Portsmouth (away)

[London Blue]

I think the reason we played so poorly was because we played 442 not our usual 451. I can see why DM did it, Cahill was out injured and the pompy defence has been gash so maybe wanted to play 2 upfront to put pressure on them.

 

Trouble is though that we always play better when we are 451 - the players seem to be more comftable with it. I would have played 451 with pienaar, nev, rodwell, fellaini, osman and jo upfront with saha to come on. I hope we play 451 against wigan or we could suffer.

 

Also how the hell did pompys second get past the man on the post, jacobson wasnt in position, if he had been then we wouldnt of conceeded a second. Although we were shit today and didnt realy deserve a draw.

[Guest efctaxi]

Isn't there a break next week ?

[dark]

Isn't there a break next week ?

 

England are against Slovakia on the Saturday we would have been playing Wigan Athletic. Yes there is a break and we have a thread just for that game in the football section

 

I think the reason we played so poorly was because we played 442 not our usual 451. I can see why DM did it, Cahill was out injured and the pompy defence has been gash so maybe wanted to play 2 upfront to put pressure on them.

 

Trouble is though that we always play better when we are 451 - the players seem to be more comftable with it. I would have played 451 with pienaar, nev, rodwell, fellaini, osman and jo upfront with saha to come on. I hope we play 451 against wigan or we could suffer.

 

Also how the hell did pompys second get past the man on the post, jacobson wasnt in position, if he had been then we wouldnt of conceeded a second. Although we were shit today and didnt realy deserve a draw.

 

Well said mate, I think everyone on the forum's in agreement with you.

Edited March 22, 2009 by dark

[Jimmy the blue]

IMO that was our worst performance of the season as we not only lost be squandered a lead. Both goals came because we ignored Crouch. It was obvious as to why Jacobson had not been picked before, i though he was gash, he certainly didn't defend his post when Crouch scored, that said so many others played badly it is unfair to single one guy out for criticism.

 

Pienaar does the same old thing week in and week out, he huffs and puffs, throws his little arse all round the place and achieves nothing. Jo to me is becoming an abbreviation for Joke, for a guy of his size he gets pushed off the ball by midgets and seem to have the jumping ability of a one legged donkey. Fellaini, same old same old.....................I'm just not impressed especially as he was left standing by Crouch. Leon Osman, did he play yesterday, he is fast becoming the invisible man?

 

If Villa win or draw today we can forget any position higher than sixth and we'd better keep an eye on those behind us as that gap is likely to shrink even more if we turn in any more performances as lackluster as yesterdays.

[London Blue]

Although we played very poorly, we know the reasons why, and so does DM (please god!).

 

We have a couple of weeks off now with internationals which mean hibbo will be back and the back four will be the same that has served us so well. The time off will give the players a chance to recharge their batteries.

 

Lets not forget we have been on a great run ever since the villa game, even then we played well but lost. There was always going to be a game when we just didnt play well and get nothing from it and Pompy was it. DM will have them fresh for Wigan with some people back. Lets not get all doom and gloom.

 

Wigan is a key game for us, we must get 3 points and I'm sure we will, with vaughn back, hibbo back, cahill back and the squad rested we should do them, if we play 451. There is nothing like the Glawdis raw, it lifts the team and puts the fear of god into the opposition so lets put this behined us, trust DM and Steve Round to get the players heads back up and concentrating, and cheer them on against Wigan.

 

We still have a great chance for 5th, which means more money and better seeding in Europe, and a FA cup Semi to look forward to, and we could be playing UTD at the right time. Head up lads its not over yet!

[Blue 250]

^^^ Well done London Blue! ^^^

 

That was a fantastic run we've just been on, after a very poor start.Even managing in the last couple of weeks to drag the run on when playing badly!

 

What team wouldn't miss Arteta, Cahill, Hibbert, Vaughan, Yakubu, Yobo, even Anichebe on his day is probably more of threat than Jo(if you listen to people on here)

So we got found out yesterday by a team wanting it more than us, with a pretty decent striker in Crouch!I'm sure Jacobson if he was at fault for the goal, will expect a few more games before he's up to speed.

 

No knee jerk reaction from you London Blue!.......we lost a game (at last), the run was great let's move on and start a new one against Wigan with a couple of players back!

 

As you say with a tad of luck 5th or 6th place and a an FA cup semi-final.

[dark]

IMO that was our worst performance of the season as we not only lost be squandered a lead. Both goals came because we ignored Crouch. It was obvious as to why Jacobson had not been picked before, i though he was gash, he certainly didn't defend his post when Crouch scored, that said so many others played badly it is unfair to single one guy out for criticism.

 

I agree with that point Jimmy. It's all the more annoying that we squandered the lead. We should have been miles away by the time the referee blew his whistle. The fact is that we were not up to it, our performance has dipped and now we are getting the consequence. Jacobsen can't be singled our for the loss but it was his fault for the first goal, I don't want to get on his back too much, I think he knows what he did and will learn from it.

 

Pienaar does the same old thing week in and week out, he huffs and puffs, throws his little arse all round the place and achieves nothing. Jo to me is becoming an abbreviation for Joke, for a guy of his size he gets pushed off the ball by midgets and seem to have the jumping ability of a one legged donkey. Fellaini, same old same old.....................I'm just not impressed especially as he was left standing by Crouch. Leon Osman, did he play yesterday, he is fast becoming the invisible man?

 

I praise Pienaar for his work rate but we need to find an end product soon. Does anyone know the last time he scored?

Jo started well but has now dipped with the team. If the team plays well then so does he. It's a shame because he's got so much talent he just dosen't use it.

Osman is one of the people that I like in the team but I can't hide the fact that this season has been a poor one from him. He's invisible.

Fellaini, hot and cold.

 

Woulden't mind Crouch at Goodison now.

[London Blue]

Thanks for the kind words lads .

 

Just a word on pienaar, I think the lack of end product is because he is still getting used to having a combination of Jo, Saha, Fellani and Cahill up front. Strikers like balls deliverd to them in different ways, and with the strikers changing practicaly every week its difficult for him and the team as a whole to set into a rythm. Once we have a set striker (assuming we play 451) the team will get used to feeding them.

 

The great thing about Pienaar is that he works so well with Baines who is one of the best crossers Ive seen at GP for a long while. Pienaar puts in a shift and helps out getting back. Baines and Pienaar never give the opposition a rest, next season if we can get hibbo overlaping and a right winger I can see us realy causing other teams problems.

 

Osman is a enigma, great feet, good vision and can score goals and deliver good crosses, just like he did for the goal against stoke. He just cant seem to stick it all together over a run of games. He is small, if I were DM i'd lock him the the gym over summer and not let him out until he can bench press Fellani Maybe if he had more upper body strength he wouldnt be bossed so much. I think Osman is a good squad player and may make more of an impact from the bench or comming in for a couple of games then going back to the bench rather than starting every game when he seems to get burnt out after 5 or so games.

 

Ive spoken alot about Fellani already and I stand by my judgement that next season will see the best of him. In the game yesterday he was caught between a rock and a hard place, his game is about getting forward, but with Saha and Jo playing we ended up playing a 433 at times. He is not a defensive mid by any stretch (anyone whos seen him tackle knows that!) and he ended getting caught in no-mans-land, not able to play his normal atacking game as he didnt want to leave the midfield short, but not able to cope when trying to work with Pip bossing the middle. Pompy did to us what we do to other teams ie boss the midfield with numbers. Lesson learnt for next time if you play Fellani you need 2 people behined to work the midfield.

 

Dont want to start talking about next season just yet as have still got to finish the job on this one, but with a couple of additions we realy could have a go at fourth.

[shetland]

Although we played very poorly, we know the reasons why, and so does DM (please god!).

 

We have a couple of weeks off now with internationals which mean hibbo will be back and the back four will be the same that has served us so well. The time off will give the players a chance to recharge their batteries.

 

Lets not forget we have been on a great run ever since the villa game, even then we played well but lost. There was always going to be a game when we just didnt play well and get nothing from it and Pompy was it. DM will have them fresh for Wigan with some people back. Lets not get all doom and gloom.

 

Wigan is a key game for us, we must get 3 points and I'm sure we will, with vaughn back, hibbo back, cahill back and the squad rested we should do them, if we play 451. There is nothing like the Glawdis raw, it lifts the team and puts the fear of god into the opposition so lets put this behined us, trust DM and Steve Round to get the players heads back up and concentrating, and cheer them on against Wigan.

 

We still have a great chance for 5th, which means more money and better seeding in Europe, and a FA cup Semi to look forward to, and we could be playing UTD at the right time. Head up lads its not over yet!

 

Great post Londonblue we had to have an off day sooner or later. A bit of a break now to recharge and kick on and finish the season strong and maybe get 5th spot and a cup final! COYB!!!