david in sweden

agree with that part - def.

......with only 5 games left in the Swedish season, things are really hotting up at the top. After a run of very poor seasons, AIK are in the running for the Swedish title, (see below) along with Gothenburg and Norrköping with all three clubs on the same points....and only separated by goal difference. This week's games sorted a few issues as two-time champions Malmö struggled to beat relegation-threatened Falkenberg 4-3 but are still 7 points adrift of the leading trio, with little hope of catching them. Anders Svensson, (now 39) and playing in central defence must have thought he'd kept Elfsborg in the hunt with his second goal in two games when he scored in the 87th minute against local rivals Gothenburg, but a penalty in stoppage time gave Gothenburg the point they needed to regain the top spot...and leave Elfsborg languishing in 6th place. The hero of the day must have been Jos Hooiveld, as his AIK side clung desperately onto a single goal lead in the away game at Sundsvall, until Jos hit a thunderbolt shot with 5 minutes left and AIK won 2-0 and travelled back to Stockholm with all three points in the bag. Jos has done a lot to bind up a leaky AIK defence who frequently lost games by the odd goal, but now look a much tighter unit at the back. No-one wants to forecast the eventual champions - even at this late stage - and anything can happen to upset things between now and the end October. Getting mixed reviews in his time at SMS might only be a bad memory if, with the title in sight, Jos finds himself vying for a CL place next year.

haha.....you're not the only one with that particular thought ......

....and can you imagine the cost of paying all those players who have signed long-term contracts ?.. Example : Lallana fee £25 million + a 5 year contract at (say) £100K /week = another £25 million...that's a £50 million commitment for just one player. At least Adam puts in a good shift now and again. Just think of having to pay Lovren his salary every month .. and then seeing what you get for your £. I hope they are printing their own money at Anfield.

6-0 ....should we have expected less against a poor Championship side ? Result pleased most of us I'm sure ....or ....did it ?

Agreed, but those three (named) all played a tough game on Mnday night for U21's.. Maybe in the next round.............

...now.... don't tell me you forgot we are paying him £65k /week:rolleyes:

the previous Chairman seems to have made dictatorial deals based on his contacts in Swiss-Italian circles.... A lot of money spent on a minimum of talent.

anyway....as this thread is supposed to be about the MK Dons game.......here's my input. RK has to try out some of the bench players / Academy prospects considering that MK Dons are a lower level opposition who haven't started the season so well either. This is a shop window for the " also ran's and up-and-coming talents," but RK must be sure to get the balance right and not leave us without good cover in MF. Rodriguez and maybe Caulker to get some game time and Academy lads like; Seager, Hesketh and McQueen, although not necessarily as starters. Expect Fonte, Pelle and Tadic and JWP to start.. but keep Stekelenburg in goal. This is not a time to " test" Gazzaniga's frailities " ..OK. I know he's improving ..BUT .. It's certainly a game we should not lose... but a win with less than a 2 goal margin won't look that encouraging either. ....a defeat won't harm Koeman's position, BUT it would go to show that " something " isn't working well behind the scenes.

All action first half " played at 100mph " , but we settled down and took control in second half. Plenty of possession, and very creative. Josh Sims had a good outing on left wing and all the midfielders looked good. Ryan Seager got hid goal, as did Sam McQueen - good prospects those two. will Wood (only 19+) stood out well at CB and both full backs DAJFU ....with energy to spare. MOM was Jake Hesketh. Despite his lightweight frame...(can he weigh more than 10 stone?) had a great match and took both goals well, the second a screamer form the edge of the box. He has a sort of " confident arrogance " that reminded me of the young Steve Williams (1976 model). If he" muscles up " a bit , he'll be a handful - even if he remains a lightweight. Definite first team prospect.

Agreed !...and surely Bertrand will be a part of that... and... given time van Dijk will be also.

it's giving him a chance to see everyone in action before coming to a conclusion......Who is likely to be first choice ..and who will be a regular on the bench. .....I don't expect Bertrand or Clasie to be on the bench too often. If I were RK... come January, I'd like to know where I need to strengthen the squad further.

1) you always pick a team according to the opposition, hence the more experienced Yoshida (pity about the OG) ahead of the diminutive Cedric. 2) it isn't always so easy as to expect players to replicate their training sessions in matchday situations. According to my calcualtions...RK has given game-time to 18 different players in Prem. games......so far. I'd say that was giving everyone a chance ... and we haven't seen anything of Clasie or Bertrand yet .......

....wasn't that a replay of last season's game ....when Fonte was the culprit ?......No thread about how bad Fonte was then, either........

..perhaps too many new / young fans who haven't been to choir practice ........

and one in the eye for a greedy agent .....

....surely more a case of playing a " relatively short " defender against a team with tall opponents..not to mention that Yoshida's 50+ caps meant he's more experienced. Had it not been for that suicidal back pass for their second goal, people would have said that Yoshida played well.......(all things considered).

Agreed. very little to complain about there, certainly one of his better games ......

Consistancy, or rather lack of it ....is the main theme at the moment. Three games where we've conceded 2 and 3 goals......and three with clean sheets.....and two of those away. once again we've had to re-shape the back line, with Fonte the only " survivor " from last season. Might tighten up a bit when Bertrand returns, and it's easy to blame Yoshida for his stupid back pass, but his best games have been centre/left and he never seems settled at RB, but I would have chosen his experience over Cedric - who's still learning. He may look good going forward (ala Clyne) but as a RB ....you expect him to be in the right place / right time and he's not good at tracking back. It's early days...Koeman has already used 7 different players in the back line ...and Bertrand still hasn't been involved yet.

well don't know that it has really, but at the end of the day, it's down to whether the player wants to move .....or not. Didn't Koeman say that he wanted Memphis Dupay last season but the player didn't want to come just then..? ..and Tony Vilhena was mentioned on many sites, but doesn't want to move away from Holland (atm) .....as his mother is seriously/ terminally ill (?)......... I'm sure we've got a good overview of the candidates, but getting the deal over the line seems more difficult, as Saints are never going to pay anyone £100K /week:scared:

there are several U21's who are very good - at that level. but not more. Midfielder Jake Hesketh looks quite skilful, but needs to " fill out a bit " as he's very lightweight, and often bullied off the ball and takes a lot of knocks. Likewise Dominic Gape (captain this season) but he doesn't look better than what we have now. Lloyd Isgrove looks good in most games, but he won't be able to replace Mané...will he ? .....most promising are Sam McQueen and Ryan Seager (back from injury). They might be worth a place on the bench, or a game in a Cup - but not more We've been rather spoilt in recent years with the emerging talents, but too many people seem to think that all Koeman needs to do .....is drive over to Staplewood and bring back the next " new face" .....but on present showings.... we're a long way from that. Some of them really need "loan outs" to Championship / L1 clubs ....but also they must get real game time.... instead of sitting on someone else's bench.

be realistic. This is the third " team " we've had in the last 3 seasons. At that point in time, the majority of the side had been together for min. 2 seasons. The players who have gone were the best of what we had then. It'll take time to get things up and running. But after 6 games it's not panic time yet, surely ? Our two defeats were against two of this seasons in-form sides, and t.b.f ...being able to spend £200 million in two years does give you an edge over most opponents.

...sounds logical, but if we need him urgently for a string of games... will be able to make a better judgement.

I've noted the level of " humour " from that direction before.....I chose not to comment further....

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