Stephen Ireland - Still has future.

[Greg N'Ash]

Anybody else noticed the past couple of weeks AMc has turned into Bullshit Man.

aye. still getting over him admitting he told the players to show "real aggression" in the teamtalk against swansea then telling them not to get booked afterwards!

[Shoody]

Anybody else noticed the past couple of weeks AMc has turned into Bullshit Man.

Faulkner must have started giving him some media training.

[JUAN PABLO]

Im still expecting Mcleish to come out with " Salifou has been working so hard in training and will soon be back in the first 11 "

[TheSandman]

He's found a club apparently.

In the German third division.

[Hookeysmith]

WE virtually all agreed that when we bought Jean II that he was off the pace of the prem (to be expected) but the guy was an intelligent ball player who also had a tackle in him. There were flashes that he really could be a fulcrum for our midfield with the right blend of players around him.
He was shipped out before the season even started by this clown to be replaced some weeks laetr with a kid from reserves and the most unforgivable team selection i have ever seen  - Spurs away

In fact it is almost 2 weeks on and i still am amazed at the Spurs line up - he should have been sacked for that alone

This manager would not know a quality midfielder if one shat in his eye. As long as we have some clogging thugs in there who can hoof the thing 30 ft in the air they will do for him

He is really winding me up now - TNUC

[Chris Smith]

You really do spout some tripe, Hookey.

Makoun left the fringes of our team to take his place on the fringes of a team in the Greek league. He was a neat, tidy player but totally ineffective. When I first saw him I thought the quick passing was an asset but in dawned on me at Derby in ore-season is that was all he ever did - first time pass whichever way he was facing. He never tried to switch the play, make space or run off the ball. As for having a tackle, he's very, very poor - no timing and doesn't know when to commit or when to stand off. All in all just not suited to English football.

As for sacking him for picking the wrong team then every manager who has ever done the job would be guilty of it.

Which clogging thugs have we regularly played in midfield?

[Clampy]

He never tried to switch the play, make space or run off the ball.   

Bannan does that well enough, but gets left on the bench for 82 minutes.

[N'ZMAV]

I liked Makoun, but as Chris Smith said, his little 10 yeard first time pass was all eh could do, and most of the time his pass was to Reo-Coker, who under pressure didn't want the ball and duely gave the fucking thing straight back to the opposition. Our players have never been suited to receiving first time passes, especially with a member of the opposition on their back. He was lightweight, and his tackle at Blackpool showed me he wasn't going to cut it in the Premier League. Nice try Houllier, but no. Wrong.

[N'ZMAV]

As for Ireland, how the fuck does he keep getting these niggling little injuries, the bloke never kicks a ball. Ideally, i'd like to see him given a chance, but it would only work in a 3 man centre midfield, and one of the other 2 needs not be Emile Heskey. Play him with Bannan and we're probably going to be too lightweight, maybe with Herd & Petrov? but that would mean Jenas and Bannan sitting out? Ireland clearly has ability, but for me, he's too high maintenence, and his salary is a joke. Got a feeling we're going to be stuck with him.

[PaulWinch again]

I still think Makoun was sacked off far too quickly. Now I'm not comparing him as a player to Thierry Henry, but Henry was rubbish for his first few months at Arsenal. However Arsenal kept faith with him and he turned into one of the best players in the world. Now I'm not saying Makoun would do that obviously, but if a player like Henry can go from very poor to brilliant after taking some time to settle it's not unbelievable that Makoun could have ended up being good.

[Merv]

I just don't think McLeish fully trusts Ireland; it's a shame because he was starting to feature and get a bit of form. We're not really set up to start with both Bannan and Ireland in the team, and Bannan has done much more to warrant the shirt. I do think we should be using a three-man midfield - a proper midfield - with Bannan as the most forward of the trio, and Ireland as the option to replace him either during a game or if he's off form/unavailable.

It's not so much that's it about Ireland getting better with every game that he doesn't play, it's more that he's a decent footballer not really getting a look-in: see Albrighton, Clark.

[Mister E]

I just don't think McLeish fully trusts Ireland;

I wonder why? - perhaps because he's unreliable and ineffectual.
Yes, he's shown some touches; but too little without effect. And he's a total mentalist as well.

There are other players further up the pecking order than Irleand and he needs to be shipped out or paid up.

As for the MF selection, if we had two better CB's - players with a football brain, mobility and passing capability - our choice of MF might be dfferent than it has to be currently.

I'm looking forward to getting through December and seeing the likes of Cuellar, Clark, in defence and GG, Johnson and others step up to get some game time in MF: at least we'd be looking forwards.

[Chris Smith]

I think our best bet for a midfield 3 at present is Herd, Petrov and Jenas with Bannan the next in line. I think that "should" give us the balance we've been looking for since the start of the season.

[Merv]

I'm looking forward to getting through December and seeing the likes of Cuellar, Clark, in defence and GG, Johnson and others step up to get some game time in MF: at least we'd be looking forwards.

Can you actually see that happening this season? Not so sure I can; cannot envisage McLeish giving the likes of Johnson a run, not even confident we'll see Gardner used anything other than sparingly this season. Cuellar and Clark are very much geared up for coming into a defence when we have injuries, I think - McLeish seems loyal to the Collins-Dunne partnership.

Post-December I think we'll be a few places lower than now and, as such, I expect McLeish, a cautious manager at the best of times, to stick with his tried and trusted.

Ireland hasn't done enough to demand a starting place, I agree. But he can't make an impression either if he's not used in games at all. Same with Albrighton. They are footballers who can play, who can have an impact, but they're very much on the outside at the moment, which I think is a shame.

[Mister E]

Post-December I think we'll be a few places lower than now and, as such, I expect McLeish, a cautious manager at the best of times, to stick with his tried and trusted.

And that, my friend, is a definition of madness: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
But I do agree with you that as performance drops through December against the Big Clubs McGinge will retreat further into a mindset of using experienced / "reliable" players in defence / midfield.

I'd label it the "Blues self-destruct" strategy.

I'd strongly agree that right  now the best midfield option is as outlined by Mr Smith. But, as I said earlier, it's somewhat predicated in the choice at CB: Petrov does some great interceptions in front of our CB; Herd does some great covering for the fullbacks (particularly when Hutton goes on the rampage further up the field). With beetter CB, Petrov could be replaced with a more energetic CMF like GG who can provide more attacking prowess as well as covering in front of the CB.

Our immediate problems are- I think - at CB.

I think our best bet for a midfield 3 at present is Herd, Petrov and Jenas with Bannan the next in line. I think that "should" give us the balance we've been looking for since the start of the season.