was i alone in thinking yesterday.........

[kewellnthegang]

Rafa knows better than me and you. He sees the players every day.

If we could select one manager for each game ... nobody would be blamed ...

its mad i know but is it possible rafa has fallen out with crouch and isnt playing him as a result ?
that he is selling him so thinks no point playin him ?

that doesnt make him better than me on that one
it makes him stubborn

[Guest]

Better that than Kuyt who's been completelt useless all season.

Crouch hasn't had the run of games Kuyt has had.

It doesn't make sense to me.

We tend to rely on long punts upfield when he's playing. It may be a tactical decision.

[spud_gun]

and whats riise still playing for?

About 130k a month apparently

[Cisseshairdresser]

Another Rafa mystery was why he took Benayoun off for Crouch when Yossi was doing well. Certainly a lot better than Kuyt. Unless Rafa wanted 2 strikers up front thats all I can think of but I'm certain Kuyt went to RW. Fans weren't happy with this sub decision (again) anyway, a lot of boos.

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

We tend to rely on long punts upfield when he's playing. It may be a tactical decision.

Are you having a laugh?

Did you watch the game yesterday?

We were hoofing the ball to Kuyt up top on his own.

It has nothing to do with Crouch being on the pitch.

It has everything to do with our inability to pass and move and break teams down.

And when Crouch does come on in the last 15 minutes, we hoof it too him because we've run out of ideas.

Wake up.

[Guest]

its mad i know but is it possible rafa has fallen out with crouch and isnt playing him as a result ?
that he is selling him so thinks no point playin him ?

that doesnt make him better than me on that one
it makes him stubborn

Every great manager has to be stubborn. Fergie is probably the most stubborn of all, but he's done a ****ing great job. Wenger is stubborn for playing the kind of football he thinks needs to be played, while certain pundits have been saying he needed to play a little differently.

[Guest]

Are you having a laugh?

Did you watch the game yesterday?

We were hoofing the ball to Kuyt up top on his own.

It has nothing to do with Crouch being on the pitch.

It has everything to do with our inability to pass and move and break teams down.

And when Crouch does come on in the last 15 minutes, we hoof it too him because we've run out of ideas.

Wake up.

Well, I certainly won't be moaning.

[Gazzla]

To answer thr original question I'm not sure Lucas is physically ready for the type of appraoch that Blackburn usually employ, ie kick the opposion off the park. Momo did OK yesterday and was a marked improvement on his previousl performances.

On the subject of Yossi being subbed, maybe it was because he had a tendency to drift inside too often whereas Kuyt is more disciplined and will follow Rafas instruction to the letter?

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

Well, I certainly won't be moaning.

What about what I said previously. Valid or not?

[REDSCOUSER]

Sissoko is having a bad season but last night was NOT his worst game. His whole game in the 1st half STANK just like the rest of the team but in the 2nd half he improved.
I can understand why Rafa started with him & Mascherano in the middle. To nullify the threat of Dunn & Bentley in the middle.
Good plan by Rafa but we needed a second striker with Kuyt.

[RPAS]

I think its fair to say that if we think we need to go to Blackburn with TWO holding defensive midfielders both playing for the full 90 mins then there's something wrong somewhere. If we were 1 up and getting opened up then fine bring on the second one, switch to a 5 man midfield & close off the game but FFS starting with them both????? who the f*ck are we Birmingham?

[Guest]

What about what I said previously. Valid or not?

Why can't we pass and move ? Loss of confidence and players being edgy because of some moaning ****ers who can't and won't see the bigger picture.

Bar Crouch, he's played our best available team last night, yet we still drew. If supporters do their job properly, I think the whole team would feel backed. Rafa has a plan and IMO he must stick to it if he thinks it's the best way forward.

It's all down to confidence and it needs us some scrapping ugly wins until we regain it.

[Guest]

I think its fair to say that if we think we need to go to Blackburn with TWO holding defensive midfielders both playing for the full 90 mins then there's something wrong somewhere. If we were 1 up and getting opened up then fine bring on the second one, switch to a 5 man midfield & close off the game but FFS starting with them both????? who the f*ck are we Birmingham?

We need to get back to basics (ie regain our confidence back bit by bit). By throwing caution to the wind at a time like this could have seen us being beaten, so Rafa did the right thing and opted for the cautious approach.

You don't play with 5 attacking players when we're playing ****e and without the needed confidence to make things happen in the final third. It's an evolving process.

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

Why can't we pass and move ? Loss of confidence and players being edgy because of some moaning ****ers who can't and won't see the bigger picture.

Bar Crouch, he's played our best available team last night, yet we still drew. If supporters do their job properly, I think the whole team would feel backed. Rafa has a plan and IMO he must stick to it if he thinks it's the best way forward.

It's all down to confidence and it needs us some scrapping ugly wins until we regain it.

Really the players are edgy because of us ***** on the net?

Nonsense.

Fact is that even when we are playing better there are still times when we don't look fluid in possesion, and in off the ball movement.

That's either down to the players not being good enough to do it at a high level, or it's the footballing philosophy of playing percentage football, tactically restrained by Rafa so we don't concede. Perhaps both.

Is confidence going to make Kuyt's first touch better? Be realsitic. We're missing 3 of our best players and it's effecting us because we're now having to rely on some mediocre ones in their place.

[AFII]

its mad i know but is it possible rafa has fallen out with crouch and isnt playing him as a result ?
that he is selling him so thinks no point playin him ?

that doesnt make him better than me on that one
it makes him stubborn

If Crouch has had a bust up with Rafa then he won't more or less have any other choice than to bench him to show who is in charge.

It don't make him stubborn, it make showing that he won't accept any **** from any player.