Smirking_Saint

Well I suppose Im talking the next big signings whenever they are be it now or in the summer, those two positions for me are vital. Back up to Shaw as always but its just mot going to be that simple. Biggest priority will be to keep the squad intact

Id have a cheeky punt on Ruddy, not too old and English. Norwich wont want to sell at all but they arent exactly setting the world alight and hopefully perhaps we can convince him the same as we have Lovren etc. V v long shot I know, but we definately need a keeper and probably another CB IMO

No he's not. He can go into wind up mode when he gets annoyed at a lot of the dross on this site but I think others would if they could be bothered. Some of the extreme positive/negative opinions on here can be staggering. Turks, Bear, Tokes can all contribute a lot when they post seriously so you can tell they know what they are on about they just dont take the thread that serious and fair enough. Jesus Ive even read some valid things from Glasgow from time to time but he cant help but fish. The other trolls are just trolls TBH but considering all of us get sucked in by it then they wont get bored.

Was playing today and not seen game yet. Just think he has that little bit more, not saying drop Rickie completely just dont think he can lead the line for us in the tactics we play, for a start he has only scored 1 in open play. He still has his place, either with Ossie with 2 uptop or in the attacking midfield 3.

Oh thank god

Heard nothing but very good reports that Poch has done the right thing sticking with Ossie up top instead of Lambert so no not really. Ill say it again, Rickies inclusion behind Ossie is a different matter but he isnt the man for us up top on his own in this tactic

Vindicated

Yup, deserves it, was gutted Brentford werent promoted last year

Reed is there or there abouts I reckon

VW was bone ? My mistake, I thought it was muscular. I just think we look a tad tired personally, maybe wrong, just not playing with the intensity that we can. Villa yeah, should have won that one, very strange game as yes we stuffed them, but again we struggled to create anything really clear cut so perhaps Gaston is the man to do it ?

They did, both mentally and physically. The levels of injury (mainly muscular) says to me that we are working very very hard both at training and in games. Added to this some poor decision making that frankly is uncharacteristic and Id suggest the players are tired. Shattered ? Probably not that extreme but Id say they are getting heavy legs yes

Id say its pretty obvious that we are running on low gas and picking up knocks, I expect a few may even be playing with knocks who knows ? Id stick Ramirez in there if fit, change the system slightly, I cant see us managing our pressing game without both VW and MS. Ramirez has quality, he was better last year then his detractors say, give him a go Id say.

Whilst all those things your 'friend' has identified are completely rediculous Id stick to my original assessment that Lambert isnt the man to play uptop on his own, he looks better when we change things and when he plays deeper but uptop with this style of game he just looks lost and ineffective. I said early in the season to buy a different style of striker with better mobility (osvaldo) or change the gameplan to suit Rickie. Ossie hasnt been that bad but he has struggled at times, part of this is a lack of any real service though. Lets not pretend Im sat here slagging off Rickie, Im not, I fully appreciate his talents Im just trying to be objective.

In the AM three maybe, but not as a lone striker he isnt

True but it is classed as say Gross misconduct as its blatent cheating basically. I see your point bear, but it is what it is, take the red away and itll happen more often. Also Refs dont want to give pens anyway, noway they'll give one outside the box. Its like when the pundits say that line that annoys me so much 'its definately a foul in the box but not enough for a penalty' ....... Eh ?

He is more of a DM, box to box type from what I know. Pressumably to create more competition.

To be honest the bowling hasnt been that bad, certainly not from a technical point of view. I think we are giving the ossies too much respect maybe but thats a tactic and field placement point. Batting wise ? God knows, its just, as you say, a horror show. Two decent batting wickets and we have managed little, whether Trotts leaving has caused too much imbalance I dont know ? Bell to be moved to 3 for me and Root 5. KP is a good, good player when he is on top but his forms been flaky for a while, unfortunately Bairstow etc just havnt got anywhere near his ability. Perhsps we need to play more aggressively at the crease but I dont know as confidence seems so low that I think that would be a disaster aswell.

He is still a good player, but from a team point of view his inclusion isnt working. He works hard, has decent vision and his movement is ok but he is just not mobile enough to be effective in this side. Unfortunately he has become a victim of the extreme pressing game we have here. When you win it high up the pitch you need quick incisive movement behind and to be able to run onto through balls. Thats never been Rickies game, hence why he looks better for england as the tactical set up is one that allows him to play to his strengths more.

I watched a bit last night and the night before, both times I could only watch till about 2am, just absolutely dire capitulation from England. Ok, we arent getting the rub of the green as we did at home but boy the difference in confidence levels is staggering. It looks like men against boys out there. The Ossies all out attack looks to be working aswell and we seem scared/unable to bully either their bowling or batting attack right now. In short Im going to do an Alpine and suggest that Im worried about a spanking in this series.

Dissent could be easily eradicated if the governing body just released instructions to keep the offence and card issueing procedure consistant. All they need to say is that the ref is correct and the only man on the field able to converse with the ref on a decisions POV is the captains. Refs will not change their minds no matter how much you berate them on the field and generally they will end up being more punitive to a player giving him '****' then he would a player thats not been as critical of his decisions. Its easy really, if your players pick up yellows everytime they get in the refs face or everytime they go too far in their criticism then it will have the same effect as coaches will tell their players to accept it. Sin bins just arent needed IMO

He wasnt great at the end of last season either, doesnt suit MoPos system, end of

Was v v highly rated a few years ago, linked with the top clubs. Then he had a bit of a dip in form if I remember rightly ? Still, depending on price good player and will add depth.

Nelson Iron Mandela. In a world where the human race has been enslaved by a vicious race of super dolphins in wallaces robot trousers there is only one man who can fight for the freedom that everyone deserves.

Whilst I dont necessarily agree with the relevance at a football match Id say it is a tad ignorant not to appreciate the man and so hold a minutes silence for his passing. But then I suppose there are those who are completely OTT for these sorts of emotional public outpouring aswell so I get both sides of that particular coin As far as Saints V City Itll be a tough one but I reckon we will either scrape a draw or get thumped 3-1. Im normally more of an optimist then a pessimist bit looking at this Ill stick to what Ive said in my other thread, we look mentally and physically tired and knocks are taking there toll. Not just this but Morgan was the fulcrum to our tactics and morgan was so muchore effective in the defensive phase then Cork and would allow the FullBacks more freedom. Without them both I think we will struggle to pull off our game plan and considering Ive not seen much of a plan B (admittedly as plan A has been so effective) I dont think we will play another way. Id love to be proven wrong though

But of course a penalty and a red card is a double punishment, because thats exactly what it deserves. If I push you over on the way out of the box its a pen but possibly no card. Professional cards and denying a goalscoring opportunity is a red. It should be a red. So I dont see the issue with that particular point. As for sinbins ? No, I just dont get it, Im guessing its to 'fruit' the game up a bit. Other than that I dont get it, missing 10 mins for a third foul etc ? As per diving, it should just be looked at after the games, if it is a dive then its a yellow and IMHO if its a dive in the box that wins a penalty should be a ban. Obviously this only happens if its conclusive