Bailey

I wouldnt go that far with him. I only watched the first half and whilst the ball for the first goal was real quality, he didnt really have to do too much for the run and pass for the 2nd given the abject defending from QPR. He gave the ball away quite a lot (albeit he also did well to win it back) and he misplaced a few passes he should have done better with in promising positions. Im not saying he had a bad game, he did play well but I wouldnt personally use that as evidence of him potentially being the best player in the league. I think he almost stands out at Utd as being a player who will be positive and take the game to the opposition. With RVP, Rooney, Mata etc you have players who like to go backwards and sideways whereas Di Maria will be more direct. I also thought Blind did well albeit he wasnt under much pressure. I get the impression him and Herrera might be a lightly lightweight for the league as they were knocked off the ball a few times which may be more of an issue when they come up against Chelsea and City.

Like I said in the other thread, I think we are more likely to see a 4-3 than a 1-0 looking at the record of both teams!

If I'm honest Brett if the players go out there and give it there all and can only finish 17th then so be it and I wouldnt give them a hard time for it. We have a good squad, good depth and we can match any team on our day. We should have beaten Arsenal at a canter and the Chelsea game could have been a far different story. Its a good point about other competitions but we have shown in the past that it isn't a hindrance. We rotated last season and we will do again this season. I think the main issue we will have to overcome is injuries. If more of our key players get knocks or season ending injuries then we will struggle to overcome that but there is a lot of potential within the squad.

Agree about the atmosphere Ten. High sided/layered stadiums are always more intimidating and the fans also feel closer to the action. I'm all for the Dortmund model too. Would love to go there and the people I know who have been have said that it absolute rocks. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x47b919d39230d60f:0x8fd9c195ad02eddf!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttps://plus.google.com/100363176071092177985/photos?hl%3Den%26socfid%3Dweb:lu:kp:placepageimage%26socpid%3D1!5sdortmund+stadion+-+Google+Search&sa=X&ei=lyIXVJjmMYHC7AaZnYDoBA&ved=0CJkBEKIqMA4 https://www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x47b919d39230d60f:0x8fd9c195ad02eddf!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttps://plus.google.com/100363176071092177985/photos?hl%3Den%26socfid%3Dweb:lu:kp:placepageimage%26socpid%3D1!5sdortmund+stadion+-+Google+Search&sa=X&ei=lyIXVJjmMYHC7AaZnYDoBA&ved=0CJkBEKIqMA4 https://www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x47b919d39230d60f:0x8fd9c195ad02eddf!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttps://plus.google.com/100363176071092177985/photos?hl%3Den%26socfid%3Dweb:lu:kp:placepageimage%26socpid%3D1!5sdortmund+stadion+-+Google+Search&sa=X&ei=lyIXVJjmMYHC7AaZnYDoBA&ved=0CJkBEKIqMA4 Has anyone on here been?

From what I have read about Wolfsburg they are a gung ho type team who score lots and concede plenty too. I think we might be in for a cracking game!

The only two teams that are streets ahead of us (and the rest of the league) are City and Chelsea. Those behind are similar. We all have strengths and we all have weaknesses and I think the teams that take the most points in those matches (us, Utd, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal) will probably finish in 3rd and 4th. Its difficult to say exactly how our season is going to pan out this season just yet given how erratic our form has been (even within the same game), but I would be disappointed if we werent at least in the hunt for the CL places with half a dozen games to play.

They played a 5 at the back in that game and it was only McManaman that had the freedom to track back. Even Kone had to cover wide defensively and Maloney played more centrally. http://www.zonalmarking.net/2013/05/13/wigan-1-0-manchester-city-wigan-stifle-city-and-attack-with-tremendous-width/

I never knew that! Yeh I agree, it is ridiculous. Politicians are such slimey bastards. Stick to your principals and stand by them, don't start buckling once the pressure gets turned up. I would find it quite amusing if they voted yes because the fall out is going to be funny. Alex Sammond is an idiot and the thought of him being the main man in charge of organising the split is hilarious.

I agree. At the right price he would be a very good signing but only at the right price. I dont like him as winger at all because he just gets his head down and whips a ball in. He is actually a decent crosser but he doesn't think about the ball he is going to play in. As a central midfielder on the other hand I think he is a much better player but he can get caught out defensively.

Kone 80 mins and Oviedo 90 mins. Lost 2-0 but sounds like they played decently.

I thought the same about them both tbh. Yes you go get used to it but IMO its very commercialised and pretty much any idiot with a glorified clip art could have come up with. Maybe its just me but I would like to think that the designers we pay for these types of things could actually come up with some original ideas rather than copy other what other clubs have already done but just adding the aspects you have mentioned above.

Everton 2 - 0 Palace Mirallas

I havent seen the game but from what I have seen of Martinez with Wigan and with us, its that he does like to leave a winger forward in certain games in order to expose them directly against the opposition full back. McCarthy should then be covering the right hand channel with the wide left player tucking in and the striker helping out every now and then. It was most noticeable against Arsenal when we use Lukaku as the wide player we have done it with Mirallas and especially Deaulofeu quite a bit.

The referees dont have the balls to book players as it is let alone 'sin-binning' them.

I find those blogs of his really awkward to read.

Terrible!

Its high for starters (albeit not with his studs) before sliding down but if the other lads leg was planted then with his momentum and the angle he could easily have snapped it in half. Luckily the guy had just taken the majority of his weight off it. Put it this way, I have seen plenty of nasty injuries occurred that way when the leg has been planted and it was a very unnecessary challenge IMO especially given he didnt get near the ball.

At the time when he started coming on at RM we were crying out for pace and directness and it was more the fact that despite being the best player on the pitch for the cameos he was having (did we come back from 2-0 down to draw at Spurs mainly due to him?) and it still took him a long time to start him in that position. In fact looking at Wikipedia he had done that for us in 2009 when we were also in Europe and then went on loan to Blackpool the following year (March 2010). When he came back, he started for us as right midfield again the following season. Then it became fairly obvious that Coleman's future was only ever going to be at RB because opposition defenders knew what he was going to do and could mark him out of the game. He just puts his head down and runs and as an opposing FB thats fairly easy to defend, especially when no-one else is making runs in front of him (as they do know when he is at RB). Every man and his dog knew that Coleman was going to take time to develop as a FB because he has a mistake in him (and still does) but he needed to make those mistakes to become the player he is now. Its the same with Barkley and it will be the same with Stones. On the whole, you cant really say that Moyes didnt do a very good job with Coleman but you could rightfully argue in my opinion that he could have done better.

But the good news is Kone scored.... maybe

Looks a shocker to me!

Yeh he was more central against Arsenal in that deeper role but again we use him that way to exploit Arsenal's weaknesses with Lukaku who played higher up the pitch. The hattrick was in the cup wasnt it? Its also worth noting that most of the time Naismith played up front last season it was alongside Mirallas whilst Lukaku was injured. Either way, you have completely missed my point. Naismith is best exploiting the spaces vacated by others. If you want him to be your spear head he wont be as good. He will do a definitely do a job, but if you want the best out of Naismith he needs players to link up with and someone to draw the defenders off him.

For example, Naismith doesn't score against Chelsea without Lukaku's run creating the space for him to move into.

I don't think Naismith is enough of a focal point to play in the lone striker role. He will work hard and give his all but as he showed against Arsenal at times the ball just comes back to easily. He isn't going to beat anyone for pace or strength and he is better when someone else takes up that mantle so he can roam in the space around him.

I think he did well with Coleman on the whole. He needed first team football which he got at Blackpool but it took him an age to start breaking into the side at RM considering how well he was doing and how crap we were out wide. Then when he got 'sussed' it took him a long time to move him into a defensive position. He was always going to make mistakes so the more he played in his proper position the quicker he could learn.

You are picking up on things that aren't even his fault (or at least the fault you are trying to call him for) such as the Leicester game and you also tried it when he played for Belgium in the WC. We know he has faults, but he also has a lot of positives that you fail to recognise. I have never known anyone slag off a player that has been so important to the team in the last 12 months.