Saint Fan CaM

A mobile, strong striker - in the mould of Michu - to replace Lambert. A fast, skilled left sided attacking midfielder to replace Lallana when injured. A tall strong experienced CB. That's it.

Good player, but do we need him? Not sure, unless we're looking for a replacement of some kind. Puncheon off?

Clearly because we were the better team on the day - and your point is?

My contention is that the situation is growing increasingly as the season has worn on - early doors Lambert got given much more freedom than his is being given now.

Well you pushed the stats at me - not the other way round! Can't argue with stats right?! As someone once said, the table doesn't lie.

Yes, I think there is possible connection, however I would actually put that down to (a) Shaw being excellent and (b) Fonte and Yoshi clicking in their partnership © Cork returning to partner Morgan - the defence looks much more balanced now (but perhaps not entirely perfect).

Yes I did. I do not understand how you can confuse "we're too one dimensional" with "Lambert is...". Lambert is becoming a liability because of the team relying so heavily on him being the playmaker when he is being marked out of the game and because he is not mobile enough to defeat the 2 on 1 situations he faces.

Look at the teams - all poor and in the case of Newcastle, plagued with injury. We will get it right once in a while or the opposing team will switch off or fail to obey the Managers instructions. The way things are, it will not happen the majority of times and especially against a very well organised defence like Sunderlands (who have an excellent Manager who planned the game really well yesterday).

How many games has Lambert missed? More to the point, how many games do you think Adkins and his coaches have prepared for where Lambert is NOT a prime part of the game plan? The answer to both those questions is few. Sure thing, this indicates Lambert plays a big part, however I believe his partnership and understanding with Lallana should not be underestimated. Take Lallana out and Lambert appears less effective. Whichever way you cut it, we're not scoring goals now - there's a reason for that and Lambert as the main striker has to take some responsibility. Put it another way. IF we had the money etc to entice a striker of let's say Van Persie's ability and pace into SRL's position - just one player - do you think we would perform substantially better and achieve better results than we are currently achieving? I believe we probably would and that's why £7m on JRod was not money very well spent for our first season back in the Prem.

Doesn't show anything of the sort, however I don't think anyone has used the term one dimensional to be fair. The trouble is though the application of his skills at this level - if he's given the time and space then he can make things happen, but he's denied this by either much better defenders or managers that know how to nullify him. Usually Lambert takes the heat off Lallana and Puncheon (or other player), however with Lallana out and Puncheon having an off-day, our goal threats are severely minimised because Lambert unfortunately doesn't have the pace to outwit his markers. This is not slating Lambert - he's been brilliant for us - it's the league we're in now and it doesn't matter how much anyone wants it to be different, this is the situation we're in. Adkins can either try to find another plan with SRL OR try taking SRL out the picture for a while OR suffer the possible consequences of the club's relegation. Doing nothing will end in the same types of result as yesterday. I do not think the 1st team is made up of the types of players/characters that will endure a relegation scrap like we used to have in the PL - it's too young to succeed in that I fear.

Well done you.

We play some nice football, but it is now not resulting in goals. I've made my opinion known on one reason for this, so I won't labour it on this thread. We've found a better defensive set-up now, largely I think to (a) Shaw and (b) Fonte and Yoshi clicking. We urgently need to sort out the squad issues in front of them now - i.e. significant inbalance in the type of players available in midfield and in attack.

Agree that we need better delivery from midfield into the strikers, but therein also lies a problem. Lambert dictates HOW we do that - he is too slow to run onto passes through the channels, so we aim for his head or aim for his feet when he has his back to goal and bingo, he gets found out. In terms of his goals, see when he scored them - early season - and before the good Prem Managers had a chance to find out how we ticked as a side. Either Adkins finds a solution to how we attack in the final third or we will struggle every single game from now on in I fear.

Absolutely this - I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing this issue. For a team that supposedly wants to retain possession and keep the ball, we play an awful lot of ineffective high balls into Lambert (who sometimes either doesn't jump or run for the interception). It's not working people. I would like to keep Lambert as an option, but buy a striker 'upgrade' in January, but SRL will not want to be a bench player unfortunately.

I was not being rude - I was attempting to offset comment like "wow - wtf" which are hardly debating the issue and frankly are just trying to be dismissive of my view. If anyone thinks I'm wrong that's fine, but at least try to provide a reasoned response.

I dare you to come up with a rational explanation why Lambert is not scoring, not winning headers and generally not looking bothered. The likes of SDR get slated regularly on here for a cameo appearance and yet Lambert doesn't make the grade and he is untouchable. Now to me that's worthy of a WOW!

No, not atall. Read carefully what I have written and engage the brain before replying. Sometimes playing a certain player will influence how the team plays (e.g. in attack) and if a certain player is too one dimensional it will give the opposing Manager an easy job nullifying that player. How many times has Lambert scored recently or even come close? He's been great for us, but he's not delivering as a striker for us right now IMHO and that is affecting the overall team performance in attack.

So who or what is to blame Alps? Serious question. I personally don't believe the £30m was invested wisely and there are too many L1/Championship level players gracing Nigel's 1st team selection sheet.

For the right price yes sell. He is fast becoming a liability as we're too one dimensional and static in attack IMO. He is far too immobile for the Prem I'm afraid and while he's been a fantastic player for the club to date, being over emotional about playing or even keeping hold of unsuitable players will be our undoing. Let's face it, he may not want to play in the Championship but if we go down that's exactly what will happen or more likely he will get an offer from a promoted club and will leave anyway. Sorry if this flies in the face of the Lambert love-in brigade.

Yes Ramirez should have been played in the centre where he has been the most effective. However, Lambert has become a liability to the team now IMO - he is slow, predictable and does not move away from defenders in the area to give himself a chance. We try playing the ball to his head largely when he's stationary - it's so easy for two defenders to take him out the game. I would drop him in favour of JR at least while Lallana is out. I agree we should be playing our best players but I am not convinced SRL is one of them now to be honest. Perhaps we need an upgrade now? We nearly always go wide to then cut back into the middle...it's SO predictable, it's no wonder Puncheon got no joy yesterday and Mayuka doesn't have the experience yet to know how to unlock a resolute defence. There is a very, very urgent need to coach some different attacking methods - ones that involve passing through the channels for example rather than fannying around passing backwards and sideways. Pass and move triangulation - works well in the 1st and 2nd thirds of the pitch, so why not in attack?

We are pedestrian in the final third. While Cork and Morgan seem good together, we have no playmaker in the central mid position - someone to take the ball through the channels. Lambert is being outclassed by central defenders too much - he needs to be much more mobile to make an impact as a central striker (like Fletcher was today). We have stopped scoring goals - that needs addressing.

There - fixed it for you.

I see more wrong at CAM, LF and Striker to be honest. We are pedestrian through the middle of the park, in the left forward position (when Lallana's not available) and Lambert I think is starting to be found out at this level - he probably found his level to excel at in the Championship, but he is just not mobile enough. Contrast him to Steve Fletcher - much more effective yet very similar role.

No. Simple answer.

I kind of switched off 2.5 minutes into the video of his big performance when he suggested the use of social media to find out what customers are thinking. Surely it's pretty straightforward understanding what football supporters (customers) want?!? They want to see their team win as many games as possible and they want to see that happen for a reasonable price. Some want half-decent beer and food on offer. Why do you need to employ an expensive expert in 'social media' to find that out FFS?! Bah-humbug!