[John_D]

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:00 pm  

Is it over yet? The pre-announcement fallout, I mean. When can we get onto the post-annoucement outrage?

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:14 pm  

John_D wrote:

Is it over yet? The pre-announcement fallout, I mean. When can we get onto the post-annoucement outrage?

Now if you like:

Goalkeepers: Hart, Green, Ruddy.

Defenders: Baines, Cahill, Cole, Johnson, Jones, Lescott, Terry.

Midfielders: Barry, Downing, Gerrard, Lampard, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Parker, Walcott, Young.

Strikers: Carroll, Defoe, Rooney, Welbeck.

Stand-by: Butland, Jagielka, Henderson, Adam Johnson, Sturridge.

Questions I have:
Cahill and Jones over Jagielka?
Johnson over Richards?
Terry picked again and another player not picked because of Terry's behaviour?
Downing being picked after the season he's had?
Milner being picked despite not playing much for City?
Oxlade-Chamberlain being picked despite not being picked for Arsenal?
Barry over Carrick?
Carroll over Crouch?

But the most hillarious thing, and surely a joke is Henderson being picked as a stand by Get the holiday booked son.

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:17 pm  

Some things never change

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:25 pm  

Roddy B wrote:

If Kenny goes, I'll be disappointed, but it's hard to defend that league season, it really is.

He's had us play some good stuff, we've played well a lot but haven't had the results to match. If we'd played poorly throughout I wouldn't have any doubts, but we have and the decent run in the cups also makes me support him.

I think Kenny can turn things around and I don't think it's time to completely start afresh. However, if Kenny is given another season, the expectations compared to results must be honoured. If we expect/want the top 4 more than anything else, then putting everything into that should be our priority. If we flop like we have this season, you can't really defend two seasons of spectacular underachievement, but if we get close to the top 4, then I'll be pleased.

I held my head in my hands the day he was confirmed as the permanent manager, and events since have depressingly proved me right.

First time 'round he took over the greatest club side the country has ever seen and gradually ground it down to being a clapped-out, past it old team of foreigners (at a time when only 3 non-Englishmen could play in Europe). Souness always gets the blame for the fall from grace, but Dalglish was 90% the cause of it. He won the league at Blackburn through the simple expedient of buying it (and even then only just), and was then an utter calamity at Newcastle. He did nothing in 20 years since. He was shown up as not up to the job then and will hardly be any more up to it 20 years' worth of bypassed tactical evolution and revolution later. And yet he was deemed as the man suitable to give 100s of millions to spend on garbage to... This is the man whose last signings at Liverpool were Hysen, Carter and Rosenthal, and who replaced Beardsley with David Speedie FFS...

We need to go and throw a lot of money in Mourinho's direction to have any hope of the CL in '13/'14, and throw the likes of Henderson, Downing and Carroll out while we're at it. If Dalglish is still manager next season (and there's only so far that mad Anfield sentiment can sustain his position surely) then mid-table anonymity beckons yet again.

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:27 pm  

No place for Carragher, Spearing or Shelvey?

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:29 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Now if you like:

Goalkeepers: Hart, Green, Ruddy.

Defenders: Baines, Cahill, Cole, Johnson, Jones, Lescott, Terry.

Midfielders: Barry, Downing, Gerrard, Lampard, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Parker, Walcott, Young.

Strikers: Carroll, Defoe, Rooney, Welbeck.

Stand-by: Butland, Jagielka, Henderson, Adam Johnson, Sturridge.

Questions I have:
Cahill and Jones over Jagielka?
Johnson over Richards?
Terry picked again and another player not picked because of Terry's behaviour?
Downing being picked after the season he's had?
Milner being picked despite not playing much for City?
Oxlade-Chamberlain being picked despite not being picked for Arsenal?
Barry over Carrick?
Carroll over Crouch?

But the most hillarious thing, and surely a joke is Henderson being picked as a stand by Get the holiday booked son.

I'd love to know who Terry has photographs of... Nothing else can possibly explain why his England career didn't end 3 years ago, let alone why half of the squad can routinely be sacrificed to accomodate him being in there at any cost.

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:34 pm  

SaleSlim wrote:

Just goes to show how the top 3/4 have dominated over this period that I'm really struggling to pick players from other teams. I'll have a think and try and come up with my best "non Utd/Arsenal/Chelsea XI".

Friedel
Kelly
Southgate
Woodgate
Ziege
Dempsey
Gerrard
Cahill
Speed
Shearer
Fowler

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:35 pm  

I'm really not convinced we'll get through the group stage!

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:35 pm  

I have some sympathy for Hodgson given his very late appointment. It would be interesting to know how many of the contenders he's actually seen in the flesh in the last few months.

I cant help thinking that Carroll has gained a place over Crouch simply because his most recent performances have been in high profile televised games whereas mid table Stoke haven't featured much.

Looks very much like he's going to play a single striker.

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Wed May 16, 2012 12:38 pm  

To be fair to Roy he hasnt picked anyone too ridiculous and vice versa hasn't omitted anyone too ridiculous.
Johnson over Richards - fair enough, neither are massively convincing defensively.
Jones over Richards/Jagielka - versatility factor I'd say.
Terry over Ferdinand - Ferguson seems to have cooked Ferdinands goose by saying he couldnt play 2 games in 4 days...whether this was to save him for next season or not I dont know.
Carroll over Crouch - neither particularly inspiring but Carroll being mainly left-footed could have helped his cause?
Milner and Barry - have both been impressive whenever I've watched City and they both do an awful lot of the "unseen" work
Oxlade-Chamberlain over Lennon - bit surprised by this one as I don't particularly rate AOC but again versatility may have played its part.

The only one I think who is lucky to be there is Downing but that says more about the massive lack of left-sided/left-footed English players about than his abilities (or lack of).

Henderson over Carrick on the standby list does look a bit odd but we don't know whether Carrick has said if he isn't picked he doesnt want to be on the standby list do we?

All in all, nothing to get excited about in respect winning it and nothing to get excited about in any scandalous ommissions for me. We just don't have very many top drawer players, simple as.