First things first - Riise should not be selected. Downing always cuts inside either to cross or shoot with his left and JAR never, ever learns, no matter how often it happens in a game. And it’s not just Downing. JAR backs off his man and invariably has his weight on the left and continually falls (sic) for the sucker punch. In today’s press conference Jol has confirmed that there are no new injury problems, only the long term casualties Dejagah, Davies and Diarra are ruled out. Mladen Petric is therefore available but I think it’s another bench job for him. Left Back will probably be Richardson but I’d be imaginative and play Stan Manolev there to combat Downing and Johnson. Yes, I know he’s a right back but think it could work in this game for the reasons mentioned and I’m really not convinced about Richardson. Midfield is again the main dilema of course, as it has been for most of the season. The important lesson to be learned from the Reading game is that we must go for balance. Kara, after a couple of cracking cross-field passes, struggled in that game and was taken off after 30 minutes, although I believe that was as much because he was always ging to go off early anway. Kaca showed directness down the wing and yet moved intelligently into the centre at the right times (example his cross from the right for Ruiz’s headed goal). Urby was all over the place and frankly lacked commitment. So I’m going for the two Ks. Frimpong doesn't seem to be on Jol's radar - the view being that Dench is "a warrior but can't pass for peanuts". Damien Duff was pretty anonymous but will do a job defensively and help Riether, if he (Duff) stays on the right. Frankly our squad is thin at the moment and the options are few. So my starting line-up would be - ……………..Schwarzer…………… ..Riether…Senderos…Hangeland…Manolev.. …………Kara……….Enoh….. ..Duff………..Ruiz……………Kaca…… ………………Berbatov…..
I never thought I'd say this, but Rodallega should start. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd be tempted to play Ruiz in the centre of midfield. I never thought I'd say this, but let's put Duff at left back. Rodalega played well once he came on last week, and he deserves the chance to show it wasn't a one-off. He was unlucky not to score and had some very nice touches to make chances for others, not least the lay off for Ruiz's first goal. We looked a better shape with him and Berbatov up front and being fed by Ruiz. I'm not sure if Karagounis is fit, so I'd combine Ruiz with Enoh if he isn't. If Kara is fit, then he stays in and it's two from Ruiz, Duff and Kaca (I agree with Cottager about Urby) for the wide roles. For all Ruiz's failings, he was the one player last weekend who could play a penetrating pass. He was the one who looked like breaking down the Reading defence. In the absence of a Danny Murphy we need him, even if that means putting up with the times he takes too long or picks the wrong option. I was fascinated that most on here (and around me in the ground) thought he had a poor game, whereas most newspapers plus the people who award bonus points in Fantasy football, plus the Match of the Day people thought he did well - he made the MOTD team of the week. I think sometimes we are too fixated on the negative with Ruiz and don't appreciate how good his best moments are. I'm convinced by Cottager's argument about Riise and Richardson, but Duff is no worse defensively than any of the other options, and he played there when he was at Newcastle. It would also solve the winger dilemma if Karagounis is fit to play in the centre, and it would give us one more genuinely creative player on the pitch, which can't be a bad thing. So: .................Schwarzer................ ...Reither...Senderos...Hangeland...Duff/an other ..Duff/Ruiz...Ruiz/Karagounis...Enoh...Kacaniklic ...........Rodalega...Berbatov.........
Captain, the only time Ruiz played a pass it was when the score was 2-0 down and everyone in the ground knew that there was no way back for us. More even the Reading defense and midfield. Ruiz is lazy, slow, can't defend, has no ability with his right foot and his looses the ball most of the time as he gets tangled in his own feet or runs in the wrong space. I forgot he can't run to save his life. (Classic moment when he missed that opportunity by "tackling" himself!) Despite that I think he will start and probably get run over by the speed Liverpool are playing these days. The only person who will think that has a good game will be Jol and probably the MOTD who would not have paid any attention what so ever had he not scored two goals. Apologies for moaning but had enough of the "messiah" who is clearly not! Other than that I agree with the possible formations. ……………..Schwarzer…………… ..Riether…Senderos…Hangeland…Manolev.. …………Kara……….Enoh….. ..Ruiz/Duff…..Hugo……………Kaca…… ………………Berbatov…..
A very downcast Jol in today's internal video: [video=youtube;gnxVQljP_cc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnxVQljP_cc&feature=player_embedded[/video] While he hints at changes, it didn't in the end sound as though he knew what those might be.
Why am I not surprised?? Our problem is that we start from the back but no midfielder is coming back to get the ball and if or when they get the ball, they have no idea what to do with it. Or they are too slow and they are closed down and passing back. The interviewer asked a valid question. "What did you train on?" Coz last week it seemed they have not trained much...
Can I ask why you've posted another epic moan about Ruiz and his lack of ability with his right foot, then suggested he should play on the right?
The same way he played on the right last Sat in the second half. He managed to cut through the defense a couple of times and it seemed that he worked well with Riether. Does this answer the question?
I'd go with Schwarzer Riether Hughes Hangeland Richardson Kacaniklic Ruiz Enoh Emmanuelson Hugo Berbatov Jol will go for Schwarzer Riether Senderos Hangeland Riise Duff Karagounis Enoh Emmanuelson Ruiz Berbatov
In his latest press statements Jol said, Couldn't have put it better Mr Jol. So who's to blame for "giving away space at the back", "not playing compact and staying together" and "not applying pressure" ? Your own tactics or your team selection or both ? Or is it just down to the players ? Whatever, "hopefully" you'll get it sorted tomorrow.
A big reason for the space at the back against Reading is that Ruiz and Riether did not play well together. Riether likes to get outside the right winger, but Ruiz frequently ignored him and then left him horribly out of position. Senderos then got pulled out to the right to cover for Riether, and that left a lot of space. Ruiz made no attempt to cover for Riether either, as he is not a natural right winger. We have holes in our squad, such as sufficient cover for the right wing, given Duff is getting older and picking up more niggling injuries, and we can't address those until the summer. Of course, you could make a legitimate case that maybe Frei should have had that chance...
Would you have commended him if he'd said "I picked the wrong team, my tactics are **** and the players were a load of **** as well"? He's identified the problems, which is better than saying "I thought we played quite well, actually", and it's fanciful to say the least to think he's not going to have put any effort into rectifying this.
Isn't that what he did say, albeit more euphemistically? And what I was saying was, "let's see if he puts his money where his mouth is". For example, by selecting a balanced side and dropping whomever he considers culpable for last week's defeat.
We've picked a strange team for this. Game means literally nothing to us now, and you can tell. Fancy you to win.
