second now ..but for how long

[readingbedding]

Cissé is no Edgar Davids / Lothar Matthaus / Bryan Robson / insert name here.
He is what he is - a centre back filling in as a midfielder. We need to sign someone who can do a better job. When we win the ball we need to know what to do with it. Cissé, while combative and strong, does not particularly know what to do when he has the ball. He is no Matthias Sammer, that is for sure. A minimum of passing skill is required.
It is also obvious that while other teams can bring on something different in terms of "big guy up front", we don't have anyone like that.
So what we need is a "German" DMC and an "English" forward..
Is Dietmar Hamann playing regularly these days?

For Oxf*rd's sake You are an extremely well run team who are second in the league and yet you moan like you're a kid who didn't get enough presents for Xmas! You need to realise that the 106 point season will never be repeated and get on with battling for an automatic promotion spot.

And as for quoting the players above, words fail me. They are 4 of the best DMC's from the last 20 odd years and Urz will never be in the market for the next one and even someone the class of Hamann will not sign unless Mr Mad gets his cheque book out.

Get the smelling salts out.

100%.

Majority of RFC fans aren't spoilt though.

[swansea jack]

Cissé is no Edgar Davids / Lothar Matthaus / Bryan Robson / insert name here.
He is what he is - a centre back filling in as a midfielder. We need to sign someone who can do a better job. When we win the ball we need to know what to do with it. Cissé, while combative and strong, does not particularly know what to do when he has the ball. He is no Matthias Sammer, that is for sure. A minimum of passing skill is required.
It is also obvious that while other teams can bring on something different in terms of "big guy up front", we don't have anyone like that.
So what we need is a "German" DMC and an "English" forward..
Is Dietmar Hamann playing regularly these days?

For Oxf*rd's sake You are an extremely well run team who are second in the league and yet you moan like you're a kid who didn't get enough presents for Xmas! You need to realise that the 106 point season will never be repeated and get on with battling for an automatic promotion spot.

And as for quoting the players above, words fail me. They are 4 of the best DMC's from the last 20 odd years and Urz will never be in the market for the next one and even someone the class of Hamann will not sign unless Mr Mad gets his cheque book out.

Get the smelling salts out.

Good post, seperate question, do you live in bondi mate, anywhere near bondi junction? Or you jsut travelling through.

Been here 2 years now but living in Rose Bay, 5 mins from the junction.

[floyd__streete]

Yes we are 2nd now but for how much longer?

6 days, until Birmingham win at Blackpool next Saturday.

[Royal With Cheese]

Yes we are 2nd now but for how much longer?

6 days, until Birmingham win at Blackpool next Saturday.

Just like Wolves did.

Have you seen any of the recent Brum games Floyd? they're showing mid table form at best.

[floyd__streete]

Have you seen any of the recent Brum games Floyd? they're showing mid table form at best.

No, I've been at the Reaing matches, funnily enough. Don't write off Birmingham. Decent signing in Bowyer for this level. I'd take him over Harper.

[glass half full]

Until Bowyer takes a pop at one of his own players....

[Royal With Cheese]

Have you seen any of the recent Brum games Floyd? they're showing mid table form at best.

No, I've been at the Reaing matches, funnily enough. Don't write off Birmingham. Decent signing in Bowyer for this level. I'd take him over Harper.

Perhaps you should take a little time to suss out our rivals. You don't seem to have too much trouble with new techology. For someone who posts prolifically on an internet forum I'm bemused to see you don't appear to know how to operate a TV and watch the Championship on a Sunday morning. You must be at church. I apologise. I would invest a couple of quid in one of those video-recorder thingys if I was you. That way you could watch a television programme at your leisure after it has finished.

I agree, Boyer was a good signing for Blues. However, other than shanking a flukey last minute goal I wasn't overly impressed with his first game in Birmingham's colours.

[Silver Fox]

As we can't now go top on the 27th I'd say the season is pretty much all over, still it's an excuse to get out of the house isn't it?

[floyd__streete]

Perhaps you should take a little time to suss out our rivals. You don't seem to have too much trouble with new techology. For someone who posts prolifically on an internet forum I'm bemused to see you don't appear to know how to operate a TV and watch the Championship on a Sunday morning. You must be at church. I apologise. I would invest a couple of quid in one of those video-recorder thingys if I was you. That way you could watch a television programme at your leisure after it has finished.

Showed all 90 minutes of the Birmingham game on that hour long programme did they? Do they show all 90 minutes of every Birmingham game on that programme? I am glad that a proven pundit like RWC has written Birmingham off. Our collective minds should be at rest.

[Royal With Cheese]

Ha ha. Isn't a different opiion to your an absolute bitch. How tiresome I am not agreeing with everything you say. It's a cross I shall just have to bear.

[Royal With Cheese]

BTW - I haven't written Birmingham off. I'm merely pointing out at the moment they're not playing the best.

[Ian Royal]

LOL @ those who thought just because we'd overtaken B'ham once we'd stay second for the rest of teh season. This is a tight 3 horse race, that cuold well develop a few more horses the way the three of us are doing right now.

B'ham over taking us now isn't a huge issue. It's not great, no. But the season isn't over when they play their next game and they still have to come to us on the last game of the season. As long as we're within 3 points of them that gives us a great chance of finishing above them, presumably in second.

I'm just going to ignore the our midfield is crap arguement. It;s been done to death and most of the arguements against it are just ignored in favour of "we had no possession" and "Harper/Cisse is shit"

[DelBoyRodders]

Cissé is no Edgar Davids / Lothar Matthaus / Bryan Robson / insert name here.
He is what he is - a centre back filling in as a midfielder. We need to sign someone who can do a better job. When we win the ball we need to know what to do with it. Cissé, while combative and strong, does not particularly know what to do when he has the ball. He is no Matthias Sammer, that is for sure.

Another idiot

[old woman]

Is this just the curse of manager of the month?

At least we don't need to worry for this month!!!!!

[Ian Royal]

Is this just the curse of manager of the month?

At least we don't need to worry for this month!!!!!

Depends on whether we beat Wolves and QPR. 3 wins from 4 could be pretty good.

[Fubar]

Our centre mid can't cope against a 5-man midfield. It's up to our management to sort that out

That's precisely it. If you stop our full backs coming forward, we don't score.

[DelBoyRodders]

Our centre mid can't cope against a 5-man midfield. It's up to our management to sort that out

That's precisely it. If you stop our full backs coming forward, we don't score.

Football's an exact science!!

[The Prisoner]

I really hope the players don't read some of the negative sh1te that gets posted on here. We've lost 1 in 14 in the league, have been picking up points when we have played poorly as well as in the better games and were the highest scorers in the country until saturday. Oh, and we are second. Hardly cause to slit wrists and predict freefall into oblivion.

Before somebody jumps on the "playing pretty poorly" bit we can't be expected to batter every team 4-0 with 20 shots and 75% possession - getting some of the results we have had with the performances we have had shows the efficiency of our team and is supposedly the mark of a good side.

I watched the Bristol City vs Wolves game last night. Despite the awful conditions it was a good game with Wolves looking superb in the first half and then highly vulnerable in the second when Adebola made them look like a Sunday league team at times after he came on at half time. Brum were worse and picked up a point. All three of us are a touch out of form, but I'm sure none of us would swap with Cardiff, Preston etc.

Football is about confidence as well as skill, tactics, passion etc. We've lacked a spark over recent weeks, but it will come back, not least when January is out of the way and the likes of Shunt have either gone or removed the distraction from their mind. Given the players we have that confidence is never too far from the surface and it will come back to compliment the ability.

When the season started loads of people predicted mid table oblivion or play offs at best. We are second and favourites with the bookies to stay there and what do we get? One bad performance (and the first total shocker in eons to boot) and the world has ended.

Everyone has a part to play in this. That includes us.

[SteveRoyal]

Get cisse out, put matevosky in, I don't care if he's lightweight he can keep possession and we are more dangerous when he opens teams up trough the centre, we hardly ever score through the middle and he gives us another creative option.

I have to disagree. Harper is more of an all-round midfielder. Sure, he defends more than he attacks, but he's not as strong and physical enough to partner up with Marek.
I'd personally have a midfield partnership of Cisse/Gun and Marek.
I'd quite like to see a Karacan Harper midfield, but it won't happen unless Gun, Harper and Cisse are all hit by injuries.

[Ian Royal]

Our centre mid can't cope against a 5-man midfield. It's up to our management to sort that out

That's precisely it. If you stop our full backs coming forward, we don't score.

The bit about the full backs is correct. But we've beaten several teams who've played 5 in midfield. Most recently at the start of this month.