THE post match reaction thread....

[bazza76]

Play Leto on the left instead. He is a winger.

watched his last game for the reserves on the left, he was damn busy and likes isolating and taking on the last defender. I have high hopes for that lad.

[Shanks]

I think Babel has more chance of making it as a striker than a winger

Totally agree with that.

Also agree that Leto will become a great asset on the left based on what I've seen.

Is Leto agreed to play now or are there still issues with his permit?

[bazza76]

If Rafa keeps playing Babel on the wing, he'll be no better than Diouf or Cissé.

Arsene Wenger turned Henry from a no good winger to a world class striker - we seem to be doing this in the opposite direction

The Arsenal system is very different to ours though, I think Babel would be used to better effect by Wenger.

[bazza76]

I'm a big fan of Rafa aswell but he's not above criticism. Days like today and pompey last week he deserves that criticism, imho. On the flip side though, if we'd won both matches we would be hailing him a genius.

There's a thin line between success and failure. Rafa will get it right and hopefully it wont take to long. We don't need to be left behind.

can't argue with that. thin line indeed.
I am also starting to think Rafa's system is more suited to experienced players who already have their technique at a high level.

[Red Chilli]

Totally agree with that.

Also agree that Leto will become a great asset on the left based on what I've seen.

Is Leto agreed to play now or are there still issues with his permit?

I don't know but surely if he can play for the reserves then he can play for the first team

[AFII]

Totally agree with that.

Also agree that Leto will become a great asset on the left based on what I've seen.

Is Leto agreed to play now or are there still issues with his permit?

He is free to play.

[kurtangle01]

can't argue with that. thin line indeed.
I am also starting to think Rafa's system is more suited to experienced players who already have their technique at a high level.

I think we've been at our most consistent when Rafa has picked his experienced players and match winners first and rotated the younger / inexperienced players. At the moment though he's leaving match winners on the bench. Not the best idea when we're already short of some experienced players through injury.

Perhaps a bit of a blip like this will bring everyone back down to earth and make everyone realise that we have to work our bollocks off and not just try and coast through matches.

[bazza76]

I think we've been at our most consistent when Rafa has picked his experienced players and match winners first and rotated the younger / inexperienced players. At the moment though he's leaving match winners on the bench. Not the best idea when we're already short of some experienced players through injury.

Perhaps a bit of a blip like this will bring everyone back down to earth and make everyone realise that we have to work our bollocks off and not just try and coast through matches.

I really hope so mate. Agger and Xabi are big loses though, Agger for his ball retaining skills from the back, and Xabi for his string pulling, as good a player that gerrard is, he is not the quater back like player that Xabi is. Neiter is Mascher.
We have good enough players though, hopefully they can pull it together enough to start banging in the goals again.
Atleast we havnt conceeded yet from open play.

[Morph]

He is free to play.

I think we'll see him v Reading which should be good, however I think we'll see Harry Kewell given a run in the team (after his most recent Lazarus impersonation) before we see Leto

[doogle]

maybe Rafa thinks if he plays torres all the time people might actually guess his selection?

[Gazzla]

The fact of the matter is that the team picked today should have ****ed all over Fat head Bruces Birmingham, It wasn't a team of reserve or fringe players but a team of first choice internationals.

The fact the players were ****e today is a different matter, that team on paper should have put at leat 3 or 4 past them

[cobain]

The fact of the matter is that the team picked today should have ****ed all over Fat head Bruces Birmingham, It wasn't a team of reserve or fringe players but a team of first choice internationals.

The fact the players were ****e today is a different matter, that team on paper should have put at leat 3 or 4 past them

Well, the worrying thing is then that the players were ****e for three games in a row now

[kurtangle01]

Well, the worrying thing is then that the players were ****e for three games in a row now

YEP, SACK PARRY!!!!!

[Morph]

The fact of the matter is that the team picked today should have ****ed all over Fat head Bruces Birmingham, It wasn't a team of reserve or fringe players but a team of first choice internationals.

The fact the players were ****e today is a different matter, that team on paper should have put at leat 3 or 4 past them

maybe they should have on paper, but what a team should do on paper counts for diddly squat, go ask mclarren. The way i see it the balls we sent through the middle would have been better received by Torres rather than Kuyt or voronin, the crosses which weren't exactly top notch, were begging to be controlled by Crouch. So for my money i'd have gone Torres/Crouch.

[Morph]

YEP, SACK PARRY!!!!!

I don't think that will solve anything