derry

Maybe it would be common courtesy to let him, his family and agent know. At the moment they know nothing of this. Lallana feels he needs at least this season and 40 odd games as a regular as a minimum.

Who won?

There seems to be a major misconception about the system we are SUPPOSED to play. 4 at the back with supporting full backs, 2 wide men working the lines and the far post, two central midfielders attacking and defending. A centre forward closely supported by the secondary striker. The players have hardly ever played this system properly. The wide men narrow and not tracking back. The secondary striker all over the place too far from the centre forward and not getting past the CF on runs. The CMs together with the wide men not tracking back and leaving the back 4 isolated with big gaps that the opposition usually capitalise on our far post as we run out of defenders. Marking loosely with the cover too far away has exposed us especially James. It seems that a lot of this was put right on Saturday. The formation has shape but is flexible and depending on the phase of play can look like anything you want to call it. The most important things are depth in defence, width and pace in attack to give penetration. This requires discipline and the mentality to bust a gut to either get forward in support or determination to get goalside in defence. We have not really been doing that, with the off the ball players strolling or trotting back and not making the effort to stay with opponents on their runs forward.

That's the bloody problem, the fact we are a PLC. It is not appropriate for a football club. Additionally the FA's rules designed to protect how the club is run are circumvented by a PLC. No paid directors for example.

Unless lies are being told by those quoted by Weston Saint, which I doubt as I know who he talked to. This is what the two players have been saying since September, They or their agents know of no move, a prerequisite of any deal being done. They both want to stay and Lallana especially, feels he needs at least this season playing regularly and both players want to stay. If the club want them to go, the players would have to look at it, but it hasn't happened yet..

-------------------Davis ----------------- Svennson ---------Cork Lancashire Perry Skacel Lallana--------Schneiderlin Surman ----------BWP --------------------McGoldrick We are going to be playing on the break anyway.

I thought that's what the answer would be, Ron. I was waiting until you posted, for the actual situation. (E has contacted me, he is going to Notts Forest)

I think you are partly right, I think the more experienced players see the dangers or the opportunities earlier and the potential mistakes of others and react to them. We are being killed at the moment on three fronts. In attack the players not immediately involved on the ball are not making the effort to get into the box on the off chance. Secondly as well as being guilty of too much ball watching, our players again not immediately involved in defending the ball are not making the effort to get goalside of the opponents runners trying to get into the box. Thirdly the markers are not getting tight enough and lay off, making this even worse is the cover being too loose, probably caused by the midfielders not getting goalside. Too many of our players are standing watching or just ambling back.

I have seen Lofthouse, Lawton not Ted Drake but since the fifties Ron Davies was the best attacking header of a football in the last 60 years. At one stage he was rated the BEST striker in the WORLD. He was unplayable in the box most of the time with Paine especially and Sydenham standing up crosses to the far post. I have never seen a player jump so high before or since. Nothing special on the ground but played good football and held the ball up well.

They played under Ted Bates from 1954, - Nos 2, 5, 3 at the back with a defensive 6, - 4 and 10 in midfield, 7 and 11 wide with an attacking inside right 8 supporting the centre forward 9. My God! isn't that what they are playing this season? 4 4 1/1 and isn't that 4 4 2? (or if the bloke in the hole got his finger out and got up in support of the front man, as he is supposed to, it would be).

Ahead of his time, lovely left foot, great sliding tackle would do for me. He won't win it as he won't be known to the latecomers after the sixties. Mick Mills would take some beating, even though he played both sides and probably one of the most influential players ever.

In drag?

If you had looked at the video on both the championship and the big league, you would have seen it was a one footed tackle that didn't make contact with Stearman. Euells other leg was underneath him. His leg went over the top of Stearmans leg. It was the momentum of both coming together, either Euells other knee or elbow caught him in the goolies. That is why he was poleaxed and it looked bad. It was however a rash tackle by both players, with Euell slightly later than Stearman.

If 7000 stay aways were real, it would cause a revolution led by the bank. We need to be able to quantify the number.

It almost looks as if the defender got between Euell and the ball, and they ran into each other. Why don't you email this and other associated frames to the club.

No. It's me being cynical, I'd like to know if others feel strongly about the welfare of the club. Has the time come to try and move things along?

At the moment the only quantifiable fact is the crowds are down. The stay away because of Lowe group, would point to that, as them making their point. The club would point to the financial problems, credit crunch, young team, poor results, not in the Premier etc. It needs something to measure this protest, at the moment there is no way to do that. Either a matchday protest or as mentioned, specific identified matches would clarify the depth of protest. This would allow the banks, creditors, shareholders, media and fans to see exactly how much Lowe is costing/not costing the club.

Shouldn't they work together, be adult and put the welfare of the club first. If they are not going to do this, surely it is time to have a united campaign, to force them to put the club first, or all of them get out.

Wouldn't it make a point, if all the stay away because of Lowe fans, turned up at every match, stayed outside and demonstrated the vast numbers staying away because of Lowe. Would it in fact, demonstrate how few rather than how many?

Has to be Shilton.

Absolutely, I'm not sure the Wolves player did play the ball, I'll check tonight. It looked possible that he slid past it, whilst Euell looked close to the ball and caught the other player purely as a result of both their momentum and the 90 degree angle.

Gobern may become what you wish but he is not ready, one rifled cross at Preston doesn't make a career. In the last two starts, he wasn't replaced early enough against Bristol and shouldn't have played yesterday.

That could be the real problem.

Spot on. Arsene Wenger this week talking about teenagers, said bits of matches, then intermittent matches, then if good enough, more matches until a regular.

Yesterday we played Wolves off the park in the second half playing essentially 4-4-1. There is not much difference between 4-4-2 and 4-4-1-1, if the two strikers are mobile and the other players get up quickly in support, which we don't do, we could be a lot more potent. The midfielders not on the ball need to bust a gut to get into the box then we will score goals. The manager hasn't done much wrong. Some selections, Gobern yesterday for example haven't helped. Some players at times especially some of the selected wide men haven't played wide and our shape and passing was poor. That is down to them. It is our looose defending and covering that is losing us games. We need to hunt in packs when defending, get numbers around the ball, mark and cover tightly and uninvolved players sprinting back to fill in on the far post. It's not as much fun as passing the ball, needs greater concentration and willpower to do it. But if they do we will start winning.