Our backline

[danperkins]

IMO one of these two:

- Johnson / Carra / Agger / Aurelio

Or

- Kelly / Carra / Agger / Aurelio

To be honest the way Johnson defends i'd probably rather Kelly in there, and Skrtel is a very average defender, thought it was bad choice to play Agger at LB, he got his ass handed to him by Johnson, blatantly targeted.

[Parm]

would we better of switching Kelly to RB, johnson to Rw and Cole to LW?

[dww]

would we better of switching Kelly to RB, johnson to Rw and Cole to LW?

Frankly at the minute we might be better off switching you to rightback, me to right wing and Roy to the left wing.

[dww]

I do hope that Aurelio gets fit enough to play regularly soon. We need players playing in their natural positions as a starting point.

I worry about Johnson, but I think he could be one player who might benefit from the way that Roy drills the defense and I think he could mature into a good player.

[Neil Young]

Frankly at the minute we might be better off switching you to rightback, me to right wing and Roy to the left wing.

Once again I am cruelly overlooked.

[Fierce]

Frankly at the minute we might be better off switching you to rightback, me to right wing and Roy to the left wing.

Can I play in Joe Cole's position until he's back? Not sure which terminology to use these days

[Rudo]

Johnson is performing ridiculously bad at the minute.

Can't believe we blew 18 ****in million on him. Bloody hell.

Johnson, Keane and Aquilani have cost us close to £60m...mental!!

[Mostar]

IMO one of these two:

- Johnson / Carra / Agger / Aurelio

Or

- Kelly / Carra / Agger / Aurelio

To be honest the way Johnson defends i'd probably rather Kelly in there, and Skrtel is a very average defender, thought it was bad choice to play Agger at LB, he got his ass handed to him by Johnson, blatantly targeted.

Imo GJ has been single out this time again for no good reason.

Yes he has not been offensively inclined against City as it was against other teams but at least defensively he was fairly solid.

No threat yesterday did come from that side.

It's LB that should be our concern and if Aurelio is not injured again we should at least try to play him in that position.

Otherwise, what is the point of resigning him if Aggar, who is not natural LB, had now played 2 games in row...

In terms of Skrtel, it is interesting how opinions of him changed in less than a week..

Now all of sudden he is average, not good enough, crap etc and just last week many rated him "Player of the game" and were happy about him extending his contract.

[RedReet]

Imo GJ has been single out this time again for no good reason.

Yes he has not been offensively inclined against City as it was against other teams but at least defensively he was fairly solid.

No threat yesterday did come from that side.

It's LB that should be our concern and if Aurelio is not injured again we should at least try to play him in that position.

Otherwise, what is the point of resigning him if Aggar, who is not natural LB, had now played 2 games in row...

In terms of Skrtel, it is interesting how opinions of him changed in less than a week..

Now all of sudden he is average, not good enough, crap etc and just last week many rated him "Player of the game" and were happy about him extending his contract.

I was thinking the same, I can’t remember him having that much trouble last night or doing too much wrong defensively, well no worse than anyone else.

I also questioned a couple of people on here after the Arsenal game when they moaned about him getting caught out of position and letting people past too easily. I hadn’t noticed it at all after watching the match twice, so asked them when it happened. Considering I got no replies I’m assuming they didn’t notice either, yet bizarrely still felt the need to moan about it.

Just like Kuyt with his poor touch and Lucas’ with his sideways passing, once a catchphrase sticks, some people will always bring it up regardless of what happens on the pitch.

[Shaggy]

Johnson's use of the ball was utterly abysmal, nothing to do with his defending. I can't speak for anyone else but that's where my issue with him at the moment lies. Too many aimless, lofted wafts up front, half-arsed dribbles into dead ends and just a real lack of conviction going forward in general. He was very, very poor when we had the ball last night.

[Mostar]

Johnson's use of the ball was utterly abysmal, nothing to do with his defending. I can't speak for anyone else but that's where my issue with him at the moment lies. Too many aimless, lofted wafts up front, half-arsed dribbles into dead ends and just a real lack of conviction going forward in general. He was very, very poor when we had the ball last night.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Normally when people complain about him it is due to lack of his defensive skills and now he did not impress due to his offensive qualities.

I'll grant you he did not have a great game last night but in honesty who did.

GJ is imo one of our least problems as we have other areas in the team that require immediate improvements (LB, a winger, Back-up striker, Masch's replacement..).

[Rudo]

Imo GJ has been single out this time again for no good reason.

Yes he has not been offensively inclined against City as it was against other teams but at least defensively he was fairly solid.

No threat yesterday did come from that side.

It's LB that should be our concern and if Aurelio is not injured again we should at least try to play him in that position.

Otherwise, what is the point of resigning him if Aggar, who is not natural LB, had now played 2 games in row...

In terms of Skrtel, it is interesting how opinions of him changed in less than a week..

Now all of sudden he is average, not good enough, crap etc and just last week many rated him "Player of the game" and were happy about him extending his contract.

I thought he was probably our best defender last night - not hard but even still he was nowhere near as bad as people make out.

He seems to be a big scapegoat does Skrtel and i don't get it. Johnson and Agger were alot worse than him last night and there's **** all said about them.

Regarding Johnson, i agree with Shaggy, his use of the ball more than anything is shocking, forever losing the ball cheaply...not controlling it.
He's ****ing **** at the minute and a real liability.

Lets all blame Skrtel though

[Exiled_red]

We need him to find the good form he had last season before his injuries because he could be a very good player if the team is performing. I thought Agger was poor at LB last night we need to get Aurelio fit and playing there (if we aren't bringing anyone else in). As good as Skrtel was in the Arsenal game, moments like the penalty he gave away last night are why I'm not too comfortable with Skrtel as first choice CB, I always feel he is liable to do something rash.

[dww]

Johnson's use of the ball was utterly abysmal, nothing to do with his defending. I can't speak for anyone else but that's where my issue with him at the moment lies. Too many aimless, lofted wafts up front, half-arsed dribbles into dead ends and just a real lack of conviction going forward in general. He was very, very poor when we had the ball last night.

To be honest it is always going to be a problem for an attacking fullback when the team is so shapeless. I'm not sure how much worse than other players he is at the minute really. I have concerns about the balance of his gem in general though.

[dww]

Once again I am cruelly overlooked.

Sadly due to new PL regulations we are only allowed one old man in the team and Roy gets the nod as he has never claimed to be a dog.

Can I play in Joe Cole's position until he's back? Not sure which terminology to use these days