Todays Press Conference

[kdspur]

Harry was (rightly) criticised for not utilising the squad, which for two seasons in a row saw a dramatic drop off in performance.

AVB is likely to want to use his squad. It makes sense to try and keep this squad happy, hence his reluctance to put players straight into the starting line-up. Lennon will start ahead of Dempsey, and whilst I'd prefer Dempsey to start as I suspect he'd contribute more, I also recognise that it is likely to benefit us further down the line when both Lennon and Dempsey are motivated to perform well, and knowing that nobody is guaranteed a starting place.

To be honest I'm struggling to get used to the squad rotation approach after a few years of Harry picking the strongest team available week in, week out. However if it leads to more consistent performances over the whole season (rather than just part of it) then I'm all for it.

Just a shame we sold all our squad depth.

im all for using certian players at different times and rotating to keep things fresh. every manager wants to do that or shoudl do that.. the fact of the matter is harry was right not to rotate and trust in the first 11 he had because in all honesty we had no one in middle of field to replace parker or modric as sandro was injured . it was same with bale as krnajcar was just poor when we needed more .. same no replacemnt for lennon.. we have not had competition up front i think since 1980's between strikers which is joke.

but now since avb came in he is the exact opposite and bares all the hallmarks of a man who hasnt a fuckin clue what he is doing... fulham destroyed norwich on first day by 5 goals when dembele ran show so what does he do when we play them 2 weeks later.. bench dembele for debut and play a defensive player in his place. all i will say imvho is that his decision making on every single aspect from starting team to subs to everything has been baffling. he calls it himself as bad luck i call it exact opposite.

when you are swapping team around at start of season and choppinga nd changing i think red flags should be raised all over place.. plenty of games into the season where he can bring one or two players in to stake a serious claim. too much too soon again is what he is trying to do.

 

[tobi]

What's wrong with a new signing starting from the bench?

 

[Snarfalicious]

I hope the extra day can allow Sandro to get his legs back after traveling. I really do not want to watch Livermore again. He's so sloppy, he never really seems like he's in control while on the ball, and just watching him makes me nervous. I think he should be a guy that would come on late in a game (only until Parker is back) to help give an extra defensive midfielder to the squad (putting him next to Sandro, dropping Sig/Dempsey if they are playing behind the striker) and move Dembele up in the formation. Just how I see it.

I think Livermore is pretty brutal to be quite honest. And, I believe a jet-lagged Sandro offers more than Livermore. Livermore frustrates the shit out of me. I wish we could have loaned him out so he could learn how to not play like he just did a line of coke before hitting the pitch.

 

[eddiebailey]

Dempsey is more of a potential loss than Sandro; I rate Sandro, but Dempsey gives us so many more attacking options. Without him we cannot play Defoe as a central striker, because Lennon and Bale just do not get close enough; so let's hope Ade is now match fit. Having said that though do you really need flying wingers and a centre-forward whose strength is hold-up play when you a playing a high defensive line, and is Ade going to work as well without Van der Vaart following through?

 

[StartingPrice]

I hope the extra day can allow Sandro to get his legs back after traveling. I really do not want to watch Livermore again. He's so sloppy, he never really seems like he's in control while on the ball, and just watching him makes me nervous. I think he should be a guy that would come on late in a game (only until Parker is back) to help give an extra defensive midfielder to the squad (putting him next to Sandro, dropping Sig/Dempsey if they are playing behind the striker) and move Dembele up in the formation. Just how I see it.

I think Livermore is pretty brutal to be quite honest. And, I believe a jet-lagged Sandro offers more than Livermore. Livermore frustrates the shit out of me. I wish we could have loaned him out so he could learn how to not play like he just did a line of coke before hitting the pitch.

And yet, in the last two games, I have watched Sandro giving the ball away sloppily again and again. Result = I come on here and everyone is going on about Livermore not doing what Modric would have done, presumably because if the boss plays him and Sandro together, Sandro must be fulfilling the defensive role, and so Livermore must be fulfilling the creative role.

Honestly, I watched Livermore putting in some pretty decent performances last season and came on here and still read post after post whingeing against him. He was dreadful against Norwich, but, there again, he was hardly fecking alone in being dreadful against Norwich, was he? (rhetorical question, please don't answer). I've personally seen, last season, him spreading the play dynamically and accurately and playing some pretty deft through-balls, and then read comments on here about how he just passes short and backwards (like, either is a crime in the right context).

He may never amount to more than a squad player, but let's not forget that is exactly what he is to us ATM. And he may be shipped out if either he doesn't improve and/or we get a player better than him to be a squad player. But, FFS, I honestly believe there are folk on here being way over-critical, critical in the wrong areas, and just not prepared to give this young lad, at the start of his proferssional career, a chance. And, please, don't give me any stinky BS about it not having an effect - I remember the Pineapple Head effect, and have watched the boo Jenas as soon as he steps onto the pitch effect. Give the boy a break, he came through our youth system, and it will be a massive bonus if he can succeed, even to a reasonably level.

 

[lillywhites61]

I think the Dempsey and Lennon decision is tough. Dempsey for me would be first choice at the moment. Maybe Lennon will get a bit of a rocket if he sees someone else try to stake a claim. He is also more of a threat going forward and more likely to score from all different areas.