Premier League Discussion Sat 5th/Sun 6th November 2011

Saturday, 5 November 2011
Newcastle v Everton
Arsenal v West Brom
Aston Villa v Norwich
Blackburn v Chelsea
Liverpool v Swansea
Man Utd v Sunderland
QPR v Man City

Sunday, 6 November 2011
Wolverhampton v Wigan
Bolton v Stoke
Fulham v Tottenham

Zero interesting fixtures on paper. Looks like comfortable wins for Arsenal, Liver, City, Utd, Spurs & Chelsea. Everton might nab a point off Newcastle, because they are good spoilers. And the other 3 games are relegation yawns.

Fulham v Tottenham interests me on paper. Fulham's home for is decent, Spuuuuuuuuuuurs are going well home and away. There's bound to be some glitches in the matrix despite the top 7 all having seemingly straightforward victories.

I reckon we'll have a tougher time than people expect...although it's about time we tonked someone at home.

Spurs will win from a jammy Adebayor header. Chelsea is my bet to slip on a banana skin.

Really nervous about facing our "first real test of the season". I reckon this will be the team.


-------------------Krul-------------------

Simpson---Taylor--Colo---Taylor

Ben Arfa--Cabaye--Tiote--Jonas

----------------Best--Ba----------------


How people can look at that and say we are another Blackpool/Hull is beyond me.

Not another Blackpool, but certainly another Bolton.

Luis wrote:Not another Blackpool, but certainly another Bolton.

Look at the players Lewis. Oh wait, I forgot, you don't rate our players.

Kimbo wrote:

Luis wrote:Not another Blackpool, but certainly another Bolton.

Look at the players Lewis. Oh wait, I forgot, you don't rate our players.

Sure, you've got some decent quality players. You've made your defence akin to Stoke's and have a very good keeper in Krul, which alays helps. You're punching above your weight at the minute and are riding high on confidence and it's all very well and good but by the end of the season you'll be nowhere near the top 4 so enjoy it while it lasts

[quote="Luis"]

Kimbo wrote:You've made your defence akin to Stoke's

Yeah, right.




You wish you had a footballer like him in your defence.

[quote="Kimbo"]

Luis wrote:

Kimbo wrote:You've made your defence akin to Stoke's

Yeah, right.




You wish you had a footballer like him in your defence.

We have Agger and Martin Kelly. I know you think you're the shit at the moment but don't get ahead of yourself. One or two injuries and you'll have all sorts of problems because your bench is wank.

WOW, Agger and Martin Kelly. How many people here rate them as better footballers than Colo? I'll tell you, 1, you.

I know we don't have the squad to sustain a top 4 challenge, we will lose Ba and Tiote to the ACN, and Maiga if we sign him in Jan like the papers seem to think. But our first team is the best we have had since Bobby Robson, and all haters like you are doing by dismissing us is setting yourself up for butthurt.

QPR away for us and i think it will be a tough game. They have looked solid at home but seem to play pretty open so im hoping it will be to our advantage. Barton is sure to put himself about a fair bit and try and rough Aguero and Silva up but im sure they will cope. I love SWP but i hope he has an off night, i expect us to play Clichy to try and match his pace. Kompany will be banned (which gets me thinking...why was Evans allowed to play v Everton...shouldnt he have been banned ?) so i think Savic will step in alongside Lescott.

We have been on awsome form but there is a long way to go and we need to keep winning and hopefully we can pick up another 3 points at Loftus Road. Im just gutted im not going to be there i was really looking forward to going to this away but ive sold my ticket to a mate who cant always get to games....cos im a nice bloke and ive got man flu ....and the little fact im going to be bankrupt if i keep going to all these away games haha.

Coooooooooooooooooooome on City.

From the daily heil

typical liberal cockney media

Some worrying statistics there. Why are we having to make so many goal-line clearances? Are these the last gasps of a team about to concede goals aplenty? Can't we hold onto the ball or at least make timely interceptions rather than endlessly having to tackle the opposition? Won't we get tired? What if Demba Ba loses form, or gets injured, or is shortened or foreshortened in such a way so that crossed balls no longer meet his head, but project just above it? Why have we proved incapable of replicating the form of the 1996/97 season? What has been learnt?

As for today, though I don't think Obertan has been consistently or crucially contributing to us defensively, still for the sake of the team's shape I'd rather play Marveaux in his place than Ben Arfa. I do see Ben Arfa's role being behind a striker; whilst I don't think we should rule out ever playing him in a wide position, and whilst in Tiote and Cabaye (and Guthrie also fits the broad mould) we have the players to allow for more flexible, attacking wide players, still at the moment our full-backs need to be protected and more, the system we have been using has been working well.

Just a heads up..sorry gooners RVP wont score today, the reason is simple, ive put him in my fantasy team :)sorry.

Marveaux starts for us, playing down the right; otherwise we are unchanged from the Stoke game:

----------------------Krul

Simpson---Taylor--Coloccini---Taylor

Marveaux--Guthrie--Cabaye--Gutierrez

------------------Best----Ba

As for Everton, what? I don't know how they've been playing this season? Presumably a five-man midfield?:

--------------------Howard

Hibbert--Jagielka--Heitinga--Baines

Coleman--Neville--Rodwell--Drenthe

--------------------Osman

---------------------Saha

Own goal courtesy of Heitinga.

What a goal! What a player!

The "GORMLESS walking disaster" has extended Newcastle's lead with a great strike.

Its defo going to be a 2 horse race this year between us and Newcastle United

Ryan Taylor hasn't been exceptional for us this season, but he has been more solid at left-back than I think we could have expected - fairly unadventurous for the most part (he's looked to attack more today) but he hasn't made too many flagrant mistakes and he's been pretty reliable positionally. That has significantly boosted our season, because it is an area we could have struggled in, either lacking a player or with a newcomer taking time to settle. At this point, I think most fans would like to see Santon in ahead of Simpson, at right-back, rather than replacing Taylor at left-back. Gutierrez obviously does a lot of work shoring up that side too.

Everton's goal is a real dampener. It will be interesting to see how we fare in the second half, especially since we are now without three of our four first-choice midfielders this season. Gosling hasn't really played for us before.

The luck is with Newcastle clear penalty for Everton shows they will do well this year when you make your own luck.

Urgh. McLeish sticks with Heskey in his useless midfield role. And Hutton is his useless pretend RB role. Bannan remains in the sin-bin and Ireland left on the bench, to make sure we have no-one with any skill on the ball

Oh but Jenas finally fit enough to get a spot on the bench. The excitement.

Two ex-Shrews start for Norwich. I certainly won't begrudge them their draw

Unchanged team from the side that won 2-0 at West Brom.

MUST WIN.

Still not happy that Johnson gets in the side ahead of Kelly but otherwise wouldn't have changed it besides maybe Bellamy in for Downing, who has done nothing so far for us.

The North Stand at Old Trafford has been renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.

Fergie also went out to a guard of honour.

Cesc Soler wrote:The North Stand at Old Trafford has been renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.

Fergie also went out to a guard of honour.

aptly named for a stand full of turds.

Luis wrote:Unchanged team from the side that won 2-0 at West Brom.

MUST WIN.

No praise for Newcastle yet Lulu?


Well deserved win for us today. I would've given the gormless walking disaster away for free this summer. Hopefully Cabaye and Tiote are back for City, it would be a shame for us to meet the other big gun without our strongest XI. Also, about their penalty, I would point at 2 blatant barges on our strikers as they went to head the ball in their box. They didn't deserve a pen, I thought the red generally served them better than he did us, especially in their 3rd.

Kimbo wrote:

Luis wrote:Unchanged team from the side that won 2-0 at West Brom.

MUST WIN.

No praise for Newcastle yet Lulu?

I predicted you to win 2-1 today. Everton are rubbish this season. Nice to see you pick up a few injuries though which will mean you'll lose your next 2 or 3. Marveux is not injury prone is he?

In other news, we hit the crossbar again this season