Massive must win game this one on so many levels. Lloris, Naughton Dawson Caulker JV; Lennon Sandro Hudd Bale Ade JD Though I wouldn't mind if Dempsey or Falque played. Dempsey should be over his travel tiredness by now, then again the Lane's not too friendly to him ATM, so maybe save him for City
Might be good to make a few changes and see how we shape up as we could do with some more options for Sunday after a lot of bad performances over the weekend. Anyone know if Sandro's expected to be fit? I'd go for: Lloris; Walker, Caulker, Jan, Naughton; Sandro/Jake, Carroll; Lennon, Falque, Bale; Ade.
Yep, I wouldn't be averse to a few changes, but then again we need to win this one. Tough call as usual for AVB.
I think I'd go with Lloris; Naughton, Dawson, Caulker, Vertonghen; Sandro/Livermore, Huddlestone; Falque, Sigurdsson, Dempsey; Adebayor. Switch things up a bit, but still field a strong side. Give Naughton a shot at Walker's place and try out some variation behind the striker.
In a way, I don't want Lloris starting because if it does, it gives the indication Friedel will start in the league against City which I don't want. So the team I want to see is: Friedel/ Carlo, Naughton, Caulker, Dawson, Vertonghen Falque, Sigurdsson, Livermore, Bale Defoe, Ade Subs: Carlo/ Friedel, Walker, Lennon, Townsend, Carroll, Huddlestone, Dempsey Though no doubt Lloris will start, we'll play a 4-5-1 with Defoe on the bench and Hudd sitting deep with Jake and be presented with yet another drab European display.
i'd go for YV's lineup. it's a game we need to win. might seem strange going for carroll if that's the case, but I think the likes of him and Falque will really impress. They are bloody hungry for it at the moment too, and deserve their chance. neither can put in a worse display than that or Demps and Sig over the last few weeks, so they've got my vote. but like SOS says, I wanna see Lloris in goal very very soon - permanently. I'm hoping he plays on thurs and sunday to be honest. After all, he is only the goalkeeper. it's not like he can't cope. playing him on thursday will also get him in the swing of things for Sunday. this game is so important. the next 2 weekends are going to be a very tough couple of games, given all the circumstances that surround us. it's vital that we get the win to boost morale and go into sunday feeling good.
I'm thinking it might be worth trying Vertonghen at DM. He's the only first class option there, and we need one if we have any hope of doing anything this year. Gylfi scored last Europe game, maybe he will again. It might be interesting to try him with Ade, though I can see the case for Falque as well. I think we really need a win to quiet the boo birds. So Walker Gallas Caulker Naughton Vertonghen Carroll/Hud Lennon Gylfi/Falque Bale Ade
My plan is to maintain 100% possession. But I guess if we have to have one, Friedel. (Man City should be a good game for Lloris to show off his shot-stopping, I'm thinking.)
Lloris Walker - Caulker - Vertonghen - Naughton Livermore - Carroll Lennon(c) - Sig - Bale Ade I'd definitely like to see Falque at some point in the game if he doesn't start. Carroll has also looked bright when he's come on and I think he deserves his chance to make an impact from the start. Sig behind Ade for me as I don't think Dempsey has the creativity to play in the 'no 10' role, he belongs out wide or up too as a last resort. Hopefully Ade will be able to bring Sig into the game more, Defoe lacks in that department as we have seen numerous times already this season. It's a must win game for so many reasons but I think that team can do it.
I'd like to see AVB drop- not rest- gallas and give daws game time ahead of sunday. I hope gallas is not seen often in our famous shirt. He had a shocker against Chelsea and was at fault for the goals against soton and Wigan. I'd go with a 4-4-1-1 Lloris Walker, caulker, daws(c), verts Lennon, thud, Jake/sandro, bale Sigi Ade. We are woefully short of options in midfield, missing Parker & dembele. Let's hope that Mr Levy spends wisely in January and replaces rafa and ratboy. It's also time for AVB to decide on a style of play he wants and use the best players available in their right positions. I'm going on Thursday, expecting a good, confident win. C.O.Y.S
I'd also be happy to see Dawson at CB and Verts moved to LB or rested for Naughton in that position. Any one of those defensive combinations should be sufficient in this situation. It's going forward that we seem to lack inventiveness, and hopefully the introduction of Carroll and Ade might shake things up a bit for us.
Don't know how accurate this source is http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/euro...eld-pair-out-for-tottenham-trip-to-slovenia/? Tottenham will be without midfield duo Sandro (calf) and Mousa Dembele (hip) for tomorrow's Europa League clash against Maribor. Midfielder Jake Livermore will have a test on his ankle injury tomorrow while manager Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed that Hugo Lloris will start in goal. Defender William Gallas is available despite suffering a slight hamstring injury against Wigan, but Scott Parker (Achilles), Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Younes Kaboul (both knee) are out for the clash at White Hart Lane. Gylfi Sigurdsson helped Tottenham to a 1-1 draw against Maribor in Slovenia last time out. Provisional squad: Lloris, Cudicini, Naughton, Walker, Caulker, Gallas, Dawson, Vertonghen, Livermore, Parrett, Huddlestone, Sigurdsson, Lennon, Bale, Mason, Carroll, Townsend, Falque, Dempsey, Defoe. i'm guessing that no Ade is just an oversight? having thought about it more and the city game coming up at the weekend my line up would be: Lloris naughton dawson caulker vertonghen huddlestone carroll lennon bale falque Ade it might seem a little odd to most, especially with bale in the centre, but we have nothing there at the moment. Hudd is too immobile and needs some creative support. IMO bale is the only person for this at the moment considering injuries and poor form of others. I think Bale's engine will help a pretty inexperienced carroll too, giving him the support and confidence he needs. I also think that bale's strength and pace will help us hang on to the ball longer and he'll provide good support for both wingers and Ade. Basically, bale is superman for 1 match. although walker is off form at the moment, he's still our best right back and the rest might do him good in preparation for city, IMO. Falque deserves a chance more than anyone at the moment i think, and sig and dempsey need resting and/or dropping. hopefully it'll do something to help them get back to their best.
Just come on here to write a similar line up as you Roo. I was thinking exactly the same re: Bale in the middle as we have no-one going forward from that position without Dembele. Admittedly last season he tried coming in to the centre from the left and it didn't work but if we put someone out there like Azza or Falque then he will be only responsible for the CM role. If I am not mistaken he played in a central role for Wales.
In the light of injury news I'll now go something like Lloris walker dawson caulker naughton huddlestone carroll JV bale falque Ade
Hi B&W I've only seen Bale on a couple of occasions in the centre and he's been very good. I remember when we played Norwich last season and he adopted a more central role for a part of the game, which led to that brilliant goal. His ability to run at the opposition is exactly what we need atm so we pose some sort of threat! - let's not forget that goal against united in the 3-2 win, either! - another central run. The main reason why I think it's worth a go is because i've noticed in the last few matches that the opposition clearly don't think we have any threat whatsoever in the middle, so they are just capitalising in that area of the pitch. Huddlestone has been made to look v poor, but it's because we're not playing to his strengths. He's an incredible passer of the ball and he has an ability to calm things down and retain possession. The problem at the moment, is that because we pose no central attacking threat, he's being shut down from all angles very quickly and it's becoming very frustrating for him and us. I think by adding bale in a central role just ahead of him, it'll make the opposition think twice about how they will shut down our defensive 2, as it could leave Bale exposed in yards of space. 1 simple, accurate pass from Huddlestone, (or carroll for that matter if he plays) and bale could be long gone. no opposition will want to take that risk. With the pace of the wingers in falque and lennon, it'll help us to keep our width and shape, which thus creates even more space and helps us to open teams up. Ade is very intelligent when it comes to holding the ball up and finding intricate passes (hence double figure assists last season) and he needs to be utilised correctly. I can see Bale and Ade linking very well as they are both selfless players. if it doesn't work, we change it. It can't be any worse than the dross we've seen recently. but I expect us to line up like this: Lloris walker Caulker Dawson Verts Hudd Livermore (poss carroll) lennon dempsey bale Ade if we do, it's very likely we'll see yet another game where JL, TH and CD do not work together. - unfortunately tonight, it could mean we're all but out of the EL.
I think tonight Dempsey can give us a good game, as he should be over his travel tiredness now. Trouble is, he's already becoming a scapegoat at the Lane. Difficult call, if he plays I think he'll have the mental toughness to do a decent shift, but it might not be pleasant to the ears at time when he makes a mistake.
Fabrice Muamba's going to be a guest at the game tonight. I'm sure he'll get a great reception, which is pretty unique for an ex-Arsenal player.
no doubt there'll be a round of applause and possibly a standing ovation. Not to mention the "fabrice muamba" chant, which I'll expect we'll hear at least once. It'll be refreshing to see and hear, considering the primary focus of football this season seems to be racism in one way or another. reminds us all that someone nearly lost their life. FABRICE MUAMBA!!
