colinh9

Yes

Not a very good performance. I said at the final whistle that I'm still not sure we have had a good one yet this year. The good news is we have enough points thus far to build on. I thought Pardew got it wrong again, but before I really comment on tactics I have to re-watch the match. The feed kept coming in and out and wasn't the best quality- so I must admit there were things I missed. One big gripe I will point out though- I can't believe we go to a 4-5-1 at home against Norwich with 15 minutes to go. I know we are up 1-0, but why let them come at you? Does Obertan really offer anything? Bring on Ameobi at that point and give us an outlet. We didn't keep the ball at all in the last 15, or so it felt.... Tiote is a real fucking ass sometimes. I would not start him next game if I were manager after his little cameo. Dribbling around the box up 1-0, taking out a player like that....these things are unacceptable and IMO fine him a weeks wages and sit his ass. Too bad the modern day player has too big of an ego for that. Obertan really is gash. Useless at this level. Keeping Routledge would have been a better option. Also, set pieces (offensively) are a huge weakness. That includes penalties. They weren't good last year and it looks like we haven't got anyone to take them unless Raylor is out there. European squad should play Wednesday and then let's get at Reading for another 3 points.

Yep. It's surprising no club has come in for Cabaye/Cisse/Tiote. Pardew claiming we fought people off, but that's really, really hard to believe. I can understand why nobody has paid for Ba

Admittedly- I've seen nothing but highlights from the A-League, but yeah, not the best.

Obertan and Marveux as wingers? I'd expect two strikers against Norwich so I think those two wouldn't be in the squad anyway

Van Persie isn't exactly the speediest player on the pitch..... I think he will be used in a similar role. Real classy finisher

For those that have seen him, how far off is Curtis Good from being first team quality? We don't exactly have a lot of depth there so I'm hoping the lad is ready to step up in some fringe matches soon

This is always a tricky question. Does it just go to the best player regardless of the fee associated, or is it the best value for money? I think all the shouts in this thread are fair. I really expect great things from Giroud but I'm not sure he will come good quick enough to be up there. Michu looks like a terrific signing. On that note, it might even be Laudrup himself :cheeky:

This is just message-boards everywhere though

Considering the lad has failed medicals because of a shotty knee- his agents should be thanking Pardew for not starting him in consecutive matches in September! I think currently his form warrants a start over Cisse- but I'd rather Pardew risk upsetting players than forcing them into line-ups like he did with Ba on the wing. You use a formation to get the best out of the players you have, not to force your players in

Overall, pretty damn happy with the point. I think Everton has every right to feel aggrieved. Both goals looked good but we will take it. A point at Goodison is a result I can live with. That said, there were more negatives than positives, and some really questionable decision making from Pardew to START the match. In addition, we were about as lucky as possible to avoid defeat- and that isn't even factoring in one disallowed goal and one that was not given. The 4-5-1 was an absolute disaster- and employed so ineffectively by our staff. We had Jonas again in the middle of the pitch, sometimes as the deepest midfielder. He is positionally naive, with a propensity to follow the ball like a puppy. See: Everton's goal for evidence of such. You don't stick a player like that as a defensive midfielder, no matter how strong the work-rate. He's also not the calmest on the ball- normally he bombs forward and if he loses it, no big deal. Here, you saw when he came under pressure in the middle of the pitch- he gave it away. You cannot afford to do that. It would be one thing if you had no other options, but if you were to employ the 4-5-1 it's clear how it SHOULD work. As it was, you had literally no outlet outside from hoofing the ball to Cisse. At which point he had to either hold it up or lose it. This not only gave us zero going forward, it allowed their full-backs to bomb forward with impunity. Creating several chances, one of which obviously found the back of the net. For 25 minutes to start the match, we were completely on the back foot with nothing to offer. Very lucky not to be out of the match after that period. I believe the effective solution would have been allowing Ben Arfa freedom and sticking Jonas on the wing where Perch was. This was another huge mistake. You start Marveux on the right side with Perch. You don't put two liabilities on the same side of the pitch if possible to avoid. Stick Jonas in front of Perch, as you know his work rate will help cover. Defensively on the WING, Jonas is a good option. On the other side, you have Marveux and Santon. Ben Arfa would play at the tip, as such: Ben Arfa Marveux Jonas ------Cabaye------Anita----- Ben Arfa would still have defensive liability here. The object of Ben Arfa’s deployment in this position is to pressure higher up the pitch, force them to play backwards and try to clog up the holes. Furthermore, by not sticking him on the left, you give him the freedom to pick up the ball as an outlet anywhere on the pitch. This prevents you from having to hoof it to Cisse. We saw Ben Arfa try to gather the ball from Krul on a few occasions out of frustration. With Cayabe and Anita as ball playing holding midfielders, it makes perfect sense to use Ben Arfa there as an outlet. I thought it was also a bit of a surprise to use Cisse up front by himself, as his form thus far this season has not been up to snuff. At least Ba has looked threatening. The changes at half were good. We at least occupied their defense and kept them from pushing forward as much as they would have wanted. I thought Ameobi could have come on earlier- but full credit to him for being a nusiance- with ten minutes to go that was a hell of a shift to put in. I could go on, but I doubt any of you have even made it this far

This is such a loaded question- I don't even know where to begin....especially with only two choices of "like" or "dislike" Way more complicated than that.

Horrible. Fully expecting us to lose this one. We've started poorly, and playing against a good Everton squad at Goodison won't be easy. Our injuries are already taking a toll.

Total runaround. Just long balls to Epstein working every time

Folks go to atdhe.eu several working links. Fuck down ome

Fair point. I'm sure Vuckic is in that squad, probably for Abeid. Is Shola definitely out injured? I didn't see confirmation of that- just the same sort of "doubts" we had over Ben Arfa, Ba, Cisse going into Spurs match

Agreed. All depends on whether Ameobi is fit or not

No, I used it in the past, not on this game. I've only used it on FM 2010 and 11...and only on a couple of games. I decided to stop using it becase I won 5 European Championships in a row one game and decided it was stupid to play that way. Then I started a few more games- including the Napoli one and I just felt it was still too easy. However, this game has gotten a lot more challenging around year 10- I've won the league most years but with the funding I've had it's expected. But you are right- post by post that looks absolutely absurd.

This new game has taken some weird twists. Without using Genie the game is a lot more fun/challenging. Having to use the actual scouting and not knowing potential is fun. I always found that the scouts weren't right with potential ability. Lots of them rated the best potential players with 3 stars instead of 4

Line-up predictions? I'm guessing 4-5-1/4-3-3 Mine: GK: Elliot LB: Raylor CB: Curtis Good CB: Mike Williamson RB :Gosliing? LM: Marveux CM: Anita CM: Amalfitano CM: Abeid? RM: Obertain ST: Shola, if fit

Maybe, I think it depends on Shola's status. If Shola is able to go I'd expect to see him on the pitch. I'd also expect more fringe players in the squad Thursday and if we get the job done maybe more youngsters in hte week following. The league is definitely the priority, but we definitely want to qualify for the group stages of this competition. Pardew said this: Alan Pardew: "Who can play the three games in a week? Who can play two? It's the first week and we have already had guys on international duty and probably not done as much work as we would have liked. "I think I have to see how we cope with a Europa League which is tough scheduling for a Premier League team and how we cope with those first 10 games. Then, I think I will have a little bit more of an idea. "Logistically, I noted how Stoke played a complete second XI in one of the games (last season) and left senior players behind and I can understand that. "If you have really long trips, four or five hours, it is almost impossible. So we have to be very intelligent in what we do, but the most important thing is that we put a Newcastle team out which we think is going to win. "The younger ones and guys who did not see a lot of football last year are definitely going to get games. "

Brilliant, isn't it? Barton fucking off to France too.....we've gotten rid of all of the trash over the years (though I still rated Bassong when he left) and we've replaced them with class footballers and class individuals. There are a few players that have hot heads (Tiote and Cabaye come to mind) but they aren't jailbirds and disgraces like Barton. Nice to have players that get their head down and play for the shirt

It absolutely will. 3 match ban is what I put my $ on

No way.

Or we could go all FM and start giving .8 here and there Whatever, it's a good result and I'm very pleased. Though I must admit a better team than Spurs would have done us in today. Both sides were poor but again first day of the season and we have 3 points to build on.