The Fish

Of course he's going to play his strongest side against Hoffenheim man. Win that and they're in the Champions League Group Stages, and all the difference that can mean to a side. Also, Liverpool's squad is of sufficient quality to challenge on several fronts, ours is patently not.

The side picked could and possibly should have won last night. No great shock that the team selected weren't a unit comfortable with each other's game. We have an average to poor squad, so it's no great shock a team doing well in the Championship defeated our 2nd/3rd string, is it? It's also hardly surprising Benitez named an overhauled first 11, he can keep the 1st team drilling for the league games to get the first win and get that ball rolling. If we had the stronger squad he wanted he could have named a few changes for this game, and a few changes for the West Ham match without sacrificing the amount of quality he did. But we don't have the quality in the squad because he's not been allowed to spend. Also the injury/suspension situation means that instead of players around the first team like Merino, Lascelles & Clark/Mbemba we were playing Saivet, Hanley and the kids. Make no mistake, the fault for this Cup exit lies squarely at Ashley's feet.

I can't put a poll in a thread that's already started. That's the responsibility of the person starting the thread. fwiw I predicted a Nottingham win

Apparently he's going to be rested.

To be fair, Wolfy's career in professional football coaching eclipses that of Rafa Benitez.

I hope so. One of those, plus a 40 goal a season striker, a marauding Left Back and an imperious 'keeper.

Cue. Sorry.

Ferreyra?

Ahh, Marquee, He's a false demi-regista who also plays an inverted libero role. Good signing if true. Loads of rumours this morning about Riviere and De Jong heading out the door. Happy if this means we're bringing in more players, but De Jong was actually the only #10 on our books I had faith in. Based on little more than cameos and hope.

Dark Tower has been panned by fans of the books so it's not something I'm going to make a massive effort to watch.

No, he doesn't, not in a typical 4-4-2 fashion. But he has played with slight variations to the #10 role. Sometimes Perez has played right up beside Gayle or Murphy or Mitrovic. Diame tends to play a deeper lying role than that. I honestly think the problem is with the one finishing the chances, it's the lads tasked with creating the chances. We're not keeping the ball, let alone controlling it. Had we a real replacement/improvement for Shelvey and a quality #10 I think we'd be in a much better state. Doesn't help we're missing 3 of our first choice defensive unit.

I think if we had stronger options in the squad we could play a different formation from time to time. That said, we needn't change our formation often. We can tweak the system that usual formation uses. E.G. a 4-2-3-1 with Mitrovic up front would lessen the reliance on a creative #10 as the wide men would be able to cross from deeper, or higher balls from defence would be for the wide men to run onto beyond the striker, or he could bring the #10 into the play with knock downs. If we had attacking fullbacks on both flanks the wingers could sit in a narrower 3 and overload the centre of the pitch, looking for overlapping fullbacks, or through balls for Gayle etc. the defensive cover coming from two deeper lying midfielders. 4-2-3-1 can easily morph into 4-1-4-1 or 4-4-2. Perez (for the lack of an actual #10) could get closer to the other striker and look to find pockets of space in the box.

The absence of Shelvey, Lejeune and Dummett made the lack of depth in the squad apparent against Huddersfield. Rafa's "negative" tactics won us the league last season and are our best shot of staying up. Anyone crying out for a more attacking setup dramatically overestimate our players.

Chez's system made the most sense to me. 1pt for correct For 1pt for correct Against 1pt bonus if you're correct with For & Against.

No chance. If it was HF's opinion, or mine, I'd give it a read.

Totally agree, without Shelvey we've little or no creativity or control. I'd hoped that Merino was going to reveal himself to be Alonso, but he may be closer to Acuna. Not writing him off mind, but he's not looking like the string-puller we need. Praet may be in that mould, I've no idea. But a proper #10 would be a huge weight off Shelvey (or whomever's) shoulders and Perez is not that kind of player. He doesn't bring players in, he might work as a forward, but not a #10.

I'll try and keep on top of it, but I've just started a new job, so may have to do it in blocks of 2-3 fixtures. Dunno how busy I'll be yet.

Almost.

You'll become infuriated with the unsubtle dialectic.

He doesn't mention his girlfriend, that's meeeeeeewwwwaitaminute!

Aye, fuck it. He's a narrow minded, arrogant, intransigent bellend.

Attendance doesn't equal support, or anything other than attendance.