. 1 goal from God knows how many free kicks. 3 penalties. 0 goals from God knows how many hopeful crosses from deep. Hardly any crosses from the byeline. Total lack of width and pace. There is a long way to go and little sign of improvement.

He definitely isn't a runner but that doesn't mean with the right direction, freedom to get forward and the organisation to squeeze the space in the middle when he and Hammond go for the box that he won't. However the lack of width has to be sorted to give them the time to spread the play wide and then get forward on the burst to give the pull back option to the wide men..

It's worth remembering when tempted to drive really fast the only thing between you and your maker is rubber and air. A blow out of a front tyre is instant carnage. If you aren't the only one to drive the car you don't know how many times it's hit the kerb. Just a thought. As somebody who spent nine years taking off on 186 ton aircraft with an decision speed up round 200mph and the end of the runway coming up fast, knowing everything hinged on rubber and nitrogen concentrated the mind.

James doesn't just lack pace he is painfully slow. Even at fullback because of it, he is a weakness. As a last resort I would have preferred Perry or even Wotton at rightback. I wouldn't write Schneiderlin off until I see him with two decent wide players. If he doesn't perform then so be it.

I think you may be clutching at straws, his passing isn't good enough, his tackling is innocuous, he doesn't seem to know how to fit into a team and I personally think he would leave a gaping hole in the middle of the field. I think oddball does sum up his talent to some extent. The time has come to put the interests of the team before Lallana's. Until we do the team won't score enough goals. It is time to try something different without him because it isn't working with him. Playing three positions in a match isn't helping either as it shows they don't know where to play him.

I personally feel that until Lallana is out of the side the team won't have balance and won't score goals from play in any numbers. Nine league matches, three goals from play, one by a fullback. Whatever spin is put on it, there is something drastically wrong with the teamwork.

I think you are right about Lallana but I think Schneiderlin suffers as much as the strikers from our lack of natural wide players. His passing options are drastically reduced and inhibited by the lack of natural wide players. If we resolve the lack of width problem I would prefer to give him the playmaker job as I think it will give his passing free rein. At the moment we just aren't seeing the real player except in flashes.

A pretty good summation of our problem. He can't/won't play wide, was tried as a striker yesterday, that didn't work or he wouldn't have been moved wide again. We don't need oddball, cameo, cosmetic we need pace wide and he doesn't provide it. Whether with two natural pacy wide players he could play up front I don't know, but I do know I'm not the only one who can't see where he can be played and benefit the team. It seems that by persuading him to stay, promising play instead of sitting on the bench or playing in the reserves for a better club, Pardew has given himself a big problem. If he doesn't fix it, he may well rue the day.

He might be playing out wide but he doesn't play like a winger or cross like a winger he plays like a fullback. When he does get down the line he doesn't pick out players he hits hopeful balls in, that mainly get belted back up field. I prefer him to nobody wide but he will be a good class fullback given time. Holmes is a much more natural winger and does pick out players however he is being treated with kid gloves because of his injury record. My priorities are get rid of the lack of width and get natural pacy forwards playing there in due course, not shoehorning in players without either the pace or wit to play there.

So we didn't create loads of chances just a bit of pressure and a few shots blocked and the usual poor corners. We allow the defences to compact and cope comfortably with our lack of pace.

And to do that they need the time made by the ball going down the lines. Whacking balls up to the strikers means they can't get forward.

It will have to happen, they are just putting off the day.

Fine but we still aren't scoring with him there and he is a fullback and shows it. You asked me what I wanted them to do. N'Diaye is an unknown quantity so nobody really knows, but he might give Lambert and Saganowski the help to start scoring. Neither have managed a league goal yet this season from play.

The problem is for this Tuesday not Christmas. Sort it short term then find the long term solution.

It's not the bloody rebuilding FFS it's the fact we lack width and pace down the flanks. That is something the management could sort by making the players play wide. But shoehorning unsuitable favourite players lacking the ability to get down the lines and cross in these positions is most of the problem. Sooner or later they are going to have to leave them out and bring in proper replacements.

Initially Holmes wide left, N'Diaye wide right, then a loan wide right and if Holmes isn't doing the job a loan wide left, The loan window closes 26th Nov and we can play up to 5 loans at any one time. There is no criteria stopping us bringing in loans except balancing the books and getting players out.

It might seem like that but the problem of lack of width and pace is there week in week out and looks no nearer to being resolved. I'm thinking maybe the time has come to complete the replacement with new players those positions not yet replaced.

Three league goals from play in nine games one from Harding is disgraceful. Lack of width and pace are the main problem but nothing changes and we can't score from play. Until the manager sorts it, but at the moment there is little sign, it will continue to blight our recovery.

Thirty seconds in after the hair dryer treatment we would be playing like champions.

That's the sum of it. The lack of width is killing us. If Holmes is fit he could help us on the left. Apparently they were setting up plays this week with wingers and fullbacks overlapping and his crossing was spot on. I'd take a punt on Waigo wide right and the two centre forwards up front. Until they solve that problem they are going nowhere. Let me know if you are and we will try and meet up. JH and AW are always around also a few of us on here meet up once a month Weston, FF, Teddy Nutkins, Corsacar Saint, Exit2.

The patience of Job is needed here Bill. Every week it is the same narrow crap, snatched chances from scraps with loads of defenders doubling up because we are so narrow with no pace. Adam Leitch of the Echo was the co commentator and said we were better in the first half but no pace and became narrow with no pace in the second half. N'Diaye and Holmes seemed to liven things up a bit, Lallana played his usual three positions. I'd like to see a team without him for once to see if we could possibly look like a football team. Only three goals from play in nine games one by a full back is a hell of an indictment on the way we play. We started the season 10 points off safety and we are still 10 points off safety 9 games in. The cup winning team photo was in the pink last week.

I didn't say width is everything, what I did say is that lack of it is stopping us scoring goals from play. Gillett isn't the answer to the right wide problem, neither are Lallana, Mellis and James. In the interim I think he might possibly make a better fist of it than the other three. He certainly wouldn't be any worse. Another way may be to play Holmes on the right with Mills left. Saganowski played there for Poland and might be worth a try. I'm suggesting alternatives pending a proper solution which unless N'diaye is the answer isn't available within the present staff. I'm looking for alternatives to the present dilemma not presenting it as a solution.

At least somebody sees the problem. We can't play an advanced interchanging system wide as the players aren't up to it. Holmes will play wide and I have seen him play, he works hard wide and gets to the byeline and hangs up crosses on the back post. I would like to see Gillett given a go wide right, he is busy, right sided and can cross and would play wide as he did well in the Stoke friendly last year. Unless we play down the touchlines after the central midfielders spread the play they don't have time to make the runs into the box. At the moment they can't get up to support the strikers because we are so narrow and the shallow balls up to the strikers are leaving them no time to get forward. Because we are so narrow the central midfielders pass it sideways and more often than not it ends up going back to the back four and then the goalkeeper to be then hit long. All this could be alleviated with two wide players, the blindside player can come in on the 45 and attack the back post and the two central midfielders can make runs and support the strikers who also can now pull away and take the defenders away to make space for the runners then peel off back into the box. The movement then created causes the best defences problems.