The Sans-Lucas Central Midfield

And in this in the transfer board? No so it's still f**king stupid to be discussing signings. Never mind, maybe you'll get it one day.

 

You'd think we'd lost Messi the way this is going.
The timing is a pity and Lucas has done great, but he's hardly irreplacable.
Buying more players? After spending a fortune recently. Can't see it happening.
And no guarantee the new boy will work out/would take time to settle (ask Andy!)
KK should be able to rebalance using players available.
Jesus, talk of Aquilani ... KK all but kicked him out. They want him offloaded to Italy at end of season.
Hendo or Spearing will be in.

Spearing and Shelvey should be in the team .Spearing because he never stops running and Shelvey because he could do a Gerrard style job for us ,time for these players to make their mark in the squad !

And your point is?

Carra's first game for the first team was in midfield and he scored. I also hope you said the above while crossing your fingers, cos it only takes an injury to Agger or Skrtel and he'll be back in the team.

Did you actually watch Jay's performances last season for Kenny, if so, you'll know you're talking sh*te.

your agression is strange, what you on about sh*te, takes one to know one, apart from this childish talk, i never once dissed jay, i agreed he should be in, but i would put carra in first, because of his experience, anyway thats the end of my contribution to this thread, as for the full backs we only have coates to cover, and carra of course, maybe even the lad from omskirk.

your agression is strange, what you on about sh*te, takes one to know one, apart from this childish talk, i never once dissed jay, i agreed he should be in, but i would put carra in first, because of his experience, anyway thats the end of my contribution to this thread, as for the full backs we only have coates to cover, and carra of course, maybe even the lad from omskirk.

Dissed?

How old are you, about 15?

You'd think we'd lost Messi the way this is going.
The timing is a pity and Lucas has done great, but he's hardly irreplacable.
Buying more players? After spending a fortune recently. Can't see it happening.
And no guarantee the new boy will work out/would take time to settle (ask Andy!)
KK should be able to rebalance using players available.
Jesus, talk of Aquilani ... KK all but kicked him out. They want him offloaded to Italy at end of season.
Hendo or Spearing will be in.

This.

I think we've lost Messi the way this is going. Where did he end up?
Some Spanish hick town? 
FFS !

Will be very interesting to see who we play in place of Lucas. Spearing is the obvious replacement but no offence to Jay I don't feel comfortable in him being the sole choice, he's a decent player for sure but I can't help feel that he's below the standard that we're actually looking for and in the centre of the park this hurts more than in any other position save perhaps keeper in my opinion.

I wouldn't be against playing Agger in the middle, offers an awful lot for that position but what you gain for what you lose is maybe too much, Coates has looked fantastic despite one mistake against Swansea and I do think he's gonna be our centre back for the next decade so I'd be happy in throwing him in there rather than Jay in the middle. The only reservation I'd have is that in the middle there's more miles than at the back and we all know how fragile Dagger can be and I'd hate to pick up more injuries to vital players.

Will be very interesting to see who we play in place of Lucas. Spearing is the obvious replacement but no offence to Jay I don't feel comfortable in him being the sole choice, he's a decent player for sure but I can't help feel that he's below the standard that we're actually looking for and in the centre of the park this hurts more than in any other position save perhaps keeper in my opinion.

I wouldn't be against playing Agger in the middle, offers an awful lot for that position but what you gain for what you lose is maybe too much, Coates has looked fantastic despite one mistake against Swansea and I do think he's gonna be our centre back for the next decade so I'd be happy in throwing him in there rather than Jay in the middle. The only reservation I'd have is that in the middle there's more miles than at the back and we all know how fragile Dagger can be and I'd hate to pick up more injuries to vital players.

Totally agree about exposing Dagger and Coates as our future CB. I think the best solution right now is to change our formation

Jay will do a job till January in a holding role in a three

Jay will do a job till January in a holding role in a three

He'll do more than a job there, he was terrific towards the end of last season and has been great when called upon this season.

And in this in the transfer board? No so it's still f**king stupid to be discussing signings. Never mind, maybe you'll get it one day.

Ok sir, the transfer board is open to discuss signings, it's only 30 days from now - not a million years in the future, you see -, but it's "f***in idiotic" to talk about it, because you say so. Alright.

Maybe Kenny does disagree, maybe he doesn't. Maybe he just feels Adam and Lucas are a better suited partnership than Spearing and Lucas.

I actually very rarely talk about players pre-70s. Maybe you should read up on our history and know when players played. But I've seen enough of them to make decisions on them, you haven't seen enough of our younger players to make a decision on them yet you're certain we need a new central midfielder. That's what's particularly funny is you're certain without knowing what's available at the club. Once again, you might understand one day but I highly doubt it.

I'd like to know what is enough for you. I've probably seen more of Coady, I just don't like to pretend I know more than I do about players I haven't seen too much.

And reading correctly on a forum is very important indeed...

That's what's particularly funny is you're certain without knowing what's available at the club.

You see, the person trying to say universal truths in this thread is you, not me; what I post here, as always, are my perceptions about the squad - and I think it's too risky to go the rest of the season without bringing someone new. But I also said that I'd be more than happy if one of the youngsters stepped up.

Not everyone has that same desire of being extremist about everything of yours. I certainly don't.

Diego has a point, beyond Spearing what other defensive minded midfielder do we have at our disposal? Talking of signings isn't completely pointless. It's a fair thing to debate, right?

Agree with Diego.

Like does anyone really think that we can afford to play another 6 months with Spearing as our only senior DM? And by senior, I mean has actually played with the first team on a regular basis.

I totally agree with  you Diego.  Anyways the scouting staff do their job all year round and December you would think is a very busy month to prepare for January targets.  So definitely think it is the right time to talk about potential targets especially when such an important player has left for the season.

I think Spearing would be fine in midfield. He has the attributes to break up play and get forward. I would however like to see Henderson and Adam at the moment. I think they have complementary talents that would form a good partnership in the centre.

I think Diegos posts are spot on as well

I like the look of that mate, it's probably what Kenny will do too if Gerrard doesn’t come back anytime soon. Spearo showed he can do the job just like Lucas did when he first started, who knows if the lad gets a decent run his form could shoot up just as it did for Lucas?

I’d probably change Kuyt for Bella’s though!

Absolutely, I think Jay did very well last season and I think he'll do a good job for us again.  Kuyt and Bellamy are incredibly interchangeable, only reason I "preferred" Kuyt in that line-up was because if we're talking about a no Lucas lineup for an extended period of time, I'd have more faith in Dirk's engine to continue running every week.  Not to say that Bellamy has no place or value in the team because I certainly don't believe that for even a moment but Bellamy vs Kuyt when it comes to playing every week, the nod has to go to Dirk.  Bellamy IMO would be a better impact sub (compared to Dirk anyway) which could just be the perfect way to use him [Bellamy] without overusing him.

Downing is another choice who can be very effective in short sharp spells.  Think he's been unlucky to not have a lot more to his name this season and while I don't think he's played poorly this season, Maxi's just been better and I believe he's a better fit in that type of a setup.  Again, I feel Downing can also contribute to the team but Maxi's got the nod over him for now (considering how big a fan of rotation I am, it's not like Downing would miss out for long, well not at least in my fantasy world).  Competition for places, what a brilliant concept, we've been missing it for a while now - I love having money again.

Also, if you're reading this Kenny, please use Downing on the right

Jay Spearing aqquited himeslf very, very well and was class in games agianst Arsenal and City, two tvery good sides, noone should say any diffrerent, if he does aswell as he did last season, we won't be needing anyone in January.

Got great respect for what Diego posts and read every post I see of his, sick of reds attacking reds, get a grip lads.

Jay will do a job till January in a holding role in a three

Works for me, and if he does a good job and the team are winning that will be the way it goes for the res tof the season I should imagine. All this talk of Carra and now Agger playing there is a bit crazy. No point Jay being at the club if your gonna put a career centre-half there. I think Jay will be fine.

Diego has a point, beyond Spearing what other defensive minded midfielder do we have at our disposal? Talking of signings isn't completely pointless. It's a fair thing to debate, right?

Young Henderson seems to have been typecasted as sort of attacking, box to box midfielder but for me he is (based on his performances this season) quite a defensive player. He has great workrate, he likes a tackle and he's very tidy in possession. On that basis I would say that we DO have additional defensive cover to go with Spearing.

Young Henderson seems to have been typecasted as sort of attacking, box to box midfielder but for me he is (based on his performances this season) quite a defensive player. He has great workrate, he likes a tackle and he's very tidy in possession. On that basis I would say that we DO have additional defensive cover to go with Spearing.

Good point raised Scott, I was thinking similar things of Henderson's energy and work rate, but I don't agree when it comes to his tackling ability. Not sure he's all that strong, precise or quick in the tackle to be honest, though that's just from what I've seen thus far, and I am mainly judging on his performances where he's played further forward this season.