Ferguson - The good one, not the miserable, old tosser

40 points. We're pretty much safe and I think we've all accepted that Enrique will probably leave in the summer. Does anybody else think he should be dropped for the last five games to give Ferguson some experience and to give everyone else a chance to see what he's made of?

I'm not sure whether he's ready for first team responsibilities just yet, but I'm convinced he'll be a top player in a year or two. How he develops will dictate what we need from Enrique's replacement. If Ferguson can show he's tight enough defensively (we've all seen he has the attacking prowess) then there's no reason why we shouldn't give him Enrique's place in the XI next year, and then use a portion of the Enrique money to sign a backup. If he's still lacking defensively then we'll need someone of Premier League quality, and Ferguson can be deployed as back up for the next season or two before finally progressing into the starting line up himself.

Also, there's a quote from Pardew on Sky Text (I can't find it on their website) saying we're looking at experience players and that having "150 appearances is more important than being a 19 year old with potential". I hope he genuinely means experienced and not old. Interestingly he said he's spoken to a couple of free agents, Sebastian Larsson has said he's definitely leaving Birmingham and he also has over 150 league (EPL and Championship) appearances. So I think it's fairly nailed on that he'll be here in July.

 

I don't think we should drop Jose.

I've read that Pardew wants to play Ben Arfa in the number 10 role, which has me drooling like an old man in a sixth form common room.

Larssen is a decent player, would be a good signing.


Ferguson should be given more game time between now and the end of the season, but I see him more as a wingback/left winger personally.

 

If we were to drop Jose for the last 5 games i think it would send the wrong message and possibly drop the price as it will be obvious he wont re-sign here... We want to give off the impression that he will only leave if a great offer is recieved...

Protecting our assets MA style!!

 

Ferguson has great talent and potential and I just hope he's brought through in the right way and not to be made to feel as if he isn't good enough or promising enough to be part of the team.

If he's good enough he's old enough.

 

Yeah, this. Don't know if it's just me being hopeful but in my eyes it's still touch and go whether he leaves, and dropping him will only make him want to leave more.

 

I don't think it'll be a case of dropping him as much as resting him.

 

Hes a Left Winger not a LB he can do a job there but rather him play at LW

 

I'd like to see Enrique play left wing in a game to see how effective he would be there. Maybe stick Guti in his international position of LB or maybe on the right with Barton tucking in.

In all honesty I'd like to see another win though before we start experimenting.

 

No, don't drop Jose

 

Jonas played RB for Argentina and was useless there.

I'd like to see a win against Blackpool, then start negotiating Enrique's contract. If he declines, then play Fergie.

 

If we drop Enrique we make it 100% certain he'll leave.
I'd still like to cling on to what hope is left

 

I wouldnt drop him unless he refuses to sign a new deal, at least offer him one first.

 

He has refused to negotiate. He's obviously been tapped up by someone and if that bullshit about wanting to make sure we're safe was true he could just have written a relegation clause into his contract. He also said on Late Kickoff that he'd see out his contract "if he had to". We don't want to imprison players who don't want to be here. If he has no respect for the club he can **** off, and I don't want to see a mercenary playing for us for the rest of the season when we have a youngster packing bags of talent and brimming with enthusiasm sat on the bench.

 

I think you've gone mad mate.. but yeah each to there own I guess. Just wait until the summer IMO and see how it unfolds. Can't drop Enrique.. just no(plus it wouldn't happen).

 

Would be crazy dropping Enrique if we want him to stay, could put the final nail in the coffin, I would love to see Fergie get more games though, looks class! Maybe rest Gutierrez?

 

I'm not mad Sanchino, but the people who think he will be here next year are hopelessly naive.

Basically he'll go to whoever offers him the most, and evidently our £50k wage cap won't sate his avarice. Personally I don't want players like that at the club, I want players who'll play for the shirt. Have you noticed how his performances suddenly reached new heights round the time his contract negotiations stalled? No doubt he's either trying to convince us he's worth breaking the wage cap for, or he's trying to convince richer clubs he's worth signing. I reckon he'll be half the player as soon as he's put pen to paper on his next deal, wherever that may be.

 

He was really good at playing 15 yard passes to Messi.

 

Fair point

I like the looks of Ferguson, I think he's very promising but I'm not yet convinced he's a full-back, I think he's more of a winger(good dribbling ability and a fair amount of pace), although if he beefs up his defensive game then maybe he could be Enrique's potential replacement for next season if HE goes(which looks 50-50 IMO). I hope he goes to a Champions League team though he deserves it.. I would be very disappointed if he goes to Liverpool or a team similar to our position(mid-table team aiming to challenge and be competitive in the top 10/challenge for European places).

 

I think we have a chance of keeping him, but dropping him would probably seal the nail on the coffin and drive him away faster.

Drop Jonas instead, and let Ferguson have a chance on the left wing.

 

Unfair on Guti who's done nothing wrong in the last couple of games. He was very good yesterday. Gave O'Shea a torrid time.