shurlock

WOuld be a fantastic signing - that's why it aint going to happen.

Didn't go yesterday and I value width but its easy to latch onto single causes as an explanation for everything. Worth pointing out that: i) We've never played with genuine width in midfield as Lallana and Guly (or whoever is on the right) have always been encouraged to cut in as inside forwards; ii) our best form of the season coincided with this formation; iii) yesterday, even after we changed things, we still didn't play with width as neither Cork or Lallana are natural wingers; iv) old-fashioned width depends on a proper centre forward -take that away and you can deliver all the crosses in the world into the box, its going to make f**k all difference - see our performance at Donny; v) the real problem yesterday and places like Donny was not width but the lack of a reliable outlet and cutting edge upfront.

Not they're saying they're mutually exclusive. But excess savings from Asia, a search for yield, low interest rates, ample credit and rising asset prices set the scene for the sh*tstorm and allowed the bankers to party (of course, if excess savings had not been employed somewhere, somehow, the world would have been in recession a lot earlier). This is not a controversial analysis - see Turner's report or read a bit of Minsky who's enjoyed a revival in the wake of the crisis.

Am quite happy if people are critical -and I don't mind your criticism per se- but you're criticisms are always generalisations that bore the sh*t out of me. An ability to distinguish between problems that are minor vs. major, temporary vs. longer-lasting and within our control vs. outside our control would be a start. But that means understanding what's happening on the pitch -from game to game. Of course, you can't do that -which is fair enough and I've backed you up on other threads when it comes to attending games- but surely that's a reason to tone down -rather than ratchet up the remarks?

Lots of people don't think its great - its just their views are informed. Easy to delude yourself that people only take issue because of your negativity - lets you sidestep your own inadequacies and your inability to express your criticisms in any forensic, dynamic way.

That's right - still one of the most under-rated strikers in the championship IMO and would give us that out option with or without Lambert.

Best physical centre forward I've seen this season is easily darius henderson (millwall). Made Fonte look very ordinary and was unplayable at times. Saying that we didn't have Jos then. More generally, Chopra, Austin and Miller (Cardiff) were all decent.

Second thoughts - some spurs spouting off outside my flat. Would love to smash them at home.

Injured isn't he?

In all fairness, anyone who quotes alpine probably deserves to go on ignore as well.

Would be surprised if it was.

Put his chances at 15% if not less.

Global imbalances, nor least mercantilist trade policy in Asia played a role. The resulting build up of liquidity in the system fed all kinds of lending and asset bubbles in the West -the risks of which were nigh-on impossible to price. Not saying that financial liberalisation, light touch regulation of banks and a barmy faith in the efficiency of markets were irrelevant -they certainly exacerbated underlying tensions; but they were proximate causes. If the history of financial crises shows anything, it is the difficulty of pricing risk properly when any system -whether regulated or deregulated- is faced with an expansion of credit. Japan's banking system in the 1980s was heavily regulated but still got into mess - same with China now.

Geordies at home

The crisis didn't start in the US - confusing causes with the symptoms. It had many causes -many global- and in some ways, the US as the most developed country in the world was the lightening rod for them. Btw, the UK's banking system was more lightly regulated than the US which put competitive press on the yanks to follow suit. Cant underestimate the role of al policy over here in driving a regulatory race to the bottom elsewhere.

Totally agree. If anything, our best form of the season coincided with quite a narrow formation with AL and Guly cutting in - not a simple 4-4-2.

We looked much better at Brighton with a narrow midfield; we've gone wide at places like Donny and created f**k all.

Get in

Agree lack of width of problem has been a problem in the past; but that's when we've had players available who thrive on crosses etc. We don't today.

Its all opinion - but if you think a combination of Doble, Lallana and JWP as the most advanced players would make a difference in the middle, I'd suggest you're having a giraffe. Just look at Donny. With SDR and Lallana on the wings, we got plenty of crosses in there but Guly and Schneiderlin were toothless. You want width, you need a Lambert upfront or runners ghosting in from midfield. We don't today. Just IMO of course.

He's talking s**t - width would make no difference.

Thank f**k this is the only away game i've missed. Don't know what's worse - our current football or the forum on a match day during a dip. Makes no difference what system is used if you have no presence upfront that can hold up the ball, get on the end of crosses and give a static midfield time to support. Lallana , Doble and JWP are lightweights. The rest is irrelevant. Lack of width is a red herring.

The lad seemed very confident when asked - dismissed and laughed off the possibility of any complication

He was OK -but IMO there heavy tint of rose on others glasses. Kept possession well enough but most of the passing went sideways and backwards and rarely ventured beyond the halfway line.

Hope Ward-Prowse has a better game than Palace - he really wasn't all that there. Cant see us creating much or keeping possession in the final third with that team. Defensively, we should be OK though. Has draw written all over it.