OK have just watched the highlights or lowlights from yesterday and we were in my view very unlucky. Line drawn however and onto a huge game next week, A win for us will IMO almost certainly condemn Rangers to the drop and will make Arry twitch a lot more! So question is who should start. Jos was unlucky yesterday and has been pretty solid since he came in. That said if Fonte is fit I'd bring him back in. Rest of the defence picks itself if Luke is fit? Puzzle for me is in midfield. Cork and Morgan are first names on the team sheet for me and we've created a lot of chances in the last two matches with Davis starting but next week should we begin with Gaston? Further forward who gets the nod Adam and Jrod or should Punch return? Should Mayuka get a game? Personally I think I'd start with Boruc Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw Cork, Morgan, Gaston, Adam Rickie, Jrod Interested in your views. COYR!
Early bird catches the worm Beddy. Not much else going on this week so I thought I'd throw it out there
Hopefully we'll be going for the throat against QPR, so I can see the Gaston in for Davis move. I'd always want Punch on from the start as i think he terrifies people (Gareth Barry affirms!) so reluctantly this means Jay sitting on the bench. If the theory that Luke Shaw was taken off to prevent his getting a red card is correct, then yes he must come back. Poor old Foxy looks shell shocked. But I do wish people would remember what he has done for us and stop slagging the poor guy off.
--------------Boruc Clyne----Fonte------Yoshi------Shaw ---------Spider-----Cork Punch-------Gaston------Lallana -------------Lambo On approx 60mins maybe take off Gaston for J-Rod and stick Lallana in the hole with JRod on the left. Like to see Forren on the bench too.
Boruc Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw Cork, Morgan, Puncheon Davis Adam Rickie Can't drop Davis at the moment.
Boruc Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw Cork, Morgan, Puncheon Davis Adam Rickie Can't drop Davis at the moment.
Luke should be fit so no Fox. Why not Gaston? He could wreak havoc against slow defenders like Samba and Hill!
He just hasn't shown enough to be picked ahead of S.Davis right now for me. I see where your coming from, but he might be a good impact sub against tired legs in Samba/Hill.
Just hope Shaw is fit...not good being taken off after a return from injury. Own goal tough on Jos, but can see Fonte returning for this game. It would be nice if we could just pull away from bottom three again...we have been hovering for too long at 3-4 points above. This really is a 6 pointer.
I'm sure Shaw will be fit, he was clearly withdrawn to stop him being sent off. This is probably the easiest game we'll get for the remainder of the season so might be a good time to blood Forren, at least from the bench. Ramirez could do well against QPR as well, but as others have said, Davis' recent form is much better and I'd start with him.
Davis' best moments in the match against Newcastle were early in the second half when he got into really good attacking positions and pretty much every time he would play a simple backwards or sideways ball straight to feet. He has played some good balls (the one for Clyne in the first half was decent although collocini had it covered) and it's not as if his passing is poor but puncheon did more than Davis in 15 minutes, same for Gaston. One of our best moves was puncheon's through ball for Gaston which could easily have been a goal. Davis has 2 goals no assists, Puncheon 5 goals 5 assists, Ramirez has 3 goals 4 assists I have a serious gripe with the way Davis and JWP play their football, it was worse under Adkins where Davis and Ward-Prowse would 10 times a game run away from their goal to receive a pass and play it first time back to the original passer. I still see Davis play these first time neat passes but in a less methodical and predictable a way and to give credit where it is due he has looked much better in a more advanced role. Still he is no where near dangerous enough to warrant a starting place ahead of someone as immensely talented as Ramirez I'm not rubbishing possession football but keeping possession for the sake of it is detrimental. In any case Ramirez, if he had the same mind set as Davis, would be much better at keeping possession but instead he tries to score goals at every likely opportunity. I bet every manager in the premier league would love to see Davis start ahead of Ramirez.
I thought we missed Puncheon against Newcastle. So, I'd keep the same team that beat Man City except Shaw for Fox. Also, maybe bring Fonte back. Lallana and Ramirez on the bench (can't believe I'd ever have said that!)
This comparison is spurious. Davis has generally played in a far more withdrawn role than Puncheon or Ramirez. It's like saying Cork is rubbish because he hasn't scored any goals. He's not going to say "I took him off to stop him getting a red card" though is he.
