Zamora did not have his best game by any means. He doesn't look the same to me but it's early days. Crouch for me is not the answer. I have no idea who is however. Kasami looks a prospect.
Zamora largely underperformed tonight as he has so far in the qualifiers but by no means should he be sold, he just seems to have lost half a yard in the final third. However I agree that a right back is a must before the villa game. I'm confused as to whether jol plans on playing hughes there with senderos at CB this season, if so then I worry. Hughes is a fine CB but not a RB and we will get found out sooner rather than later if we go down this path, we should at least play bairdinho there until a suitable RB is brought in. Positives of tonight were AJ who was superb, dempsey looked good in the 1st half though admittedly did fade out as the match progressed, kasami's brief cameo and most importantly some of the passing and movement was exquisite, you can already see some of jol's influence in the style of play. However, this tended to come in patches of 5-10 mins, followed by 15 or so minute stages where we didn't look interested. Hopefully this will be addressed in the early stages of the season.
we're through and i think it was healthy for us to have a proper run out. Hughes isn't a right back and I hope Jol puts him back where he should be. He looks lost past the halfway line. The partnership with Hangeland is one of the strongest in the prem, so why change it? .. An issue with Riise in my opinion he looked tired the whole game, I hope this is purely a lack of match fitness. We played AJ was outstanding, I'm really pleased for him. People concentrate too much on what he doesn't do and not enough on what he does. Overall I was happy, we switched off a times although I saw enough glimpses of class.
Woah, did you just give AJ some credit valjing? Didn't manage to see the game (I was in London though, annoyingly), but relieved we're through. COYW.
Good game last night. I think Bobby played well and opened up space for AJ and Dempsey. Don't start thinking like 3 years ago and giving him trouble. The other thing that affected his performance was his hand. Could not move freely, that was clear. Kasami looks a good prospect and had an impact straight from the moment he came in. We need a RB and I believe MJ knows about it. Overall comfortable performance without many tackles and easy pace.
The only thing I'd add to the conversations was how good, I thought, Riise looked as LB. He got forward. He's pacy and has a ridiculously long throw. What a great pick for us. If we can duplicate that at RB, I think we'll be in very good shape this year. Senderos, too, wasn't half bad as center back. I've been a big critic of his, but I hope he proves me wrong. I thought BZ had a decent game, doing all the little things he's supposed to do. AJ was man of the match for me. When he's healthy, he's a top drawer player. Let's hope we get a nice, long run out of him this year.
Beat me to it, Bidley! Am I right in thinking that AJ is our joint top scorer (shared with Danny Murphy's 3 penalties - let's hope we aren't using up our quota of penalty decisions in the relatively unimportant business of Europa league qualifiers)? If he can keep going at a rate of a goal every other game all through the season, a lot of us will be eating our words about his prolific days being over. That said, even though Split were tougher than our previous Europa opponents this season, he'll mostly be playing against better defences than this. It sounds like I should eat my words about Riise the Elder too. I wasn't keen on the signing when it was first mooted, but now I'm thinking that it was a great signing.
I'm pleased about how Riise and Briggs seem to be building a relationship - someone senior taking a specific interest in him will be good for his confidence. Liked Kasami a lot - for just a few mins on the pitch. Bobby did some good stuff, not at his very best, certainly still way better than Crouch. I agree Baird is a better RB, I think MJ is still sorting out what to do at the back - I'm sure his aware that RB is an issue.
I agree largely with what everyone else has says. At times we looked Champions League material then immeiately after like Championship material. It wasn't a bad perforamce but there's a lot of room for improvement. In particular, I thought Riise was fantastic - a superb signing; very skillful; has fitted straight into the team. Think it was Danny who said that it feels like Riise has been in the dressing room for years and that shows on the pitch. Agree that AJ had a very good game. At the end, when he came towards the Hammy End clapping I thought "I hope he doesn't leave" but on the way home reflected that he looks good againt the teams we've played so far - will he really look that good against PL teams? Good to see Clint back and thought he was v. good in first half but faded in second (which is perhaps understandable). I counted the no. of times he was on the floor as 4 in the first 43 minutes then stopped counting... Good to see Kasami and thought it was interesting that Danny let him take the free kick (which nearly went in) towards the end - previously Danny would have taken that himself. Does he see Kasami as his successor? Thought everyone else was pretty good most of the time (Duff in particular) although Etuhu started making a lot of mistakes in the 2nd half. Hughes is clealy doing his best at RB but its not a long term solution and Jol must be aware of that.
Bidley. As you know I am probably AJ strongest critic,but fair doos! he had a superb game, the best I have seen him play,lets hope against stronger opposition he will still turn it on.
What an excellent summary Penguin. Completely agree with the wee exception about Etuhu - and I'm surprised there has been no, at least faint, praise in any of the other posts. He had a fine game. Playing slightly deeper in front of the back four he seemed more comfortable, took just that second longer before passing quite effectively in the main and actually beat players. It was interesting to see how he actually bossed Murphy out the central position, forcing Murph wider and to the left which created good space to attack. Yes, I've been a constant critic of Etuhu in the past but fair play when it's due - keep it up Dixon and I'll happily eat my words. Final observation is to hightlight the view that Hughes is not a RB and repeat an earlier point that, while Senderos is okay, he's too similar to Hangeland. The two H's compliment each other and should be our first choice. Making Baird the RB - but yes, we are vulnerable in not having pursued recruiting for that spot before now. All round a good competitive test - nice play in first half; a tad fiesty in the second - which can only benefit us, notwithstanding Mr Jol's comments.
Thanks Cottager58. On the subject of Etuhu I was actually very impressed with him in the first half I just felt that in the second half he made some silly mistakes. On reflection, that was at the time when Split were looking threatening and, as we know, those threats came to nothing partly due to Dickson. I agree with you about Senderos - he is a good centre back and v good cover in the event of injury to H or H but they should be the first choice pairing and we need to sign a RB asap.
I've not seen Senderos play yet, but all summer I've had a sneaking suspicion that he's going to edge ahead of Hughes for the job of Hangeland's regular partner this year. I was looking to see who Jol picked on Thursday - a crunch game - as an indication of which way he's thinking. Injuries and suspensions apart, I think we can regard that as the first choice side. Sidwell may well be ahead of Etuhu; Dembele's absence may be down to not having built up fitness yet, but other than that, I think Thursday was the Villa line up. Assuming, of course, that we don't go out and buy anyone else this week.
Good afternoon all,back off hols,and looking forward to the start of new season. Referring to the above item,you could be right about the team for next season. But I have a feeling that we will have a new right back by Saturday.
Is that just a hunch Roscafre? Or do you have any inside info? It would be amazing to sign another FB of Riise's quality.
Sounds promising, anyone heard much about him? i know hes only young and Lens got relegated last season and a few spanish and PL teams was looking into him,
