I have had the pleasuref watching the lads twice in the last 7 days and boy have we come on. I wonder if this winger of ours,Robert, is the victim of his own talent. We play the ball to his feet and he turns to meet Dixon or Xavier who give him no opportunity to use his speed. As I understand that is what you tell a defender to do if he is up against a faster forward. The answer - you play the ball to his feet but you,Distin,Speed,or whoever go for the return then play it past the defender for Robert to run on to. Who is moving the faster now? Comments anyone?

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2002

Answers

That could be it. But I think that happens to all wingers. A good winger goes past them.(Ginola) Or if they can't do that they have to make the space and runs so that if the ball is played to them then they have enough space to knock the ball down the wing and chase it. (Gillespie)

It always seems to me that when the ball goes to Robert on the wing. The best possible outcome is that he plays it back to the midfield. Really I expect a run to the cornerflag to be the best possible outcome. Why it's not happening I'm not sure.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2002

To be honest, our style of play this season doesn't require running to the corner flag and putting in crosses.

We have basically Shearer and Speed who could get on the end of them, and the lack of pace in the former would rarely see him in the box anyway. This is why it is a waste running past the defender.

An overlapping full back would make a HUGE difference. Look how Hughes and Solano have combined to make a partnership that has often produced greater than the sum of the two players.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2002

Agreed. I'd love to see Riise from Liverpool in our current squad.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2002