The lads had a break last weekend - unlike some other teams who went to Dubai (Norwich, Swansea and QPR) they were simply given time off to spend it with family and friends. Presumably this was Jol’s decision and taken because he preferred to use the down time getting everybody fit and giving the new boys the opportunity to ’gel’. So far as I’m aware he does indeed have the full squad to pick from and what will be interesting is whether Jol ignores the opposition in his selection or goes for an eleven that will combat a Stoke team that holds few secrets in how they will play. One unfortunate statistic which I’m sure is fully aware of, is that: “Aston Villa, QPR & Fulham: Have conceded the joint most goals from corner situations (8) in the Premier League this season” Given that and recent results pretty much ensures that Senderos will keep his place In midfield Jol for once has a range of options and this is where I think he will opt for the combative element. I suspect neither Enoh or Diarra are yet ‘match’ fit so he still won’t have a true holding midfielder available. Also his options at right midfield are more limited - Kara, Frimpong, Ruiz?. Bryan, in my view, is his main dilemma this week and frankly because it’s Stoke and because of recent performances I would leave him on the bench. Sidwell is another who I’m not sure about. No question he’ll match Stoke’s physical game or about his performances, it’s about balance. And creativity, so I‘d go for Urby in left midfield. Up front? We need width to beat Stoke so I’m going for the two who played against United. And, well he’s not going to drop Berbatov - is he ?? My selection then, is: ……………Schwarzer………. ..Riether..Senderos..Hangeland…Riise.. ……Kara….Frimpong….Urby…... Dejagah…………………….Duff.. ……………Berbatov…… PS If I really had the power of my convictions, I’d play Petric instead of Berbatov (against Stoke someone who doesn’t move out of their box would be perfect).
He certainly won't drop Berbatov, but he won't drop Ruiz either. I can see the team being the usual Schwarzer Riether Hangeland Senderos Riise Urby Karagounis Sidwell Duff Ruiz Berbatov
I'd like to see us go with an attacking 442 of; usual back 5 Ruiz Frimpong (Diarra if fit) Kara (Enoh if fit) Duff Berbatov Petric
To slightly digress,it will be interesting to see (if he plays) Brek Shea, a player I would have loved to see, in Fulhams colours. Many write ups by ASL reporters compared him with Clint Dempsey,at only 23 may have been a good buy,lets see if he has the future potential of Clint..
I'd go with the following â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦Schwarzerâ¦â¦â¦. ..Riether..Senderos..Hangelandâ¦Riise.. â¦â¦Karagounisâ¦.Frimpongâ¦.Sidwellâ¦... ............Emanuelsonâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦. â¦â¦Ruiz/Rodallega.......Berbatov/Petricâ¦â¦ Need strength in midfield with a bit of craft up front. I'm never sure though if Berbatov or Ruiz are up for the physical challenge. So may be Rod and Petric would be better but I'd start with Ruiz and Berbatov. Need to watch out for giving them to many corners or free-kicks. We need to watch any our midfield getting yellow cards too early, will depend on the Ref, will he be one who wants to get noticed on Live TV ?
No need to question that SuperBri, it's Mr Probert. His record on cards - Games 16, Yellow 48 and Red 1 (just think Sunderland!)
It's a rare chance to see two games of rugby on Saturday ! Mind you I saw the Juventus - Celtic game the other day and I have to say Juve were more of a rugby team than Stoke. Against a team like Stoke, Ruiz is not the best option and I'd definitely choose Rodallega. Seems an age since our last match so really looking forward to this one. I hope Lawro is right !!!
please log in to view this image Sounds as though Jol is as confused as we are about his best front men, COYW : The Dutchman also commented that he is still looking for the right balance between the forward players he has at his disposal âIn some cases weâve done well, in some we didnât do so well,â he admitted. âAgainst Norwich, for example, that was disappointing. We played well, we controlled them, but nothing happened in the final third of the pitch and that is something we worked on and tried to improve on. âIf you keep it simple I always feel that Hugo Rodallega stretches defences and has got the pace, Bryan Ruiz is the passer and Dimitar Berbatov is the sort of lower target man. But when Mladen Petrić comes on, he scores goals â heâs probably the goalscorer at the Club. But heâs a bit similar to Berbatov, so itâs not easy to find the right combination.â
No clues in Jol's (lengthy) internal video interview about team selection - except, new signing Damien Duff will play. [video=youtube;3P2EpT3H91U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3P2EpT3H91U[/video]
I would go with Cottager's team. May be Ruiz instead of Dejagah to cause some havoc and may be force a few yellow cards... ……………Schwarzer………. ..Riether..Senderos..Hangeland…Riise.. ……Kara….Frimpong….Urby…... Dejagah/Ruiz…………………….Duff.. ……………Berbatov…… PS. The weather in Dubai has been great with relatively mild temperatures but exotic for UK. Missing the game as will be flying back from there...
Moonlighting with QPR, Madness? Safe journey - will give an extra shout for you when our fifth goes in!
Impressed so far. You can see their tactics are to try and smash a few of our players (Ruiz) love what the crowd are doing to Nzonzi lol.
Really solid first half performance. Possession stats say it all, we have dominated the possession and rightly go in 1 up. I was going to bemoan Berba's contribution but will eat me words a bit. I gess that is why he is on the pitch, moments of absolute class. I would say though he has given the ball away too frequently for my liking. I shows that we have had a break and the team look well drilled and are finding good space. Stoke are here to park the bus and it has been hard to find the killer pass. Good performance so far though. COYW
Brilliant strike from Berbatov. As I said on our board, you just knew he was going to hit that sweet, his technique is second to none. It looked like Stoke had come to attack early on but that soon stopped and they fell into their defensive pattern.
For posterity, our starting XI is: Schwarzer, Riether, Senderos, Hangeland, Riise, Duff, Sidwell, Karagounis, Dejagah, Ruiz, Berbatov Let's keep the momentum into the second half. COYW!
Here are my much anticipated match ratings: Schwarzer - 8/10 MOTM: Fantastic display from MS, made two or three vital saves from Walters/Crouch, not to mention a fantastic penalty save. Looked far more confident in the air too against a physical Stoke team. Riether - 8/10 - This guy just keeps getting better. Probably the best crosser of the ball we have in the team, Linked up superbly down the right with Dejagah, who was also quality. Good play in build up to the goal. Hangeland - 7/10 - Towering performance from El Capitan. Didn't give Crouch/Walters/Jones/Jerome anything all afternoon. Senderos - 7/10 - One poor mistake aside, similar to Hangeland, did well against the physical threat. Riise - 7/10 - Really want to give him a 6 for his wayward shooting but defended well and was an attacking threat throughout. Dejagah - 8/10 - Behind Schwarzer, he was my MOTM. One of his best displays for us and watched in anticipation as he continuously looked to take players on, forced Wilson into a wild challenge after skipping away from him with ease. Good decision by Jol to play him over Urby. Duff - 6/10 - Slightly quiet afternoon but I'll put that down to fitness, linked up well with Riise. Karagounis - 7/10 - The engine that doesn't break down. Another workmanlike performance from the veteran. Sidwell - 7/10 - Same as Sidwell, the pair dominated midfield with surprising ease. Ruiz - 7/10 - At times, wildly frustrating and other times he was scintillating. Silky skills galore and always able to pull a bit of magic out of the bag. Impressed with the improved physical side of his game. Berbatov - 8/10 - Led the line well and won the game for us with a superb volley. Held the ball up well and taking him off before the end was a nice touch by Jol. Substitutes: Baird - 6/10 - Didn't have time to do a lot but gave the ball away cheaply in midfield which led to a Stoke chance Urby - No score All in all, a great pressing performance where we didn't allow ourselves to be bullied by Stoke, who again were overly physical (Huth elbow on Senderos, Nzonzi's blatant left hook at Ruiz) Nice to see Berbatov give them a taste of their own medicine.
