Johnson might be back for Stoke, but if not then he will be for Spurs.

Kelly: ""It was just a tight hamstring," he confirmed. "They will assess it better tomorrow or Monday."" So sounds like he'll be fine for Stoke.

Either way, Skrtel was tank there v Bolton anyway.

Coates was in the stands for the last game so I think it's just red tape now. Even if he fails the initial one, the fact that he got Young player of the tourney at the Copa should be enough to get him special approval or whatever to win the appeal.

Better to be cautious with something that he's missed a fair bit of game time with in the past. He should be back for Stoke. Johnson will be back in time for spurs.

Coates has played 4 of their 5 international matches in 2011, he should get the WP.

When Kelly went off, I was pretty much considering that Carra would go to RB and we'd have Skrtel and Agger in the middle. But pushing Skrtel out to RB was a fucking brilliant move. He made key tackles in the right areas - two in our own third, and two in the attacking third, and only missed one tackle, in the attacking third. Also, being able to get that bullet nut up front more ended up being really dangerous. Also, the passing was really accurate - the only passes he tended to miss were the long ones up front toward the end.

I think the reason that Carroll was left off was twofold - first, he's being bedded into the first team and rather than just being thrown up front, he's being used to make the best of his qualities. Kenny said this week that they expected too much of him last season, so it's only natural that Carroll and Suarez are being rotated. Suarez with a busy off-season, and Carroll being bedded in.

Second reason he didn't start, or rather reasons: Zat Knight, Gary Cahill, Steinsson, Boyata - all very big articles. Especially Knight. He kind of neutralises Carroll's natural advantage. Much better to have agile runners all over the place like Suarez, Kuyt and Downing than try and rely on a height advantage we'd have over other teams.

Carroll needs to be hungrier, more aggressive. There'll be none of this running around in the background and half hearted positioning while you're wearing our shirt.

i was very impressed with Skrtel, he killed it down the right, looked very comfortable

i must admit i was surprised with Carroll not starting, but when i thought about it for a few mins after K/O it made sense, turning in particular Knight around takes their physical advantage out of it.....

cant wait for Stevie G to come back, i think he will have the role Henderson is currently playing

Adam and Lucas seem to be developing a good understanding

Carroll didn't start because we wanted to get at Bolton along the turf. Their back four and Muamba are all tall lads and going through the air wasn't going to help us at all. Carroll will be played as effectively as possible and that will mean playing against poncey defences like City's and Everton's.

I think we're really going to ease Gerrard back in. I don't see him back starting games till mid-late October if Adam and Lucas stay fit.

I find having Carroll in the starting line-up a bit frustrating at times. You guys are capable of playing some amazing football along the ground, I'd prefer to see Meireles or Kuyt in there.

I disagree. I hope Kenny persists with playing Carroll and Suarez up front, it has the potential to be a nightmare for opposition defenders. Imagine trying to defend them. One minute, your marking a small, skillful, quick player. The next minute, your up against a tall, strong, powerful player. It would be very hard to adapt

FFS, people will post anything on youtube.......

Lemme guess the comments - "runs all day" "workman like performance" etc, etc

By the way props to John Henry coming out & saying Liverpool is years behind United.
The whinging responses show how unwilling people are to swallow the truth

:d

I can't believe little 2 metre passes can make a players highlight reel.

People know there is some truth but you don't want to hear this coming from your boss.

"Please, please, there is no United within a mile of us. Our nearest challengers are Everton & Arsenal. What year did you say it was?"

It's not a highlight reel. It shows his entire contribution to the game.

He was immense in that game.

The thing is, Carroll is good with the ball at his feet too. This game was a good example of it. I think it's more of a case of the players learning that they can also give it to his feet.

The great thing about Carroll is that he such a distraction for defenders. The space he will give other players is great - even if he only scores 10 goals this season, the job he is doing for the team is very important.

That said, there are some games (like v Bolton) where we are better off leaving him out. Bolton's back 4 are all very tall and physical, so we used two quick, hard working forwards like Kuyt and Suarez to get through.

Suarez and Carroll have only played a handful of games together, I know they'll build a very strong partnership in time. They both have their best years ahead of them.

Coates outside Melwood today.

Those highlights vs Sunderland is exactly why we bought him. I think its a confidence thing. Once he bags a few more goals he'll be fine

From ESPN soccernet

We rejected it.

He can't dribble very well, and his passing isn't that good. Quick lay-offs and flick ons, great, finishing, great, and he wins a lot in the air, like we know, but dribbling, no. And he's not that fast. Too tall.

Play to your strengths. And if you can't play to your strengths, let someone else play to theirs.

Goal.com has Sturridge and Belemy still chances to come, do we want them, what are the chances of them coming

Joe Cole off to Lille it looks like. Preffered the Champions League instead of going to QPR.

I'd certainly take Sturridge or Bellamy.

Fuck Sturridge, but I think Bellamy will only serve to improve the image we have of drafting a team full of psychopaths and cheats.

On a serious note, I'm serious about that.

I never wanted him to leave in the first place. Good third choice striker in the event that N'Gog goes to Bolton. Thought he was much maligned.

Not that I'm saying they should cheat, but I think that the team should instill fear as well as having the skill to put the ball in the back of the net.

Let's face it, if you fear:

Carragher ripping your shins open
Agger, generally
Skrtel, again, generally
Adam sticking his heid in ya
Bellamy asking if you want to play a round of golf
Carroll setting fire to your car

then you're much less likely to notice Suarez pick up the ball and run into the back of the net with it.

Am I right? Yeah!

Everytime I see Martin Skrtel play I can't help but think he's on day release from prison :lol:

:lol: I fucking love Martin.

Martin :lol:

Nice to see Jones with a smile on his face.

Sorry if this has been discussed earlier, but how far off is stevie g? I miss him :(