swjf50

We need Derby to win and if the Ippos win also that would be great.

I think goal difference could play a massive part. I think Bournmouth will be top and if Norwich manage to beat Middlesbrough we could be second but it''s going to be tight. Hopefully we can keep all our players fit and have Grabban back sooner rather than later.

Is he one booking away from suspension? With Dorrans emerging as a force in midfield, along with Tettey and Howson it won''t be too much of a loss. Great to see Grabban back in light training.

How was Lansbury today? I''ve always thought he''s a good player that poses a threat in the oppositions penalty box. Would he be good enough for our squad or are our players much better than him. For me Andreu doesn''t look good enough for this level yet.

Martin was at fault for the first goal but who should have been marking Vaughan for the second? We have to keep clean sheets against these struggling clubs. It just isn''t good enough. If we were in the Premiership we would get battered every week, so we need to bring in some decent centre backs and full backs in the summer whether we go up or not.

Let''s hope another ex player doesn''t come back to haunt us ie Lansbury.

I would agree with that CJRV. Howson hasn''t been influencing the game and putting his stamp on the games as much as he can. Perhaps he needs a rest or a kick. Dorrans on the other hand has looked classy in the last 2 games and if pushed further up the field with Tettey back, could make an impact. Hoolahan is hard to leave out in his current form. He has an urgency and creativity in his game that we miss when he is not there. Redmond had a good game, so hopefully he can continue to play that way. The only question mark for me would be whether Bennett is 100% ready and better than an under performing / not quite good enough Martin. AN needs to decide between Bennett, Cuellar and Martin. There isn''t much in it, but if Bennett is fit, I would be inclined to pick him ahead of the other two. The arm band should go to Dorrans, Johnson or Bassong. We have to win at all costs. It''s a puzzle to me why Odjidja hasn''t played in the U21 games and yet until last night he hadn''t been given a place on the bench. If he isn''t being used at all why doesn''t he play for the U21s? Surely he needs match play. Hopefully we will see what he can do from the bench before too long.

Still no sign of Vadis ? I''m hoping he will have some impact off the bench, if he doesn''t get a place in the starting eleven. It looks a solid team, very strong in midfield. Good to see Bassong and Tettey back.

2-1 Win

RUDDY WHITTAKER MARTIN BASSONG OLSSON TETTEY REDMOND HOWSON JOHNSON HOOLAHAN JEROME

I''m not sure Redmond deserves to be picked after Wednesdays game. He didn''t even attempt to run passed their full back, but we don''t have too many options out wide apart from Murphy. I''d play 5 in midfield with Hoolahan supporting Jerome.If he is fit enough O''Neil in front on the back four Murphy, Howson and Johnson just in front.

Yes I wondered what has happened to him. AN said he would probably be in the squad for the Wigan game, as he was left out of the U21 Porto game, but he wasn''t even on the bench and nobody has mentioned him since. So what''s going on? We could have done with someone like him on Wednesday.

Another option would be to push Olsson further forward and bring Garrido in at full back.

If I were to review my ratings I would keep Bassong and Johnson on 7s downgrade Jerome to a 6 and downgrade everyone else a point less.than I gave them. I do believe Bassong, Johnson and Jerome made an effort and were let down by the players around them. Ruddy couldn''t be faulted for the goal and little else to do. Hooper and Redmond were v poor at best. If that''s the best they can do and the hardest they can work, then we will struggle to make the top 6, with Grabban being sidelined for a number of weeks and Murphy being the only other fit winger available for selection. Where''s the pace Redmond is supposed to have, that was evident earlier this season? Only Murphy has that same pace and possibly Elliot Bennett when fit. Given Redmond poor display and apparent lack of interest if we were to need a winger, I''d play Murphy and drop Redmond from the squad altogether. The striker situation is different since we are without Grabban. I don''t believe Morris is ready yet and think it would be wrong to play him now. If there are no suitable strikers available on loan, Becchio may have to be drafted in. Vadis might be able to play a role in midfield possibly instead of Howson or Dorrans if he does well in training. I was disappointed not to see him on the bench at least v Wigan since they had said he wouldn''t be playing in the Under 21 game, so what happened?

I thought we were slow, ponderous and lacked creativety. Ruddy 6.5 didn''t have much to do. Whittaker 5 poor. Goal came from his side again Bassong 7. Commanding and tried to inject some life Martin 6 Average Olsson 6 Average.Tried but wasn''t really good enough. Johnson 7 Put 100% effort in as usual. Off target with his attempts on goal but put a shift in. Howson 6 Average. Lacked usual spark and drive Redmond 5 v poor. Didn''t add anything and didn''t have the confidence to take on the full back or use his pace. I''d have replaced him with Murphy. Dorrans 5 Seemed lost out wide. Better in 2nd half but not good enough. Hooper 5 Poor. Not enough effort. Would expect more, although service was very poor. Jerome 7 Put the effort in. Had little service but off target with chances he might take next time. Subs Hoolahan 6 Injected much needed urgency and invention, but couldn''t quite carve out an opening. Ran round in circles and over did it a few times. Morris. Not fair to give rating as he wasn''t on long enough Andreu. Ditto I''m hoping Vadis can offer more and give us another option. I think we missed Tettey to a large extent and Grabban also. If Hooper can''t find some spark and form we will struggle to keep up with the pack. We definitely need/miss a winger with pace who can cross. Redmond has lost confidence to take on the full back. Pilkington was a goalscoring winger who could cross a ball. We could do with one of those right now !!

Same goalie and back four, unless we have any injuries or illness of course. Tettey Howson Hoolahan. Johnson Grabban. Jerome would be my choice, but you never know with AN. He may give Hooper a chance. I wonder why he was left out of the squad at Blackburn ? Do you think Hooper was not pleased at only having 5 minutes last Saturday and aired his feelings? To be fair to him I don''t think 5 minutes was enough and perhaps 20 minutes would have been reasonable, but the important thing is we won and the strikers did a good job. Dorians will probably be given a place on the bench on Sunday I think along with Redmond and Hooper, unless he rests Grabban.

Yes I was there. I believe Dave Stringer scored the winner. Great atmosphere

Culverhouse may have been the brains behind Lambert and once he left, they struggled. I think Lambert is possibly quite stubborn and needs a good right hand man to guide him. Fancy leaving Vlaar and Benteke out of the starting eleven on Tuesday.

If we win our game v Wolves we''ll be 5 points ahead of them with a goal difference of + 22 or more better than them. However, if we lose we will drop to 8th. It is vital that we keep up with the top 6 and win. OTBC !!!

2-1 nervy win, but as long as we win that''s 3 points, so I would be reasonably happy. Anything less and it would be a huge disappointment.

Personally I think the board should have known what his ambitions were when we signed him up. If he had said he was really keen on managing the club eventually or taking over from Adams, if it didn''t work out, we''d have known what his intentions were. As it is, I think he may have got the hump when Neil was appointed and although Phelan took over managerial duties against Bournmouth, Neil obviously didn''t have the confidence in Phelan''s ability to get the win once Howson was sent off and joined him in the dugout to take over. I think Phelan has credibility and experience. I think he may have attracted some Man U players at least and would have given Neil some help on the touch line and training ground. Time will tell whether it was a mistake to allow him to go.

Rudd Martin. Miguel. Bennett. Garrido Tettey O''Neil McGrandles Hoolahan Lafferty Grabban

It''s a big ask but on our day we are capable of beating most if not all sides in the Championship. The question is can we be consistent enough, can we avoid injuries to our key players and lastly, can we beat yes beat most of our rivals above us, because that is what we have to do. McCarthy seems to have got the very best out of what would seem to be an average side and a consistency that has surprised most of us. Bournemouth have been scoring freely and they too have a very good manager. They also have Surman who has played his part and will be keen to prove our management wrong. Derby we know are going to be there or there abouts with Martin scoring regularly and have a great midfield, but we were a match for them away, so hopefully we would do better when we play them at home. Middlesbrough possibly a bit flashy but have a great defence with Ayala prominent. Did we make a big mistake in letting him go? I think we did. With the right guidance and coaching he would have been better than some of the defenders we have here and he is still young. There are other sides that I''m sure will also make an impact and a late bid for promotion but for now these appear to be the best sides. Will teams like Fulham and Bolton be chasing our tails if we slip up? There''s a long way to go and there will most probably be many more twists and turns, but I''m hoping the top two or three clubs have there bad run of results that we have had, which will give us a chance to make up some ground..

[quote user="sgncfc"][quote user="ROBFLECK"]In my opinion he has not got the skills to be a manager. Much too nice guy, no balls...hope the appointment of Phelan will change this a bit...but I don''t think so. If he stays at the helm we will be a mediocre mid table Championship team come next may[/quote] If Phelan was going to make an immediate impact he would not have let that side go out yesterday. When the team was announced it was obviously going to be a 424 which would leave us wide open in the middle as per bl**dy usual. Ruddy should dominate his box but doesn''t do that anymore and even his ability to stop shots seems to have deserted him so I would also give Rudd a go. But then I would also have demoted Adams several games ago, worked out who my best back 4 is and played Hooper as soon as he was ready.[/quote] Yes I agree with that. Grabban was played over and over and over again despite his lack of form, when we had a fit Hooper on the bench, which was a big mistake. Grabbans form will hopefully improve or sharpen up, as we need the competition for places. Miguel and Garrido should be given a chance.

Martin at right back please, Garrido at left back. Do we continue with Turner despite his drop in form, as I''m not sure. Surely Miguel deserves a chance and perhaps Cuellar if Bennett isn''t ready yet. I''d have O''Neil in central midfield, Redmond has to play, Hooper, Jerome and hopefully Hoolahan will be fit soon to add some creativity. Tettey had a reasonable game, so I would keep him in the side. Ruddy''s form has slipped, so we should consider Bunn or Rudd. I''ve not heard any news on Vadis'' fitness. When will he be back for consideration? In the transfer window in January, I think we should be looking for a left winge and a creative attacking midfielder as priorities. We can''t really be looking at central defenders when we haven''t even tried Miguel and Cuellar enough to know whether they are good enough. If Martin is to be played at right back we don''t need any full backs unless Whittaker is released.