On paper a 442 with Chadli and Paulinho in centre mid is as unbalanced as when Harry had to play Kranjcar and Huddlestone played there. It's testament to the 2 players that they haven't been a total car crash but the lack of a proper midfielder who breaks up play is there for everyone to see. Sandro really has to come in somewhere in the starting 11 but we all know Sideshow won't start him, he'll give him 20 minutes at the end and then bring him back into the starting 11 claiming that he was right all along and saying Sandro has improved because of his exclusion. Ade should be dropped but that aint going to happen so I'm resigned to us having the same line up but hopefully Dembele or Bentaleb will come in for Chadli(not his fault he's played out of position).
How comes YV? I'm not even Ade's biggest fan but I think he's been pivotal to us over the past few months, last 2 performances haven't been great admittedly but there aren't really any better alternatives. I also think he and Kane have shown signs of a potential half decent partnership. As for Sandro I find it a disgrace to drop him from the squad, he doesn't come across as the type of guy who'll cause problems in training or be a poor trainer and the fact he's our best CM, you'd have to wonder if Tim is deliberately trying to piss the people at the top off as he knows his time in charge is limited.
I think one of Kane and Ade is best dropped for this one. Stoke will crowd the midfield and they're more competent at it than they were before so that's how they'll try to hurt us, imo. Before the last 2 games I didn't think much of Ade when he got 2 goals against Sunderland. For long periods he was out of the game which was glossed over by 2 fortuitous goals. One came off his stomach and the other was an offside tap-in. Our slow starts are the result of a lack of proper preparations, our players go into the game not knowing what to expect and so get caught out repeatedly until we realise how they're set up. I'd rather we had an extra man in midfield for that period of the game. If it's not working then we can bring on a second striker at half time, it's not like we do much playing in the first half anyway so no waste.
I think I'd rather drop Chadli for Sandro, on the theory that with Eiriksen, Kane, Ade, Paulinho and Kaboul we could keep scoring, while Sandro could help us in midfield.
Assuming that the side stays the same for this game, which seems fairly likely, here's the side that won't play: Friedel; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto; Sandro, Dembele; Lamela, Holtby, Townsend; Soldado. Subs: Gomes, Chiriches, Capoue, Livermore, Bentaleb, Sigurdsson, Falque. Now, some of them are missing due to being loaned out or injuries, but it's not a bad side, is it? We definitely need to address our squad balance in the summer.
Friedal, Vertongen, BAE, dembele, Holtby, Gomes, Livermore,siggy, Falque, will all definately be gone in the summer imo. I also think there is 50/50 chance that Capoue, townesend, Dawson, Naughton, rose, kaboul, lloris and sandro will be leaving. I have a horrible feeling it'll be a **** load out and a **** load in this summer with a new manager followed by a "transitional" season at least itll keep my hopes down so i wont feel like a herd of cattle have stampeded over my nuts next season
Lawro's Prediction for Stoke City v Tottenham Hotspur Stoke are one of the good-news stories of the season. Mark Hughes was under a bit of pressure when they were down near the bottom of the table at the end of January but, since then, he has not done much wrong. Hughes has changed the system that the Potters played under previous boss Tony Pulis and it is working, and I can see him improving the team again this summer. But Tottenham have taken seven points from their last three games and they are finishing the season well under Tim Sherwood. Christian Eriksen has found some form and Harry Kane has started to look a decent player since coming into the team. I am backing them to continue their good run. Lawro's prediction: Stoke City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur Lawro's 2013-14 Predictions
Perhaps they could substitute a pre-match kick in the bollocks, instead?... http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...andshake-stokes-charlie-3453198#ixzz2zsFBfifT
Who do we think Adam's going to try to injure this time? A repeat on Paulinho or will he stick to form and go for Eriksen or Lloris? Can't we have Sandro or Capoue take him out in the warm up and claim it's a preemptive strike?
"Who do we think Adam's going to try to injure this time? A repeat on Paulinho or will he stick to form and go for Eriksen or Lloris?" http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/so...ipe-scolari-neymar-oscar-julio-cesar-fred.ap/ That will no doubt really anger the on-pitch chav. Eriksen must be worried too. Isn't Bentaleb in the frame with the Algeria squad too ??
The reverse fixture at WHL was the team's best performance under Sherwood and arguably all season, so I'm hopeful that we can nick the three points today. Stoke are only playing for pride and we've done pretty well up there in recent seasons in the league IIRC, Foy permitting.
As expected: Lloris; Naughton, Dawson, Kaboul, Rose; Lennon, Chadli, Paulinho, Eriksen; Adebayor, Kane. Lets hope Stoke play crap.
anyone got a link? I'm on wiziwig, and I can't seem to find a decent one. I see "Nutjob" is no more...
http://www.hdfoots.com/setanta-ireland-live-stream.html It's average, at best. HDFoots is normally pretty good, too.
I've got a good picture on Bloodzeed but no sound! I don't think it's my computer - anyone got sound with that link?
Bollocks. I've been pissing around because I had no sound on Bloodzeed either. Thought it was my setup.... Ukrainian one on AceStream is watchable.
