Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Jun 2010
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- 12,495
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- London
LOL, Palace were useless from the spot, like watching England.
The Carling Cup Semi-Final Second Leg 24/25 January *** Spoilers ***
- Thread starter Cosimo
- Start date
Gutted, those were some shocking penalties by Palace. Shame, as when Miller skied his I thought it was destined to be.
Well done to Cardiff though, they deserved it. I think they'll give whoever they face a good game too, could very well win it.
Well done to Cardiff though, they deserved it. I think they'll give whoever they face a good game too, could very well win it.
Soldato
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- 11 May 2007
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- Surrey
As an Eagles fan it's a shame we didn't win, didn't look like we were going to for the entire match really. Our stats our terrible lately, possession, given away corners, goal scoring rate. The better team won, deserved goals and I enjoyed watching it.
Despite being a Liverpool fan I think we will lose tonight. I can foresee us pushing forward a lot to try and make up for all the crap we've played recently and ending up getting caught out at the back and losing. I'm going to call it as 3-1 to Man City.
Is Spearing fit or is he still carrying that injury?
I'm unsure, haven't checked RAWK or TLW for a while
Hoping he is fit though, we really need a DM in the mix. Lucas getting injured has shown how important he is to the teamI'm unsure, haven't checked RAWK or TLW for a while
True indeed, I confess that I am one who really complained about Lucas when he first arrived, but he has truly grown into the role and now is one of our most reliable players.
I'm pretty sure Spearing's still out and I wouldn't be surprised to see Carra brought into the side to sit in front of the back 4.
City have got a free weekend coming up so they're not going to be resting Silva again and we can't afford to be giving him space to play in.
Carra is the last person I would want marshalling the back 4 / having to keep tabs on a tricky player like Silva.
Its about time we stop worrying about other teams and just play our game instead.
Carra's lack of mobility mean he's far from perfect in the DM position but given what's available to us and who we're against, I'd rather he was there.
The days of just going out and playing your own game without a consideration to who you're playing are long gone. Man for man City are stronger than us and we can't just hope to out play them. The likelihood is that all 3 of Nasri, Silva and Aguero will start tonight. All 3 of them will look to play in the space between our midfield and defense and if we allow them to, they'll punish us.
As above, Carra hasn't got the mobility to get around the pitch, making interceptions and tackles as somebody like Lucas would but the area Carra is strong is his positional play, reading of the game and generally knowing his job (and everybody else's ).
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I disagree, the best teams in the world play their own game and screw the opposition.
For me, these 2 areas which used to be his strengths are the aspects that seem to have finally gone..related to his now chronic lack of pace. His jugdment appears to be impacted by these weaknesses, everytime i see him play.
If your going to throw someone in there for the sake of it, or play with 3 CB's, then the obvious choice is Kelly. Strong in the tackle and has a bit of pace about him. His positional sense seems alright too. I beleive CB is his natural position also.
Kelly/Coates-Carra, in that order for back up CB.
For me, these 2 areas which used to be his strengths are the aspects that seem to have finally gone..related to his now chronic lack of pace. His jugdment appears to be impacted by these weaknesses, everytime i see him play.
If your going to throw someone in there for the sake of it, or play with 3 CB's, then the obvious choice is Kelly. Strong in the tackle and has a bit of pace about him. His positional sense seems alright too. I beleive CB is his natural position also.
Kelly/Coates-Carra, in that order for back up CB.
With the exception of Barca and Arsenal (and it's hardly been a success for the latter), I can't think of another side that just plays their game regardless of the opposition.
I'm not talking about playing a 3rd CB, I'm talking about playing a 4-3-3 with Carragher sweeping up behind Gerrard & Henderson (or whoever players ahead of him).
Carra's positional sense and reading of the game are still there, his legs have just gone. Sit him in front of the back 4 and let Henderson and Gerrard do his running. He might make a mistake or mistime a tackle but he won't be caught out of position which can't be said about any of the others we could play there.
And on Kelly. His natural position is at CB however it was suggested that the reason why Benitez was reluctant to use him there (and instead used him at RB) was because of his positional sense. That's a common problem with most young cb's though and I'm sure is being or will be addressed.