Xabi...

[joyno]

it's clear 3 into 2 is not working..time to give Xabi a break and get Stevie back in the middle. Xabi, more than Stevie seems to be in a daze at the moment. His passing was appalling today.

trouble is if you rest xabi and stevie turns it round how do you accommodate such a great player as xabi, he will only sit on the bench for so long, i would move sissoko to the bench and play xabi and stevie in the middle, momo is a great prospect but i think he lacks the finesse and passing ability at the minute and might not take sitting on the bench as frustrating being so young, the real answer is why the fuk did we let Didi go.

[Morph]

Well if we're winning, and he's deemed surplus to requirements then you would sell him. But i'm sure theres enough matches to play 2 out of 3 in different games.

[willa1975]

The entire side's form has been poor this term. Carragher, Hyypia, Finnan, Gerrard and Alonso have been lousy. Bellamy has tried hard, but accomplished very little. Pennant, Aurelio and Gonzalez, again, while trying hard, simply don't look at all like they know what they're doing out there. And today, we got nothing out of Garcia either.

Kuyt and Crouch weren't effective today, but I can't be too harsh on them since we got nothing at all out of the midfield. The only person whose effort I was happy with today was Sissoko.

The way things are going, I don't think there is a starting eleven that Rafa can pick on the basis of form. Finnan's untouchable, since we haven't got another right back in the squad. I'd get Agger back in the mix when he's fit to play, as he has looked good for us, and has a bit of pace and ability on the ball, and pair him up with Carragher.

The left side, which looked to be a strength for us going into this season, is a major headache...for now, I'd play Warnock at left back with Riise at left mid, since they've both been in the team for a few years and are more likely to play well together than with the likes of Aurelio or Gonzalez, one of whom I'd put on the substitutes' bench.

In midfield, I think our best option is to stick with Gerrard on the right, simply because Pennant just isn't working out. He's trying, but I don't think he's good enough. If we were willing to pay 7m for him, we should have either forked out the extra cash for Alves or given Paul Anderson a run in the side. I haven't seen anything from Pennant so far that makes me believe he's that much better an option than the youngster. Sure, he's played at a big club in the past, but I can't help but think that Arsenal would have stuck with him through his troubles if they thought he was that good.

In central midfield, we need Sissoko...Gerrard's the only other player in the side who can produce the sort of battling performances that we get from Momo, but he'd be shackled in the holding role. And, if Alonso's not playing well, I think our only real option is to give Zenden a run. I'm sure that's not a popular choice, but he did well there with Boro the season before last, and looked good for us in an attacking central midfield role for a little while last season until he got injured.

Up front, I think Kuyt's an automatic selection right now. He hasn't been prolific, and some of his passes are poorly executed, but he has got real quality about him, his ideas are good, and he's the only forward we've got who consistently looks dangerous when he gets the ball in attacking situations. And I'd pair him up with Crouch for the time being, since he's at least getting a few goals in the Champions' League.

That's what I'd do. It doesn't sound great, but nothing sounds great right now. I think Rafa's got to be decisive and stick with a consistent lineup. Unfortunately, it's much easier to stick with a starting eleven when you're winning. This thing is going to take time, and it doesn't look like there's enough left this season to make a good impression in the League.

Another thing...we're playing too many crosses. I think it's a result of the lack of rhythm and chemistry in our midfield. Now, I don't mind playing crosses in when we build from midfield, get players in the box and find someone out wide with some space to work. But there's far too much of players getting the ball 30-35 yards out and lumping the ball into the box, where there might be one player in a position to get on the end of it and hope for a lucky bounce. That just doesn't cut it. Unfortunately, as poorly as we're doing in midfield, playing the ball on the ground won't work either.

Any ideas?

[Shaggy]

The entire side's form has been poor this term. Carragher, Hyypia, Finnan, Gerrard and Alonso have been lousy. Bellamy has tried hard, but accomplished very little. Pennant, Aurelio and Gonzalez, again, while trying hard, simply don't look at all like they know what they're doing out there. And today, we got nothing out of Garcia either.

Kuyt and Crouch weren't effective today, but I can't be too harsh on them since we got nothing at all out of the midfield. The only person whose effort I was happy with today was Sissoko.

The way things are going, I don't think there is a starting eleven that Rafa can pick on the basis of form. Finnan's untouchable, since we haven't got another right back in the squad. I'd get Agger back in the mix when he's fit to play, as he has looked good for us, and has a bit of pace and ability on the ball, and pair him up with Carragher.

The left side, which looked to be a strength for us going into this season, is a major headache...for now, I'd play Warnock at left back with Riise at left mid, since they've both been in the team for a few years and are more likely to play well together than with the likes of Aurelio or Gonzalez, one of whom I'd put on the substitutes' bench.

In midfield, I think our best option is to stick with Gerrard on the right, simply because Pennant just isn't working out. He's trying, but I don't think he's good enough. If we were willing to pay 7m for him, we should have either forked out the extra cash for Alves or given Paul Anderson a run in the side. I haven't seen anything from Pennant so far that makes me believe he's that much better an option than the youngster. Sure, he's played at a big club in the past, but I can't help but think that Arsenal would have stuck with him through his troubles if they thought he was that good.

In central midfield, we need Sissoko...Gerrard's the only other player in the side who can produce the sort of battling performances that we get from Momo, but he'd be shackled in the holding role. And, if Alonso's not playing well, I think our only real option is to give Zenden a run. I'm sure that's not a popular choice, but he did well there with Boro the season before last, and looked good for us in an attacking central midfield role for a little while last season until he got injured.

Up front, I think Kuyt's an automatic selection right now. He hasn't been prolific, and some of his passes are poorly executed, but he has got real quality about him, his ideas are good, and he's the only forward we've got who consistently looks dangerous when he gets the ball in attacking situations. And I'd pair him up with Crouch for the time being, since he's at least getting a few goals in the Champions' League.

That's what I'd do. It doesn't sound great, but nothing sounds great right now. I think Rafa's got to be decisive and stick with a consistent lineup. Unfortunately, it's much easier to stick with a starting eleven when you're winning. This thing is going to take time, and it doesn't look like there's enough left this season to make a good impression in the League.

Another thing...we're playing too many crosses. I think it's a result of the lack of rhythm and chemistry in our midfield. Now, I don't mind playing crosses in when we build from midfield, get players in the box and find someone out wide with some space to work. But there's far too much of players getting the ball 30-35 yards out and lumping the ball into the box, where there might be one player in a position to get on the end of it and hope for a lucky bounce. That just doesn't cut it. Unfortunately, as poorly as we're doing in midfield, playing the ball on the ground won't work either.

Any ideas?

Excellent post - agree with all of it except for the bit about Zenden.

We seem to have nowhere to turn, with so many players out of form.

[willa1975]

Excellent post - agree with all of it except for the bit about Zenden.

We seem to have nowhere to turn, with so many players out of form.

Well...Gerrard is far and away our best RM (even though it isn't his best position). If we do sit Alonso, I think our options are Gerrard and Momo in the middle, with Garcia/Pennant on the right, or Momo and Garcia/Zenden in the middle with Gerrard on the right. Pick your poison.

The way the lads are playing right now, it sucks any way you slice it. The only thing I'm sure of is that, for now, Kuyt, Agger, Riise and Sissoko should be starting. And Gerrard, because, when he's on form, he's obviously an amazing player and, as our captain, we need him to take responsibility and start leading by example.