As if Monk is a regular! Sorry Dai but your off your trotters with this call on Monk, anyway Laudrup won't be so daft!........... please log in to view this image
he will play monk or is this going to be another mistake made in a week. we are not that good without chico but monk ticks all the boxes for this game ....sorry
Bradford's tactics against Villa were to hoof it forward at every opportunity and hope for the knock downs and to get to the second ball first. It was then and only them they attempted to string more than two passes together. They won't be playing through midfield that's for sure. For that reason alone we should play Bartley. You'd have to expect us to dominate possession and set pieces will be their best chance to score, Bartleys extra height could be important as I just cannot see them scoring during open play. Lets be honest here this final is ours to lose. If we apply ourselves correctly and professionally we should win with something to spare. I reckon they will be a lot more worried about us than we are of them.
I'm pretty sure Bartley played himself out of the final against Liverpool. He was really really dreadful. I recon Laudrup would have gone for Bartley before Sunday, but now Monk will definitely play. He has done well when played this season as well, so for me...Monk
Why would they be worried? they are the underdogs and just by getting to wembley is a hell of an achievement for a league two side. they wont be worried about us one bit. I hope the players dont go into the game with that thought or it will be waterlooville all over again. i hope we play them as if they were man utd and give them the utmost respect.....
Bloody hell Dai, don't remind me of that game again!! still send shivers down my spine. Had stick of the lads on work for weeks. So long as were professional enough and give Bradford the respect the thoroughly deserve, and then apply ourselves, we will get a result.
Trust me Dai they will be worried. If we score early we could tear them a new one and they won't want that. I fully expect them to have a lot of men behind the ball and try and keep it tight. Yes we must show respect but I fully expect to win with something to spare if we are professional, which we will be. No way will ML allow us to be anything else.
It our to lose but i hope the players are not thinking like that and believe they only have to turn up....the first 20 minutes of Bradford bombardment and then we settle down with some nice neat triangle passing going forward until we can unleash michu who will finish it off.... that's what im expecting....Keep our discipline so we don't give away a penalty or too many set pieces because if Bradford are going to score then that's the way they will do it. we must try and keep the ball for most of the game and we should come away as winners....4-0
4-0 sounds about right. I don't know about an early bombardment though ad I don't think they'll see too much of the ball. Last time at Wembley we were 3-0 up at half time and we could repeat that Sunday
Dill they have nothing to lose mate. they are expected to lose against a premiership club at wembley. they are not playing on their own pitch now with divots everywhere to give them any sort of advantage....they will come out all guns blazing and if we score a few goals they will put every attacking player they have on with 20 minutes to go.....they will be as confident as we will be and probably more as they have nothing to lose....the pressure is firmly on our shoulders as the premiership side.....
Can't argue with you there Dai but they have to get the ball in the first place. I think your call of 4-0 is just about spot on. I will be shocked if its not to be honest.
This is a Cup final lads, anything can happen, and you can't take Bradford for granted, they have proved their worth to get there, so we should treat this like any other Premiership game! Anything less and it's a Banana skin.........................
His captain skills were absent agains 'Pool. Why would they be any different in a final. Truth is he is a marginal player now. We have a lot of new members of the squad who see him as an old timer that is perhaps in the squad out of "loyalty" (can't think of a better word) and he just doesn't have the gravitas in training to build and maintain the capital to have authority on the field as captain. We had no leader in the second half against 'Pool. The leader who should been leading was too busy trying to keep his head above water to clearly see the game in front of him and take command of the situation.
And Ash has to provide cover for an aging sub-level center half and for a 19 year old left back. Let's stress the guy out big time and play Absent Agustien in front of him too.
Got to agree with this, this game will be nothing like any other we have played this season and the pressure is all on us as the prem side as we will be expected to win. We have the capabilities with a more talented squad but we are also vulnerable especially when playing a physical team who have an aerial threat in the box. Although Monk isn't the greatest in the air I expect him to play as he does have good organisational skills and has partnered Ash regularly in the past, when Bradford do get opportunities like corners and free kicks I would therefore expect us to utilise Ki and even Michu to clear our lines. Bartley showed his inexperience at Anfield several times by making basic errors so with all the pressure that a major cup final brings do not think this would be the best time to have him in the starting eleven.
