Gouff or Benny?

That is the question...fighting for a similar position in the team. If one had to go who would you choose?

I think non Toon fans who just watch us on motd would say Gouff but personally I say I would keep him over Benny. We are a better TEAM with him in the side. Works his nuts off, is good for a goal, professional and is able to deliver on a game plan. I have been impressed of late.

Benny has lost it recently. He's gone way to selfish. Just doesnt move the ball quick enough. I want to love him but has driven me mad when has played recently.

 

Gouf all day long. HBA has all the ability in the world but I've come to the conclusion it will never be realised. With that kind of player they are only worth carrying if they give you a return in goals/assists on a regular basis. He does this 1 in 5,6,maybe even 7. Its just not enough. We look better with Gouf in the side, but maybe more to the point, we look a better TEAM when HBA is not in the side.

 

Got to pick the team depending on who we are playing think there are occasion when with the current team it's worth putting Remy up front with Ben Arfa down one side and Gouffran down the other. Proved to be the correct decision to play Gouffran on Saturday though.

 

I think we should try 4-4-1-1 with HBA playing off Remy. Ben Arfa needs to be in a free role.

 

Gouffran.
The team simply has to come before the individual.

 

Gouffran for me.
I would like to see a committed HBA in the team, but as it stands he's too much of a passenger just now.
The TEAM play as a unit better without him.

 

Both potential match winners, Gouffran is more direct and has more pace than HBA, while HBA has the skill to torment defences and be a match winner himself.

Hard to drop one from the team but I think Gouffran should get the nod.

 

Ben Arfa for me as he's the better player. Having said that I'm all for picking players based on form so at the moment Gouffran should get the nod. However over the course of the season Ben Arfa will prove more important than Gouffran and win us more points.

 

Goofy for me. More consistent, more pace, better grafter when under pressure, will score more goals in a season than Ben Arfa.

 

On current form the Gouff but with Benny other teams usually stick two men on him in terms of marking so he'd be useful to free up space... something Gouff may not afford.
I'd start with Gouff and sub him for Benny depending on how the game is going.

 

Goofy for me he's a team player. HBA is the better player but put's himself first rather than the team.

 

I get the feeling we'll be playing that formation against Spurs but probably with Cabaye just behind Remy, not HBA - Anita and tiote in the centre? I just can't see any of those central 3 being left out at the moment.

 

Not to sure about that, think we need 3 centre midfielders, which has to come from Sissoko, Anita, Cabaye or Tiote. But if you have Remy up front and have wingers further up the pitch you can play Gouffran and Ben Arfa. But got to pick the team suitable for the match we are playing and using the players in form, so at the moment that would mean Anita and Gouffran should be in the team where as when everyone on form that may not be the case.

 

Both are inconsistent. I would swap both for Ince and Aiden Mcgeady.

 

Just over half an hour ago.

Spartak Moscow's midfielder Aiden McGeady has set his sights on the Premier League but he wants a Russian title first, he tells Ewan Murray.

 

Have more overall quality than those two, plus not sure either would move here, can see Ince going to Tottenham.

 

I'd take Ince over either but you have to remember Ince is pretty lazy and has openly admitted he likes others to do his graft. However I do think he'd score and create on a more consistent basis but there is no guarantee. That to me is what it all boils down to though. You can carry players if they produce. If not you'd never get to see some of the top creative players. The likes of Robert, Ginola, Le Tissier, Berbatov, Riquelme etc etc would never have seen the light of day in football if it was all about workrate. The key to it all is what those players produce in terms of assists and goals.

Sadly HBA does not produce enough. I read the Journal today and was reminded why I don't bother with it or the Chronicle. They seemed to suggest our surge into 5th place was largely down to Ben Arfa's brilliance. I was staggered to read such garbage. It is the sort of thing I'd expect to hear from some half baked on a "HBA is class man" rant. He played a part but lets not forget that the surge into 5th place was massively about our organised start to the season as it was about our flourishing finish. He played no real part in that start, and wasn't the only factor in the finish - a certain Mr Cisse had a golden boot for a start.

I like HBA but I honestly think in a bigger team he'd be nothing more than a impact sub. I am baffled as to what you can do with him. You can't put him in front of our full backs, they are two adventurous. So you either change that or move inside. You move him inside though and he has to be the fulcrum of your play. His inability to produce regularly makes that kind of unpalatable in my book.

 

To be fair he did play well in that part, but you have to remember when we won 6 in a row we conceded something like 1 goal and whilst there was good attacking play Cisse and Cabaye were also a key part of that never got the 3 of them linking up as well since.

 

The biggest problem I have with HBA is that when he plays, we seem to have to accommodate him rather than him fitting into the team - e.g. can't play 4-4-2 as he doesn't give enough cover - no surprise that Debuchy's form has improved after moving him from right side midfield.

Typical example during the Man City game - HBA gets the ball about 40 yards out and draws out 3 defenders - Debuchy puts in a huge run down the line, has about 20 yards in front of him to run into and HBA decides, instead of simple pass to put Debuchy through into acres of space, to take on the 3 defenders, looses the ball and suddenly they've got men over for a counter attack.

We're not in a position squad wise to accommodate a passenger who flits in and out any more (if we ever have been) - Gouff might not give you the HBA brilliance/flashes every now and again, but will give a solid 7/10 week in week out which is what we need right now

 

Agree with the above.