hoolahan

[7rew 0]

I am in the strange position of both agreeing and disagreeing with lincoln canary at the same time.

I don''t think Chris Martin had a poor game today, and I do think that the touch back to Holt was actually deliberate (it being about 180 degrees from where he would have wanted to put it otherwise). I also do think he deserves to start as he and Holt have a very good partnership, given that generally one of Him and Holt will have a mismatch of power between them and the defender.

But I do definitely think that we should definitiely consider a 4-2-3-1 formation for future matches, especially away from home; Surman, Hoolahan and Lansbury behind Holt should work rather well I think.

But then I''m not sure who out of Holt, Martin, Hoolahan, Surman, Lansbury, Fox, Crofts and Smith doesn''t deserve to start and Jackson isn''t far off being in that list either.

Lovely position to be in though.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

7rew good post. Another thing to consider is that it doesn''t seem fair that a player who is only here for potentially 28 days is picked straight away ahead of hoolahan. I think peoples ideas of building a team around Henri Lansbury is a little premature. If I was Wes I would be seriously dis heartened right now. Love the idea of 4-2-3-1, think this could really work but MArtin would have tonbe the player dropped.

[vos 155]

Bearing in mind his enthusiasm and work rate when he came on, I cannot see Wes is on his way. He was everywhere, and like it or not, as against Leeds last week, he has that little bit of extra class to unlock defences. He also has a bit of pace which is probably the only thing lacking in this very solid team. In that context Jackson has been disappointing.

I can well understand the likes of Wes, Korey and Chris Martin are a bit disappointed on being left out over recent weeks, but Lambert appears to have the management skills to handle the players in these situations.

[Big Slob 0]

[quote user="baldyboy"]apparently he has thrown his teddies out of the cot majorly and had a big bust up with Lambert saying he should play every game!!!! I rate him but cant tell the manager what to do, its a squad game and nobody has a divine right to play every game!!![/quote]That''s bullshit, if true he wouldn''t be in the squad, let alone come on.

[Shack Attack 0]

He looked pretty interested when he came on so I''m not believing this rumour of a fall out. Great take down and lay off for the third goal and a neat finish for the fourth. The fact that we had him, Smith and Jackson to come on shows the strength of our squad.

[Paul 0]

Hoolahan is stalling over a new contract, he is out of contract at the end of the season and has been offered a deal and doesnt want to sign one.

He is waiting to see if anyone bigger comes in for him before making a decsion, so Lambert has benched him because of this.

Why do you think he got Landsbury in instead of cover at left back.

I hope he does sign a new deal but am behind Lambert and if Hooly doesnt wanna play for us the fine thanks for everything but fuck off.

[7rew 0]

It would definitely be Martin out for a 4-2-3-1, although he would probably be brought on as a sub at some point - being our next best bet for part of the 3.

On the Lansbury thing, I do expect that with the riches we have in midfield/attack that Lambert probably works out what formation he wants to play and fits the players in around it - unlike say Millwall when we had only 4 fit midfielders so the formation was dictated by the players. I also suspect that Korey got back quicker than expected.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="paulo79"]Hoolahan is stalling over a new contract, he is out of contract at the end of the season and has been offered a deal and doesnt want to sign one. He is waiting to see if anyone bigger comes in for him before making a decsion, so Lambert has benched him because of this. Why do you think he got Landsbury in instead of cover at left back. I hope he does sign a new deal but am behind Lambert and if Hooly doesnt wanna play for us the fine thanks for everything but fuck off.[/quote]

 

I just dont buy this, Im pretty sure its club policy to negotiate contracts at the end of the season? Im also pretty sure Wes is happy to be here and wants to stay.

[The Great Wall Of Tettey 0]

what does fox offer that hoolahan doesnt though ? even if we still play 4-4-2 with hoolahan CM, ive seen him track back and make more tackles than fox does anyway ?

[Syteanric 1]

im not yet convinced by Fox. he had a good game yesterday but looked Lost against Dirty Leeds at times. Probably just needs games after being out for so long

[Felixfan 53]

I understand that we have to play Lansbury because it''s part of the loan deal. Why anyone thinks that we can possibly afford to buy one of the hottest young prospects in English football is beyond me.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,613]

[quote user="Felixfan"]I understand that we have to play Lansbury because it''s part of the loan deal. Why anyone thinks that we can possibly afford to buy one of the hottest young prospects in English football is beyond me.[/quote]

Loan deals don''t state whether a player "has" to play or not -- no manager would agree to that. Although by taking a player on loan and then not playing them regulary might potentially damage the chances of extending the loan or getting other players on loan in the future.

Anyway, surely it would be foolish to not play Lansbury in every game available as he looked our best midfielder on the pitch yesterday, and can play anywhere along the midfield. Hoolahan was dropped before Lansbury came to the club so it isn''t like he has taken his place. Will be interesting to see what happens when Korey is fully fit again though, possibly a him and Croft in the centre?

Also I felt that Surman looked very rusty and a little off the pace yesterday (although not helped by the knock he picked up when Chris Martin fell on him)

[Coelho 0]

[quote user="Felixfan"]I understand that we have to play Lansbury because it''s part of the loan deal. Why anyone thinks that we can possibly afford to buy one of the hottest young prospects in English football is beyond me.[/quote]Anyone know when his contract''s up? As I''ve said before, Spurs sold Taarabt to QPR for £1m, and Taarabt had more first-team experience at his parent club than Lansbury – according to Wikipedia, Henri has only ever made one senior appearance for Arsenal, and he''s 20 years old already. I admit it''s unlikely, as a lower Prem club would probably be interested, but if he stays here for the season and we''re still upwardly mobile, I don''t think it''s completely out of the question, especially if we do cash in on Wes.

[Anderz 0]

Maybe Korey and Henri being friends from years gone by may be a factor. I''d be happy to see Henri stay the remainder of the season and depending upon finances maybe take him on an extended loan for the duration of next season. He appears willing to give his all, which I believe is what was lacking from some of the previous loanees.

[grantroederdisaster 0]

Hoolahan can count himself very unlucky not to be starting at the moment when hes playing well!

 

From what I see, Hoolahan offers much more than Surman does and is not knocked of the ball as easily!

[Coelho 0]

[quote user="grantroederdisaster"]

Hoolahan can count himself very unlucky not to be starting at the moment when hes playing well!

 

From what I see, Hoolahan offers much more than Surman does and is not knocked of the ball as easily!

[/quote]Surman''s only had two hours of football since his injury though. Disagree with the second comment – when Wes is given space to play he can be devastating, but in the games where he''s been quiet/poor, it''s generally because he''s double-marked or closed down quickly. He has great balance, but is still lightweight, whichever way you dress it up. Not a criticism of Wes, just an observation.

[grantroederdisaster 0]

You have highlighted the point I was trying to get across!

 

Yes Hoolahan can be lightweight but he isn''t as lightweight as Surman simple as and is much more effective when attacking!

 

Believe me I think Surman has much more to offer us and is a good option and I also realise that when Hollahans poor he is not much use on the pitch unlike other players who can just knuckle down and just try and stop the opposition.

[Wesbian 0]

I think Wes is just a victim of circumstance at the moment. We''ve changed formation and Lambo just feels like 4-4-2 is working for us at the moment (which it is!). It''s a good problem Lambo has where he''s got too many good players to try and fit into that midfield and Wes is very much a player in which your team needs to be built around. Whereas against opposition last year, we could afford to let him roam and do what he does best... This year we''re playing much better opposition where we have needed to change from the diamond to give our team more balance across the park. That isn''t Wes'' fault.As for all the speculation, nothing is pre-determined as of yet. I doubt Wes or Lambo know what they''re planning for next season yet, let alone any of us knowing. We''re doing well in the league and judging by Lambert''s attitude, i suggest he''s more than happy to see where we are nearer the end of the season and decide nearer the time and at the moment, to just address the matter at hand. If Wes is happy here, which he is widely believed to be, then where is the rush in sorting out his contract or whatever? Lambert isn''t stupid, he knows Wes is top quality player and no manager would want to lose him. We just need to stick with Lambert, while we''re winning, it doesn''t seem worth panicking over. I''m sure Lambert will sit down with Wes one of these days and try sort things out but at the moment, they''re probably both just getting on with their jobs as they both seem like model professionals.On another note, i thought Wes was brilliant when he came on, tracking back, making tackles, his first touch is second to none and he took his goal superbly. He looked like he wanted to earn his way back into the first 11 and i respect him immensely for the effort he put in. I''m sure he understands that as long as the team is doing well, it doesn''t matter all that much. If we were losing every game and leaving out Wes, that''s when i''ll start panicking.Great win yesterday, OTBC!