shurlock

Agree, if there's one area of the team that's weaker than the rest, its at CB.

We brought N'guessan in on-loan, suggesting we did all our business together and barring any emergencies that's now it. Maybe we could do with another CB but that's less important than getting all our injured players match-fit. CMS? Not a chance.

Lee's take on top gear is arguably better than's coogan's column: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0i0RXMvzMs&feature=related

Once the loan window opens, perhaps worth having a (cheeky) look at Jack Hobbs at Leicester? A great prospect at CB -was their player of the year last season, though not currently in Sven's plans. NA also knows him well: had him on loan in 2008.

According to the posh fans, he's not that quick - yes he's lively and a willing worker; but he's not a raw pace merchant. There are no excuses for Seaborne getting done for that first goal.

Agree, especially when we go away. There's a good argument for playing Chaplow, Hammond and Schneiderlin together, with Chappers as the most mobile. Its crucial to win the midfield battle first, then get the goals. I would rest Oxo for the next few away games and go with Gully/N'guessan and Lallana just behind Lambert, pulling wide where necessary. Would effectively be a 4-3-2-1.

Thought Steve Coogan wrote a very good piece on Top Gear - as somebody who has been on the show three times as a fan, he's not your standard tree-hugging herbivore but thinks it has lost the plot and become a sorry caricature of itself. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/feb/05/top-gear-offensive-steve-coogan?intcmp=239

exactly what?

yeh mate i do - i go to about 90-95% of away games each season. (for a bit of history: the 'yellow submarine/pompey going down with no money in the bank' song was first sung in Jan 2009 away at Barnsley, the week after the mancs had been singing it about citeh at our place. Of course, as a superfan, you know all this) mug

Sure, you're not a closet skate?

Nothing to do with race, though yes everything should be done on a case-by-case basis. But if you don't think ownership styles and structures reflect the institutions and political-economy of the country in which businessmen are based and operate, then you're a fool and need to stop fiddling with your prozone and do something more valuable. If the way to get ahead in a country is to have cronies in high places rather than create value or focus on the short-term rather than the long-term, do you think it has an effect on the type of entrepreneurs or businessmen produced? It sure does. Has it got anything to do with race? F**k all. People -whatever their background or race- respond to incentives - just different countries reward different things. In countries with weak economic governance, it may be better to act opportunistically, if not be a complete crook. Alas the last time I looked, nepotism, patronage and corruption tended to be more rife in natural-resource rich states. At the same, does it make it harder for a businessman from one country to adapt to another country where success is determined by different skills and competencies? Absolutely. Just look at Cortese who has been used to working with high levels of secrecy and confidentiality - he's a fish out of water when it comes to dealing with the media. But there are also lots of overlaps between his previous work and current position. And do I think people like the Liebherrs who have flourished in a particular culture and set of institutions that focus on the long-term, treats debt with caution and understand the importance of stakeholders - not just shareholders- are better cut out for running a football club that shares many of these characteristics? yes.

and it should be fora, not forums

Why is it necessarily racist? That's hysterical. I would prefer a European over an American. And I would prefer a European over a businessman who comes from a country where business, politics, state patronage and corruption go together - and you'll find quite a few russian oligarchs and oil-rich princes (and of course one or two Europeans) fall in that category. Does it inspire confidence in you that some's guy fortune depends on who his friends and enemies are each shifting day or that his success is less down to long-term entrepreneurial ability than sitting idle on the gifts of nature or having a silver-spoon in his mouth? It doesn't me.

Would have brought n'guessan or forte on earlier to take advantage of the fact that the wind was behind us and had them on the back foot. Pace would have torn them apart in the conditions.

Good to see we're living up to our noted reputation for originality. the joy division knock-off must now have more owners than a prosser has had STDs. Its a shame how far the impetus for many of our newish songs comes from listening and being outsung by the mancs the week before.

Back from the game - hard for those who watched on TV to grasp how windy it was and how difficult it made it for defenders to plant and position themselves. As we were kicking into the wind first half, I was confident that after having thrown a 2 goal lead we would take advantage of the wind in the 2nd half and push on. The goals duly came (the play that led to the corner for our 4th was a good example) but I think we got too comfortable with the ball over top and hoping the conditions would keep them on the back foot; out went our normal game and the kind of possession football that closes games (not easy to be sure given conditions but an improvement on surrendering the ball cheaply). Just as strange were NA's personnel decisions: the long ball might have worked if we had more pace upfront but Lambert and Barnard weren't and aren't those players. As such, it is surprising that neither N'guessan nor Forte featured earlier, something NA can be criticised for. Other than that, it was one of those one-off games where looking for lessons and pointers is ultimately futile. Yes Seabourne, Chambo had sub-par games; but its not worth dwelling on a game that's unlikely to repeat itself anytime soon. Finally, ferguson is a horrible little c**t and the ref bottled it at the end. Like the (new) Cortese chant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0i0RXMvzMs&feature=related

Absolutely - Huddersfield go there on saturday and it wont be easy.

Don't know if it was our 'normal, struggling' midfield or the fact that Exeter packed it with bodies. Once we responded to their formation (thankfully, it didn't matter to the result that NA waited till the 2nd half to change things), our midfield took control. Like at Tranmere, we should be prepared to go narrow away from home and let the forwards run the channels/give us width (Forte will give us that option).

Good stuff - definitely worth updating more often.

what a fine specimen we are.

Is that the little knitting club you hold in high-street coffee shops slagging off managers in earshot? The last time you opened your mouth and dispensed your wisdom, we went on our Xmas run - thought you would have learnt your lesson.

And won't be the last time

Do we? We've been short of pace all season and N'guessan is only a loan. Forte can also play on the left where we've had a problems (punch, mills, holmes). Also means that Lallana can go down the middle where he arguably has the greaest influence.

Some of the scunny posts will miss him more than woolford http://boards.footymad.net/forum.php?tno=460&fid=12&sty=2&act=1&mid=2118571568 It does give us some very interesting options - for instance, Fonte could be played on the left which would free up AL as a second or support striker. However good he is, AL is wasted on the wing. Would be devastating down the middle.