derry

I read posts like this week in week out. Players are named in teams that have been injured, are long term injured or like Trotman not available as cup tied at Preston. Why are so called fans so unaware who is really available before posting teams, it is such a waste of time.

And this is where I came in earlier in the season when I slated Henderson and the Academy for the end product. Walcott/Bale were naturals, the rest are sadly lacking in knowhow and awareness.

It is just possible we don't want to sign him.

Absolutely right Colin. I want to see him doing well and contributing something useful but he isn't. I don't think Pardew is helping him, letting him play as he is, then criticising the team for not having width. I think it is get off the pot time for both of them. I don't understand why Pardew is not using Gillett, because I'd play him wide right and as soon as he is fit Holmes wide left. Gillett might not be the quickest but he would reinforce our right wing and worry the hell out of the opposition with his energy. I bet if he had been wide right on Saturday the full back wouldn't have got forward so easily for their goal.

The work permit issue may be irrelevant as the club haven't applied for one, which makes me think there may well be carried over injury problems from last season.

I'm not sure they have been told, as I'm sure Pardew would have been signalling for them to play wide if they have. It's not helping having the goalkeeper as captain. I think Lallana hasn't worked out yet that he isn't the blinding natural talent he and a few others have been promoting. Instead of everybody fitting in around him, he needs to decide where he might get a place in the team and develop that in the reserves. He just isn't providing anything useful and his lack of positional sense is damaging the team shape.

That's why they have to go back to the reserves and be re-educated. Then introduced one at a time into a team that contains few of them.

Schneiderlin will pass for fun if they give him a couple of line hugging, pacy players. That is now the most important thing, until we provide width we might as well play no strikers at all as they are easily marked.

I understand all of that and agree however I wouldn't play either of them as wide men but if that role is required of them then it has to be spelt out to them that's how they have to play for the benefit of the team. If they can't understand that or don't do it as required then they shouldn't be in the team. Playing narrow is just stupid, just like paying £1m for a big striker then playing no wide men to provide crosses.

Absolutely spot on. I don't dislike Lallana but for us to play like a proper football team he has to go. James and the others need to go back to the reserves and re-learn the game. 18 reserve games is rediculous we need a proper mens reserve league with about 40 games. I would have thought a sprint coach would be good, especially looking at the physiques of most football players. Compared with athletes their upper body strength is poor. Looking at the upper body physique of sprinters no wonder footballers in the main are pretty slow in comparison.

I'll tell you what Lallana does. His undisciplined self indulgent positioning stops us playing like a proper football team and for me the sooner he is out of the team the sooner we can get on and be competitive with width.

Just won the Ashes:)

It's a nice big wide pitch that under Burley, the Dutch and up to now Pardew has cried out for a team playing with width. We seem to be the only team I've seen at SMS in the last three years that hasn't played with proper width which means both touchlines at the same time. We have been turned over time and time again by teams attacking down our empty flanks and then hit from the empty blind side, while we struggle through a narrow midfield to score not many goals against a narrow packed defence. It's got nothing to do with the stadium it's the dire tactics and fancy dan players that don't put in the foot or the mileage.

Better still, just leave him out, he is a liability and a large part of the problem not the solution. We won't have any width until he is out of the team. Yes his corner kicks are awful as well.

Schneiderlin would be a much better player if our two wide men both played out on the touchline, he would then be able to hit one of them or hit the pass behind the full back into the corner. The other one could then get to the corner of the penalty area and come in on the blind side reinforcing the strikers whilst the midfielders made for the edge of the penalty area. There is no doubt in my mind his passing is the key, now that Hammond is alongside him it would release him if we played our wide midfielders wide. Lallana won't do it, Mellis was on his wrong side, both narrow, leave them out and put in players that will stay wide. For the moment I would put Holmes in on the left and Gillett on the right until we bring in one or two pacy proper wide players. James lacks pace and is struggling to get into the game. Lallana has become a cameo player, a couple of flash flicks, no end product and seems to have no alertness or awareness.

Football is a team game the central midfielders need wide outlets not standing around 5 yds away. Lallana, Mellis, or anybody on the wide midfield positions don't need to play like central midfielders, they have to always start out on the touchline and not be played on their wrong side. My biggest beef is while these players don't have the pace to play wide there is nothing to stop them providing width, they don't have to be narrow. None of them seem to want to be wide and if that is the case put them in the reserves, because they are no bloody use to the team doing their own thing.

Exactly, like the way Schneiderlin was clobbered from behind when he was getting through. Great execution, I wish we would do that, it was classic wing play.

Most of these academy players wouldn't get in a decent reserve side. There is no excuse in my opinion for Pardew allowing the lack of width. Width and pace is fundamental. Nobody in front of the back four has any pace, that together with the awful narrow formation is destroying us. With Murty back the defensive five is reasonably solid. The two central midfielders could run things for us if we get a couple of direct pacy wingers. We have plenty of strikers to get goals if we can get down the lines. Schneiderlin told Lallana to get wide but he turned his back on him. I'm surprised he didn't slip him a couple of hospital balls. I think Schneiderlin is looking worse than he is because he has no wide options. I think Schneiderlin should start rolling the ball out wide and show up Lallana because he isn't where he should be, and don't pass to him if he stays inside. It would be worth a few throw ins if he learnt to play wide. It is a problem trying to get central players to play wide and especially on the wrong side.

Well I was there Bill and it was dire. Pardew doesn't have an excuse for setting up the team the way he did. Lallana and Melis were playground footballers sitting 20 yds inside the touchline and coming inside. They created nothing and gave no options to our midfield or defence. we were the usual narrow rubbish. Improved for a while when Saganowski and Thompson came on then we stopped passing to him. Lallana is hopeless, he's not a team player and plays anywhere the fancy takes him. As long as he is picked we will have no width and he isn't quick enough to play as a striker. We need two wide players with pace and until we work that out we are going to get turned over. FFS it was the left back that scored. We were done up like a kipper, runner down the left to the byeline, centre backs sucked over, great low cross towards the penalty spot and a cracking diving header went in like a rocket. Everything we lack. Just the sort of thing we lack on both sides of the field

This sums him and the situation up for me, great analysis.

We could be a much better team if we just played two wide men, packing the centre of the field is destroying us. It just stops us from any effective attacking and leaves us vulnerable down the flanks. It is so frustrating, Lallana's positional play is a major cause of our problems. Wotton giving the ball away plus the lack of wide players mean we never get runners out of midfield, reinforcing the strikers to get on the end of crosses from the byeline. It is so easily fixed.

Well said, which puts Lallana back in the reserves.

He played better against a poor team but still provided nothing down left side the goals came from the right. Raziak put his 'tap in' on a plate for him. He comes inside far too much and plays in the old inside forward position and gives no width which we need, so as not to waste a £1m forward. He is becoming a sacred cow to some people but his output doesn't rate a place in the side. He needs to play in the reserves and continue his education.

I think you might get an A Level A* for that.

My club only allows garaging for about 10 members owned carts, I've been on the waiting list for about 9 years. I'm next up when the next vacancy arrives, usually one a year. I'm going to walk as long as I can and occasionally use the cart, maybe to play 36 holes. I think the wicket may be breaking up, Warnie is saying 350 may be a good score now, but one never knows with Australia.