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31 Aug 2017 18:02:52
Surely the Mierelles situation PROVES to those still in camp DGS that they have no interest in this club. If Mierelles is good enough to turn out for our team via a loan move, why aren't they willing to put their hand in their pockets and buy him?! It's not like we haven't got any spare money! Proves the point that DGS are only interested in the cheapest deal possible, without spending any dollar. The two of them are a sham.
1.) 31 Aug 2017 18:20:19
And about time we as fans did something about them!
2.) 31 Aug 2017 18:21:49
It also proves that they are not quite satisfied with the squad at the moment if they are still looking to do some business?
3.) 31 Aug 2017 19:00:27
OMG. Can u believe he's gone to the races!
4.) 31 Aug 2017 19:33:35
And jota has signed for Birmingham.
5.) 01 Sep 2017 17:01:03
correct me hammers if I'm wrong but I seriously think that D'S and gold are trying to run the club as a way of earning money and we all know that it doesn't work like that I genuinely believe they haven't got a clue and aren't directly devoted to making our club contend with the bigger clubs I think their hearts missed a beat when they see the way the market has gone because if true and we were 5 million short for the CARVALHO signing says to me that we WONT NOT CANTpay 40 million or over for players so how can we compete with the big boys and I don't mean in money terms I mean on the pitch because a couple of CARVALHO standard footballers I think you can now I'm not saying pay 100 million but come on Sullivan made the comment when we moved to our new stadium we would in a couple of years challenge for EUROPE do me a favour he needs a new sat-nav to get to Birmingham and Preston etc etc .
ajrhammer's banter posts with other poster's replies to ajrhammer's banter posts
17 Sep 2017 09:52:52
To all those who are having a pop at Bilic for playing Hernandez on the left, whilst I do understand your frustrations, what starting XI and formation would you play? I've mulled this over myself for weeks now and, unless I'm missing something, there's no way of fitting chicarito, Carroll, arnautovic, lanzini, zabaleta and Antonio in the same team without having Antonio play RWB or having a very open defence. And before anyone says drop Carroll - look at our record before he came back vs. Now! No issues with what you're saying but rather than just whinging maybe come up with a solution?
1.) 17 Sep 2017 11:52:39
Gk hart
Rb zabeleta
Lb cresswell
Cb reid
Cb fonte/ collins/ ogbonna
Dm kouyate/ obiang
Rm antonio
Lm arnaoutovic
Cam lanzini
F Carroll
F chicharito.
2.) 17 Sep 2017 11:55:39
I think the issue stems from our transfer business being all over without any clear plan or direction. We've looked vulnerable defensively when we play 4 at the back perhaps due to not bringing in a quality CB and failing to bring in Carvalho.
Getting them all in you would have to play 442 with lanzini and obiang in the middle obiang would have to be extremely disciplined and lanzini will have to drop in at times to provide an outlet. Arnautovic isn't very defensive either but realistically how long is Carroll going to be available for anyway. Also not sure on who our best cb pairing is either? Would like to see rice given a shot there perhaps in the cup after it's supposed to be his natural position he's tidy in possesion and may actually play some decent stuff out from the back without having to pass it across the back line multiple times like our current lot have been doing. Ultimately we should definitely go 442 against Bolton maybe sakho and Hernandez up top.
3.) 17 Sep 2017 12:39:29
Spot on al.
4.) 17 Sep 2017 14:13:15
End of the day I don't get paid to make those decisions, however I would suggest playing Carroll behind chicharito with arnautovic and Antonio out wide. Whatever happens chicharito needs to be the main striker.
5.) 17 Sep 2017 18:08:55
Carroll and chicharito up top together would cause a lot of problems for defenders I think they both would be able to hold up the ball long enough to take abit of pressure off and give plenty time for Antonio arnautovic and lanzini to join in. Very attacking hopefully defence is gaining some confidence back.
6.) 17 Sep 2017 21:54:06
I personally do not think Arnautovic makes our strongest 11, he is a massive liability, he is lazy and, much like Ayew and Snodgrass he appears to be a wide player with no speed.
7.) 18 Sep 2017 00:26:33
All valid points and like I said don't disagree that Hernandez shouldn't be playing out wide. Should have said in my original post that they can all fit in, but only if we play 4 at the back. We've had a lot more success at the back end of last season and this year when we have played 3 at back.
After much continued mulling over, my personal opinion is the following for our strongest XI:
GK - Hart
CB - Reid
CB - Rice
CB - Collins
DM - Kouyate
CM - Obiang
CM - Lanzini
RW - Antonio
LW - Arnautovic
ST (deep) - Carroll
ST (up top) - Hernandez
However, this means no Zaba or Cresswell - two of my favourite players. IMO, Hart's a better choice than Adrian. I'd like to see Rice start in a back 3 - don't particularly rate Ogbonna and Fonte is utter BS despite playing OK recently. Rice is a gifted player and we need to play him if we're going to keep him. With Ginge and Reid next to him, he will learn quickly too. DM position is key for me with a back 3. Shame about Carvalho as would have been great but Kouyate is solid. Obiang would have strict instructions to boss the middle, allowing Lanzini to float and support the front 4. Antonio and Arnautovic self explanatory in terms of their positions and i'd play Carroll slightly deeper than Chicarito. Carroll winning the balls in the air and Chicarito feeding off of him would be something dangerous. I'd even consider swapping Cresswell for Arnautovic to deliver some deadly balls in to Carroll.
Like someone said earlier, it doesn't seem like the signings have been made with any particular formation in mind though. All for strength in depth but surely that has to be based on 1 or 2 formations? Not having a go just intreagued to hear what others think. Hoping for another clean sheet against Bolton!
8.) 18 Sep 2017 08:43:23
Wow just listen to yourselves. some of these points are good but most are shocking and I beg to differ if you have actually watched any games over the last season.
9.) 18 Sep 2017 11:26:07
i agree with a few posts on here that Bilic is concentrating on shoreing up the defence for the time being, but keeping hernandez on the field as his quality, determination, and ultimately fitness will shine through at points in games, especially while Arnautovic has been suspended I think playing him left wing/ mid has been ok.
My preference would be to keep the back 3 as we do look more solid there, and stick with the 4-2-3-1. I would play Carroll up top when fit with hernandez behind for the knock downs. This would then leave Arnautovic and Lanzini either side, as when Carroll is fit I don't feel like Lanzini needs to be too central as a fair bit of our play will be going over his head direct into Carroll. But keeping him in that attacking 3 gives him hopefully some space to pick up 2nd balls and create something. I would push Antonio to RWB as his pace in my opinion offers more options there than Zaba. Maybe a bit harsh on Zaba but I think he could also drop into the back 3 if needed, and obviously could be called into RWB if we want to push Antonio forward.
10.) 19 Sep 2017 10:21:50
It's clear that as things stand we need to play 3 at the back.
Also, I don't buy the return of Carroll has being the thing that changed our fortunes. he's been largely ineffective in the two games he's played and it's far too simplistic to say Carroll is back and results have improved.
The biggest change has been the removal of Noble, Fernandes and Ayew from midfield which everyone could see was painfully bad.
As for team setup, I'd be looking at (current setup given injuries) :
-----------Hart
---Fonte---Reid---Ogbonna
Zaba---Obiang--Kouyate--Cresswell
--Antonio--Hernandez--Arnautovic
When Lanzini is back there are a couple of options. Either Antonio drops to wing back, and Zabaleta takes Fonte's place in the back 3 (it's useful having someone who knows the fullback position on the side of the 3 central defenders as Azpilecueta has shown at Chelsea), or he replaces Arnautovic in a straight swap.
Long term if we could get a powerhouse upgrade in CDM, I'd like to see Lanzini paired with a dominant CDM a bit like Modric plays, so he can influence the game from deep.
Lastly Carroll has to be plan B. No one wants the 'boot it at Carroll' football, his goals to games ratio is not that great and means he should never be put in front of Hernandez, and his injury record speaks for itself.
11.) 21 Sep 2017 20:59:43
you can play two up top without one playing out wide you just have to play with wingbacks it's just billic has never been comfortable doing it you just play 3-5-2 and Antonio doesn't have to play RWB zaba is guide comfortable doing it and probably better defensively than him that's the system that we look comfortable doing. COYI.
02 Sep 2017 22:17:31
Just seen the comments on ssn from Sullivan about Bilic - absolutely FUMING!
1. Even if they were true (which I don't believe) what frigging benefit are those comments going to achieve? Absolutely NO GOOD can come from them. Purely designed for the fans to turn against Bilic.
2. I've become exasperated with Sullivan's self-obsessed, egotistical need for constant bloody attention via Twitter. He makes himself and us look like absolute tools! Massively sets unachievable expectations, then makes ridiculous excuses as to why things haven't panned out and blames someone else. Do you see City, Liverpool, Utd or Chelsea owners coming out for any other reason that to back the manager or talk about impending transfers? It's poor form to use the media to say 'we could have signed x, but Bilic said no' - even IF it were true, that's a discussion for behind closed doors.
3. Does Bilic have final decision on transfers? Really? NO! As with any club, or any business, Bilic will make recommendations as to who he thinks he needs. But who signs the cheques? DGS - NOT Bilic. Who made the decision not to pay the extra £5m for Carvalho? DGS. As Chairmen, DGS will have final say on every financial decision, so to blame Bilic for not getting a deal over the line is cowardly and scapegoating. DGS came out a few months ago and said some of the players signed were purely Bilic choice, so which is it?! Seems like any players who turn out bad were Bilic's idea, but good players signed or the ones that got away were theirs.
4. DGS are treating the fans like mugs. I've lost count of the failed promises, blatant lies and general embarrassing comments.
I've had enough. Unfortunately I don't have a season ticket and can't afford to go to the game vs. Huddersfield, but if I did I'd be openly using my rights to protest against the way the club is being run. It's an absolute shambles. Appreciate it may not achieve anything, but DGS need to be reminded that without the fans, the club won't exist. Absolutely fuming. Bilic may not be the best at present but I'm still firmly of the belief that he can turn this around, but DGS have to go.
1.) 03 Sep 2017 01:50:19
Annnnnnnnnd breathe.
31 Aug 2017 07:56:46
Morning all.
I've frequented this site for many years now, but only just signed up.
Like a lot of fans, I've been a staunch supporter of Bilic and wanted him to succeed from the start. Unfortunately, I just don't see how he can turn it around now.
Whilst Bilic is clearly struggling, the real issue for me lies with DGS.
They're running our beloved club into the ground with their penny pinching, BS in the media and general lacklustre ideology of our club. They claim to be fans but their behaviour doesn't support this.
We need a huge day today on TDD - for crying out loud pay Carvalho's release clause and get some deals over the line instead of sunning yourself in Spain and updating your Twitter feeds.
This is the first time in years I have genuinely feared relegation - even last year I was sure we would be safe.
If we don't secure some signings, I'm not looking forward to the atmosphere at Huddersfield at OP.
I'm going to throw it out there, as I haven't seen anyone else yet - do we need to demonstrate against the board? Interested in people's thoughts on here as all of the other fans I have spoken to seem to concur.
1.) 31 Aug 2017 08:37:39
Demonstrate to achieve what ajrhammer? If the board are truly milking the club and don't care about it, they won't give a damn about fan protests, if they do love the club and we protest, we as fans could be doing ourselves a disservice. Remember that these two owners saved our club from spiralling into the abyss like Leeds and Portsmouth did after the Icelandics almost ruined our club. It's because the icelandics conduxted stupid business deals and paid wages over the odds that the club found itself in financial difficulty. Perhaps DGS haven't spent a fortune and perhaps they will sell the club at a later date but they will leave it in a financially sound state. Fans are fickle, when things are going well we love our board, when they are not we hate the board. In the 7 years DGS have owned the club we were relegated once and that wasn't their fault.
2.) 31 Aug 2017 09:16:20
Maybe start your own bilic and dgs fan club.
They ave helped us from financial crisis but haven't dne much since.
3.) 31 Aug 2017 14:29:54
COYI64 - demonstrate to show dissatisfaction and make our voices heard pal. DGS are clearly deluded and have no idea of the majority of fan's feelings at present - if they did then they would have acted if they cared. I don't see how you can think they do care - actions louder than words and all that, but obv you're entitled to your opinion. Yes, they did save us from potentially dropping down the leagues, but how long are they going to use that as a saving grace? At the end of the day they are businessmen and football is now a business - they're there to make money and that's it. They can claim they don't want the club to go down because they "love the club" - PISH! its all about the value of the club to them and what they can fleece it more - 10 times more if we're in the prem. their lack of investment, after selling the idea of the OS as a way of freeing up more spending money from revenue, as well as the souring money received for being in the PL, doesn't make sense. actually, it does, they're just tighter than a nun's v@g.
05 Sep 2017 13:37:25
Hammerdave - I'm as frustrated as everyone else with DGS, but we have to be fair where we can. They have moved away from signing older players - other than Fonte and Zabaleta, we haven't signed anyone looking for a final golden contract - I don't include Arbeloa as he was never going to get near our squad anyway! I remember over the years we signed players on their last legs - Davor Suker, Ian Wright, Freddy Ljunberg, Teddy Sheringham, etc. who couldn't produce at the top level anymore. At least we have stopped that - maybe its because we don't bloody sign anyone whos more expensive than £30m now?!
01 Sep 2017 01:02:54
Share your pain mate. I just joined the site today and live in York now. I don't have a season ticket but I'm kinda glad now as I wouldn't want to travel all that way to watch the useless performances are currently putting out. DGS need to go immediately IMO.
31 Aug 2017 08:06:32
Not sure about the guarantee of immediate promotion pal.
18 Sep 2017 00:26:33
All valid points and like I said don't disagree that Hernandez shouldn't be playing out wide. Should have said in my original post that they can all fit in, but only if we play 4 at the back. We've had a lot more success at the back end of last season and this year when we have played 3 at back.
After much continued mulling over, my personal opinion is the following for our strongest XI:
GK - Hart
CB - Reid
CB - Rice
CB - Collins
DM - Kouyate
CM - Obiang
CM - Lanzini
RW - Antonio
LW - Arnautovic
ST (deep) - Carroll
ST (up top) - Hernandez
However, this means no Zaba or Cresswell - two of my favourite players. IMO, Hart's a better choice than Adrian. I'd like to see Rice start in a back 3 - don't particularly rate Ogbonna and Fonte is utter BS despite playing OK recently. Rice is a gifted player and we need to play him if we're going to keep him. With Ginge and Reid next to him, he will learn quickly too. DM position is key for me with a back 3. Shame about Carvalho as would have been great but Kouyate is solid. Obiang would have strict instructions to boss the middle, allowing Lanzini to float and support the front 4. Antonio and Arnautovic self explanatory in terms of their positions and i'd play Carroll slightly deeper than Chicarito. Carroll winning the balls in the air and Chicarito feeding off of him would be something dangerous. I'd even consider swapping Cresswell for Arnautovic to deliver some deadly balls in to Carroll.
Like someone said earlier, it doesn't seem like the signings have been made with any particular formation in mind though. All for strength in depth but surely that has to be based on 1 or 2 formations? Not having a go just intreagued to hear what others think. Hoping for another clean sheet against Bolton!
13 Sep 2017 07:37:46
I've been wondering this myself happyhammer.
I'd probably suggest the following in a 352 formation.
GK - Hart
CB - Reid
CB - Collins
CB - Ogbonna
RM- Antonio
LM- Cresswell
DM - Rice
CM - Kouyate
AM - Lanzini
ST - Hernandez
ST - Carroll
However, this doesn't leave room for Arnautovic or Zabaletta. The only way I can see them fitting into the team - which presumably he wants as otherwise why sign them - is in the following 442 formation:
GK - Hart
RB - Zabaletta
CB - Reid
CB - Collins
LB - Cresswell
RM - Antonio
CM - Lanzini
CM - Kouyate
LM - Arnautovic
ST - Hernandez
ST - Carroll.
07 Sep 2017 14:09:15
Sullivan reminds me of a teenage girl the amount of attention seeking he does on social media. Let's just hope he doesn't ever discover Instagram or Snapchat filters! On a serious note, I've said previously on here, its an absolute joke - surely he must realise he makes the club look amateurish?
31 Aug 2017 14:29:54
COYI64 - demonstrate to show dissatisfaction and make our voices heard pal. DGS are clearly deluded and have no idea of the majority of fan's feelings at present - if they did then they would have acted if they cared. I don't see how you can think they do care - actions louder than words and all that, but obv you're entitled to your opinion. Yes, they did save us from potentially dropping down the leagues, but how long are they going to use that as a saving grace? At the end of the day they are businessmen and football is now a business - they're there to make money and that's it. They can claim they don't want the club to go down because they "love the club" - PISH! its all about the value of the club to them and what they can fleece it more - 10 times more if we're in the prem. their lack of investment, after selling the idea of the OS as a way of freeing up more spending money from revenue, as well as the souring money received for being in the PL, doesn't make sense. actually, it does, they're just tighter than a nun's v@g.