ethicalstrategy

I believe that he has access to one of those new fangled flying machines that could get him back to west london in time

There was talk of a training ground bust up last thursday and that Robben only played on saturday because of the injury situation. I can understand Mourinho's frustration. You have a match winning player who gets injured everytime there is a strong breeze. Apparently this latest injury is quite serious but I don't know if he would be any less injury prone elsewhere. He certainly isn't a player that you can rely on. I get the feeling that Drogba would play with one leg for Jose and look happy about it. I don't see that from Robben, which is a terrible shame because the boy is a huge talent.

My two penneth is that basically JM's arrogance in continually stating that he wanted and would manage with a squad of no more than 24, to include 3 keepers is now his undoing. He also wanted 2 players for every position, (that would make 4 central defenders then !!) As a direct result, We have one of the smallest squads in the Prem and now with injuries it is totally insufficient. This was JM's decision, nobody elses. We let 2 players in Gallas and Huth go and bought in one, Boulahrouz who is now long term injured. We let Duff go cheaply and replaced with expensive replacement, Mikkel. We let Gudjohnsen go and replaced with another expensive player in Kalou, who frankly would struggle to lace Guddy's boots. We brought in Cole when we had a very decent left back already at further huge cost and did not deal with the problem area of right back, even though JM had told the press this was an area that needed strengthening. I have left out Ballack and Sheva as I do feel that they were probably the "owners" buys. All things considered some truly awful decisions. If one of my Managers had continually f**ked up like that, I would be considering his future. Even if he WAS very good at the job and succesful in the past, you cannot live in the past (Scousers) and these obvious mistakes were clear errors of judgement. I think JM will go, as there is little chance of him apologising for these errors. An interesting perspective. Did Mourinho let Gallas and Huth go? I don't think so. Duff and Guddy both wanted to leave so I take your point here. But realistically neither were going to get much game time unless we were crippled with injuries ( yes, I know that has happened ). So maybe he thought it was better to have two young hungry players who wouldn't mind playing second fiddle whilst they matured and could provide occassional backup rather than two players who were unhappy at not getting any game time. That's a difficult call to make but doesn't fall into the glaringly obvious category for me. The big problems have arisen because of a large number of injuries to key players and because the two big name signings have not contributed. Earlier in the season we managed to carry them but with the defensive problems we haven't been able to maintain that. I'm glad I'm not one of your managers - if you think Jose has "continually f**ked up" then you must be quite hard to please! That's not to say he hasn't made mistakes, but I do think that the success he has brought over the pst two seasons does earn him the right to a little more leeway - especially as the whole picture as to who is responsible for what is so unclear now. I ask you who have been the two most successful teams in the premiership era? and what do they have in common? Right - a manager who has been there for a long time. Both teams have had there ups and downs in that period but neither board has seen fit to talk about sacking them because they had a sticky patch. Maybe Jose will go because relations have irretreivably broken down with the owner, but if that is based on his ability to deliver results on the football pitch then the owner is barking mad.

So we won't be expecting him tonight? I'd be amazed if he wasn't there.

Staying in to wash his hair? taking his daughter swimming at the local pool? I wish I had your faith! As far as I can recall you can count the number of matches Roman has missed on the fingers of one hand and certainly none as important as this one.

I understand that Roman wasn't at the match on Sunday. I find that extremely worrying given his past attendence record. I have no idea what his agenda is for the club, but it seems for certain that either he or Jose will have to depart as the Fulham Road ain't big enough for the both of them. I'm guessing it won't be Abramovich!

or does anyone else find it slightly worrying that the thread about our worst all time eleven is getting more interest than the thread about tomorrows big match?

looks like essien in defence and mikel in midfield - according to the bbc website. and 4 keepers in the squad!!

Butch, for me Cech will be the difference between winning and losing tomorrow. Hilario in goal = I don't fancy our chances. Sorry, but I don't rate the bloke at all and I'm bitterly disappointed we didn't have an up and coming youngster at the club who could have come in and done a better job. Speaks volumes about our recent youth policy. For me Cech IS the best in the world. And not only the best in the world, but also one of the bravest keepers I have ever seen. He is certainly the best keeper this country has seen since Schmiechael. Before the injury he would throw himself in to any situation. And that is what I fear he may have lost. That fearlessness. Who can blame him if he hesitates to throw himself at a forwards feet going for a 70/30 ball ? I think the danger might be that he over compensates and actually throws himself in to situations a bit rashly to show he isn't afraid. He needs to keep his cool and just try and play his normal game. If there is any doubt about his physical fitness at all we should make him wait longer before selecting him. I know we need him but it's better in the long run if we take things slowly rather than risk further injury or, just as important, loss of confidence.

I am impressed that he has chosen to conduct himself so well in public. He said all the right things. I'm sure, reading between the lines, that what smoke there is here is coming from a fire, but whether it turns out to be a bush fire or a damp squib will depend almost entirely on how results go over the second part of the season.

I wouldn't say that the press are trying to cause trouble. There are clearly problems at the club in terms of off the field matters and as with any organisation there are always those who are prepared to talk off the record to members of her majesty's gutter press. This is a big story and so it's obvious the press will be all over it. It may not be as bad as has been portrayed but it has definitely gone beyond just a few hacks with their own agendas making it all up. You have to remember too that all parties will be using the press to get their messages out - so when you read about a source close to Jose in Portugal then you can be fairly sure that he is just passing on the story that Jose wants you to hear. There is a power struggle going on which I expect Jose to win in the short term but which he can't win in the long term. The only good thing is that if he does go at the end of the season he will be even more driven now than before to make sure he goes with a CL and 3rd Premiership title in his back pocket.

I havea feeling that team will be our starting lineup except for Cole in place of Bridge. Personally, I would still like to see Sheva play in place of Kalou and put Robben at the tip of the diamond - just for this match. I wonder whether Benitez will go for a 3-4-3 line up against us? That would be very interesting. If he is really serious about winning hte match it would make a lot of sense to have Crouch playing against Essien with Bellamy and Kuyt picking up the scraps. The question would be whether we could push their two wide midfielders (aka full backs) back towards the defensive three. If we can then it will reate a lot of space for Frank and Ballack. I can't say I am looking forward to the match much - I am far too nervous. Hopefully we can come away with a win and put a bit of pressure on Man U for Sunday.

it is lopsided. I don't think it helps the striker who plays on the side without a winger as jose will always want that player to drop into that space and fill in. that player is sheva with jose. the other issue is this: lets forget about maka for a sec. essien is our most in form midfielder. lamps, however remains the most influential midfielder. probably the most important. he's also in very good form, but even when he isn't, I find it hard to not include him. so you'd have to say that lamps will play and essien deserves to play. now there is maka or ballack. I think both have come in for too much criticism in relation to their actual form. even maka's "sudden decline" as I saw someone put it, is nonsense IMO. he's dropped form from impeccable to okay/decent. on the whole he's had another quality season comfortably IMO. ballack hasn't given even one 90 minutes where I can say "that's ballack at his best". he has though, given good peformances with a few poor ones. I think his form overall has been acceptable- especially given it's his first season. people are worrying too much about him. it's obvious to me that physically he's at his peak and he's got 2 or 3 more seasons before we can even worry about him starting to decline. as long as that's true, we don't have to worry about him making an impact before he becomes past it- time is actually on his side. the question currently is "ballack or maka". to me it depends. I don't think that a midfield of lamps, essien and maka as attacking enough. I think ballack, lamps and one of the others is as close as we'll get to the ideal 3 with jose. in difficult games, we could use the added protection of maka and essien, but in games where we have to break down teams, ballack is obviously a better choice. what I found funny in a sad way about the wigan game was robben showing the vision he has for the short pass- IMO he's probably the best in the squad alongside ballack at that, but his greediness has often seen him choose not to play the pass and go it alone. the clever pass he made for kalou for example in the first half- THAT is what shevchenko wants... IMO robben is maybe the most naturally talented player in the league... also one of the few capable of fully utilising a free role... I guess, the team I'd play for liverpool (with maka suspended so I don't have to decide who to drop!) would be... if cech is ready: ..........................................cech paulo................carvalho...................terry..............bridge ........................................essien ......................ballack.......................lamps .......................................robben ........................sheva....................drogba with robben playing from both flanks. On the whole I agree with you. My problem with 4-3-3 is that we don't have the personel for it at the moment. On the other hand I don't particlularly like the diamond unless we play it as you have suggested, but even then I can't see PF working to give us the width that we need. Bridge would be ok. I would just like to see us try with a normal midfield four with Robben and Essien giving the width.

Thats not going to happen. We havnt got any strikers suitable enough to support Drogba up front, so why waste the place in the team ? you're right - let's play Kalou instead. He has been sooooo much better!

I would tend to agree with that. It's also been mooted that he when he knew Gallas was definitely going that he tried to block the Huth sale.

So that would be Lampard, Ballack, Makelele in midfield? with Sheva and Drogba up front and Robben left? I think its unbalanced like that. Assuming JT can come back in defence then Essien can move back to right midfield at Maka's expense and at least you have a better balance.

Carrick couldn't hold an orgy in a brothel, never mind a midfield. There are times when it is important to have someone holding in midfield but mostly you don't need someone dedicated to that role. Both Lampard and Ballack are mobile enough to get around the midfield and do their share of work defensively as well as offensively. You could swap in Makelele for Ballack, but then you would be playing 4-1-3-2 and you lose width from Essien and Robben. Most of the time we do not need to play 4 at the back with a "sweeper" in front. It is not a question of performing, it's about goalscoring. It is not a coincidence that Drogba's goalscoring record has improved since we first switched to two strikers towwards the end of last season. I am not saying that Sheva is the only one who could play up front with him. I am saying it is better for Drogba to have a strike partner and I think the evidence is there to see. That doesn't mean that Drogba doesn't play well on his own - he is about the best around at doing it, but he won't score as many goals in that system. I have selected Sheva because a) he is the only alternative that we have and I think in that system it would suit him more and we might get to see the man we thought we had signed. It wouldn't hurt relations between Mourinho and Roman either if Sheva did find some form and merited his place.

Nope, guess he wasn't fit. He must have been fit otherwise why put him on the bench?

Nope - I don't agree with you. Man U play with Carrick and Scholes in the middle and don't have too much of a problem. Ballack and Lampard can do that job just as well. Robben can switch in behind Drogba and Sheva during the match so he isn't just stuck out on the left. Although virtually all of his good work against Wigan came from the left. I don't think Kalou as the third man in a front 3 will work very well - based on what I have seen over the last few weeks Kalou is not ready for a regular starting place. Drogba needs someone up with him to produce his best - you can see that from his performances this season. You can see that from Saturday and against Villa where he worked really hard and held the ball up well but where he never had any support or runners to open up some space for him like he gets when Sheva is playing. But the main thing is that it would give us width and would allow us to play two up front which would benefit both Drogba and Sheva.

I am keen to see us play 4-4-2 in the traditional sense. ----------------Cech PF-----------RC------JT-----------AC Essien---Ballack---Lampard---Robben -----------Sheva------Drogba I am certain Drogba will score more with Sheva up front with him. Essien can certainly give a lot of drive and quality on the right and provide extra protection for our slightly dodgy right back position. Robben will have work hard to help out Cole and Lampard and Ballack will have to work together but I don't see why it can't work. You still have the option to drop Robben in behind Sheva and Drogba and let the other midfielders play across the pitch with Geremi and Bridge playing as more attacking fullbacks to give extra width. It's noticable to me how often Neville and Evra turn up in the opposition final quarter ahead of Gigs and Ronaldo. It might leave you more open defensively but it will give you a lot more going forward. It's not as if Carrick and Scholes give you anymore defensively than Lampard and Ballack would.

Any thoughts as to why Carlo didn't start against Wigan if he was fit?

Actually the result was quite acceptable. It was the performance that was grim, if not as unexpected as some find it.

but last night is hardly representative of our first choice team. cech, cole, terry, lampard, essien, drogba would be certs for most teams. maka, carvalho, robben, cole would probably and if man u or arsenal or liverpool could have afforded ballack or sheva i'm sure they would have liked them. the truth is a combination of poor form, injuries & some great results from man u have put us under pressure. we just need to ride out the storm & keep our nerve. we may not win the league but it will take a near record breaking season from man u to deny us.

i think its very unprofessional of carlo to get injured when we need him : ) its no gooD being fit again now cech is ok lol

shocking as the second half was we should at least recognise that we didn't choose to play a second string side. as far as I could tell it was the strongest side we had available with the exception of lamps starting. on the other hand that makes it even more worrying :?