foobiezw

Would I want him: absolutely yes

Chances of him signing with us: absolutely none

Young player who just needs some love tough love. Sign him up.

There isn't enough no in the world to express my feelings towards this rumour.

Skybet has apparently suspended betting on Coleman leaving... don't follow betting here in the states but does that pretty much mean that he's gone? I also agree that his form has picked up the last couple of games and if anything (I may get some backlash for this) we're selling the wrong fullback. Baines is 30 already and we have two potential LB's to come in for him (Oviedo and Garbutt). With Coleman, we'd have to play Hibbert who would need replacing and we have nobody else.

 

That is of course we don't go with 3 in the back (which I don't want to see based on how poor our defense has been)

Fair point, but I don't think many teams would drop the same sort of money for Baines, he is getting on in years.

Daft money being quoted for Coleman here, I'd say jump on it.

That said, who we replace him with would be a conundrum. Anyone know how Browning is getting on?

No for me, especially at the crazy prices being quoted.

Can't believe its happened again

Barry cost us the game as far as I'm concerned today.

Good steadying influence in the midfield yes, but his lack of pace when out of position was really exploited.

The second yellow and goal from the resulting freekick could've been avoided

Id like to see a start given to Atsu, Etoo and Besic, and maybe Browning.

 

Undecided on Barkley, maybe the best decision is to not rush him, but as someone mentioned maybe it will help to build match fitness. He looked alright in the first half against villa.

Agree.

Honestly I'd prefer Martinez to rest more of the squad for the league matches, plus I reckon half of our bench should be able to hold their own in the EL.

Baines. Never thought I'd see a cross of that quality coming from his right foot.

Next, he'll be swinging them into the box with his head

I'm wondering why Martinez doesn't start him ahead of Hibbert.

Sure he doesn't have the experience, but even a mannequin could brush past Hibbert at the moment.

Agree with above.

I'm sure Kone could do the job, just hope those pesky injuries subside.

Besides, someone needs to keep Lukaku on his toes.

Yes pleased.

Ran the show for Villa against City before the former's collapse in the last 10 minutes.

Has the running and creativity we're missing the middle of the park at the moment.

His range of passing ain't nothing to sniff at either.

I'd be very surprised to find out Distin has been acting up in the dressing room.

One of the most consummate professionals over his entire career. Always seemed the type to put his head down and get on with it.

That said, never know what goes on behind closed doors...

Howard alone made the scoreline far more respectable than it should've been. Great to see he's still got the full 90 mins of concentration after having practically nothing to do in the first half.

Agree with above. Baines probably just pips it. Credit to Howard though, could've been a lot worse without him tonight.

All I can say is PLEASE, PLEASE YES!!!

Been a massive fan of Milner since his Newcastle days. Doesn't have the legs (well he was never THAT pacey) he had back then, but his work rate and professionalism is second to none.

His versatility could also be a massive boon, especially if we start to get consistent European football.

Good to see he's back, Bainsey (bless him) needs someone nipping at his heels to keep him at his best.

 

Indeed. I like Naismith a lot but I'm not going to overreact to this small sample size. I don't think it's realistic to expect him to keep this form. I think his role is still ultimately as a super sub. He's someone you can bring on when you need a goal in the second half or after Barkley or Lukaku has tired themselves and you need a workhorse with fresh legs to pressure and do the dirty work.

Can't agree with that part more. What I love about him is his willingness to keep running and closing down, sniffing out half chances the whole game. Reminds me of the our old mate Timmy Cahill in that regard.

Konoplyanka is available (the chap that Liverpool wanted to sign on January but couldn't get the deal done on time I think). He's good, but he would be expensive and not the type of player Martinez would buy.

 

Cheeky bid for Ben Arfa, perhaps? This club has a thing about getting players to perform, and a good Ben Arfa is a superb player, even though he would need a couple of months to get back to fitness and some love from the coaching staff.

 

To be honest AMC is not an easy position to fill in Everton, so let's see what happens. A guy like Kagawa can be useful, but he has been a flop so far for United and I would say Everton is now above their level of play.

 

Interesting days ahead, maybe a change of formation (4-4-2 two strikers) or Mirallas in the middle can do the trick for a couple of months, the injury for Barkley is a dissapointment though.

Level of play aside, I daresay Kagawa would still be better than any other AMC we have in the squad, including Barkley.

Sure Barkley is a threat with his direct running, but his decision making still leave much to be desired at times.

just watched the 5 min highlight again. our defenders were just standing and watching on their heels when both cross kicks came in. they were either *tired* or were just *poor*. hope it's the former.

Agree with this. Too many times I've noticed our CBs either waiting on their heels or falling back deeper and deeper whenever the ball heads toward our back third.

Fitness aside, anyone else noticed that Jags and Distin seem almost afraid take charge of a defensive situation lately? The unchallenged balls into our box the last few weeks have made me lay many bricks in my trousers...

Something I've noticed during the pre-season and obviously the last 2 games is the alarming amount of goals we're now shipping.

While last seasons the defense wasn't exactly watertight, it did seem a helluva lot more reliable than our backline at the moment.

Can't seem to put my finger on what's exactly has gone wrong though. Anyone have any thoughts? Change in style/tactics, Distin/Jagielka/Stones losing it? Fatigue by the end of the match???

Interesting but I can't see him coming over on the cheap. Would provide more competition for Barkley, Ossie in the centre of attack.

No, just no.

Ooooo completely forgot about the accounts on the club website.

Looking for something with a bit more discussion though. These statements are always padded with lots of fluff and not enough proper info IMO.

Anyone have any links regarding the finances of the club?

I used to be quite an avid reader http://swissramble.blogspot.co.uk/ but the blogger seems to have gone walkabout for a long time now.