On the bbc this morning Arry has been quoted as saying he was dissappointed with the defence in the game against Wigan. As i only watched match of the day was our defence really that bad? Since both the manchester games i think we have only conceded 1 goal which is against Wigan this weekend in all competitions? Surely he has to be happy with that? I have been very impressed with the defence in the games i have seen this season this is mainly because Ledley has been in there but i have even been impressed with Benny and Walker at full backs! Hope they keep it up!
He was doubtless partly referring to the sloppy goal we conceded, where Benny had one of his 'dozy moments'. Fair play to BAE though, he's been really good for us of late, had been ill and has played a lot of games, so he should be cut plenty of slack. It's also worth noting that it was great skill and a top quality finish that actually got the goal for them, leaving the mistake aside. Benny had a couple of other iffy moments in the second half, so Harry will have noted that. Also, Moses gave our defence quite a few problems. However, considering our very tough schedule and the fact Ade was pretty much a passenger for the last half hour due to eye problems, and that Wigan were naturally going for it as the losing home team, we did very well overall and got a great result.
Yeah, as Ghoddle has pointed out, I think he was having a dig at the defending for the goal. Poor stuff from Assou-Ekotto there, though Parker didn't cover himself in glory, either. We struggled a little in the second half, partly due to Adebayor being half-blind and partly because of van der Vaart and Sandro running out of steam. They both need more games to get back to full match-fitness, so it was probably for the best that they played most of the game, but it might have been prudent to make earlier changes. Sticking Bale over to the right to help out Walker defensively cost us forward momentum, too. I'll be happier when we've got more players back from injury, as we need the options from the bench and we need to be able to rest some players. Kaboul and Assou-Ekotto are playing too many games already.
What happened to Ade? Never mentioned anything about this on MOTD? I think Benny and Walker have been one of our best players this season however Benny is always liable to a lack of concentration overwise i would class him as one of the best LB in Europe.
Adebayor got into a bit of a tangle with a couple of the Wigan defenders. One of them cleared the ball when he was in possession, but also caught him and he bashed his head on the other on his way down. He couldn't see out of one eye properly for most of the rest of the game, so he wasn't doing much.
Yep, the fact we played effectively with 10 men for most of the second half has been lost on various media outlets, including MOTD. It was a massive win for us, given our injuries/absences/tough schedule, and a better win in context than either Arsenal or Pool's. These two being our main rivals this season in the Prem, IMHO. Our tough schedule, given our absentees, continues now v Shamrock and Arsenal. As PNP says, Kaboul and BAE are playing too much already, it's likely now that Walker will suffer the same fate. However, we cannot afford not to beat Shamrock. A draw or defeat would be bad news on so many fronts. So what do we do? I hope that a couple of players like say Pienaar at RB or Livermore CB, even though out of position might save Walker from yet another outing, or maybe an Academy RB. I just hope some of our walking wounded/infected can return for this one, even if just being on the bench.
Can't see Pienaar at right back especially as we have Corluka as back up i think Kaboul will be able to handle both shamrock and arsenal can't see that as a problem. As a professional footballer they should be able to play 2 games a week i understand Walker is young so wouldn't expect that but players like Kaboul and Benny shouldn't be affected by 2 games a week! Is Danny Rose out on loan or injured as he did a good job last season covering Benny in the last few games of the season?
Rose is injured. He's indicated on his Twitter account that he's nearly back though, so hopefully he'll return soon. I'd be happy to see him and Townsend start down the left against Shamrock.
Fair enough VDM, I disagree with your analysis, and incidentally expect to see Corluka at CB versus Shamrock. I absolutely don't want Kaboul and BAE playing v Rovers, and footballers definitely are affected by continually playing two games a week, especially with the travelling involved. Fortunately this week, the travelling isn't a problem, but it has been over the last month or so, including international duty.
Reminds me of a Ronnie Barker joke from Porridge, show me a man who laughs at defeat and I'll show you a West Indian chiropodist with a sense of humour.
