OMT - Tottenham vs. Inter Milan

[thejazzman]

He's got two games coming up for Wales as well, and he is truly is a one man team for them.

Hey, thats unfair, theyve got Aaron Ramsey as well...:-"

 

[braineclipse]

Yep, they can all do a job there and are all decent squad players but none of those three are long term solutions in that position. That said, if we move to a 4-3-3 in the summer then the formation probably suits those 3 better and we'd need a slightly different type of player

Bit too soon to be saying that about Holtby and Sig. It's Sig's first season, he reminds me a bit of a harder working Kranjcar when playing on the left and he's still fairly young and in his first season with us. I always thought a harder working Kranjcar could be a very good player, Sig will have to step it up another level to be that long term solution, but who's to say he can't do just that?

As for Holtby I think he's shown a lot of promise coming into a side in January in a new league, I think he has even more talent than Sig. Saying at this point that he won't be the long term answer seems very premature.

Part of the point I'm trying to make is that we don't necessarily need a new out and out left winger just because Bale is being moved more centrally. One out an out winger on the right, attacking full back in Ekotto on the left can work very well. I also think that Bale needs to still drift wide at time as he's outstanding there too, that means that we need a left sided player that can also drift into the centre. I can't think of many out and out left wingers who are also effective through the middle and good enough to be a long term solution for us. Top class wingers in general seem tough to find these days.

Well I think we can all agree there will need to be some rotation........as im not privvy to the mental/physical state of our players the question is who needs a rest???????

I would worry that if we left bale out it would be to much of a boost for inter however I also appreciate the tough league fixtures coming up. Andre gets paid well to make these decisions.

as per a previous comment I would love us to finish 2nd and win this competition. I am a Villa fan tonight - if they can beat city then the city players may find it difficult to motivate themselves for the rest of the season if they throw in the towel to manu for the championship.

So who do we rest????? and how do we try and keep this streak going as winning obviously will keep our confidence going into the final third of this season.

I think AVB has rotated a bit less than some of us expected this season, I wouldn't be shocked to see him only make a couple of changes for the Inter game, but then again I wouldn't be shocked to see him make quite a lot of changes.

Like you say, we don't know the details about the mental and physical state of our team. Mentally they should be raring to go into the next game on a high, but you never know. Physically there's a chance some of them are starting to tire.

I think the most crucial point is probably central midfield, Parker and Dembele might need a bit of a breather. We need them at their best against Liverpool.

 

[Nigeyman]

Bit too soon to be saying that about Holtby and Sig. It's Sig's first season, he reminds me a bit of a harder working Kranjcar when playing on the left and he's still fairly young and in his first season with us. I always thought a harder working Kranjcar could be a very good player, Sig will have to step it up another level to be that long term solution, but who's to say he can't do just that?

As for Holtby I think he's shown a lot of promise coming into a side in January in a new league, I think he has even more talent than Sig. Saying at this point that he won't be the long term answer seems very premature.

Part of the point I'm trying to make is that we don't necessarily need a new out and out left winger just because Bale is being moved more centrally. One out an out winger on the right, attacking full back in Ekotto on the left can work very well. I also think that Bale needs to still drift wide at time as he's outstanding there too, that means that we need a left sided player that can also drift into the centre. I can't think of many out and out left wingers who are also effective through the middle and good enough to be a long term solution for us. Top class wingers in general seem tough to find these days.



I think AVB has rotated a bit less than some of us expected this season, I wouldn't be shocked to see him only make a couple of changes for the Inter game, but then again I wouldn't be shocked to see him make quite a lot of changes.

Like you say, we don't know the details about the mental and physical state of our team. Mentally they should be raring to go into the next game on a high, but you never know. Physically there's a chance some of them are starting to tire.

I think the most crucial point is probably central midfield, Parker and Dembele might need a bit of a breather. We need them at their best against Liverpool.

Yes if I had to say who I think needs a rest it would be our central midfielders..... what would people think of a pairing of Carrol/Livermore????

One a physical box to box cm keeping the opposition in check the other a passer to tick things over and give our creative players ammunition.

could be interesting - what do people think???

 

[stinkfoot]

Brad
Naughton
Gallas
Caulker
BAE
Livermore
Holtby (deeper/Dembeles position)
Lennon
Bale
Sig
Defoe

 

[Hotshot-Tottenham]

Wow, they're coming thick and fast.... Wham, gooners, Inter then Liverpool.

Can we maintain the momentum, will Bale keep producing and have we got enough depth to rotate enough to keep it fresh?

Because we're winning I guess they won't feel the aches as much, just looking forward to the next one.

If I had a choice would I go for a win over Inter or Pool? Pool I think, the league is still more important for me but a win over Inter will just compound our great form and hopefully provide the spur for Sunday.

Anyway, Holtby to start for me, with Ade if he's fit and Parker and Carroll in the middle. Pare any two CB's from 4 then the question is do we swap up the full backs to give Walker and BAE a rest (for different reasons).

Bale and Lennon to have to put in another shift. Good job they're fit lads.

What a couple of weeks.

 

[braineclipse]

Yes if I had to say who I think needs a rest it would be our central midfielders..... what would people think of a pairing of Carrol/Livermore????

One a physical box to box cm keeping the opposition in check the other a passer to tick things over and give our creative players ammunition.

could be interesting - what do people think???

I think it would be a decent option.

Whoever played the attacking midfield role (Bale, Sig, Dempsey or Holtby) would have to help out defensively a bit more than when it's Dembele and Parker/Sandro in there. But I think it would be very interesting to see Livermore and Carroll being given that kind of responsibility. Worth noting that it wouldn't mean a completely reshuffled team either, like we sometimes saw last season in the EL, and it wouldn't mean playing players out of positions. Also, I think Carroll and Livermore have played together quite a bit for the reserves and last season in the EL so they should be able to function together.

 

[Nigeyman]

I think it would be a decent option.

Whoever played the attacking midfield role (Bale, Sig, Dempsey or Holtby) would have to help out defensively a bit more than when it's Dembele and Parker/Sandro in there. But I think it would be very interesting to see Livermore and Carroll being given that kind of responsibility. Worth noting that it wouldn't mean a completely reshuffled team either, like we sometimes saw last season in the EL, and it wouldn't mean playing players out of positions. Also, I think Carroll and Livermore have played together quite a bit for the reserves and last season in the EL so they should be able to function together.

Its definately worth a shot if the coaching staff feel that dembele & parker need a breather I would revise my team and go with
Friedel,BAE,Caulker,Gallas,Naughton,Livermore,Carrol,Sig(lm)Holtby(am)Lennon & defoe

Pros defoe gets match fit - we see if carrol livermore is a viable option in the future - bale,dembe & parker get a rest.

Bale impact sub.

I would feel confident with this team that we could get a result - Its a squad game and keeping everyone involved/fresh/happy would be a good thing.

 

[Pandy]

Its definately worth a shot if the coaching staff feel that dembele & parker need a breather I would revise my team and go with
Friedel,BAE,Caulker,Gallas,Naughton,Livermore,Carrol,Sig(lm)Holtby(am)Lennon & defoe

Pros defoe gets match fit - we see if carrol livermore is a viable option in the future - bale,dembe & parker get a rest.

Bale impact sub.

I would feel confident with this team that we could get a result - Its a squad game and keeping everyone involved/fresh/happy would be a good thing.

I agree with that team. I'd be interested to see Holtby behind Defoe especially, and with Sig cutting in from the left hopefully Defoe would get some good service in behind. However, with Inter being Italian I can see them sitting back and soaking up pressure well, especially away from home, and this is exactly the sort of situation Defoe struggles in. Still, as you said Defoe needs to get fit and it would probably be worth a punt considering that Bale would be an even better super-sub than Defoe. Adebayor might benefit from entering the game at a later stage too, when there is a bit more space and he can bully tired defenders a bit more.. the guy needs a goal.

 

[Raziel]

Not sure about resting Bale, might only be tempted to do that if Dempsey can play (he can score)

Ade, Naughton, Livermore, Holtby I agree with

Would also opt for Vert, as he can provide an attacking option from the back as well.

 

[jpp]

For anyone suggesting that we rest our best players, may I remind you that we are playing Inter Milan in the late stages of a European Trophy, one that we could win. Isn't there a quote somewhere that begins

'FOOTBALL IS ABOUT GLORY'

or another

'TO DARE IS TO DO'

We should not rest any players but go all out to win this game.

 

[Spursalot]

For anyone suggesting that we rest our best players, may I remind you that we are playing Inter Milan in the late stages of a European Trophy, one that we could win. Isn't there a quote somewhere that begins

'FOOTBALL IS ABOUT GLORY'

or another

'TO DARE IS TO DO'

We should not rest any players but go all out to win this game.

'To dare is to do' does not mean we should run players into the ground in an attempt to win things, and in doing so cause ourselves problems in later matches. That would be stupid. If we run them into the ground now, who are we going to play in the second leg, or the next round should we make it?

There is little glory in winning a match against Inter Milan only to be knocked out in the next round. The glory is for winning the competition.


That said i have very little knowledge of the players fitness state at the moment, i doubt anyone here does. They seem to be coping perfectly well as it is, and i'm sure if there are issues then AVB will handle them. In fact i would not be surprised if they had today off or have been given it easy in training. It has precedent and the players will be buzzing.


In short? We should rest players if they need resting.

 

[Mumorn]

Bale is a machine. A rare breed.

I have no doubt he could play 4 games a week and still be fit enough to play a game the following week. No way should he be rested.

 

[Charlie]

I vote in favor of rest for our key players - Bale, Lennon, Dembele, BAE and Walker. Liverpool does not have a mid-week match this week. Finishing in the CL spot is more important, at this point in time, than winning the EL. We are more likely to lose Bale without CL than with CL. Our squad is not as deep as that of Man United or Chelsea especially in the attacking department. We can aim to win everything when we have padded our squad next year.

 

[GlennGoddle]

I vote in favor of rest for our key players - Bale, Lennon, Dembele, BAE and Walker. Liverpool does not have a mid-week match this week. Finishing in the CL spot is more important, at this point in time, than winning the EL. We are more likely to lose Bale without CL than with CL. Our squad is not as deep as that of Man United or Chelsea especially in the attacking department. We can aim to win everything when we have padded our squad next year.

We aren't going to start resting our key players now. There would have been no point playing them in previous rounds to get to the last 16 to then field a weakened side.

 

[Mumorn]

[video=youtube;cRZMjHzWXQc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRZMjHzWXQc[/video]

[video=youtube;RTruu22Qfho]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTruu22Qfho[/video]

 

[COYS]

TAXI FOR....... (wait who's their right-back now?)

 

[Spurs852]

TAXI FOR....... (wait who's their right-back now?)

Zanetti.

However Bale's playing style and position is now totally different , probably taxi for Ranocchia and Juan Jesus.

Nagatomo picked up injury in last week Derby game , not sure if he is ready on Thursday so we may see Chivu up against Lennon=D>

 

[Mumorn]

Zanetti.

However Bale's playing style and position is now totally different , probably taxi for Ranocchia and Juan Jesus.

Nagatomo picked up injury in last week Derby game , not sure if he is ready on Thursday so we may see Chivu up against Lennon=D>

Perreira will just play at left back won't he? AVB will know all about him though as I believe they worked together at Porto.

Inter Milan have a hard working midfield which usually consists of the likes of Cambiasso, Gargano, Guarin, Kuzmanovic, three of those really, all good solid players. I'd love Dembele in there but I'd really rest him for Liverpool and not even risk it after the whole knee thing yesterday.

 

[COYS]

The thing is as Bale's playing style has changed he is still our left winger and we do count on him to make sure the left is his.

 

[Spurs852]

Perreira will just play at left back won't he? AVB will know all about him though as I believe they worked together at Porto.

Inter Milan have a hard working midfield which usually consists of the likes of Cambiasso, Gargano, Guarin, Kuzmanovic, three of those really, all good solid players. I'd love Dembele in there but I'd really rest him for Liverpool and not even risk it after the whole knee thing yesterday.

Oh yes i forgot him , he was not in the squad against Milan (so that is why Chivu came on and replaced Nagatomo) but Perriera played this week against Catania.