[jjamez]

Ben Wiles is the second coming of Michael Collins, if the team is playing well, he'll normally have a good game, if the team are struggling he'll be a passenger. His all round game when the team are struggling is appalling, passing goes to pot, shooting disappears and tackling becomes non existant.

I know snoots said Kane played poorly but he was far far better than Wiles, mainly because he played a few decent cross field passes at one stage. We need to change the system it isn't working, didn't work last season with much the same players and it won't work this season with much the same players. The style is dour anyway, dour duffball, how the Barnsley fans sat through it I don't know, no pace no excitement to the game no quality. Everything together thats needed to switch people off as quick as boremoore ball.

the solution is change the system, for me it has to be 4-3-3 (4-1-2-2-1/4-1-2-3 to be pedantic) or 4-2-3-1. In option one, i would line up Nicholls in goal, Sorensen at right back, currently Lees and Lonwijk at centre half and Headley left back until Miller is available. Hogg would be the holding option with Kane and Hodge in front ( the gap between defence and midfield will be cut, Hogg would split the centre halves and allow the full backs to push up higher as they both want to, Kane and Hodge both seem capable on the ball so the instruction would be to get the ball to them rather than lump it and bypass them). Up top, either side of probably Radulovic or even lord Ward (depressing that he is now the best option once again) would be Koroma on the left and probably Marshall from the right, unless we went Spencer at right back and Sorensen on the right wing. The 4-2-3-1 option would be much the same but with Evans probably in the AM role in place of Hogg, with Kane or Hodge asked to sit a touch deeper and split the CB's but not drastically deep that he's holding hands with them.

If Duff is unable or unwilling to change the system and we keep seeing the same end result as last night and saturday, it could be that the two games were just bad reflections of us and we produce more Bolton performances, but i don't think that is very likely. then the other solution is change the manager. Not all heroes wear capes, but they do wear jackets like this

[Lord Snooty]

Following my earlier post, having now seen them highlights, it was Marshall not Hodge with the shot that was tipped over. Good shot as well.

[theo_luddite]

I suppose IF we had won at Wa'sall and IF we'd held Spurs to a draw and IF we'd not had all our penalties saved, we MIGHT have had a potential hiding at Old Trafford on our hands.

Carabao Cup fourth round draw

Brentford v Sheffield Wednesday
Southampton v Stoke
Tottenham v Manchester City
AFC Wimbledon/Newcastle v Chelsea
Manchester United v Leicester
Brighton v Liverpool
Preston v Arsenal
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace