...your season, and very soon, your career's will be up.

You either sort out whatever the problems are, or you can kiss goodbye to achieving anything.

Stand up and be counted.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2000

Answers

I'm pleased we can view the Brum game in perspective.

Barton, Shearer, Lee and Speed had poor games, but they are all capable of match winning performances. I can't excuse yesterday, but they're all good enough to be in the best teams in the land.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

which land are you in, on about ?

No one has EVER been rumoured to be linked with buying Speed or Barton, only London retirement teams are interested in Rob Lee, and Shearer is no more than average Premiership now.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

Barton, Speed and Lee would not get in the OZ team at the moment.

Shearer may get in as Vidukas partner

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

Fulham offered £3m for Speed at the start of the season apparently. Who would take it now?

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

Get someone in who can head the ball and you can dispense with Speed.

Get someone in who wants to play left back for us and you can get rid of Barton.

Get someone in who can hold the ball up and score goals and you can get rid of Shearer.

Get over the cult of the individual and you can get rid of Rob Lee because Acuna looks twice as useful already.

To think that that nasty Ruud Gullit thought that being manager meant that you could choose which players you wanted to keep in your squad...

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

Personally I'd rest all of them apart from Shearer because he can score goals when he has the chance.

Speed and Lee should be rested if only to give Bassedas and Acuna a proper attempt to make the predecessors looks average.

I think I've made my thoughts on Barton pretty clear.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

Well, the old 'bandwagon' is well and truly on the road.

I'm as p*ssed off as anyone, and probably more p*ssed off the most - however, to all the "drop AS/RL/GS" proponents I would ask who is going to replace them within the squad when the Manager (reputedly) has NO money to spend? For all the midfield strength we are supposed to have, I just can't really see that it would improve the team to leave out RL, and possibly even GS who certainly has not been playing well. I actually thought Rob Lee was one of better players last night - not that that says very much.

Up front, I would agree that AS certainly needs a rest, and has reached the stage were we cannot expect him to play every week. But who replaces him? Cordone? Coppinger? Amoebi? I don't think so.
How much would it cost us to buy the player that Softie glibly says "...can hold the ball up and score goals and (then) we can get rid of Shearer?" We really need a 25 year-old Alan Shearer - but so does everyone else, and we don't have £15-20 million to spend on him.

We need serious solutions - not Fantasy League solutions. The reality is that the money well has been drained, and simply casting aside our senior pros without adequate replacements will IMO only make the situation worse.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

Clarky, But hes getting a rest , No England , no Europe. He needs help up front and cordones the man , If only Al would applaud attempts to score instead of chastising the players.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

Give Acuna and Bassedas a go in the middle. For all Lee's work yesterday, when presented with a decent opportunity to get a shot on target he went sideways and passed to someone in a poorer position. Speed has been off form and loses possesion a bit too often.

Why not give them a rest and see if Acuna and Bassedas can do any better.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

MacB

Didn't think I suggested that anyone was after any of the above. I said that they were all good enough to be in the best teams.

Following on from Dan's comments on another thread, yesterday's performance should be put into some perspective. Barton had as bad a game as I've ever seen, but can be an excellent player. Speed scored 13 invaluable goals last season, was anonymous last night but equally has been a match winner this season. Lee is reaching the twilight of his career, and is changing his game to midfield ball winner. Again, another poor game yesterday, but can still be strong enough to hold the middle of the park. Shearer continually flits between average and excellent games.

Realistically, we are a mid-table side who played badly and lost in a one-off away fixture on a crappy pitch, against a side who should have been on 10 men or less by the time of their offside assisted injury time winner.

I was as pissed off as much at the manner of yesterday's defeat as the result itself, and it does hurt. However, I can see nothing constructive in binning some of our better players.

We're a mid-table team, with ambitions for success.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

DB,

If you check my "team pick" for last night's game you'll find a midfield of Solano, Acuna, Bassedas, Glass.
We need to find out whether these guys can cut the mustard, and last night was the ideal opportunity to give them a go - AND rest RL and GS.
As it is, the old pros, AS/GS/RL - who are all carrying injuries - have played yet another game, will struggle to last the pace on Saturday, we are still out of the WC, and have learned little about the new players.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

From the Everton, Charlton, Sunderland and Brum games if we had beaten Brum, drawn with Charlton and Sunderland and lost to Everton. we would be 5th and still in the Worthington Cup!

Doesn't seem like too much to ask does it? Two more points from three league games, all at home and a cup win against Div One opposition. This is where expectation is born.

I know full well we shouldn't hope for too much given the past few years but when you see the prospect of going somewhere you can't help feel anticipation.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

>>Doesn't seem like too much to ask does it? Two more points from three league games, all at home and a cup win against Div One opposition. This is where expectation is born.

All that's true DeB but it masks the reality (well for me at least) which is that we've a decidedly average squad in a pretty average national league.

Repeat after me: we're still in the midst of our (45 year long) transition ;o)

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2000

Most of my whinges have really been screams of frustrated rage. I expect better from them, and the periods of having what I expect have been very few and far between. I've seen most of Loony's 45 year transition period and it's left it's mark.

I want it and I want it NOW, cos I ain't getting any younger. I resent being repeatedly blown up for dodgy offside by the big ref in the sky, just when it looks like there might be a decent move building up.

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2000