Team vs West Ham - Sat 25th Sept

[degoose]

sorry kendall , i disagree.

bale's long term future , as said by harry, is at leftback, so benny is adequate cover for him, surely we are not going to start collecting left backs .would a good one come and be 3rd choice? if we believe harry, he said recently that bale will be a top leftback very soon.so by that, bale will be used there more often.

as the season progresses, bale will play as a left back with luka infront of him, benny will have to be patient...
buying another leftback, IMO, is not really that important,we are best served spending our money on replacing pav or keane.

with the new stadium to be built, harry will be told to use his squad to good effect, money won't be thrown at harry , he will need to be cute in the market, levy will say it won't affect our team budget, but i can't see how it won't.

our foward line should be our main priority, we need new faces up top.

that thing about bale at left back was a while ago now and the more bale plays on the wingand provides more than at left back i think he will end up being a left winger mroe and more and a left back if required.

 

[EastLondonYid]

that thing about bale at left back was a while ago now and the more bale plays on the wingand provides more than at left back i think he will end up being a left winger mroe and more and a left back if required.

no mate, it was a few weeks ago, harry refered to bale's pre-season performance in Benfica..

Harry said it was as good a left-back performance he had seen for ages,and that bale would be a world class Leftback, he also said he saw it as where he will end up, that probably depends on luka being fit,

we will see...but i can see the bale/ luka partnership being our first choice selection.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

Well I guess the Ekotto injury/ tiredness will probably decide things anyway, and we'll probably see Bale at LB, Modric LM and Lennon RW. We can only pray that he has managed to sort his head out in the last 3 days and plays like Aaron Lennon again instead of this imposter we've been subjected to.

I really hope Charlie being fit doesn't mean Charlie plays, because Hutton deserves a go after the other day, and after Charlies awful start to the season, he deserves to be dropped, class player though he is normally.

 

[theShiznit]

What is 'arry on?

Luka is fit to play and could play, so do I take a chance tomorrow (at West Ham) or save him for Wednesday?" said Harry.

You play him, then if he's fit you play him again on Wednesday (assuming our players can play twice in a week nowadays?)

Here's a tip, play your best team for this game, then your best available team for the next game, Rinse & Repeat...

or maybe it'll get to Wednesday and 'arry will say, "well we've got a big game against Villa at the weekend", then it will get to that game and "well he's got internationals coming up and i don't want him to be too tired." then when he gets back it'll be "well i'll rest 'im till the Inter game now", then when it get's to the Inter game, on the OS 'arry will say "well Luka is fit but he's lacking match sharpness so he'll miss out, Then we'll sell him for 18 Nicker to S****horpe. :roll:

 

[Peters]

If Corluka starts then keep Lennon in, but we would get ball-bagged away from home with Lenny, Hutty and Baley playing at LB.

You should have mentioned this earlier ...it would have given Hutty and Baley an incentive to brush up on their defensive play

 

[Mr Pink]

sorry kendall , i disagree.

bale's long term future , as said by harry, is at leftback, so benny is adequate cover for him, surely we are not going to start collecting left backs .would a good one come and be 3rd choice? if we believe harry, he said recently that bale will be a top leftback very soon.so by that, bale will be used there more often.

as the season progresses, bale will play as a left back with luka infront of him, benny will have to be patient...
buying another leftback, IMO, is not really that important,we are best served spending our money on replacing pav or keane.

with the new stadium to be built, harry will be told to use his squad to good effect, money won't be thrown at harry , he will need to be cute in the market, levy will say it won't affect our team budget, but i can't see how it won't.

our foward line should be our main priority, we need new faces up top.

I agree with some of this but I wouldn't see Bale playing LB more than LW this season. Sure he will be required to do both depending on injuries/form of other players etc...but at present there is no doubt he does more damage on the wing and combines brillantly with Ekotto behind him - he's also on a steep learning curve regarding defensive work, gradually with experience he will get better in that respect.

Modric is also more likely to feature more in a central position alongside Huddlestone - unless Jenas finally becomes consistent. I think a lot hinges on Jenas proving himself in terms of the implications for others in varying positions. Either way though we have good options.

Even Harry wont know exactly how that pans out this season. Yes Jenas has done well so far but he has a lot to prove considering he's been here 5 years. Good squad player for us but if he can keep up those level of performances he will deserve to be a first team regular, which would throw up quite a few headaches for Harry. But its about balance and the greater good of the team.

Ideally for me - its Ekotto at LB, Bale on the wing and Modric alongside Huddlestone. But Jenas (on form and consistent) alongside Hudd with Modric ahead of Bale (still very formidable left hand side) is tasty nevertheless.

Of course dependant on the opposition this can be manipulated to whatever way Harry sees fit - as a starting line up or a tactical move from the bench.

 

[ravo]

Gomes
Corluka - Kaboul - Gallas - BAE
Lennon - Modric - Huddlestone - Bale
VDV
Crouch

​

Apparently King is not going to play, so I moved Kaboul in and brought back Corluka (was seriously considering Hutton though, but concerned about him and Lennon).

Re BAE, if he isn't fit, then Bassong comes in for BAE.

I also have a feeling that Harry might use the same system as last week, ie VdV on the right, drifting in and Keane/Pav up front. If this is the case, then Hutton comes in for Corluka. I actually don't mind this formation, as it is very similar to when we had Modric on the left and a winger (Lennon on the right).

COYS
​

 

[stevenqoz]

Referring to the pecking order thread from yesterday the side should be
..........Gomes
Kaboul Gallas King BAE
Lennon Huddlestone Bale
......Modric...VDV
..........Crouch

 

[EastLondonYid]

gomes out tomorrow....

 

[phil]

Referring to the pecking order thread from yesterday the side should be
..........Gomes
Kaboul Gallas King BAE
Lennon Huddlestone Bale
......Modric...VDV
..........Crouch

Fine apart from Gomes being out and doubts over BAE and King. I'd go for:

Cudicini

Hutton Gallas Kaboul Bale

Lennon Jenas Huddlestone Modric

VDV

Crouch​

and just pray that Hutton repays our faith in him.​

 

[chrissivad]

No update on Kaboul?

Out with a hamstring injury

Harry- SSN

 

[Kendall]

sorry kendall , i disagree.

bale's long term future , as said by harry, is at leftback, so benny is adequate cover for him, surely we are not going to start collecting left backs .would a good one come and be 3rd choice? if we believe harry, he said recently that bale will be a top leftback very soon.so by that, bale will be used there more often.

as the season progresses, bale will play as a left back with luka infront of him, benny will have to be patient...
buying another leftback, IMO, is not really that important,we are best served spending our money on replacing pav or keane.

with the new stadium to be built, harry will be told to use his squad to good effect, money won't be thrown at harry , he will need to be cute in the market, levy will say it won't affect our team budget, but i can't see how it won't.

our foward line should be our main priority, we need new faces up top.

I understand what you're saying but I don't think its wise to have your only back up for a player playing in every game anyway.

 

[Kendall]

I suppppoooooooose it's not out of the realms of possibility that we could start with:

Gomes

Hutton Gallas King Bale

van der Vaart Huddlestone Jenas Modric

Keane Crouch​

...............

Mowdrich and Vanders given free roles to drift in and mess with their minds, whilst Bale and Hutton bomb forward.

 

[Mr Pink]

Out with a hamstring injury

Harry- SSN

Cheers, pitty that. I dont believe for a second that King wont start then. He will recover for Wednesday.

King and Gallas V Pikeys
King and Bassong V Twenty
Gallas and Bassong V Villa

*unless Kaboul comes into the reckoning.

 

[Danny1]

I think we will play the following team after Harrys comments:

Cudicini

Corluka---Gallas---Bassong---Bale

Huddlestone---Jenas

Lennon---VDV---Modric

Crouch
​

COYS!​

 

[sloth]

Sorry for:sleepy: boring you sloth mate.

just can't understand your logic in wanting to rest benny, who we have top cover for(bale) whilst wanting to play hutton, who we have no real cover for(kyle)...last tuesday....Harry is paid to make the right desicions...and thankfully on this one...did.

i read you saying it clearly...if pointing it out bores you..:shrug:

More bored of myself mate, tbh, but no worries, it's all about opinions. I guess we just see things differently on this one :up:

 

[mil1lion]

So no Gomes or Kaboul and King is struggling a bit too. While Ekotto has a bit of a knock. I think i'd go with...

Cudicini
Hutton----Gallas----Bassong----Bale
Lennon----Huddlestone----Jenas----Modric
VDV
Crouch​

 

[sloth]

Bale isn't really 'cover' as he starts every game anyway.

This is a big reason as to why I think we need another left back if Harry is going to continue playing them both regularly.

sorry kendall , i disagree.

bale's long term future , as said by harry, is at leftback, so benny is adequate cover for him, surely we are not going to start collecting left backs .would a good one come and be 3rd choice? if we believe harry, he said recently that bale will be a top leftback very soon.so by that, bale will be used there more often.

as the season progresses, bale will play as a left back with luka infront of him, benny will have to be patient...

It seems to me that as long as we keep creating chances down the left while conceding relatively few Harry's preferred pairing will at least half the time be Bale and BAE. As Kendall says we need back up for BAE, although I wonder whether Bassong could do a job there?

 

[EastLondonYid]

It seems to me that as long as we keep creating chances down the left while conceding relatively few Harry's preferred pairing will at least half the time be Bale and BAE. As Kendall says we need back up for BAE, although I wonder whether Bassong could do a job there?

maybe?

why not, i think he could do a job defensively at LB....
he is quick, strong, good in the air and left footed.

only concern his ability to link up with whoever is in front of him, has he got what it takes to overlap and attack too?

unless tried, we will not know for sure...unlikely he can do both:shrug:

 

[ravo]

I suppppoooooooose it's not out of the realms of possibility that we could start with:

Gomes

Hutton Gallas King Bale

van der Vaart Huddlestone Jenas Modric

Keane Crouch​

...............

Mowdrich and Vanders given free roles to drift in and mess with their minds, whilst Bale and Hutton bomb forward.

That's almost a Chelsea-esque diamond:

Hudd
Jenas - Modric
VdV​

With the full backs bombing-on​