Some things I took from today's match against Twente

[JohnKovacs]

1.  We need a new left back in January ( I'm not sure Briggs is our answer). Riise was rubbish today. He got turned inside out the entire match. His poor clearance enabled Twente's goal, in which the cross came from his side as well. Riise was way out of position on numerous occasions throughout the match, he has no business out there against quality opposition.

2.  Kasami and Frei will struggle against quality opposition. They looked good in the qualifying stages, but we're in the real deal now.

3.  H&H still a proven combination. Hard to blame Twente's goal on our center backs. I put that one entirely on Riise, starting with his poor clearance, then allowing good service in from his side.

4.  Dembele's definitely the real deal. I would be surprised if he's not sold for 13-15m this upcoming summer. When he went off injured, I knew we were going to be in deep trouble with Riise and Frei defending our left side.

All in all not really surprised by today's result. Now we just need to take care of business in our next match.   COYW

[horse1031]

I thought their midfield bossed the second half.  I don't know what it is but I am having a hard time watching our midfield try and play with our attackers.  Zamora looks lost and his touch was awful.  Johnson looked like a willing runner and I kind of like the thought of him being a winger/forward.  Frei had a couple great runs into the box but needs a little experience.  I thought Hughes had a rough game.  He ran his butt off and tried but was too blame for their goal.  Hindsight I wish jol would have played all youngsters.  Sa, kasami, Briggs, and why not try Baird in the middle?

[JohnKovacs]

Baird didn't make the trip. They cited personal problems. He has teamed fairly well with Murphy in the past at central MF, although I don't think Etuhu played too badly today. We just never really got clicking against Twente. I think that makes 16 unbeaten in all competitions for them. They're surely favoured to make a deep run in this competition.

[yatewhite]

The selection of AJ as a right winger continues to mystify and annoy me. !0 minutes into the second half and I remarked that looked a liability. He's a striker and he can't defend. That's not a criticism, it's a statement of fact. He nearly gave away a needless penalty and he looked more and more frustrated with his role as the game progressed. Playing him there is a lose/lose situation. He's not a winger, can't defend, and we lose his potentcy as a striker.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

The selection of AJ as a right winger continues to mystify and annoy me. !0 minutes into the second half and I remarked that looked a liability. He's a striker and he can't defend. That's not a criticism, it's a statement of fact. He nearly gave away a needless penalty and he looked more and more frustrated with his role as the game progressed. Playing him there is a lose/lose situation. He's not a winger, can't defend, and we lose his potentcy as a striker.

Its is not so much his defensive work that bothers me when he is on the wing, more that he is rubbish at holding onto possession.

[MJG]

The selection of AJ as a right winger continues to mystify and annoy me. !0 minutes into the second half and I remarked that looked a liability. He's a striker and he can't defend. That's not a criticism, it's a statement of fact. He nearly gave away a needless penalty and he looked more and more frustrated with his role as the game progressed. Playing him there is a lose/lose situation. He's not a winger, can't defend, and we lose his potentcy as a striker.

Its is not so much his defensive work that bothers me when he is on the wing, more that he is rubbish at holding onto possession.

He's always been the same, he has the ball at his feet, flicks it past a defender and hopes the tackle is made so he can win the free kick, or pen. Lets be honest he may not dive like some, but as he goes down you can almost see him looking at the ref. If he tried to beat the bloody player instead of trying to win free kicks all the time he might produce more. But old dog new tricks its not going to happen.

[Vinnieffc]

Was it a dressing gown, slippers and a couple of towels from the hotel room ?  :005: