Merlins mojo is missing.

[gillie]

The reason in my opinion is the guy is fuckin knackered he cant make a simple pass at the moment and his chance in the first half tonight summed him up at present it was lazy in the extreme.I have heard rumours of family trouble but dont know of any creedence to this.

[london blue 2]

The reason in my opinion is the guy is fuckin knackered he cant make a simple pass at the moment and his chance in the first half tonight summed him up at present it was lazy in the extreme.I have heard rumours of family trouble but dont know of any creedence to this.

Not having it.
Tired is no excuse, he practically has a free role. Bu I don't know what the problem is :(

[CityGer]

Carrying an injury imo.

He's not as light on his feet as he usually is and his twinkle toes aren't twinkling the same. Also, whilst he's by no means a ball winner he's always been a grafter and someone who will take a hit if necessary. He's been pulling out of late and just has had that intensity in his play.

I don't think it's fatigue. Defo an injury id say.

[bluechester]

we are at the business end of season, he is integral to our season, & will play a massive part, not is best tonight but nasri played well so maybe we could rest him, but would you with 9 games left ha ha

[lovecity8utd]

Would rest him for stoke. Not the sort of game for him at present.

[bluechester]

Would rest him for stoke. Not the sort of game for him at present.

possibley an ideal game for him though they will play with eleven on the eighteen yard line so the magician maybe needed

[chips]

I hope his dietician feeds him magic beans before saturday!

[Goataldo]

The reason in my opinion is the guy is fuckin knackered he cant make a simple pass at the moment and his chance in the first half tonight summed him up at present it was lazy in the extreme.I have heard rumours of family trouble but dont know of any creedence to this.

Don't particularly want to inflame rumours about importnat (or any other for that matter) players, but what you on about re family problems?

[Bridge'srightfoot]

He's just having a patch of bad form. Simple as that. Not tired, not injured just playing poorly. It happens to all players but that's why we shouldn't be so reliant on one player.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Hes definitely not at the races lately...but class and talent never go away so he will be back...... and at least this time Nasri took over the mantle...for a change.

[Blue Since 76]

Saw something recently about him having ankle problems that he's had since his time at Valencia. Wondering if the extra physicality and the lack of a winter break is catching up.

Bench for stoke and see if the rest can win it whilst he snoozes

[freshie]

The most worrying thing for me about his performance tonight was that he seemed to go hiding. Usually he is buzzing around all over the place constantly looking for the ball but he was very subdued tonight and when he did receive the ball often returned it to the player who had just passed to him.

[phips]

Would rest him for stoke. Not the sort of game for him at present.

possibley an ideal game for him though they will play with eleven on the eighteen yard line so the magician maybe needed

Im thinking the same thing. Give him one more shot vs. Stoke and then rest him next week vs. Sunderland.

[FA cup winners 2006]

Not having it.
Tired is no excuse, he practically has a free role. Bu I don't know what the problem is :(

Silva covers a huge amount of ground in a game. he also covers back alot and doubles up with the full back. He could be carrying a knock, but nothing from doug's reports. 10 days off would do him the world of good imo

[kinkylola]

to me, he doesn't look like he's moving fluidly. It's obvious he's carrying a slight knock. Ankle would make sense, not serious enough to warrant time out, but enough to put him off his normal game. It's not surprising as when he gets fouled it's usually the nasty sort.

hope he heals up soon and i'd rest him against stoke and sunderland. Force nasri to step up again and continue his form from this game.

[Ted Hughes]

Silva has been carrying an injury & imo he is now starting to struggle mentally because of it affecting his form. He is only playing the kind of passes mere mortals play, rather than the genius stuff from earlier in the season.

This is not really surprising as the Premier League is much tougher & more demanding than anyhing Silva has faced before in Spain (as Yaya Toure said in his interview). To attempt to be a creative genius every week whilst people are clattering into you & managers have their players closing down your space as a priority, must be a fucking nightmare if you are not fully fit.

At the moment, he is one of the weakest links in the team imo; he's working hard but he's just DeJong without the tackles. He's not seeing any runners or spotting any clever gaps in play, he's just moving the ball from A to B in a predictable manner which any old fucker could do. He wil be back, but at the moment he's ruining the team.

Nasri today though was the real deal (at last) & having him come into form, plus Herman to call upon, is a boost which takes our potential level off the scale.

[paul_oresteia]

Silva has been carrying an injury & imo he is now starting to struggle mentally because of it affecting his form. He is only playing the kind of passes mere mortals play, rather than the genius stuff from earlier in the season.

This is not really surprising as the Premier League is much tougher & more demanding than anyhing Silva has faced before in Spain (as Yaya Toure said in his interview). To attempt to be a creative genius every week whilst people are clattering into you & managers have their players closing down your space as a priority, must be a fucking nightmare if you are not fully fit.

At the moment, he is one of the weakest links in the team imo; he's working hard but he's just DeJong without the tackles. He's not seeing any runners or spotting any clever gaps in play, he's just moving the ball from A to B in a predictable manner which any old fucker could do. He wil be back, but at the moment he's ruining the team.

Nasri today though was the real deal (at last) & having him come into form, plus Herman to call upon, is a boost which takes our potential level off the scale.

This.

Silva has needed a break for weeks.

Not because he can't handle it, but because he (must) be carrying an injury.

Let Samir and Herman take on Stoke... It's a team game.

Dave will be back.

[Goaters 103]

Makes Nasri even more pivotal. Silva's form has dropped off a cliff since late Januay.

Has to be carrying an injury and I agree that he should be left on the bench on Saturday, to come on if required. The break will do him good.

[craigmcfc]

Carrying an injury imo.

He's not as light on his feet as he usually is and his twinkle toes aren't twinkling the same. Also, whilst he's by no means a ball winner he's always been a grafter and someone who will take a hit if necessary. He's been pulling out of late and just has had that intensity in his play.

I don't think it's fatigue. Defo an injury id say.

Absolutely, he's been carrying an ankle knock for a large part of the season and it just seems to be dragging him down now. The abuse he got from certain knobheads sat near me last night was absolutely disgraceful. Some "fans" don't deserve the players that we get to watch on a weekly basis.

[Ted Hughes]

Carrying an injury imo.

He's not as light on his feet as he usually is and his twinkle toes aren't twinkling the same. Also, whilst he's by no means a ball winner he's always been a grafter and someone who will take a hit if necessary. He's been pulling out of late and just has had that intensity in his play.

I don't think it's fatigue. Defo an injury id say.

Absolutely, he's been carrying an ankle knock for a large part of the season and it just seems to be dragging him down now. The abuse he got from certain knobheads sat near me last night was absolutely disgraceful. Some "fans" don't deserve the players that we get to watch on a weekly basis.

I'm just waiting for the day I can hear them shout " Pull yer fucking finger out Messi.."