Pardew's preparation has been key
The team found themselves two goals in front at half time with a very convincing display in the first half. However at times Wolves were knocking on the door and proving a hard team to deal with. In the second half Wolves were on top and we were lucky to have gained all three points but in the nature of football there are times when you need luck on your side.
At this stage, seven games into the Premier League table we are sitting nicely in fourth place with fifteen points. Now if you had said that we would have amassed that amount at this stage I probably would have turned round and said ‘Are you having a laugh’. The difference between our games this year and last year is that Alan Pardew seems to have his warriors prepared for games against teams that are in and around us.
This was certainly the case in both the Blackburn and Wolves games. Last year at Molineux we scored a late equaliser to rescue a point and in the Blackburn game at St James’ Park last year we lost 2-1. Now looking at both of these fixtures this year we have run out as winners, that is a huge difference to the way those matches went last season.
It is fair to say that we have had no really tough tests so far but our first game against Arsenal certainly showed that we were able to keep them at bay for long periods of time. Certainly many in the press wondered how we would fair this season after Kevin Nolan, Jose Enrique and Joey Barton departed the club but in fact we seem to be playing very effectively without them. I think we have surprised many so far and some of the pundits across the various media outlets have had to praise our efforts so far this season.
As a diehard Newcastle fan it seems surreal to see the press putting a positive spin on the way things are going for the club. I’m used to waking up and reading headlines that highlight the bad aspects of the Toon. It certainly makes a nice change.
I see no reason why we can’t continue this fine run of form as we have showed enough resilience and spirit in our games to keep the opposition at bay. The team certainly seem to be gelling very well now that they have had a run of matches when the team has stayed unchanged for a number of fixtures. Add to that we have Hatem Ben Arfa, Sylvain Marveaux and Davide Santon who can all come into the squad although it’s been hard to involve them with the current team doing so well.
Looking ahead to our next four Premier League fixtures we have Tottenham at home, Wigan at home, Stoke away and Everton at home. These fixtures could be potentially tough but the way that Alan Pardew has got the team playing has given me the confidence that he will prepare the players in the right way and the fact that they have the meanest defence in all four English divisions really highlights that this squad are certainly up for continuing this run.
Howay the lads!
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121 Comments
Good read Jobey
Hahaha very funny Moreno!!!
Not to be picky… but, what happened in the Wolves home game?
I agree with Moreno@1, good job lad
Quietly confident about our game with Spurs. If we get our tactics right we should be able to keep them from scoring. I just hope Demba is fit. If not, we need to go 4-5-1.
R.Taylor has made game changing clearances in ALL OF THE LAST THREE GAMES. I don’t see Santon getting a look-in until he has a shocker. He will be against Lennon and Walker next week so it could very well be then. I hope not, but if so, it will give Santon the perfect opportunity to hit the ground running as we have Wigan at home after Spurs.
Kid,
I cant see Lennon starting. He has been out of form for ages then injured for the last month. He was rubbish against Shamrock Rovers and got taken off. I’d say he is likely to be a late impact sub if anything…
Good article to follow Toonsy and Tom Zoe. I think everyone is surprised by the results so far. I had us pegged for 4 or 5 points from the first 6 games! Predictions are really little more than guessing for most of us. Our defense has been the key. Krul, Saylor and Colo have been brilliant so far, with Tiote and Cabaye doing a fantastic job in front of them. With this core we should do very well assuming no serious injuries. Ba is really coming good also. Hopefully Peter and Shola will remain on the bench except for cup games.
moreno
Thanks GeordieTwo. You know stevie taylor has made the most headed clearances in the premier league with that number being 50
Kid Raylor already had a shocker against QPR. Playing him against Spurs is a huge risk. I have seen Jonas playing behind Raylor on numerous occassions. He is often lost defensively. Sorry to disagree but Raylor just can’t be allowed to keep his place when Santon is ready to go if we want to stay in the top8 or 10.
That doesn’t surprise me at all Zoe. He is a perfect complement to Colo because he is excellent in the air, whereas Colo has fantastic anticipation and positioning and plays the game beautifully with his feet. One of the best partnerships in the Prem. Largely unrecognized by the southern media which shows how poor many of them are.
I really rate Saylor as a great player for us, totally agree that he complements Colo in all the right ways. think they will be a force to be reckoned with this year
Geordie – I dont see the point in signing an Italian International player if we are not going to play him when fit… I know Raylor has made the odd last ditch clearance, but hopefully a defender that can defend will nullify the risk of having to make those last ditch clearances!
Zoe – they are a very good partnership. Saylor seems to have really settled down since Colo took the mantle in terms of tactics in defense. Now all he has to do is put his body on the line and bully the opposition off the ball…
Absolutely Shamrock. We have Santon, so if he is fit get him in there. We should give many thanks to Raylor but he is a squad player only and often simply boots the ball out of bounds because he lacks any confidence defensively. I am shocked how little teams have put him under pressure other than QPR. Harry and Spurs will have a plan to attack Raylor if he is in there, you can bet on that.
Shamrock: Yeah totally agree, Saylor seems a lot happier this year than he did last year
Zoe another good read Lass
oh and good point about Saylor’s headed clearances, I’m sure colo is happy to have him to clear so many away as he isn’t the best with headed clearances.
I would also throw in the amount of times he’s threw his body on the line, but no matter what he does there will always be some that blame him for everything.
Geordietwo I agree that Raylor isn’t good enough but I just cant see Pards dropping him for no real excuse from a winning team, I just dont think thats Pards style, even if he is not good enough I do believe he is giving 100% and to be dropped while the team is winning would send a bad signal to the rest of the players.
Fantastic performance against Blackburn. Only saw highlights of Wolves game. Massive credit to Pardew and team. I’ll probably get my head in my hands for saying this given that we have the best defensive record but …
The defence need to pick up anybody who is a danger in and around the box. They need to get shirt tight and in their face. Too often they are reactive instead of proactive; ball watching instead of man marking. Colo and Tayls have been outstanding, but there is still some work to do. I see Tayls did a classic Tayls with a blood rush to the head and was lucky not to have conceded a penalty when there was very little danger. If they got this sorted, we could all rest easy instead of enduring nail biting finales.
Can we wait for raylors complete lack of pace and defensive vulnerability 2 be exposed against spurs ? Play santoon got pace 2 get up and down and to be able 2 deal with spurs attacking ways !!
Shamrock & Geordietwo
First of all, I don’t actually think R.Taylor played any worse than any other player in the QPR game. It was our worst performance of the season.
Also, I think you guys are missing the most important factor…
Pardew has often gone on about players being picked on form. R.Taylor isn’t great, but he has played his part in the best back-line in the country. It would be folly to remove him before he has a shocker as it simply sends out the wrong message.
Right now the squad is really together and Santon seems the type of player who is willing to wait for his chance so long as the team are performing.
Ben Arfa on the other hand…
…In my opinion, Ben Arfa needs to be thrown in over the next few weeks to ensure he is kept happy and I reckon the squad will understand that. I am thinking he will get his first start in the Wigan game.
Lets not focus on the defensive record too much, we have played relegation fodder and the poorest Arsenal team in a long time. Our record will soon change when the decent sides are given a run out against Raylor. He is a good lad and a good pro, but he is not a 1st teamer if better options are available..
For me, Ben Arfa will have to wait for injuries and suspensions before he gets a start, regardless of how happy he is. We have patiently waited for him for months.
Quinn replaced by Short at Sunderland…Brewsy must be biting his nails
Quinn to Citeh then?
B&B
I agree with your sentiments, but will it work in practise. Will the fans forgive Pardew if Ben Arfa becomes frustrated and starts kicking up a fuss? I doubt it and he will most likely be blamed. It’s a very delicate situation.
Shamrock
Nah, he is now going to be Head of International Developments. They are really trying to make Sunderland AFC a global side aren’t they? Will never happen.
B+B I agree again it’s the same case as Raylor, why would we drop someone that is part of a winning and unbeaten team just to give Benny a game.
I would love to see him and Santon in the team but it could backfire with the players that are giving 100% that have to be dropped.
I think you might be right about Pardew’s way of thinking Big Dave but I would love to see Santon play for the Reserves tomorrow with Pardew in attendance and then at least consider bringing him in soon. We have a few home games coming up so what about Santon coming in against Spurs if Raylor is having a bad game and then starting against Wigan? Surely if this player is such a great talent we must try to work him into the lineup? As far as Raylor is concerned Kid I would say also that it takes courage to be a manager in the Prem. There are some very tough decisions to be made. Our great defensive record is in large part due to fantastic saves by Krul and some incredible cover being offered by Jonas for Raylor. When he is given space Raylor is fine but most good teams will not give him space to play easy passes out of defense. We can either learn that the easy way by slowly bringing in Santon or the hard way by waiting until Jonas gets injured and Raylor gets badly exposed. I do see your point about not changing a winning side and unfortunately I don’t think Pardew will change the side until we have possibly been beaten by Spurs.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,12876_7220280,00.html
We going to make a move in Jan for him?
agree taylor is much improved but still prone to at least one stuff up its normally a hand ball,but got away with that boob on sat.
ZOE you havent said how you got on at week-end,did you score?
I think that Pards could definitely go for the 4-5-1 against Spurs. However, I don’t think he has faith in HBA to start this kind of game right now. So he may put Jonas in the hole with Marveaux out on the left. He has been getting his fitness in and getting a look in for every game for the last month. Especially after these 2 weeks to really focus on fitness, I think this could definitely happen, with Ben arfa still guaranteed to get some type of decent playing time to keep up the threat.
If we get ahead of spurs, we can’t do what we dis at wolves and just take the pressure. We need to be constantly pushing at them!
These internationals should be good for Santon as well.
Remember when we were linked with Victor Moses and he instead chose Wigan?
…42 Premier League appearances…2 goals.
Dodged a serious bullet there.
ICE: We won 5-0 nearly scored but couldn’t get the right connection, hurt my knee though
Kid – I’d have thought they would concentrate on trying to put a couple of decent performances together first before trying to conquer the world off the pitch!
That’s right I forgot about the internationals! Forget about the reserve game for Santon then. I think the Spurs game will show us whether Pardew can be creative and show tactical nous. They are a big challenge now for any team and if we are serious about finishing in the top 8 this is the kind of game we will have to play well in. It should be a real battle in the midfield and they are still a little shaky at the back.
Great discussion. Have to go for a while. Keep up the good work Zoe. Hope your knee gets better quickly. Mine aren’t so good anymore from years of footy.
ZOE you will be fine pet,just limp quick that what i was told in my day
ZOE dont give me that rubbish about not getting the connection right,,what you mean is you got the timeing wrong
Cheers Ice and Geordie I think it will be a lot better in the morning
Geordietwo I think when Santon gets in the side he will stay there, I just think Pards is a man manager and to drop someone for no real reason is not his style, I think we’ll have to wait until he makes a major cock-up or we loose
The Kid – It will work in practice because, like Marveaux, HBA will get chances as a sub, although Marveaux might consider he is first in line for a place on the left. Also there are so many positions HBA can play in. Already there is a question mark over Ba’s ankle. Pardew will use the excuse of a first defeat to make some changes, and this will be what DS will be hoping for (the chance not the defeat).
THE KID @33 hes still the best player at the mo like think theres more to his game than goal scoreing hes trying to play more than one roll in a poor wigan side at the mo
I don’t define 60th minute as a late equaliser at Wolves last year. Other than that… A good read.
I think Santon should definitely start. He was brought in to play that LB role, while Raylor was always just a stop gap until he is fit. After this international break, he will be ready.
Pardew will know this, and he also knows that Spurs will be our toughest test so far this year
I think both Raylor and Santon might start against Spurs with Simpson dropping to the bench.
I watched the The Spurs vs Arsenal game yesterday and all I could think of was Gareth Bale running rings around Simpson. We need someone with pace to deal with Bale and Santon has pace to burn. I would start Santon on the right and switch him and Raylor if Bale goes to the right. Raylor gets the nod over Simpson for me simply for his ability to do a job at left back….
———————Krul——————–
Santon—-Saylor—Collo—–Raylor
I think Santon should play for the ressies tomorrow, and I would play Marveaux and HBA too. As none are involved in internationals and need the game time.
I like the sound of a 5 man midfield against spurts with Jonas in the hole and Marv on the left wing. But I would have Santon and HBA on the bench ready to replace RTaylor and Jonas if he gets tired etc.
Its good that we have this dilema, but its a tough call for Pardew.
In all honesty the back 4 deserve to start again, and I dont think Pardew will change it yet.
i think a lot of fans are expecting far to much of Santon wanting to throw him in against spurs right off, we all want to see him in the first team but for you have to ease the kid in he still is a kid with no PL ex its a tough lge,for me give him 20/25 min for a couple of games or until hes up to speed i think it should be the same with benny,we should not expect to much to soon imo
For me Raylor is better than Simpson (RB and LB) they are defending quite simmilar, but Raylor is a better in attack. p.s it feels like he is giving more, trying more, made few mistakes, but believe me he is better RB than LB, at RB he won’t be overrun like at QPR.. He was such a profesional last few seasons.Raylor deserves RB spot. Santon at LB for me any day.
For midfield Jonas, Cabaye, Tiote must play against spurs. 4-5-1 I think is the best we can field. Ben Afra, and Obertan are nex two IMO. Marveaux should be given 20-25 min as also Sammy Ameobi. (IN FOR Obertan, Ben Arfa or Jonas) Third sub depends.. Ba, Guthrie or Gosling (i would like to see Gosling).
====================KRUL======================
R.TAYLOR=====S.TAYLOR====COLO=========SANTON
===================TIOTE=====================
OBERTAN==========CABAYE===============JONAS
==================BEN ARFA===================
==================BEST=======================
Ice your spot on again mate I dont think Pards will just throw Santon in straight away, he needs to be eased in the same way Benny needs to be eased in, we would be risking the players by just hoying them in.
Oblong you say you would put Raylor in in Simmo’s place ? so do we need to move Jonas over aswell to keep doing most of Raylors defending ?? because Obertan wont comeback and help him out the sameway Jonas does
Good article Workyticket
Stesh Taylor has been outstanding this season. I cant
see us beating the Yids though. Their flanks will torture us and I reckon we are all agreed Ryan Taylor won’t cope whoever he faces in that game. Still we have an awesome record with this fixture and I will be there with my best pal and we have only attended high scoring wins against these in the past
well said Icedog, thats exactly right imo too.
If we played santon from the start and he had a shocker then he would have certain fans squealing tat he’s crap etc.
They need to be introduced gradually, but I also think it would do them good to have an hour for the ressies this week as we have nowt at the weekend for em.
p.s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Alc%C3%A1cer
HELL OF A PROSPECT.
BB aye defo give them a run out in ressies in fact the full 90min they will need a blow out with no pressure,games get the fitness levels up not training
Lace @ 51 I think your on the wrong blog
@ Bid Dave
I think you have a point about Raylor needing Jonas to help him out in defence but I think he is a better right back and wouldn’t need quite as much help. I’m not a Simpson fan at all and as much as I don’t think Raylor is that great I think his defending is no worse if not better than Simpson’s, has done very well so far this season and brings more to the team going forward.
DAVE imo fans dont give jonas the credit he should get his work-rate off the ball is often un-seen,a lot of of fans only put him down as his crossing and final ball isnt always what they expect,but i will say this if his crossing and final ball was as good as his work rate he would not be playing at the toon he would be at real/m or barca ime quite happy with him at the money we payed for him his work rate is second to none in PL imo,of coarse there are better players but at how much?
when was the last tome anyone saw RTaylor play at RB ffs???
How can you say he is better there than Simpson.
Utter tripe.
I would prefer Simpson over Raylor for nothing more than the pace that Simpson has over him. They’re both fairly weak defenders, but Simpson has a much better chance of making up for mistakes, while Raylor will just be beaten
BB
Like this….
“He is better their than Simpson”…
Where’s Richie?
Is he off spading Zoe again…
I’d still like a new left back with Santon on the right.
icedog – Jonas was by far the hardest worker against Wolves and was good for his goal. Infact he could /should have had a 2nd. He is immense to have in the team. And best of all he is really enjoying himself atm.
He is improving also, does get in occasional crosses and draws alot of fouls for us in the final third.
He’s having his best season yet.
JJ what?
If we played santon from the start and he had a shocker then he would have certain fans squealing tat he’s crap etc.
————————————
Of course it would happen. Cabaye played only above average to good in his first match and he was shockingly hammered by quite a few on here.
Might as well get his debut over with. He was brought here to play and he has to debut eventually. The guy’s played for Inter and Italy for crissakes, it’s not like he’s coming from League II
Simpson backs off far too much he can run faster backwards than he can forward.
Raylor has been the better defender so far this season in my opinion.
yeah JJ like I said, utter tripe.
Try answering the question instead of being a clever bugger
yeah oblong the better defender at LB for sure.
Not done enough to displace simpson tho, as frustrating as he is.
MDS – well why not let Santon make his debut off the bench against spurs and full start v wigan ?
He’s 20 ffs and never played in the premier league. Many older and more experienced players have struggled with the pace of the game in this league.
BB
To be honest I just don’t rate Simpson, Raylor could come in and be awful at right back and I could be wrong I just fail to see him being worse than Simpson.
Just my opinion though, Its probably totally wrong…..again!
BB and Ice Jonas has a higher assist stat and only 1 goal less than Benny has , and people talk about Benny as if he is going to be our Messi, and I will bet my house Benny doesn’t comeback to help the defence the way Jonas does.
Jonas works like a shire horse and very rarely misses a game and IMO he is one of the 1st 3 names on the team sheet, actually I would put him down as 2nd only to Colo
BB
I actually remember Raylor player more games at left back for Wigan than at right back. But thats only when I watched him.
Personally, I don’t rate either him or Simpson as anything better than good cover. I Think of the two, Simpson is the better right back.
Zoe
Richie is a dirty old bugger, you gotta watch him
dave @ 70 aye i agree m8
Dave,
Maybe fourth to Colo,Tiote and Cabaye mate.
Disagree with Batty @72
Krul surely has to be up there for one of the first names on the team sheet as well?
BB@68 bang on there,even cabye himself said he has watched PL for yrs and wanted to play in it but got a shock at how quick and hard it is,we know how many “top” players come and played here and ended up looking a tw@t i could name a lot, of coarse all players are diff but its proved that by easeing them in has payed a better result in the long run
JJ havent you got some fields too plough or sheep too herd
Right lads, I’m off. Won’t be on here for a couple of days as I’m off to visit a Uni
Batty he doesn’t herd his sheep, but I wont say what I heard he does with them incase there is any animal rights people reading
Oblong IMO Harper could take Kruls place with no probs
ZOE good luck,hope you cleaned them boots good mind before you go
Zoe good luck Lass hope you get things sorted
I’m not taking my boots, really looking forward to seeing the Uni. The offer for NUWFC is for if I end up going to this uni next year
Good luck Zoe, remember to bath and shower as soon as you leave Sunderland lol, mind you, South Shields just down the road is ok
Simon: how did you know I’m going there?
Zoe will you still write for us if you get a start for NUWFC?
You said in the newcastle area but if it was newcastle you’d say that
best of luck
DAVE we dis-agree on one point harper is a alright keeper but i dont rate him very highly ime afraid,i watched him very closely at sjp when we were in the ccc hes not what he was ime sorry to say,i know he been a good servant for us behind Given,but i can see why pardew is looking at other keepers hes not good enough now mate imo
Btw, trappatoni on best:
‘Leon is not here because we have other three four strikers with other qualities. Leon knows why. I don’t forget him but he knows why I need other attitudes.
‘But on the there is only one ball. And winning football is about 11 players running for 90 minutes, or 94 minutes, with a winning mentality. I cannot have players who just wait for the ball.
‘We need a team, we need work and commitment. That is football. We need this mentality because with our mentality anything is possible. We cannot afford to have players standing there waiting for the ball.
‘Leon knows why he is not here.
Sounds like what Pardew was unsure of over the summer, his overall workrate. They’ve worked on it and are getting results. Trap went on to say he says this to the players faces so calling him up to the squad at least would’ve been a nice way to acknowledge his improvement. Ah well, maybe by the time we’re playing in the Euros he’ll put him in the team
feel horrible saying this but we probably need a raylor skinning off a spuds winger to be dropped and finally bring santon in. can you imagine raylor still there for nani and young
And Pardew referring to the possibility of changing the line-up. Nothing much but if you’re interested: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11661_7220746,00.html?
Beardsley if I go to the uni and end up playing for NUWFC next year I will still write for the blog
ZOE @90 great to hear,your a good!n
Ice I agree I was just making the point that Harper could slot in with not much bother, But Jonas would be a lot harder to replace
Good luck wi uni Zoe and tek nae notice of that fecker JJ, the song “I’ve never met a nice South African” was written with him in mind
I’ll be back on Thursday, so not away for too long
RICHIE i see spains game is being played near you,will you be ganning to watch?
Ice…..aye 35 for the cheapest ticket like, be wearing me England top in the Spain end
……Feb 11th in my diary too cos Xisco should be playing there then 
did anyone else have a shocker on the Fantasy football thing?
I dont recognise all those names at the top lol
ah well, looks like Toonsy has lost interest
Do 5under1and have to play Arsenal without a recognised striker in a fortneet?
BB…..I’m just happy to have clawed me way up from 200 and odd or whatever I was a few weeks back…..not doing too bad on the predictor league though.
BB I take it then that Toonsy must be near the bottom then
Richie, xisco will be injured again by then
I wouldn’t recognise any of the feckers never mind the strikers
BB…hope not, I’m struggling with Spanish but I’ll have some choice abuse words sorted by then
cant find him on there anywhere
Think he must have withdrawn his team or summit
oh no I found him. 156th but on the up
BB @ 105
thats why he has lost interest, he is shite at predictions anyway 
Toonsy October 3, 2011 at 08:24
“Expert
I’m no expert. My predictions are famously shit”
straight from the horses mouth
Lacedaemonian
October 3, 2011 at 21:05
“Good article Workyticket”
Too far
Would a line-up of:
Krul
Jonas – Saylor – Colo – Santon
Obertan – Tiote – Cabaye – Marveaux
Best – Ba
Be too “out there” for Spurs? Everyone is worried about pace, and taking that into consideration, putting one of our faster players (Jonas) in the RB slot may assist with that…he has done it for the Argies. Santon would likely have better pace than Raylor…though I’ve not seen it so I won’t say he does.
With Jonas out of the LW position, Marveaux can get the start. Fergie can come on for Santon if need be (or Raylor), and HBA for Marveaux. (Or swap HBA starting with Marveaux as the possible sub.
Ba and Best up front are so far proving to be pretty good for each other, and if need be, can go with original line up and bring in HBA for Best or Ba in the late games.
I think this team would provide pace if nothing else…and perhaps nothing else is what you’d unfortunately get, but I think not.
@ NORCAL i dont think santon is near ready mate u dont want to destroy the lads confidence imo
and there talking about Ba possibly missing it with a twisted ankle ?
If Ba does miss out then I hope we bring in Gosling to make a midfield 3, which will free up Jonas and Obertoon a bit. I think you could even go as far as putting Gosling on Bale in a man marking role to take him out of the game.
I think Santoon has to come in at some point, and I have mentioned before about making changes in a position of strength over weakness. I think the defensive unit is doing well but Spuds will provide us with the sort of challenge we havent had yet this season. The other worry is the power and pace of Adebayor is something Saylor and Collo may not cope with.
I think we can get at their defence and with some craft and guile on the midfield we can unlock them, which is why I would go for 4-3-2-1 with Gosling man marking Bale. HBA isnt the best at tracking back either so not sure I would play him from the start, but we are at home so we should go fot it baby
as i see it, the volstead act was a crock of shit. lol
RAFFO @ 111 – Gosling? are u off ur nut? on the evidence of the 2 LC games, he’s defo not ready to start in the Prem. Hopefully he’ll play well at Blackburn and get back on track
If Ba’s not ready…. then it’s got to be Benny time. If not HBA then Marveaux
Santon for Obertan could be the change to make for the Spurs game – that’d give us decent protection on both flanks and wouldn’t expose our young Italian to a potentially confidence-ruining debut if he’s thrown in at FB. Also, sounds like he’s decent going forward and has plenty of pace so… in theory this change wouldn’t compromise our attacking threat too much
lol M – I was thinking of someone who could do the man marking job. OK, well lets say Santoon comes in to do that job then. I dont think we should be looking to put square pegs in round holes though, so if Santoon comes in it should to look after Bale and can switch full back positions as mentioned elsewhere. I think Raylor should be the other full back with Simmo dropping down. I dont like the idea of dropping our attacking wingers to look after theirs. We are at home so should be attacking and I think perhaps having MArveux in for Obertoon so Jonas can switch to RW to help out with Bale is another possibility
If Ba only has a twisted ankle and not a broken metatarsal then I’ll be happy, he got a proper stamp on his foot the other day
Agree that it may be too soon to throw Santon in, but not sure about this idea of waiting to lose before making any changes…. as long as everyone picked is working their ass off in training then I think the perceived best team should start, even if it’s ‘not fair’ on someone (who was only there as cover anyway)… Santon in as soon as he’s ready.
Really wanna see Marv start but not sure who to drop! Obertan, and on as a sub? Don’t think fitness will be a problem for Marv, who played 120 mins in both cup matches
I think Spurs started Defoe, Adebayor, AND VDV against Arsenal. I would guess that they will drop Defoe and play 4-4-1-1. I see Adebayor as the kind of strong and pacy striker that Colo may struggle against.
If no Ba, I would like to see a 4-3-3:
— ———– Krul —————–
Simo-Saylor-Colo-Santon
–Cabaye-Tiote–Jonas———
Obertan — Ben Arfa — Marveaux
I think we could actually be able to play the Spurs at their own game, and their CBs are more likely to be outrun than out muscled.
RAFFO – yeah, know what u mean mate – at first glance seems like a negative move, especially at home…. but what if Santon turns out to be a real threat going forward? and maybe his pace can replicate what Obertan gives to the team? and maybe he can actually cross the ball, haha
btw – Jonas can/will help out our LB but has Obertan shown inclination or ability to do a similar job on the right?
to be honest, I’m not sure if this the answer to the Bale conundrum myself – just putting it out there
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t for Pards. We lose with the same starting eleven we’ve been playing then the critics will be out saying ‘why are we leaving internationals on the bench!’ but if we throw HBA and Santon in and get done over then it’ll be ‘why change a winning formula.’
Still, great problem to have really.
Ps. Good old Shearer trying to help us out when we goto Blackburn for the lc in a few weeks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15159530.stm
M – Its fairly obvious that we need to keep Bale quiet. Santon/Gosling man marking can do that.
I think we should change the team from a position of strength. I think it will help the players bed in if they are coming into a winning team
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