I'm very happy to see back in
TB fan.
And it's good to be back! Sadly, work means I can never really get on here any more, but it's quiet at the moment and I thought I'd take advantage of that. I'd forgotten what an interesting place this is - other than the million different football conversations, there are lot's of interesting viewpoints from around the world about all manner of different subjects.
But enough of all that - down to business....
Prof, what did you think of last night? I thought it was a decent enough performance, aided and abetted by some awful defending by Hull. But a 4-0 win is just the filip we needed.
In my good books: Cudicini, Belletti, JT, Essien (though still a little slack with his passing), Sidwell, SWP, Kalou, Sinclair.
Bad books: Ashley Cole - basic errors, mainly if the man he is meant to mark is not stood directly in front of him, he just assumes the guy went off for a cup of tea.
Ben Haim - out of his depth playing against Pedersen, who probably could have done him for pace if he wanted.
Pizarro - Hasn't won a header, no matter how inconsequential, all season. Never willing to put in a tackle. Klinsmann-esque roll after being tackled that had me in stitches. I think about 4 x 360 degrees.
Overall, the signs are there that we are going forward, but we are still criminally sloppy with our final ball. A bit of work required on that and timing of runs (Mr Kalou!). Also, defensively we are still poor, and not just the back line but midfielders tracking back don't get tight on their men.
And something that has gone since our 1st season, our urgency in winning the "2nd phase ball" (The knockdowns, the rebounds, the balls that come loose in a tackle), other than Sidwell, there was no real urgency to be the first to the ball. So basic, and really beginning to piss me off. One of the first things that need fixing in my opinion.
But with Cech, Bridge, Carvalho, Ballack, Lampard and Drogba all to come back, things are looking much brighter than they were last week.
