*Official* English Football Season 2011-12

[Pothas]

Jesus there are way too many rectangles in that new MOTD studio.

 

[sledger]

Jesus there are way too many rectangles in that new MOTD studio.

They're new graphics which show the 3D hologram of each stadium is hilarious as well. Looks like something from Fifa 98 and is totally pointless.

 

[Pothas]

Fifa 98 was great to be fair.

 

[sledger]

Fifa 98 was great to be fair.

Mainly because of Blur though. Notable moments on Fifa 98 for me included scoring from the halfway line with Lee Dixon, and Backheeling the ball into the top corner with Ian Wright.

 

[cpr]

Fifa 98 - 5 a side, no bookings, mental game. Best fun ever on a console.

 

[cover drive man]

Haha, commentator on sky: 'He's caught in an Aston Villa sandwich'

 

[roseboy64]

Must be an ironic comment surely. You of all people can't accuse anyone of being a Man Utd fanboy.

I've mellowed I think. Won't find me having a hard on for Hernandez or Jones. Welbeck though.

 

[sledger]

I've mellowed I think. Won't find me having a hard on for Hernandez or Jones. Welbeck though.

lol

 

[Uppercut]

I think Rooney-Welbeck is our first choice front pairing. Hernandez's link-up play has gone from serviceable last season to shocking this season. His goals are getting us the results at the moment and for that alone he's a great player to have around but the team was at its best when Welbeck and Cleverly were in the side at the start of the season.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Start work at 6:30am, Napoli game starts at 6:30am. **** I hate living.

 

[Tom Halsey]

I think Rooney-Welbeck is our first choice front pairing. Hernandez's link-up play has gone from serviceable last season to shocking this season. His goals are getting us the results at the moment and for that alone he's a great player to have around but the team was at its best when Welbeck and Cleverly were in the side at the start of the season.

Not really; he wasn't on the pitch for most of the Arsenal game, or for any of the Bolton game. The reasons we started so well and are playing poorly by comparison are way more complex than just having Welbeck and Cleverly in the team.

I think our first choice pairing is Rooney-Hernandez and I would have Hernandez as a more valuable player than Welbeck quite comfortably.

 

[Uppercut]

I didn't mean to imply causation. I would have Cleverly's absence as the most important factor though, all of his replacements are a bit dire in one way or another.

Fergie's tended to pick Welbeck even when Hernandez was fit. He did it against Arsenal, he did it against Basle and he did it against Liverpool- not exactly matches you'd expect much rotation for. Ditching a goalscorer for a more mobile striker is something he has history for, it's exactly what he did in '07 when he ditched Ruud for Saha. With great success that no one saw coming.

I think he wants to get back to a more fluid style, which is difficult with Hernandez in the side because he stays on the last defender. It's a problem not just because he can't get involved in the build-up without constantly losing the ball, but because it stops guys like Rooney, Nani, Cleverly and Anderson from making runs into those goalscoring positions untracked. And starting with Welbeck means you have Hernandez on the bench, which is a much better option than having Welbeck on the bench. I think if Welbeck stays fit and performs well, Hernandez will become something like the next Solskjaer.

 

[sledger]

Not convinced by Welbeck at all at this stage tbh.

 

[Furball]

Steve Kean seals new Blackburn deal - News - MirrorFootball.co.uk

 

[Woodster]

Start work at 6:30am, Napoli game starts at 6:30am. **** I hate living.

Ouch! Real tough game tonight for the Blues, going to be an exceptionally hostile atmosphere from the sound of things, for both players and the travelling fans!

Not an easy place to go and play with the kind of possession we're getting used to. Napoli were very effective on the break at the Etihad but presume they play a different strategy at home.

Always difficult to guess what team Mancini's likely to start with, Hart, Kompany and Lescott I would imagine are the certainties in the back-line, the full-backs are never easy to guess. Silva, De Jong, Toure, I would guess are three definites ahead of the back four with the other three places being made up from Milner, Barry, Aguero, Balotelli, Dzeko, and Nasri.

Whoever he opts for, I trust he'll get it right (he says with everything crossed!).

 

[Uppercut]

Not convinced by Welbeck at all at this stage tbh.

He's alright. Had some good games and some poor games. But I think Fergie likes him.

 

[cpr]

He's had his moments, showing a goalscoring nous this year. In the past Fergie tended to dump him wide, and most fans got on the lads back about his performances, but in the middle he's looking promising.

I think Fergie will switch Welbeck/Hernandez depending on the opposition in the long term. Against an Arsenal/Liverpool etc when we need 10 helping out everywhere, Welbecks the man, and his pace will help exploit the gaps at the back when we hit them with pace. Against a Stoke/Sunderland where we are expected to be on the front foot, and the opposition will be defending in a compact manner, Hernandez ability to find room in and around the box is our best choice. (would've worked this season too if Woodgate wasn't such a ****)

 

[cpr]

And now for an afterthought. Berbatov. Poor fella, his too talented to lose, but we can't find a system that incorporates him properly.

 

[Ikki]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ol-change-mentality-Gerrard-title-craves.html

Neville spot on there.

 

[Ikki]

I think on reflection I might have been a bit harsh on David Luiz when I described his signing as a "complete nonsense." It must be hard for him to concentrate on playing football when he's simultaneously plotting how to kill Bart Simpson.

You think you're harsh, Neville said he played as if he was being controlled by a 10-year old on playstation.