Chambers was injured. Great we have a super player like Clyne to come on for him, but we need both of them...hope Chambers is a wet sponge injury.
I love how we play football, but I do enjoy seeing the opposition players just bounce off Wanyama. The first game against West Brom, they had Yacob and Mulumbu in the midfield, two very strong, physical players, and Wanyama dominated them both. Watching the game yesterday, in the 2nd half, there was an instance when the ball was in the air and Cork was waiting for it, an opponent came in and nudged him out the way with ease, creating a good opportunity for Fulham, something that wouldn't have happened if that had been Wanyama. Cork is better with his feet, but Wanyama brings strength, both are needed at different points in time. Also, Wanyama has scored this season, although it was incorrectly ruled out, so you could claim that he is a bigger goal threat. To say he is not very good is rather stupid when he is widely recognised as being one of the stand out performers in the Celtic team that beat Barcelona. You seem to have forgotten that it was Wanyama's first game for two months, and from what I remember, Cork had a shocker on his first Prem game this season. Just to add that the manager who said that about Wanyama is now managing Greenock Morton...
I reckon we should sell Cork, to be honest. I mean, we're surely getting offers of around £20m for him, right?
Indeed it was so but their second attempt just after Boruc had saved once came from the same situation where they got Victor off the ball. Jack might have been nimbler and stayed on the ball. Look on MOTD. Not trying to be argumentative, just introducing balance. It's not all one way (or the other). Vin
Completely agree, we need one or the other depending on the circumstances. I think last year we were missing physicality in the middle in some matches, which we now have and allows us to adapt depending on the opponents.
As I have constantly said for the past fortnight, it is all taking each game in isolation. Who are the opposition. How good are they, what style do they play, what midfielders do they have. Are we playing at home or away. What are we realistically looking at getting from the game. Is MP willing/wanting to tweak the formation. Etc etc. There are also two other players to consider: Morgan and Davis. It is not simply Jack or Victor (even when both are fit and on form), who is better. Far, far from it.
Not sure I would agree really, defense is just as valuable as attack, you only win with a balance of both. Another spin on this would be to say that Vic is a precision instrument, like a meat cleaver, capable of carrying out one single aspect of the game to a world class level, whereas Jack is a great, adaptable, versatile, do it all, tool. Like a food processor. Both will be necessary for different times, Vic to win possession higher up the pitch when he has a stable, first choice back four behind him to intervene when it all inevitably all goes ballyhoo (as well as dropping as an extra CB when we're getting ****ed), and Cork to recycle the ball well, buzz around, provide a pass and move it forward. Personally my preference is a fully fit Wanyama, because being a Jack (Cork) of all trades is also a good way of saying you suck at a whole bunch of things at once.
You seem to have forgotten that it was Wanyama's first game for two months, and from what I remember, Cork had a shocker on his first Prem game this season. ____________________________________ I keep seeing this point brought up, but in the Villa game, I didn't realise that Vic got injured, I thought MP had pulled him off at half time because he was having a shocker. Crap passes & constantly slowing down the play, it really was rather awkward. Now we didn't cover ourselves in glory that day, but we certainly looked better when Jack came on. Although I've never truly warmed to VW, I can still appreciate the things he does do well. But, breaking up one of the premierships best midfield pairings from last year (and paying another record fee) didn't make sense, & its not like he jumped at the opportunity of coming here, did he? I fully expect to see a much better display from him next time out, but maybe he needs to patiently bide his time like Jack Cork has done.
He wanted to come but his agent wanted loads of money. I don't get how some people say he didn't really want to come. His agent was the guy playing games not Wanyama.
None other than Paul Merson reckons that Jack is a superior player to Victor. However, he admits he hasn't seen Saints play that often. His excuse being that Le Tiss normally sits next to him on Soccer Saturday, and Matty wouldn't be able to concentrate on his own game. Well, if you believe that twaddle you might respect his opinion but... Tell you what, why not look for yourself..? [video=youtube;f5AISoT6KDk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5AISoT6KDk[/video]
I do believe that Merson may not be given a Saints game because of Tiss to his right. I can remember a while ago when Matty yelled goal so they switched to him, saying there has been a goal at 'X' ground. And Tiss had to say no there hasn't, because he was actually watching the screen next to him which had the Saints game on. Bless him.
Cork for me. He's been our best player since he came in. I've stuck up for Wanyama a lot of times, but Cork is simply undroppable atm.
Squad rotation may be a key factor here, also taking into account the skills of the players and the opposition. Keep the boys fit but not over-tired.
