Dr Gloom

great through ball from shola. i'd start those two again for our next game. could be a good partnership in a 4-4-2

what a wanker. loving that giles smith book review - well worth a read.

call me cynical but i wonder whether they'd have retired the number 9 shirt if that was his. 31 is hardly the most fashionable. still a nice gesture though

i feel sorry for him. wouldn't wish a broken bone on anyone, let alone a double fracture.

he's still got to be better than carr, ramage huntingdon etc. apparently he did pretty well for pompey last season.

I think a new Defensive midfielder would see Geremi move to right back. i think we'd be better buying a specialist right back and playing geremi in his prefered position tbh. Yeah I think so too. however in the short term I would have geremi playing there instead of Carr. absolutely!

I think a new Defensive midfielder would see Geremi move to right back. i think we'd be better buying a specialist right back and playing geremi in his prefered position tbh.

the man's hard as nails. 'cancer? i've shit it'

i don't see the need for another defensive midfielder like, unless we're getting one in addition to a new right back and a creative midfielder

Not sure that's a very valid comparison, considering the massive difference in their respective games, and the fact that we don't know whether Owen has been compromised in any way by the injury. he says himself he's lost a yard of pace. owen used to work the channels and scare defenders shitless with his pace. he's sill a top goal scorer but his game is more one dimensional now because his movement isn't as good as it once was. i think shearer was the same after his first year for when he picked up a bad injury. i remember him taking on players and beating men out wide when he played for blackburn and during his first season for us but he had to adapt his game for the majority of his time with us and we adapted our game to suit his strengths. i think it's worth it with both players because they both guarantee goals. but i wonder whether you should sacrifice those goals for a more expansive overall game.

not quite ready for the knackers yard? thank fuck for that! i think owen is going to be a carbon copy of shearer for us in the sense that we signed him when he seemed in his prime but then he picks up a horror injury and is never the same player again in terms of pace and penetration. we then build a team to play to his strengths despite their reduced overall contribution to team play. if we set the team up to play to owen's strengths - like we did with shearer after he lost a yard of pace - it wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to score a shitload of goals for us just (like shearer). it also wouldn't surprise me if like shearer, if we don't win anything while we build a side around an old fashioned goalpoacher instead of using more mobile strikers who may not score as many goals, but have more to their all-round game.

good riddance. biggest parasite since marcelino

to be fair to the lad, i've never heard of him

yes. i think we'll sign deco and daniel alves

they're both pretty gash tbh. i bought the mag to read on the train home from newcastle today. fucking diabolical

agreed. he doesn't really have the pace to play in a modern 4-3-3 where the front man is expected to do a lot of running for the team. he needs someone playing off him. but do you sacrifice the new defensive solidarity we've seen under big sam for more attacking football? i think at home you have to. Are you suggesting we build the team around him? no. he should be rotated with the other strikers. he's been pretty shit so far for us. owen on the other hand should probably start every game when fit, up front in a 4-4-2, not a 4-3-3 where he is wasted.

agreed. he's a good squad player but not exactly what we needed for £6m

now that is a player you'd need to build your team around.

so he hasn't done all his homework but i think the fat beardie touches on a bit of a conundrum for big sam, namely whether owen can fit into the manager's system. if you were big sam would you build a team around owen and revert to a 4-4-2 or continue with a 4-3-3 and play owen in a position where you arguably aren't going to get the best out of him? Two of the three points I higlighted were his opinion though, and laughable ones at that. Barney is right about the shit-stirring too. To answer your question, I'd go 4-4-2, although that isn't building the team around Owen imo. It's just playing to his strengths which isn't the same thing. yes it is - sam would be completely changing his prefered system to acommodate one player. What other forwards do we have that fit into the system the way he played it at Bolton then? Viduka isn't even a Kevin Davies type of player really. i think martins and milner or duff would be suited to the wide positions in a 4-3-3, certainly more than owen. i'm not convinced the formation gets the best out of viduka either but it's the system that sam has been successful using.

so he hasn't done all his homework but i think the fat beardie touches on a bit of a conundrum for big sam, namely whether owen can fit into the manager's system. if you were big sam would you build a team around owen and revert to a 4-4-2 or continue with a 4-3-3 and play owen in a position where you arguably aren't going to get the best out of him? Two of the three points I higlighted were his opinion though, and laughable ones at that. Barney is right about the shit-stirring too. To answer your question, I'd go 4-4-2, although that isn't building the team around Owen imo. It's just playing to his strengths which isn't the same thing. yes it is - sam would be completely changing his prefered system to acommodate one player.

i went to benares in mayfair recently. posh michelin star curry and so good. the head chef is that atul kucher fella who beat gary rhodes in the great british menu or whatever it was called.

so he hasn't done all his homework but i think the fat beardie touches on a bit of a conundrum for big sam, namely whether owen can fit into the manager's system. if you were big sam would you build a team around owen and revert to a 4-4-2 or continue with a 4-3-3 and play owen in a position where you arguably aren't going to get the best out of him?

why exactly?

good player but not sure he's the kind of player we really need. i'd sooner we got a more attacking midfielder to replace dyer

agreed. he doesn't really have the pace to play in a modern 4-3-3 where the front man is expected to do a lot of running for the team. he needs someone playing off him. but do you sacrifice the new defensive solidarity we've seen under big sam for more attacking football? i think at home you have to.