HampsteadCanary

Also isn''t Jurgen Klopp (!?) touted as the replacement for Wenger...you''d expect his tactics to be pretty good considering Dortmund were in the Champions League final last year!? Lets face it Hughton is not of the same pedigree (managing Newcastle and Birmingham!) and neither are our players. However, they are OUR players and OUR manager, so lets just put the Arsenal game behind us like the players and staff will, and cheer them on to thrashing Cardiff at the weekend! OTBC!!!

This is what I said earlier, Bristol...that the one attacking sub (bringing on a pacy young winger) makes sense, as he''s already created more this season than Snodgrass, and then not taking off the player that allows our creative players a but more license. Wes for Howson would have made more sense if he really wanted to bring Wes on.

Too funny Herman!

Tom I agree with you here, I think the Chelsea game should have taught us that leaving ourselves open at the back to push on to get a winner/equaliser against top 4 opposition will normally end up with us getting punished. We don''t have enough pace in defence to go all out against these sides, and if the momentum is in our favour against a top 4 team with 15 mins to go, just one like for like sub in a forward position is probably the way to go. I know this is in hindsight, but lessons should be learnt from today and chelsea. Go all out against lesser teams to get points, but maybe Hughton''s measured approach is better suited for the better teams in the league.

Thanks for being positive guys, makes a change!

I posted on this comment of Olssons last night, I hope it means that we''ll play the high pressing game we played at Stoke,

Al I agree, but haven''t we seen "actions" in the last two games....isn''t Hughton bringing on Redmond in the last 10 mins when we''re drawing at home to Chelsea the kind of substitution we were dreaming of last year? Granted we lost the game, but at least we lost it in style and weren''t completely outplayed and spent the whoe game on the edge of our own penalty area! I was suggesting that with a bit of a change in mentality, the belief is growing within the squad, and that''s starting to show in the press conferences at last! We want them to be defiant that they can go to Arsenal and win. Maybe we don''t get to see that defiance in the interviews, but that''s the closest thing we''ve seen to them saying we''re going to give it a right good go. Hughton also mentioned making sure we take the good parts from the last two performances, suggesting that he won''t play our old park the bus tactics...

Just listening to the pre-match interviews with these two and its sounds like the attitude that we''ve been talking about a lot on here might be changing slightly. Hughton instantly cut the reporter short saying that we''re excited about the game and are relishing the chance of playing a strong Arsenal team. Yes he went on to talk about the ability and depth of the Arsenal squad, but his first reaction was positive, and it made me think that the mood is possibly changing at the club after the last two performances. Olsson as well was very blunt, saying that he BELIEVED we have a chance of beating them, saying that we have nothing to lose and will go out and play our own game and see what happens. He believes we have match winners in the squad, and that should give us hope as supporters too. Lets hope we see this on the pitch on Saturday, or I''m going to look really stupid! Here''s hoping we get our first Emirates win after last season''s shambles by the officials...would love to see Bradley Johnson win the game for us with a 25 yard screamer at last!

I would like the one spare ticket if its still going!?

I think Stoke and ourselves are very similar, shown by our league position and performances so far this season. If we press and show determination (us v Stoke today or Stoke v Man C) then we give ourselves a chance. If we back off the opposition no matter how good or bad we as fans might think they are, then we will struggle. Man for man Stoke have a lot more premier league experience than us, but because we pressed them and defended well we came away with the points. Hughton is maybe realising that work rate and desire will get you a lot further, and if you combine that with the quality we''ve brought in over the summer, we can start to take the game to the opposition.

CD Mullins wrote: Howson should be the focal point of our side at the tip of the triangle. It worked today didn''t it!? I was really impressed with the whole team bar RvW (purely as his touch let him down and didn''t get a chance on goal). There were a few moments when watching on the TV, Russ would pass inside and it looked like he just gave the ball away, just for Howson to run into the space and move the ball on. This is something we haven''t seen for ages, players seeing the spaces, spotting each others runs and passing into them, especially coming short for the ball and playing 1-2s. Now we need to learn to do this and then add the final step of bringing RvW or Hooper into play with that final ball. Really encouraging today, so glad to see us set up perfectly for the opposition with tactics and line-up spot on. I''d play the same team at Chelsea, but give Hooper the run out he deserves. I''d really like to see Redmond on the right for Snoddy, but he was much better today and really tested Begovic with that effort. Just want to see him happy to whip it in with his right every now and then.

Do you think the first 75 mins against Watford were so poor because we were preparing perfectly for the Stoke game? Then a fighting come-back instilled a bit of confidence in the players and they put in the performance we''ve all been waiting for. I''m pleased we pressed well, and move the ball around brilliantly in the first half.

First of all very pleased with the result and performance. Tactics spot on - took it to them in the first half and then dealt with them well when they decided to press more at the start of the second half. I actually think Ricky''s first touch wasn''t very good today, and a few promising moves broke down through him not controlling the ball well. Still good to see him getting more involved in build up and hope he can kick on. I can see Hooper starting at Chelsea, we have to take whatever chances we make that day!

Yup!

[quote user="Wolf"]Pressing a lot harder than we have been away from home, good stuff![/quote] What I said before the game! Stoke don''t have technically gifted players at the back and in the middle, if you put them under pressure you''ll win the ball back! Its working a treat, COME ON YOU YELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWS!!!!!

I think this is probably the best line-up we could ask for away from home, with some of the players having played 120 mins earlier in the week. I think he''s protecting Redmond, but the inclusion of Murphy, Hoolahan and Hooper on the bench means he''s looking to start the game solid, and see if our more physical players can do the job earlier on. I would like to see us press Stoke high up the pitch, that''s all!

Well Jimmy, does it look like they want to fight for every ball....look at the goal at Villa on Saturday and watch Garrido, Martin and Fer saunter into the picture as Kozak slots the ball home. They should be sprinting into the area to make sure Villa don''t score...its 2v2 and Bassong is trying to cover on the line. You shouldn''t need some sort of special motivation from the manager to do that. See my point!? And not every player is SO up for it, there are clearly players in the league that think its their right to show up, score, win the game and not put in any hard work. We can''t afford to rely on just ability or tactics, we need to press and show desire, something that we haven''t always seen a lot of under Hughton.

It was very interesting looking at Hughton''s post-match interview. He often has a reason for his subs that we never think of. He was right that Redmond was never really in the game, and Snoddy and Martin did put some good moves together, It really was just our final ball and a bit of sharpness in front of goal that was missing on Saturday. if RvW puts that chance away when he peeled off (which was very close) then the whole match changes. I was just as disappointed with the result and lack of quality in the final third as anyone, but when we get that right, I think we could be a serious threat to other teams. There''s that old saying that once they''re over the white line its up to the players. We know the players would run through a brick wall for Lambert, but most of them have gone now, and the ones that are still here have only played for him for one season, bar Martin, Ruddy and Hoolahan. Now we need Hughton to motivate his own players. What fascinates me is that they need motivating at all! You would think with a weeks training, all the match build up and only 90 minutes to prove to the fans, other players, manager and lets face it, other teams if they want to progress their own careers, they should go out there with all the desire and energy they can muster to do the best for the club, and to earn the frankly outrageous money that they earn! If I had a week to build up to doing my job really well for only 90 minutes on a Saturday, I''d be SO up for it! Just saying....

Do you guys remember the initial Hoolahan conundrum that he was always thinking ahead of the other players? Well we''ve not actually seen our best footballers on the field together yet. 1. Tettey is the best at breaking up the play, with a great engine and will work all day long. We need this so that Fer doesn''t HAVE to stay in a holding role to make up for Howson being weak in the tackle. Remember at the end of the Spurs game when Tettey came on and it gave the other two midfielders license to get forward more....well we need this! 2. Fer needs options when he does have the ball - Wes comes short and brings others into play, and is the most likely of all our players to be able to give RvW or Hooper the service they need. 3. Snoddy is becoming increasingly frustrating to watch, although one of our most talented players. We all want to see our wingers play on their strongest side, but do the players see it the same way? Snods loves it on the right, and Redmond loves cutting in on his left....why don''t they swap sides occasionally, its SO OBVIOUS! Bringing Pilks in on the left and moving Redmond over is another option, as they can both play on either wing. COME ON HOOTS! Its not the end of the world, a good performance against Watford and then Stoke and then we''re back on track, and that''s not impossible!

I hope we get to see a strong team on Tuesday, goodness knows we need the practice! If we keep progressing in the cup maybe some confidence will seep into our league form as shown with the Southampton game. Hopefully as we come up against better opposition than Bury they can still put in a performance and get a victory and carry that through. If players like Olsson and Hooper play well on Tues, do you think they''ll get a start against Stoke? Garrido was nowhere for the Villa goal today, but he did put in a peach of a ball for Hooper''s chance! Seems like the out of form players still get picked even though we have the most strength in depth we''ve ever had!

What was Garrido doing for the goal!?

Tettey on for Elmander, move Howson up to Elmander''s position. After 60 mins if we''re not back in the game, Pilks on for Snod and Hooper on for Howson. Lets smash these brummy brasterds. Snoddy taking SO LONG to get forward, needs to be more direct, that''s why Villa are looking dangerous!

not even on the bench!

Ha! I dreamt we started with: Ruddy Martin Bennett Bassong Olsson Fox Fer Howson Redmond Wes Pilks Wolf But dreams never come true

That is brilliant! I have often been confused why we''ve played the same move from kick off at every game under every managed that I can remember since 1991...