Training Thursday 11/3

[Douglas Higginbottom]

A normal quiet session today and the good news being that Carlos was back with the team. Vinnie though wasn't out after pulling up yeterday but no news if it's a problem for weekend.None of the reserves either due to the game v the scum tonight.

After routine warms up ,jogging and stretching they moved into a sort of match scenario but working mainly on defensive shape.The 'main' team was only 9 players being a keeper , back 4 ,3 in the middle and a striker and the rest attacked them with a full team. The defensive unit stood up well and one notable thing was the voice of Lescott. He was not only in charge but also very audible with his shouts and instructions.

After this 'game' for a while they switched to a more conventional team game. It didn't appear that they were working on anything in particular. Mancini started on the sidelines watching intently but moved more central to be closer to the action and no doubt influence the general play and the positional play in some cases.Gunnar Neilsen was filling in as centre half on one team and did ok especially with an excellent recovery tackle on Silvinho ( he took a while to recover himself after that one). Not too many goals scored but one beauty near the end from Rocky was probably the pick and I would have Lescott as the stand out player on the field.

Probably more tactical work tomorrow but today was a good run out getting the legs moving in a full pitch work out. The weather was so nice they even did the warm down outside with jogging around and all the stretching on the field.

[Wonderwall]

great news that carlos is back, cheers Doug

[Blue Blood]

Cheers for that doug! Quality report as per usual :D

[Chinners]

Cheers DH

[Geo123]

Is stevie as bad in training as he is in games, never hear him mentioned anymore

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Is stevie as bad in training as he is in games, never hear him mentioned anymore

No. I was thinking about Stevie recently on whether he is the same in training as he used to be when his form was at it's best.To be fair to him it's not always that easy to make comparisons as there has been so little full match type practice in training.I would say he has always looked very lively in training and the other players I am sure would testify that he is always one player likely to put in tackles and be difficult to shake off in the middle of the game. Lots of quality and some stuff not so good but his effort cannot be questioned.

One thing I havent seen him do much is stay back for the extra shooting practice which he used to do a lot.

[Scorchio]

Is stevie as bad in training as he is in games, never hear him mentioned anymore

No. I was thinking about Stevie recently on whether he is the same in training as he used to be when his form was at it's best.To be fair to him it's not always that easy to make comparisons as there has been so little full match type practice in training.I would say he has always looked very lively in training and the other players I am sure would testify that he is always one player likely to put in tackles and be difficult to shake off in the middle of the game. Lots of quality and some stuff not so good but his effort cannot be questioned.

One thing I havent seen him do much is stay back for the extra shooting practice which he used to do a lot.

Stevie seems to have no confidence at the moment. He probably thinks even if I get a game, I wont get into a position to shoot. So why bother to practice something I am not going to do?

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Top report there Doug, glad to hear that Carlos is back.

[Beefymcfc]

The defensive unit stood up well and one notable thing was the voice of Lescott. He was not only in charge but also very audible with his shouts and instructions.

Sorry to quote just one bit Doug, but this has stood out to me. Joleon seems to be going from strength to strength, showing real leadership qualities. In his last few games he has been the real voice within the ranks, shepherding players and giving encouragement at appropriate moments. There was an instance against Chelsea when we were defending a free-kick and Carlos dropped back and started pushing players where he thought they should be, however, Joleon gave him the 'Fuck-off Pill' (politely of course) and put them where he wanted.

NB. I didn't advocate the signing of Joleon and wasn't too impressed when he took Dunney's spot, but in the long run, and from what I've seen recently, I am liking what I see.

[getdressedmctavish]

Good stuff. I formed the impression early on that Lescott had consciously given up on waiting for leadership from Toure and had decided to take things into his own hands. Unfortunately his cartilage intervened but he has gone from looking nervous and tentative to taking control. I think he has a good understanding with Vince who is obviously an intelligent player. It will be interesting to see what happens if Vince is unfit. Will Toure come back? Will he get the armband? What will Lescott's reaction be?Toure will do better being told rather than doing the telling, but he's an arrogant fecker and maybe will throw a pout. After coming off worst in his strop with Gallas you'd think he might get the message. Shame Hughes didnt. What do you think Doug? Should we be going to Sunderland concentrating on our defensive shape or does this lead to us being dominated? would we be better to just go at the weaker teams? Its a problem to which we've as yet to find the answer.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

I do agree re Lescott. When he arrived I think he was a little overawed by the price tag and what had gone on with Everton and some of the rubbish from Moyes. He seems to me to be a genuine nice guy and once he settled into the team with all it's " stars" we were starting to see the best of him when he got the injury. It's good to see when he came back he carried on where he had left off playing well and to me he is looking really good.

It does seem the best pairing at the back is JL/VK.I too hope that Manicini sees it the same way but if one is missing Toure will probably come in. He could move Micah over but my guess is he would bring Toure in. I doubt Lescott would be upset if Toure came in as captain as I think he would just carry on doing the same things as we have seen.

As for how we approach the Sunderland game I am sure we all have our opinions. I think they are there for the taking but I fully expect us to go with a solid back 4 and 3 strong midfield players like NDJ/GB/PZ. The aim will be to control the game and not go overboard with attacking but look to the front 3 , probably with some GB support , to create and hopefully score the goals. A bit like Chelsea but with us having plenty of the ball( OK not too much like the 1st 40 minutes at Chelsea where we were crap)and as the game develops we press more and more to win in the end. I just don't see Mancini going for the thoat from the start.

[getdressedmctavish]

I think you're right, Doug, that's what he'll do. If it comes off away from home in the next bunch of games, then well done Bobby Manc. Personally i think we lack the personnel to exercise that level of control and teams from below us have the template to rattle us into submission.Looking forwards to it, what ever.