........no, not Athletico Backworth, but that lot from Madrid. Having only managed a draw today, they have been relegated from La Liga.

Now, this raises an interesting scenario. Jimmy (Pink) Floyd Hasselbaink is unlikely to be prepared to stay and play 2nd division slug-out. So, is he worth #15-20M? Apparently Robson thinks so. At least he's sniffing.

Will YBR let his namesake take him to the Riverside Stadium, or should we bring him to the Rivorside at Chester-le-Street?

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2000

Answers

Not with an ivory barge-pole, mon ami!

Just to be really controversial, I thought Matt Jansen looked top quality on't telly today. I've always thought he would look great in B&W, despite him apparently jerking us around once or twice - certainly won him no friends on here.

Anyone else see the Blackburn v Man City game? One of the most bizarre results I've ever seen.

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2000

Aye Mr Clark.. I came in from tending the garden to watch the B'burn vs City match. If ever a team waaas gonna win it was City. Have you ever seen a team hit the woodwrok four times and lose? Sh*t - if I was a B'burn supporter I'd have topped mesel' by now. What with Shearer's brace ("Thank you very much, thank you very very much") and then this bizzare result.. Still - I'm pleased thare's a team from Manchester back in the EPL next season.

But there defence certainly needs strengthening in the centre. What aboot a deal on Goma and Marcelino?? Nah - let's keep one of 'em and chuck in Howey instead.

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2000

I was just going downstairs to watch the Spanish football re-run! Bollocks! I just had to read it, didn't I?

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2000

Clarky, You wrote:

>>>>>Just to be really controversial, I thought Matt Jansen looked top quality on't telly today<<<<<

Nah....leave him writing The Mag.....tha's about his level!

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

We've already got 5 players who prefer to 'play in the hole behind a big front man' [insert puerile remark here], not sure that we want any more. You've got be an exceptionally creative player to justify losing a winger unless you go to a back 3 with wingbacks, and we simply don't have the right personnel. Thought his miss against us was woeful (we have 20 odd bodies already who can't hit an open goal) and there are other ways to interpret continuously hitting the woodwork :-)

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

Softy,

Can I take it that's a definite no then?

BTW - Jansen wasn't playing "in't hole", he was playing up front with that nice Ashley. He scored a superb goal, and hit the post after brilliantly controlling the ball on his chest, flicking it up and around a defender, and then volleying it against a post from about 14 yds.

IMO, we need a creative player who can hit the net playing up alongside AS - a la Beardsley - rather than the conventional current wisdom of a totem pole "to take the weight off" AS. IMO, we cannot expect to compete effectively playing with two centre forwards which leaves us short-handed in m/f. Shearer is a CF, pure and simple, and we need someone who can provide variety and the unexpected, while also providing him with chances, alongside him.

Frankly, I'm not really sure about Jansen, but feel we need someone like him - a Pahars, a Dwight Yorke, or a Robbie Keane - actually an old-fashioned inside forward.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

Not a 'no' Clarky, just pointing out that we need to:

a) Sell Maric
b) Probably sell Ketsbaia
c) Find a new position for Dyer
d) Drop out of the Gudjonsson bid
e) Find out whether AS is happy to return to being provider, ball winner, target man

Before any move for Jansen would be worth persuing. Obviously this is my opinion so almost certainly cock-eyed. Bobby could probably buy a troop of performing nuns and make them the highest scoring outfit in the league. I just go on what I've observed thus far, and that's precious little.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

It was great to see Man City return to the PL yesterday. They must surely have the second best set of fans in England. It'll be a great atmosphere at Maine road next season. As for Jansen, he was brilliant yesterday, we should gpo for him, He has a cracking left foot, great pace and in my opinion would be great alongside either Shearer or Eidur Gudjohnnson, who we should also get. We need 3 strikers to chose from. Not one and a part timer. Softie I think Maric and Kets are on their way anyway, Robson will persuade the board to sell them cheap to get them out of the way. Dyer, surely he would be suited as a right midfielder along with Gavilan. That would leave Solano surpulus to requirements. Let AC Milan and Madrid fight over him. As for funds to buy both Jansen and Gudjohnsson, and have enough for Bassedas. I hear that Deportivo have agrreed personal terms with Marcelino, it's just a matter of agreeing a price with Newcastle. Add that money to the money generated from selling Solano and Goma and we could well afford to virtually give away Ferguson which we should do at the earlist oppotunity, he has so far cost ONE MILLION PER GOAL, and costs us #2 million a year in wages.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

The idea is that we shouldn't play 2 up-front as we have done (sometimes at least) this year. If you look at the results this year (lie down for half an hour first) they fall into three parts. Catastrophe for the first 6 games, gradual resurection when Duncan played alongside Al, wittering non-entity when Duncan got injured again. I'm not sure this is a great deal of evidence for 2 up front, but I don't think the idea can just be dismissed. A lot of teams play two bruisers in the middle of the defense (it would be quite nice if we did - but ours seem to spend most time being bruised). Wasn't it when we were able upset that that we made some progress? [I don't see many diffferent games, I just have a tape Kegsy sent me of the Manure game which I play twice a week -- but I'm entittled to an opinion!!]

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

Sounder,

You're quite correct to say our most productive part of the season was when AS & Yin were playing together regularly. However, there are two questions to ask. Is mid-table mediocrity all we aspire to - even if we do tonk manure every now and then? Secondly, how games a season can we assume Yin will play?

DF is badly injury prone, and who knows how serious his present knee injury is - as usual, the signals are contradictory, and the real information to the fans essentially non-existent.

My concern is simply that I don't believe we can be really competitive playing with essentially two centre forwards. To be fully effective these two require wingers to provide the service. Four defenders, 2 CF's and 2 wingers leaves two in midfield. Play two in midfield in the PL and there's every chance you'll get buried in virtually every game. Our limited success with this system was based on playing only one wide man.

The only way I could really see playing with 2 CF's, would employ WB's. In that system you could play 3 at the back, 2 WB's, 2CF's, and three in m/f. However, we don't appear to have the players for such a formation, although IMO Domi is the perfect raw material for a LWB.

I feel quite sure BR will decide which formation he intends to play and then ensure he has the players to effect it - it will be interesting to see whether this is based around both AS & DF. If so, he will definitely need to buy a DF look-alike for when he's out injured. There's no point whatsoever basing the Club's success entirely around DF, and then needing to bring in Gallacher or Kets whenever he's out injured - this is just my opinion, of course.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

Now lets see - which team plays the most rigid 4-4-2 in the League - yep the one that's won it 6 out of the last 8 years.

Manure always start 4-4-2 and tweak it about if it ain't working. 2 up front working their boll*cks off. 2 wide men and 2 full backs all happy to cross the ball. 2 in the middle of the park who battle and also score a fair share of goals. Stick a semi decent keeper behind that lot and you'll win more than you lose. Remember they've had a couple of stuffings each year for quite a while but keep on going.

2 c/backs whose job is to stop the opposition. Apparently they've had a shaky season - they've let in 45 goals - shame they scored 96. Oh yes and they're 16 points ahead of Arse - who also play 4-4-2 in the same fashion.

I hate ManU but you've got to admire their organisation. Taggart has a plan and several options in all positions.

We need the same flexibility. I believe once we shift the dozen or so players too many we have the basis of a good team. YBR will sort it - on the orificial site Nobby comments that he's signed Romario, Rivaldo & Ronaldo in the past - he'll find the next one of them for us (if he hasn't already with the Sparrowhawk)..

All players understand 4-4-2 and its a good base. If you need extra attack you swap one of the 4s for an extra forward. Its simple.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

You make some excellent points Clarky (as usual).

Manu are, of course managing to operate with 2 wingers(or should that be whingers???) - at least when Becks isn't roving in midfield, but their forwards are a bit more mobile (and lets face it faster) and tend to come through from deeper positions. I agree wholeheartedly about the need for decent forward cover, but don't know whether we need a bit more pace and creativity to help Shearer, or a Ferguson clone. You're right - it depends on how Robson wants to play it. What is clear is that we don't have the depth of playing staff to stick to one system. We lose a couple of players and we have to change systems to accomodate the replacements.

We really do lack pace all over the pitch - Dyer, Domi and probably Pistone excepted. Funny that two of them are left footed and yet that seems to be the place where we have problems.

One insight into this might come from the Corinthians League, where the selected Left Midfield Players have contributed 16 points in 16 games, contrasted with 45 from the right and 81 from the middle! I think this is mainly because we've been playing right footed midfielders or defenders in the left midfield spot for the last 5 years!

Screacher and I were mulling this round in the local hostelry last night and agreed that there was a lot of hope for Pistone at LB with a winger (Domi?) in front of him. He seems to give his best performances in this set up. Griffin may offer hope on the right in the future (when Barton retires!), maybe with Dyer in front of him.

I think another problem we have is down the middle, where we just don't get players into the box. Our goals return from midfield this season is appalling even with Speed's contribution (eg cf Manu, Leeds, Arsenal, Liverpool). I suspect that most of the non-forward goals we have scored this season have come from set pieces, though I haven't checked.

Do you think Gudjonnson (sp?) is the answer? - he didn't seem particularly quick to me, but I haven't seem much of him.

Sorry I think this is turning into a bit of a ramble now. Any other thoughts anyone? :o))

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

It seems we're all on the same wavelength Josh (must admit you put it a bit better than me).

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000

The Thread-killer strikes again!

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2000