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rem01

Member
May 17, 2006
162
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To "Voice" criticism of Levy or Comoli would be fucking harsh in my opinion. One has turned this club almost 360%.

Incidentally, turning the club around 360 degrees would put us back on the same course we were when he started. I think you meant 180 degrees.
:hello:
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
The whole Kanoute argument is ridiculous. He scored just 7 goals in both his 2 season with us. Jol replaced him with a player who scored 11 and made the most assists of our whole squad. I don't see how you can have a problem with that or how you can accuse anyone of being mad for supporting a decision that paid dividends. Different coach's like and work better with different players. Jol preffered Mido for his system and was very much proved right. Jol chose Brown ahead of Mendes because he wanted grit in the team. Mendes really doesn't offer that to the extent Brown does (the third highest tackler in the Prem last season). It isn't just about possession. Brown will close down and ahrry far more than either Carrick or Mendes. Jol makes decisions were based on how he wants to play. It isn't a case of always choosing the better footballer, but the player with the right attributes for the role. Again, results suggest Jol very much got it right. It's not as if he never played Mendes.

As far as kanoute/Mido thing goes I'm not going to argue any more. For anyone to suggest that they would chose Mido over Kanoute shows an very embarrasing perception of football.

And Brown wasn't chosen to play the holding "gritty" role he was picked to play further forward (Jol even quoting his goal tally at Sheffield Utd the season he scored 20 from midfield or something) with Carrick holding.

The obvious thing would have been to play Brown as the holder and Carrick slightly more offensive or even better mendes deep and carrick more offensive. As Ferguson tries to when Hargreaves (or even Scholes at times) is fit.
 

TaoistMonkey

Welcome! Everything is fine.
Staff
Oct 25, 2005
32,629
33,577
Incidentally, turning the club around 360 degrees would put us back on the same course we were when he started. I think you meant 180 degrees.
:hello:

:lol: :wink: good spot.
 

yanno

Well-Known Member
Aug 1, 2003
5,857
2,877
As far as kanoute/Mido thing goes I'm not going to argue any more. For anyone to suggest that they would chose Mido over Kanoute shows an very embarrasing perception of football.

I disagree.

Technically, Kanoute is a fantastic player. But Mido put himself about far more, and would score goals getting on the end of crosses in the six-yard box when we all know Fredi would have been loitering on the edge of the penalty area. Fredi was a much more frustrating player for Spurs than Mido, because we all knew how good he could be - but rarely was. Jol lost it with Kanoute over that entirely inexplicable handball in our penalty area in the cup quarter final, and the general state of Fredi's psyche.

Interstingly, Juande Ramos (not Sevilla DoF Monchi) personally chose Kanoute for Sevilla.
http://www.worldsoccer.com/interviews/sevilla_coach_juande_ramos_interview_107105.html

And Ramos did brilliantly with Kanoute. He played him in a deep-lying striker role where he could link with two direct wide players, and a pacy striker ahead of him (Fabiano). So, Fabiano would attack the six-yard box, and because the opposing defence was stretched, the fact that Fredi was only just arriving on the edge of the box would now provide his wingers with a second option. QED. Fredi tops the La Liga goalscoring charts. (I'm being a little flippant, but my point is that Ramos' Sevilla played to Fredi's strengths.)

So, for whatever reason, Jol was not able to either design a system that brought the best out of Kanoute, nor get inside his head to motivate him to be consistently outstanding - week in, week out. Our new coach, Ramos, succeeded on both counts with Kanoute. And maybe would have been able to play to Mido's strengths as well, if Mido had ended up at Sevilla.

Viva la revolucion! :wink:
 

joey55

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2005
9,675
3,090
As far as kanoute/Mido thing goes I'm not going to argue any more. For anyone to suggest that they would chose Mido over Kanoute shows an very embarrasing perception of football.

And Brown wasn't chosen to play the holding "gritty" role he was picked to play further forward (Jol even quoting his goal tally at Sheffield Utd the season he scored 20 from midfield or something) with Carrick holding.

The obvious thing would have been to play Brown as the holder and Carrick slightly more offensive or even better mendes deep and carrick more offensive. As Ferguson tries to when Hargreaves (or even Scholes at times) is fit.

Brown isn't a holding payer, and the holding role isn't a gritty position. Jol played Brown to get aroind the pitch, close opposition players down and make us hard to play against. The holding role is all about discipline and positional sense. Also Ferguson has only played Hargreaves and Carrick in a 2 man CM once and they lost.
 

jimbo

Cabbages
Dec 22, 2003
8,035
7,435
I had trouble sleeping last night, worrying about our league position. I don't think we will get relegated, but with the luck we're having and the results we're not getting I'm becoming increasingly worried. The sooner we can hit 40pts the better.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Yeah, back on topic, I genuinly am worried too. It wasn't as someone suggested, an attempt to paint a bleaker than realistic picture, I genuinly am concerned as we are showing the signs of good sides that go down occasionally. That is shambolic individual defending and abismal luck. I remember particularly the last West Ham side that went down with a plethura of good footballers playing good football and before that the last manCity side that was relegated. Both were way better than teams than ones which stayed up.
 

jimbo

Cabbages
Dec 22, 2003
8,035
7,435
Back in the bad old days when we flirted with relegation I wasn't entirely convinced it would have been a bad thing, the chance to start again and rebuild. Now I'm certain it would be an absolute disaster given the rapidly widening gap between the Premiership and Championship in terms of finances and quality.

It may even come about sometime in the future that relegation to the football league is ruled out and the Premiership becomes a separate, possibly two tier entity. Thus killing the 'beautiful game' stone dead.
 

worcestersauce

"I'm no optimist I'm just a prisoner of hope
Jan 23, 2006
26,891
45,040
Looking at Derby can you see any way they can improve enough to stay up? in all honestly I can't.
Wigan Birmingham and Sunderland really have nothing more than they have already shown, fulham every game is a struggle.
Tottenham - a 5% change of luck and we are safe, plus the return of a more solid defense plus ever increasing familiarity with Ramos methods and we have absolutely nothing to worry about.
I would put my money on Bolton if there has to be a surprise team relegated but I think they'll be ok too.

I thought we played well on Sunday some may disagree but whatever we think it's pretty certain that none of the teams I mentioned have played anywhere near as well as us and if you keep playing well you will start winning.

Worry ye not.
 
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