Keep this team and play it every week

[stemark44]

Chimbonda will always be a stop gap in my opinion as he is just not good enough to start for us. He is what you would class as a versitile squad player and nothing more. I think we really do miss Huttons energy at right back. If he comes back from this injury and shows the form he was showing when he first joined the club then we will have no problems. If he doesn't, expect Harry to go for Glen Johnson

I'm still not satisfied with the left back either. Think Harry might go for Wigans Figueroa in the summer

I think we are fine down the spine of the team but we are weak on the flanks.
Both full back positions and LW and RW need better more consistent players.
Funny but thats the guys I would buy too!
Johnson is far better than Hutton and from what I have seen from the Wigan left back,he looks like a big,strong player!

 

[nicdic]

I think we are fine down the spine of the team but we are weak on the flanks.
Both full back positions and LW and RW need better more consistent players.
Funny but thats the guys I would buy too!
Johnson is far better than Hutton and from what I have seen from the Wigan left back,he looks like a big,strong player!

We'll not be buying anymore right backs for the foreseeable future. Left back possibly, but BAE put in another good performance today. We need a left winger, to give us the balance we need.

 

[Kendall]

Best midfield performance since Carrick and Davids were here

It was all palacios though, you're not allowed to give jenas any credit at all for his influence.

 

[Kendall]

I don't think we need a left winger. You rarely get teams these days (certainly in the prem) playing with 2 wingers.

 

[nicdic]

I don't think we need a left winger. You rarely get teams these days (certainly in the prem) playing with 2 wingers.

Winger or left midfielder. We need a natural left sider. Not our best creative brain being played out there.

 

[Kendall]

As long as someone can defend that side I'm really not bothered. It gives Modric a free role which he had and had he been able to play a killer ball then we'd have won.

We didn't have a left winger in our 2 5th placed finishes, Tainio even played there a lot.

I don't see it as a neccesity at all, we were hardly tested down the left.

 

[nicdic]

As long as someone can defend that side I'm really not bothered. It gives Modric a free role which he had and had he been able to play a killer ball then we'd have won.

We didn't have a left winger in our 2 5th placed finishes, Tainio even played there a lot.

I don't see it as a neccesity at all, we were hardly tested down the left.

But when your main creative outlet is on the left, you have a problem. You have to play him in the centre, so the game can run through him. I'd be happy for JJ to play on the right or the left. But for me you've got to have Modric in the middle to get the best out of him.

Oh and we weren't tested down the left because Eboue got sent off.

 

[stemark44]

We'll not be buying anymore right backs for the foreseeable future. Left back possibly, but BAE put in another good performance today. We need a left winger, to give us the balance we need.

Been speaking to Harry?

Winger or left midfielder. We need a natural left sider. Not our best creative brain being played out there.

I am guessing you mean Modric,what did he create today and at Bolton?

 

[Stono]

Sooooooo bored of the Jenas-haters.... :sleepy:

 

[southlondonyiddo]

I'd make a couple of changes, plus a Harry summer signing.

Corluka at Centre back for Daws (who's done very well lately)

Glen Johnson at right back

Defoe for Keane

Thats a sexy side that would challenge the top 4

 

[DC_Boy]

I'm with Kendall, have been saying for years a LW is not a priority

if we get a new Giggs or Ginola sure
but what are the chances of that

I like O'Hara on the left we also have modric and Lennon who can do a job there, also Bale

Bostock next season too I hope

one priority for me will be a big striker, which will probably signal the end of Bent's career with us sadly, but it just don't look like it's gonna work with him

of course if bent can strike up understandings with Pav and Keane then skip the big striker - but I don't think it will happen

hope I'm wrong of course - we could do with saving the money

then another LB - preferably one that could play at CB too

if we can't get such a versatile player then another CB too, assuming King can no longer be relied on, which I think we have to assume

 

[Houdini]

I expect Bent to be elsewhere next season, along with a few other members of the team.
King, unfortunatly, is finished as a reliable defender, we dont know if he will finish games anymore, and where we will get a replacement as good as he was........God knows!

 

[KalSpur]

Good points, however the strikeforce of Pav and Keane is a bit too slow and weak imo. Would prefer to see Defoe in there if he gets fit before the seasons out, just to add a bit more pace through the middle.

Agreed. Couldn't help thinking that if Defoe was playing he would've scored, Arsenal would've lost their shape in trying to force an equaliser and we would've opened them up and scored at least one more.

 

[Rackybear]

Aye, I like this team. I think it had a great balace to it, we know wilson will sit and tackle anyone that is within his radar, so that allows JJ to not worry too much about his "precise role" and thus he can burst forward and make his runs into the box.

I thought Modric on the left worked really well too, a lot of people questioned this, but if he can drift in like that and get hold of the ball - he will make things happen, it doesn't matter if he is on the left / center or right. Just get him on the ball in front of the defence.

 

[davros]

I'm with Kendall, have been saying for years a LW is not a priority

if we get a new Giggs or Ginola sure
but what are the chances of that

I like O'Hara on the left we also have modric and Lennon who can do a job there, also Bale

Bostock next season too I hope

one priority for me will be a big striker, which will probably signal the end of Bent's career with us sadly, but it just don't look like it's gonna work with him

of course if bent can strike up understandings with Pav and Keane then skip the big striker - but I don't think it will happen

hope I'm wrong of course - we could do with saving the money

then another LB - preferably one that could play at CB too

if we can't get such a versatile player then another CB too, assuming King can no longer be relied on, which I think we have to assume

I'm absolutely with you here - it looks like we may need a striker in the Summer, although I believe we have decent options up front it's just a case of making effective partnerships.

We have a good winger in Lennon, and he can play right or left. There are others who can play either side, bringing different qualities. Obviously a Giggs or Ginola would be great, but we have the makings of a very good midfield, and it looks like Palacios could make a sloid base to build from that would also allow Modric to be deployed in quite a free role. It's actually quite amazing the effect that one 'big' player can have on the team. Especially if they allow others to really play to their strengths.
Defensively we are OK, but could do with a quality CB/LB. I can't think who, but perhaps we have an emerging youngster?

I really don't want us to go out and buy another load of players if we don't have to. Most of all I really want to see the top players stick around.

 

[dontcallme]

I thought we'd need a major change in playing personnel in the summer but Harry bought so well in January that most of our problems areas have been taken care of.

I think we should buy a target man as a different option to what we have up front but that's about it.

 

[YidGraham]

I liked the team but would of tweaked it slightly.

I'd prefer Modric in CM and JJ on the left. Particularly in a game like yesterday when they didn't have great attacking options in midfield. JJ can still be his busy energetic self on the left whilst modric's drifting against other teams could leave BAE exposed.

Also would of liked to have seen Chimbo at RB and Corluka at CB instead of Dawson especially when they went down to 10. That would of given us better use of the ball at the back where we had lots of time in the second half. Dawson has been much improved lately and against physical sides he'd be a nailed on starter for me but yesterday thought we could of done with a player who could use the ball better at CB where we had a lot of the ball.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

nicdic was wrong about Modric starting from the left :lol:

If nicdic said Modric shouldn't start from the left then he definately wasn't wrong.

Modric played well from the left yesterday, but it limited him so much. If he had played that well from the centre he would have been able to bring more players into the game, instead he could only play to BAE, and knock it to the middle. Especially when we had an extra man in the centre but were struggling to unlock Arsenal's defence I don't understand how we didn't use his creative influence from the centre.

Let's face it Taarabt was on the field for about 10 minutes and his extra creativity from the centre managed to unlock the Arsenal defence. Modric would have had two options to the right (and Lennon was all over Clichy), options to the left and would have had more chance picking out Keane and Pavlyuchenko's runs.

He can definately play on the left, he did his job excellently, just why limit our most creative player. Palacios is more than good enough to play in a central midfield with Modric, and infact can probably get the ball into Modric more effectively than we have been able to do in the past.

I think it was a missed opportunity. I wouldn't mind seeing the same team again, I think Pavlyuchenko and Keane can form a good partnership with intelligent movement, but I would definately switch Modric and Jenas.

 

[van_Pommel]

I've been hoping Harry would try Luka on the left and I thought he did really well there. We dont have a natural there but Luka is more than capable of playing a Pires type role there. We looked really well balanced yesterday and we actually looked like a team for the first time since Jol left.

I would say in the summer we'll need an upgrade on JJ to partner Palacios, and a big striker to challenge Pav. Anyone been watching La Liga? Fernando Llorente's looking good, 6'5 and good with the ball at his feet.

 

[mil1lion]

It worked well against a team without a right midfielder. It will be different against teams with a right midfielder though. I thought he did well, but i agree with those that say he would be better in the middle. I really think he can play a similar role to the one he plays for Croatia. Instead of their skipper Kovac (i think) it would be Palacios alongside him. There will be times when we need someone more defensive in the middle, but more times than not, we should be able to play Modric and Palacios in the middle. But we know Modric can be used on the left if we want a more defensive centre midfield.