I've mentioned before on here, but when I had my meet and great with Rusty, we went into the changing rooms and there was a team written up on the white board. Russ wasn't in the team so he crossed out Bassong and wrote his name down and said "That's where I'll be playing next year". I'm sure at the time he just meant he wants to play CB but it's really quite a foreshadowing of how things have turned out. I'd personally rather see him stay at RB and have Bennett at CB and another CB come in but it's pretty clear that both Neil and Russ see him as the main CB now.
If we're going to play open football russ is good at the odd last ditch tackle and goal line clearance though.... I agree though his energy on the right would be ideal for the diamond as it was before.
I prefer my CB` s tall and strong with pace and a good first touch, Rusty is a fine servant of our club who has punched well above his weight for us & Scotland but he is built like a right back and we don`t have anyone on our books better in his position . Martin should only be used as a CB as cover IMO. Buy a proper CB in short.
Especially following on from Whittaker's performance last night, he was getting beaten time after time and I'm sure any opposing mangers/scouts who were at teh game would tell their left wingers to just keep attacking down that side. What does NA have against R Bennett I wonder and why has Rusty been moved???
It's not just Adams though, Hughton never seemed to rate Bennett either. From what I've seen of him, his main weakness is backing off advancing strikers, but other than that he seems to put a decent shift in most games. Perhaps he just doesn't do it in training?
On a totally different topic, Wolves also drew with Celta Vigo on Sat. Final score 1-1. I'd happily take that score next Sunday!!!
Really? I wouldn't. If were to be promoted we need to be winning those games especially given that they have just come up from league 1 and we have just come down from the PL.
I'd bite there hands off for a draw. I think it potentially has disaster written all over it. Quite possibly the worst fixture to have for an opener.
Couldn't agree more - we could be in for a nasty surprise especially if our back 4 is as fragile as it looked in the last two friendlies. If Tettey isn't fit to play and protect them then I fear the worst.
you don't rate felix magath? solskjaer is the media-luvvy who is 'not all that' and adams a complete lottery, but magath is a top quality manager.
I'm not convinced by that. One thing did for both us and Fulham - Sunderland. There is no way Sunderland should have stayed up. That was nothing short of a miracle. Frankly it was a minor miracle that West Brom stayed up. So to have two miracles... Magath didn't stand a chance. I honestly don't think we'll see another escape like Sunderland's in our lifetimes
"Miracle" is a strong word, admittedly. But look at their fixture list. Actually I don't think, man-for-man, either Fulham's or Cardiff's team was better than Sunderland's (though I appreciate that slightly undermines my point). I think Magath did about as well as anyone could expect him to do in the context of the fixtures remaining and the fact that he was, inevitably, relying on other teams losing as well. Same with us. Unfortunately, we could not rely on teams like the Manchesters to do the business on Sunderland, so realistically, by the time push came to shove, there was nothing any manager could do
Don't forget Magath was hamstrung by being dumped in the mire of the legacy from Jol and Maulenstein just before his tenure began. This season will be a fairer platform on which to judge him
Poyet managed to get the best out when needed, Magath, Hughton, Adams didn't really get close. Magath never resolved their defensive issues. This is generally the easiest as a starting point.
This is the opening game I feared the most - Wolves will be really out to prove a point and unless we score a couple of early goals and defend resolutely it will be a struggle.
