v Wigan Post Match

[Rudo]

Not sure about that rudo.

The times you were criticising Meireles he:

a) wasnt anywhere near as bad as you made out
b) was being mis-used by a fool disguised as a football manager

Obviously you'll have to praise him now because he's been in excellent form. But i'd take off my hat to you if, rather than just praise him now, you admitted that you judged him too quickly and got it wrong.

Fair enough, although i think i might have admitted i was too harsh on him, not 100% sure.

It's not really that i have to praise him as if it's through gritted teeth, i'm delighted he's doing well...afterall i do support the team he plays for.

As iv said about 100 times before, i've never written Meireles off as a flop, i questioned his lack of fight and cutting edge but i've never said this man will never make it at Liverpool.

In his first 4 or 5 months here, you could see the odd flash of quality but many a time the game bypassed him, can point the finger at Roy for playing him out of position, using him in the wrong system etc but even still i think a little bit of criticism in Meireles' direction was justified back then.
Albeit it was slightly OTT.

[Craig_H]

As i was saying at the time, sometimes you just need to give players some time to adjust, especially ones who have come in from a totally different league and culture. As Meireles had. It stands to reason that, as a player gets used to his new surroundings and a new footballing environment, he will start to show the player he really is. It rarely happens straight from the off. If it does, it's a bonus rather than the norm.

[Molby]

Not a great game but we should have won it with a bit of luck.

Kuyt is a great ball winner but he also slow down a lot of our attacks. He should be an option off the bench if we want to close the game being a goal or two up. We need a better option than him on the right. I would sell him in the summer.

If we bring in a left back and Kelly is still first choice on the right then we should sell Johnson. We need a better attacking threat on the left.

Very disappointed that KK decided to play Jovanovic instead of Pacheco, very disappointed. Give our young players more chances instead. They actually deliver almost all the time.

If Jovanovic get a place on the bench in our next league game instead of Suso then I will also be disappointed.

Today was a perfect chance to give a player like Pacheco or Suso 30 minutes or so. Not a physical team and we lacked creativity the last third.

Totally agree with this, Arn

If Jovanovic features for our 1st team again, i'll be very disappointed..

[Mostar]

Not a great game but we should have won it with a bit of luck.

Kuyt is a great ball winner but he also slow down a lot of our attacks. He should be an option off the bench if we want to close the game being a goal or two up. We need a better option than him on the right. I would sell him in the summer.

If we bring in a left back and Kelly is still first choice on the right then we should sell Johnson. We need a better attacking threat on the left.

Very disappointed that KK decided to play Jovanovic instead of Pacheco, very disappointed. Give our young players more chances instead. They actually deliver almost all the time.
If Jovanovic get a place on the bench in our next league game instead of Suso then I will also be disappointed.

Today was a perfect chance to give a player like Pacheco or Suso 30 minutes or so. Not a physical team and we lacked creativity the last third.

Kuyt's work rate over-compensated for his lack of skills but these days lack of quality on his part doesn't make him first choice. As it has been posted before he never had a good first touch but now it is really getting worse. His passing today was awful. On couple of occasions Suarez made the run and he only needed a simple pass in the open space and Kuyt messed that up. Also in the second half, right after Ngog came in, we had numbers in the box and Kuyt had the ball on the right, his stronger side, and his cross was so badly over-hit. He did play on Wednesday but I wouldn't use that as an excuse in his case.

I too was disappointed to see Jova instead of Danny. Danny could have made some difference as he has much more pace and trickery in his arsenal than Jova. I am confident that he will get some playing time against Sparta. It would be nice to see him play for change.

[Arn]

Totally agree with this, Arn

If Jovanovic features for our 1st team again, i'll be very disappointed..

KK said himself that he would give our youngsters a chance and then he play Jovanovic instead of Pacheco. I wonder what Pacheco must be thinking.

He must really be very very disappointed. It's great that KK play Kelly in every game but he need to give more of our youngsters a chance.

Why be afraid to give a player like Pacheco a chance against teams like Wigan at home? I simply don't understand that.

[Mostar]

KK said himself that he would give our youngsters a chance and then he play Jovanovic instead of Pacheco. I wonder what Pacheco must be thinking.

He must really be very very disappointed. It's great that KK play Kelly in every game but he need to give more of our youngsters a chance.

Why be afraid to give a player like Pacheco a chance against teams like Wigan at home? I simply don't understand that.

I think it is very conceivable that KK just doesn't rate Danny.

He has given plenty of the opportunities to Kelly and even Jonjo but not to Pacheco and to me it may mean only one thing. He is just not KK type of player.

[Rudo]

Aye i don't know why Pacheco isn't featuring tbh - he's 20 now

At that age you should be featuring alot more if you're made out to be this big talent.

[Craig_H]

Where would you play him?

[Mostar]

Where would you play him?

Normally I would pose the same question but today especially after Raul was subbed he could have played as an attacking mid.

I am still surprised that Jova got some playing time and he didn't.

[Vermilion]

I hate dropping points at home to teams like Wigan immediately after beating a team like Chavski away.

[Craig_H]

Normally I would pose the same question but today especially after Raul was subbed he could have played as an attacking mid.

I am still surprised that Jova got some playing time and he didn't.

Pacheco isnt a CM though. His position would've been in place of Suarez, just off the front man.

I would've thought maybe he could've come on to play off the right or left hand side, but it's still not his natural position. From one perspective, and despite how ****e Jovanovic was, you can understand why a manager might put on an established international rather than an unproven kid.

[Mostar]

Pacheco isnt a CM though. His position would've been in place of Suarez, just off the front man.

I would've thought maybe he could've come on to play off the right or left hand side, but it's still not his natural position. From one perspective, and despite how ****e Jovanovic was, you can understand why a manager might put on an established international rather than an unproven kid.

I don't know Craig. He could have been featured anywhere upfront yesterday cause except Suarez (Ngog was invisible) we posed no threat whatsoever. What is point of keeping him if you will not give him any opportunity to prove himself. He'll learn nothing sitting on the bench.

Jova was totally lost on the pitch. It was his worst showing since he came in. Not one decent pass, cross, dribbling etc. Total waste.

[Craig_H]

Pacheco isnt an out-and-out striker though. And if we think N'Gog is lightweight, then Pacheco would've taken it to new levels. He's far too small to hold the ball up, he would've been bullied to ****.

With hindsight, of course Pacheco should've come on instead of jova, but as i say, when you're the manager trying to find a late winner, it's a big call to call on a kid who's hardly played and put that pressure onto his shoulders, compared to an established international who had a good world cup.

[Molby]

Pacheco isnt an out-and-out striker though. And if we think N'Gog is lightweight, then Pacheco would've taken it to new levels. He's far too small to hold the ball up, he would've been bullied to ****.

With hindsight, of course Pacheco should've come on instead of jova, but as i say, when you're the manager trying to find a late winner, it's a big call to call on a kid who's hardly played and put that pressure onto his shoulders, compared to an established international who had a good world cup.

yeah - but this is just camoflage for being absolute ****e..

El H. Diouff had a good World Cup in Japan, - go figure..

[Craig_H]

I'm not saying the fact that he had a good world cup means he's good - i'm saying that, as a manager, when the pressure is on, most will go for the established international, over the kid who has done nothing. It's the easier and more 'rational' choice, albeit proving to have been the wrong one.