I thought Jenas was a holding player and his presence in the team should not mean that Dyer cannot play just in front of him. Yesterdays subs still leave me confused.If Bellamy is not fit for Saturday play Robert up front with Bernard outside and Dyer in mid field with Acuna/Speed to hold.

If Clarence is a holding player then why does he spend so much time so far forward?

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Answers

Both Jenas and Acuna at the moment are box to box midfielders, bascially all rounders.

I would love to see Robert up front with Shearer, I just know it would work (okay that's think it would work)

Some of the interplay between those two yesterday in the final third was great stuff and as a front pairing I think they have some potential.

I wish we had some pre-season games to experiment with formations, as I'd love to see Bellamy just behind the strikers with Robert and Shearer up front.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

BR is quoted as saying he took Jenas off as he needed Acuna as cover for Dyer, and that this wouldn't work with JJ.

If that is correct then presumably we can forget JJ and Dyer playing together in central m/f as BR appears to believe it wouldn't work!

In which case I would ask why the hell did we buy JJ, as Bobby has also declared that he intends using Dyer exclusively as a central m/f player?

Answers on a postcard please, to Mr R Robson, c/o NUFC plc.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

The mind boggles.

Although to be fair BR said Jenas was bought mainly for the next manager. However, forget his age, he is one of our best midfielders and should be starting if fit.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

To be honest Paul, I certainly agree that JJ looks a fantastic talent, but right now he I feel is also rather naive positionally and tends to leave gaps. This is simply an experience/maturity thing, but may well have been what BR was getting at yesterday.

However, I would argue when we were chasing the game at 1-2 and desperately needing 3 points, that we needed our most creative players on the field. Acuna wasn't even having a good game by his own standards and to leave him on "as cover" for Dyer seems clouded logic to me.

If he was so concerned about defensive cover at that point, why not just push Dabizas slightly forward into m/f with three defenders behind him?

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Cobblers, we should just go for pace and skill in attack. Play Jenas and Dyer together in the middle when Bellamy is back and let the opposition do the worrying. And until the Welsh mouth returns FFS play either Dyer or Robert up front so we have some pace. If I see Cort and Shearer starting another game together I shall explode. Probably.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

The problem with playing all out attack is teams will do what most have done when coming to SJP.

They'll put 10 men behind the ball and try to play it long to their only forward man. Liverpool, Ipswich, Southampton, Leicester, Spurs, Derby, Middlesbrough and even Arsenal to a certain extent did this.

If we go all out attack and fail to score - as happened yesterday, we are always going to be suspect to a counter attack.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Paul - couldn't agree more about Shearer / Robert.

Last week, a Shearer header allowed Robert to run onto the ball and finish superbly.

Yesterday that one little move where Robert and Shearer 1-2'd around a couple of people and then Robert layed off Shearer for the shot was terrific.

Shearer has lost his pace but because of Roberts understanding he was able to steal half a yeard to get the shot in. That was wonderful stuff. And he greatest thing about that kind of passing is that NO defence could have done anything about it. Ipswitch looked steady ready to clear Roberts next pass but all of a sudden we had a Shearer rocket. If these 2 could work at this, they'd be a terrific strike force. Another thing, Robert wins a phenomenal amount of free kicks. If he was playing more of a center forward role trying to spin past defenders we'd have loads of free kicks in perfect positions. Robert has excellent pace. He's not quite as fast as Bellamy but his finishing is 10 times better than Bellmy's.

If Robson had only tried the Shearer / Robert partnership, I think Robson might have actually had a selection problem when Bellamy was fit.

Maybe we should play Robert as a Paulo Di Caio. Let him run down the wing but also come in behind Bellamy/Shearer to help them out.

It would be a frightening prospect for defenders having to worry about Bellamy's speed as well as Shearer in the air and then also Roberts interplay and skill around the 18 yard box.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Acuna IMO had his own match plan he spent far too much time as a forward, when a move broke down he was often the last man out of their 18yd box - last weeks performance has went to his pretty little head and he wants the glory.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

...so next season we'll have Overmars on the left and Robert up front with Shearer....

mmmmmmmmmm! tasty!

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Overmars¿ where do you get this?

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

I make no apologies for repeating my three week old suggestion that Roberts should assume Bellamy's role as Shearer's partner. If we want to get into the CL next season we do not have the luxury of waiting for the Shearer/Cort partnership to work. I also subscribe to the view that we should play Jenas and Dyer, even when Bellamy is back. I just have an instinctive feeling that using Solano and Roberts on the wings, Bellamy and Shearer as strikers and Dyer and Jenas in the central midfield would strike terror in the hearts of opposing defenders. Let Dabs and OBrien do the job they are paid to do -- to defend.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

In full agreement F, except we should let O'Brien and Distin do the defending and give Dabz the splintered arse his mistakes deserve, top bloke that he is otherwise.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

"In which case I would ask why the hell did we buy JJ,"

Clarky - I think the problem we have had recently is the fact that we do not have a good enough SQUAD. Arsenal had Bergkamp so why did they buy Kanu - they had Kanu and Bergkamp so why did they buy Henry - they had Henry, Kanu and Bergkamp so why did they buy Wiltord?

To win the League I reckon you need a first 11 of 20 if you see what I mean.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Let Dabs and OBrien do the job they are paid to do -- to defend.

Now there's a novel idea ....

:-)

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Jacko - I wasn't really criticising the decision to buy JJ - he looks a really cracking prospect. I was simply expressing consternation at BR's perverse logic for his substitutions, including taking JJ off - concocted, I suspect, after the facts to cover up an unfortunate brainstorm.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

Sorry Clarky - I see that now. I've been away all weekend and was trying to catch up on everything - consequently didn't read it properly!

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002

It's all a load of balls. As soon as Dyer stepped on the pitch Acuna was rushing upfield leaving Dyer to play in front of the back four. Bobby made the wrong choice as Jenas prefers to sit and as far as I'm concerned when Dyer id fully fit KD and JJ will work superbly well together.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

The thing about Robert up front is that we'd lose very little on the left, as in any case he so rarely gets to the byline and his instinct is to cut inside.

However - had Cort put one chance away against Ipswich, I don't think we'd be having this debate.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

Bobby was on the radio saying he was aware that the crowd didn't like the sub but he wanted Dyer to play and needed Acuna as a holding miudfielder.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002