Chadli has to come on at half-time for Sigurdsson, in my opinion. We need him to offer width and height on set-pieces at both ends.
seeing as everyone is probably looking at this thread and this thread only, it's 3-3 in the villa west brom game. what a first half!
Half time - only 1-0 down. Not quite sure how, but we are starting to come into the game more. Just have to keep the pressure up, if we can!...
We may not have deserved it - and I think Rose may have dived to win the free kick - but it should be 1-1. This lot are hard enough to play against without having goals ruled out against them. Newcastle had the same thing recently.
And Marriner bottled sending off Toure, both for the tackle and for the subsequent mouthing off. Reached for his card and then thought of the headlines.
Well, glad it was only 1-0. They scored from a half chance which Aguero finished immaculately but the way he was striking the ball it could easily have ended up with them all going in. Slow start again from us, Eriksen's showing what I've been trying to talk about. I didn't think he was great for large periods of the Swansea game(or Palace) but when he pops up with assists and goals who can complain? The trouble is he doesn't influence our attacks enough, too many times he passes sloppily or is in a bad position to receive the ball. Him and Chiriches have been bad for us and Dembele and Bentaleb need to watch the midfield runners better, Walker can't come inside to chase Silva so one of them has to. Still we're in the game at 1-0 down, and we grew into the game, if Eriksen and Lennon can see some more of the ball in the second half then we've got a good chance. One last thing. Danny Rose has been excellent.
You played well and took your chances...but we were truly awful making mistake after mistake...tonight we have simply been outclassed
I'm not basing it on score line, just shear quality. The movement and pace makes everyone else we've played look second rate. The first half hour today was frightening. We are lucky to be just 1 down.
Dembele has been very poor in the first half IMO at times he has looked as though he wanted to be somewhere else.
Especially as he's basically played that whole side of the pitch on his own. Had less trouble defending than Walker and Lennon and he got forward well, too. The Toure foul hurt him, I think.
Apparently not the case as the linesman has said he thought Dawson was offside but I thought it was given offside against Ade as the goalkeeper committed himself to getting the ball off his head so he surely was interfering with play? Or am I a bit behind the times to think that a striker going for the ball six yards out is affecting play?!
On the contrary. And besides, even if I take off my Spurs-colored glasses, if it's too close to call, there should be no call. Linemen should never err on the side of wrongly taking away a goal. (EDIT). It was the right call because Ade got his head on the ball, at which point Dawson was offside. Linesman still could have made a mistake our way, though, damn him.
