10 Dec 2014 19:35:45
Ed I remember you were very unimpressed by the signing of eto'o at first, I have to ask, what's your thoughts on him now? Think he's been boss personally

{Ed025's Note - i am at the moment eating heaps and heaps of humble pie swan, he has been a breath of fresh air mate and i hold my hands up there, him and naisy are my favourite players at the moment as they always give 100%, a few more like them and i would be a very happy chappy..

1.) 10 Dec 2014
There are a few players - the likes of McCarthy, Barry and Naismith as well as Eto'o - who've done much better than many thought. Then there are a few - like McGeady - that have still to prove themselves as consistent effective performers for us.

2.) 11 Dec 2014
11 Dec 2014 16:31:44
I'd certainly agree last season Barry was a breath of fresh air for us playing from the back, but now that teams have sussed us out and play high up the pitch pressurising distan Jags and in particular GB, he has not performed any where near the level of last season, that may be down to as some have suggested that he is carrying an injury, or potentially he is no longer playing for a contract anymore so feels more relaxed now he's signed permanantly and doesn't need to impress every game, or as mentioned teams sussing our style of play now. I would certainly suggest Etoo and Naismith have been great for us and the fact that their style of play does not necessarily need pace to be effective can only benefit them as teams can not thwart their impact and danger. I suggested a couple of weeks ago that GB would benefit from a rest to try to gain more fitness so he isn't caught on the ball as often, then James Mac got injured and scuppered that plan, However I would still suggest this when JMac returns from injury to give JMac and besic a run of games together to see how they get on and give GB a good chance to return to last seasons form. Added to this I would also like RM to introduce the speed of play out the back to be faster so we can expose the teams who push high up against us and get behind their lines of defense so the likes of Mirallas, Barkley, Lukaku, Etoo, Naismith etc can run at opposing defenders instead of the slow build up play at present which gives teams time to set up their defensive formation, squeese the space so we don't have space to play in and eventually we end up losing the ball. I therefore feel its an in direct impact of why both Ross and Lukaku have been struggling for form this season due to the lack of space due to the lathargic build up play between Jags Distan, JMac and Barry. I just feel the spine of the team need a good kick up the backside from RM and for him to find a mean streak and give them a piece of it!