5 things to learn from Newcastle's game

[BLionheart 516]

1- Our team is much more suited to counter-attacking football , making full use of the likes of sturridge , ramires and mata .

2- AVB finally dropped the high defensive line , and Terry was back to his heroics , also we kept a rare clean sheet .

3- Sturridge adds a lot to the team , and he is a great threat to have but him working on his finishing and passing game is a MUST.

4- Oriol Romue has established himself as a starter in the team , and he fully deserves it .

5- Drogba or Torres was always gonna be a hard choice for any manager , specially with both trying to make a point of how shitty they both are ... However i think if we are to play counter-attacking football may be Torres would benefit from more space and channels to run to as he has thrice the pace and movement of drogba .

I have no doubt that AVB will keep the same tactics for the next couple of games but the BIG question is , will AVB change his philosophy to counter-attacking one OR this is just something temporary till we get out of our bad "moment" and to save our season .

[termninja 5,290]

I'll tell you 5 things to learn from that game.

1. Keep the faith!

2. Keep the faith!

3. Keep the faith!

4. Keep the faith!

5. Keep the faith!

[francozola 2,040]

Agree with mostly everything but think Drogba is more suited to our game because (like I've said in the match thread twice, apologies) he drags defenders with him which leaves more space for Danny on the right.

Anyway Mata & Sturridge are more important to our team now than either of those two. Danny does have to work on his finishing though but I'm sure he will. He's played less than a year of first-team football and was only playing reserve league football before this so he hasn't been a regular for long at all. He will improve with time

[chrismada9 1,948]

4- Oriol Romue has established himself as a starter in the team , and he fully deserves it .

I gave you rep for saying this.. I fully agree with you.. he looks more switched on than Mikel when he's in that holding position, and he's a lot like a faster Makelele in a way!

[LDN Blue 7,903]

If this deep backline continues, we will have a lot more stability at the back. Come on André, we still believe.

[Tomo 21,751]

Fantastic anlaysis.

Ive said it before, while it's a bummer to be losing the big games right now im not going panic until we start dropping silly points against midtable and below sides.

[Henrique 9,133]

- Drogba was solid, but I think Torres was better in the few moments he was in the pitch.

- VB as usual was unable to make a huge impact in the second half when we were bombardaded by Newcastle.

- Terry was solid, but Lampard was really awful but Meireles was worst.

- Oriol is here to put Mike in his place: out of the club.

- Sturridge is becoming a killer winger.

- Mata IS NOT a winger, stop using the "Mata - CF - Sturridge" thing. We are playing like Barcelona in a 4-3-1-2.

[Madmax 9,219]

1- Our team is much more suited to counter-attacking football , making full use of the likes of sturridge , ramires and mata .

Yes but we were helped by Newcastle coming at us. When we're made to force the issue against 8 or 9 men behind the ball, we often flounder. Newcastle played right into our hands by giving us space and time to run into.

[zolayes 14,489]

- Drogba was solid, but I think Torres was better in the few moments he was in the pitch.

- VB as usual was unable to make a huge impact in the second half when we were bombardaded by Newcastle.

- Terry was solid, but Lampard was really awful but Meireles was worst.

- Oriol is here to put Mike in his place: out of the club.

- Sturridge is becoming a killer winger.

- Mata IS NOT a winger, stop using the "Mata - CF - Sturridge" thing. We are playing like Barcelona in a 4-3-1-2.

most of your points are OK but dont agree about Meireles

[francozola 2,040]

- VB as usual was unable to make a huge impact in the second half when we were bombardaded by Newcastle.

Very harsh. It's a hostile atmosphere against a team very much in form. They are definitely going to have periods where they're on top. And they only had 2 or 3 really good opportunities. For the most part we defended quite well.

And Meireles I agree wasn't that great but Lamps HAD to be taken off he was a liability in that midfield. And Raul produced two or three brilliant balls to start some counter attacks.

[Stamford Heart 16]

Great analysis mate

AVB is in the right way to do something

4- Oriol Romue has established himself as a starter in the team , and he fully deserves it .

This spanish is going to be a legend someday ...

[True_Blue 469]

We also learned that Luiz is a fantastic player but never a CB.Probably more a defensive midfielder who likes to push forward.

[francozola 2,040]

We also learned that Luiz is a fantastic player but never a CB.Probably more a defensive midfielder who likes to push forward.

:doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh:

[manpe 10,861]

Romeu was a stand-out performer today for me amongst others... they way he wins the ball is a joy to watch, good bravery and doesn't seem to be a diving cunt like his compatriot in barca.. so I agree with your point on Romeu

[Henrique 9,133]

Very harsh. It's a hostile atmosphere against a team very much in form. They are definitely going to have periods where they're on top. And they only had 2 or 3 really good opportunities. For the most part we defended quite well.

And Meireles I agree wasn't that great but Lamps HAD to be taken off he was a liability in that midfield. And Raul produced two or three brilliant balls to start some counter attacks.

VB should changed the team earlier. That 4-3-3 formation with Kalou-Torres-Sturridge was perfect for a counter attack. Drogba wasnt doing anything.

I agree that Lampard should left, but Meireles did not added anything in the mid, actually I thought we got more vulnerable with him, but in this case its not VB fault.

[francozola 2,040]

VB should changed the team earlier. That 4-3-3 formation with Kalou-Torres-Sturridge was perfect for a counter attack. Drogba wasnt doing anything.

Okay, true. But it's not like we were under crazy amounts of pressure. Like for example the way Newcastle were under pressure last week against Man Utd in the last 20 or so minutes. It wasn't that bad but yes I also feel that Drogba should have gone off 10 minutes before

[True_Blue 469]

:doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh:

You do get i was being ironic?

[francozola 2,040]

You do get i was being ironic?

OH haha sorry about that. You should have added a trollface

[True_Blue 469]

OH haha sorry about that. You should have added a trollface

There you go buddy

[didierforever 7,349]

1- Our team is much more suited to counter-attacking football , making full use of the likes of sturridge , ramires and mata .

2- AVB finally dropped the high defensive line , and Terry was back to his heroics , also we kept a rare clean sheet .

3- Sturridge adds a lot to the team , and he is a great threat to have but him working on his finishing and passing game is a MUST.

4- Oriol Romue has established himself as a starter in the team , and he fully deserves it .

5- Drogba or Torres was always gonna be a hard choice for any manager , specially with both trying to make a point of how shitty they both are ... However i think if we are to play counter-attacking football may be Torres would benefit from more space and channels to run to as he has thrice the pace and movement of drogba .

I have no doubt that AVB will keep the same tactics for the next couple of games but the BIG question is , will AVB change his philosophy to counter-attacking one OR this is just something temporary till we get out of our bad "moment" and to save our season .

agreed to points except for 1 and 5. the counter attacking style wont always work. for eg- against valencia WE WILL have to take the attack to them rather than hoping to counter off them which wont be easy. so against valencia i feel drogba should play simply because HE CAN SCORE even while playin poorly. plus torres looks a good sub where he can counter and get far more spaces because the mids of the other team is tired. so i feel unitl torres starts putting the ball in the back of the net he should be played as a sub (he could have scored atleast once today).