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Ponz

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Everything posted by Ponz

  1. Ponz
    Hoof merchant: Check Zero tactical nous: Check Selecting players with little regard to positioning (Reo Coker at right back): Check Record of bottling it when close to achieving anything: Check Yup. Just the sort of candidate I'd expect G&H to line up.
  2. Ponz
    A like for like replacement for Arbeloa would have cost about 5m so you're looking at a balance of 12m....well below the price range of top class established wide players. In any case, both United and Chelsea are more reliant on full backs (Evra/Cole) than natural wingers for their attacking width. There's no reason why Johnson can't perform the same role for us. Width is most crucial when opponents park the bus and we've looked much better in those games since he signed for us (eg. Stoke, Hull, Burnley, Bolton). Unfortunately, that improvement has been entirely negated by the failure to control central midfield and sloppy defending (for which Johnson has been largely blameless, IMO).
  3. Ponz
    Masch Lucas Benny
  4. Ponz
    Any article featuring the words "Emile Heskey" and "prodigal son" in the same sentence pretty much flushes its credibility down the toilet.
  5. Ponz
    Fair enough but the point still stands. If Torres had been brought on at 1-0 down and we ultimately lost the game by the same margin (3-1), would there be less vitriol directed at Rafa? I find that implausible to say the least.
  6. Ponz
    If you did a poll before the game, I'm fairly certain those doing the slating would opt for 60 minutes from the start over the 30 minute cameo. Rafa got an absolute roasting for taking the latter approach away to Portsmouth in Nando's first year.
  7. Ponz
    I have a question for those slating the Torres substitution. Assuming- for argument's sake- that Rafa was advised by the medical staff to play him for a maximum of 60 minutes, would you still blame Rafa for heeding that advice? Or is the criticism based purely on speculation that he wanted to preserve Nando for the Lyon game (thus implying that Rafa was lying in his post-match interview)?
  8. Ponz
    Come on mate. When our best team is available, he'll have as good a supporting cast as any in Europe bar perhaps Madrid and Barcelona. I'm fairly certain he wouldn't swap Gerrard/Benayoun/Aquilani for, say, Carrick/Berbatov/Valencia. Furthermore- by Nando's own admission- he's improved immeasurably as a player under Rafa's tutelage. A player doesn't progress that quickly from scoring one in three to almost a goal a game (in a tougher league no less) without significant external help. The implication that we simply got lucky with Torres and that his form has nothing to do with the manager or teammates is just churlish.
  9. Ponz
    Crouch and Keane weren't sold because Rafa's system couldn't accomodate them. They were sold because we don't have the financial luxury of turning down 11-15 million bids for players who aren't automatic first choices.
  10. Ponz
    What would Hodgson have done differently to get the win? Ignore advice from the medical team and risk losing Torres for a month? Start with a back four ravaged by the flu? Give a full debut to the unknown teenager Eccelstone? Other than the Yossi sub (poor decision but not the reason we lost), I don't see where the manager's discretion comes into play.
  11. Ponz
    Torres Lucas Reina
  12. Ponz
    I hear Phil Brown could be available soon.
  13. Ponz
    We had 10 players unavailable for today's game, not 4.
  14. Ponz
    I admire the technical ability of his players but find their style of play quite tedious to watch. It consists of endless pretty triangles with little variety or creativity beyond the system. I'll take the individual brilliance of Torres, Gerrard or Yossi over that any day of the week.
  15. Ponz
    It's strange that the same people lamenting a dismissive/blase attitude towards the Carling Cup are willing to write off any hope of winning the league in October. This despite the fact that we're only 6 points off the top, just 4 points behind last year's winners, have 28 games to make up the deficit and are about to unleash our most important summer signing. If one displays such a defeatist attitude towards the most important trophy available, why expect the players to show a winning mentality towards the lesser ones?
  16. Ponz
    Ngog Degen Aquilani
  17. Ponz
    Jesus. I reckon a poll of Red Cafe members would produce a less blinkered assessment.
  18. Ponz
    Yossi Lucas Torres
  19. Ponz
    Pick two of Diao/Biscan/Cheyrou.
  20. Ponz
    We're talking about a 20 million signing, a 5 year contract and the replacement for one of our most critical players. I'd rather Rafa accept the dodgy start (which has left us only 7 points off the lead) and get his first choice than be stuck with an inferior panic buy that will haunt us for years. This obviously assumes that Aquillani turns out to be a roaring success but that's a separate issue.
  21. Ponz
    It's another indication that we aren't nasty or cynical enough to win the league. There's no way Ginsoak and co. would have allowed either player to remain in the camps following the initial scare. Their zero tolerance policy on internationals coupled with the bullying of officials must be worth +-10 points a season for them.
  22. Ponz
    Hugely misleading given that he made no less than 24 substitute appearances. Overall, he's scored 26 goals from 104 appearances in 4 seasons. That gives him an identical strike rate to Ngog (5 from 20).
  23. Ponz
    Skrtel Mascherano Johnson
  24. Ponz
    With the exception of Kuyt and Riera, I thought the performance was solid today. These games are usually decided by one or two critical moments and unfortunately both of them (Torres' missed header & Masch losing possession) went against us today. Reverse those and we're looking at a very similar game to last season. The hysterical reaction on here is ridiculous.
  25. Ponz
    "That balmy night in Barcelona"
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