I have had a bit of a think about this and I have to say I am a little confused as to where we could play Dave. As an attacking midifelder he can only really, in a 442, play out wide unless we get in a proper holding midfielder. He can't do the Tugay thing of sitting deep, so in the middle Savage or Reid would have to be willing to play deeper which, in turn, reduce their effectiveness. With Bentley having the Right wing stiched up and Mokoena playing so poorly the only way I can see Dunnie breaking into the side is through a spot on the left or having a crack as the second striker up front. He has shown he can do both. I would put money on him, if he does come, being used as a utility player on the bench rather than a starting player, even in the injury crisis we are in at the moment. And if we really can get him for 500k-£1m he would be ideal to bring on to cause problems in the last half hour.

I'm just going to be honest about this- I have seen Warnock play a number of times yet can't really remember anything significant about them. I know he has played for the under 21s but then so has Jay... Anybody feel qualified to give an assessment of the quality of player he is? Ideally we are looking for someone with a bit of pace and good positional sense. Not so bothered about how well he get forward, although that would be a nice bonus. Provided he is not tragic then it should be a decent piece of business, especially if you consider that Neill has lost his place to Emerton and we will recieve £0 if he stays till May.

I don't think that is a very convincing argument. I do not think he could perform much worse than MGP has played in games. He has weaknesses, as do all of our players, but I cannot see why he shouldn't get a shot especially due to: A We have an average of a game every 3-4 days for over a month B We have a squad ravaged by injury C We cannot sign anyone till january D we only have four other fit midfielder (Pedersen is now out). The thing that gets me is that he is a very creative player, somethng we have been missing.

Actually I have to say I am a little puzzled that he plays so far up the pitch even in a 442. If I was Hughes I would tell him to not go past the halfway line and just mop up. He is so hopeless at attacking that it is utterly pointless for him to be n the final third. I suppose the major issue would be that Tugay woul dhave to play further up than he would ideally like but ultimately it has to work better.

I dont think this can be classed as a 'PC' issue, it's is sexism, no other way of looking at it. Newell is just asking for a kicking from the FA. If he wanted to question the involvement of Women in officiating he could have done it in a way that actually had a structured argument and a less provocative vocabulary. Instead he came accross as a bigot. The broader issue of should women officiate is tricky- as it is a man's competition in terms of players you can ask why should women officiate. If the theory of equality was taken to the logical extreme you could say that Women should be allowed to compete on the pitch (might actually happen one day...). What I hardly think is true is that a woman is going to be inherantly worse as an official merely from being a woman.

A. I really want to see Gally given a shot but Hughes doesn't seem to want to throw him in. b. We really cannot play a midfield which has no ball winner in it. It is suicide. We are stuck with the axe I am afraid.

Birmingham are like Rovers academy...

You can't possibly mean that can you? I think even a yeloow would have been harsh. We were well beaten yesterday. We were lucky not have gone down by two or three more. This is becoming repetitve but... 451! Please sparky!

This is insane! We have enough central defenders, when Nelsen is back we will have two international class ones! And we have five strikers (six if you include Bentley), three of whom have real pedigree (McCarthy, Nonda and Roberts). Infact if I was to say what positions least need strengthening it would be those two, GK and right back. Central midfielders and a left back please. I wouldn't care if we don't sign another player aslong as we get those two! I fully support Hughes but his transfer policy has seemed somewhat strange of late.

Sort of off topic a bit, but I remember an article from around 2002 about how Beckham was casting his vote for PFA player of the year and put in................. Tugay! Much to the derision of his teamates at OT. Becks has gone on record as saying he is a huge fan of the turk (as everybody on the planet should be). The reason I bring this up is because I think Beckham has always wanted to be, basically, a Tugay sort of deep playmaker but has never been able to achieve that ambition. In that respect he has always been a victim of his excellent crossing.

Mokoena has to play, it's pretty much a given. We have no midfielders that can play the holding role and are fit apart from him. Some have suggested Neill could stepin, and he is available as Emerton will take his RB slot, but frankly I cannot see Hughes putting a player with little or no experience in midfield there against the league leaders. We have to switch to 451 mainly becuase in that formation Mokoena plays excellently and we become solid. My team: McCarthy Pedersen Bentley Tugay Gallagher Mokoena Neill Zurab Ooijer Emerton Freidal Subs: Brown, Henchoz, Peter, Nonda, Jeffers By all means haul MGP off for Peter if he doesn't perform, and bring on Nonda in the last 30 minutes, but honestly we have to play 451 today. Otherwise I really fear for the result, and thats from one of the more optimistic posters on this board.

What we can offer to Beckham: Probably around 50k a week (50% of his current wages) Mark Hughes A central midfield role (play where Tugay plays now) Probably as high a standard of football as will be available for him (Celtic would be the only club that i can see fancying him, and promising first team football, and being in the CL), but then so can all the other teams in the Prem. I doubt the UEFA cup would be a major factor. Near his friends in manchester. What we can't offer Beckham: As high wages as the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle, Celtic and, possibly, Villa. As large crowds as the Geordies and Celtic. As high a profile as the likes of Geordies, Spurs and Celtic Penetration into the US market. --------------------------------------------------------------------

Do we need him in january? Currently able to play in central defence we have Ooijer, Nelsen, Zurab, Neill (freely available for the centre as EMerton has RB sewn up and we surely must be signing a proper LB), Henchoz, Todd, Matteo. I would say both Todd and Matteo would have to leave to even make it remotely likely we will sign him. The only difference would be if he was real quality- ie. near the Nelsen end of the scale. You cannot turn those players down.

If we didn't play the axe our midfield would be totally overrun. I cannot think of a midfield of any period that did not have at least one player who could put a tackle in the middle of the park, it's suicide! What we need is a player better than the axe at carrying the water- winning the ball and distributing it well.

While Chelsea have certainly overtaken Utd in terms of my level of hatred Utd are good for second place. Personally I quite like Arsenal, they play good football and have good players. Arsene is morphing into an individual as lothesome as Fergie as the years pass but you have to take you hat off to Wenger's team's style achieved with (compared to Man U and Chelsea) smaller expenditure. I dislike Spurs fans but like Martin Jol and how the Directors are putting together a team. Newcastle are pathetically run and their fans are tiresome.

To be honest once everyone is fit we will have a very good side all over the pitch, plus (in Tugay, Roberts, Zurab, Peter) decent quality on the bench. Nonda McCarthy Pedersen Savage Reid Bentley Neill Nelsen Ooijer Emerton Freidal The left side still looks a little weak I suppose, but that can be addressed in the January window. Damn injuries. Physio Room has Reid and Roberts not back 'til Febuary.... Physio Room

I wouldn't say we are short of that kind of midfielder at all! Bentley, Peter and Gallagher are all precisely that sort. You could even argue that McCarthy can fill that role. What we need desperatley is a decent ball winner.

We are going to get absolutely murdered unless we switch to 451. There is absolutely no way our midfield will cope otherwise. Man Utd to win by a goal. Incidentally we are just two points behind where we were in the table as at this stage (11 games played) last season. Bit of cheery news in dark times.

Would we be able to sign him outside of the transfer window? I doubt it. I wonder if there are any decent central midfielders out of contract at the moment, we are desperate!

Honestly I think we just have to play 451. We cannot keep doing 442 until we get either Reid or Savage back. I don't really think Neill or Emerton will make particularly good central midfielders. Freidal Emerton Ooijer Zurab Gray Mokoena Gallagher Tugay Bentley Pedersen McCarthy I suppose the genius of the formation is that Peter or McCarthy could slot into midfield if there are any injuries/tiredness (thinking of Tugay) or underperforming players (thinking of Pedersen) as the defensive demands are less than that of a 442. We all know that the axe is outstanding in this lineup (as opposed to generally poor in a 442) which is what really makes me think we have to play it.

We really should have played 451 today. I saw 2/3rs of the game and we were absolutely murdered in the first half and in the second we didn't get the ball into dangerous areas enough. I just don't think a 442 with Mokoena in it works in the least. We need two or three moreplayers, but two months till the transfer window... Referee decisions went against us but it hard to argue that we didn't deserve to lose. What is clear is that our first choice XI is good enough for the top six but our strength in depth is weak. The UEFA cup is tiring the paper thin squad. A proper weeks rest should mean a better performance against United next week.

This is sort of by the by, but has anyone seen Tugay give an interview? I read something a couple of years back that claimed he could not speak English- suprising since he has been in the UK since 2000.

I really don't see how we can not play Mokoena, he is the only midfield tackler we have. There is an argument that Zurab, Ooijer and Neill could all step into the holding role but noneofthem are tested there apart from Zurab who did a little stint for Rangers in that position. Maybe Tugay4England or Radagast could give us insight to how he played there. As I put on the Villa thread I would say far and away the best option is to switch to 451. We know Moko excels in such a formation and I think it is set up well to make the most of players like Bentley, Emerton and Gallagher. When we are away it would be sensible to stick to it until we get either Reid or Savage back.

Suprised to see Emerton in there, but if he makes it, great! Without Sav we are in a bit of a pickle. In my opinion it is time for 451. Villa are looking good and are at home and physically fresher. McCarthy Pedersen Bentley Tugay Gallagher Mokoena Niell Oiijer Zurab Emerton Freidal Subs: Brown, Henchoz/McEverly/Gray, Peter, Nonda, Jeffers Any more injuries and we are in trouble. The one to really worry about is the axe as if he goes we literally have nobody who can come in and do his role, not even in the reserves. We would have to start playing Zurab in midfield.

I think thats harsh Jan. I have thought MGP poor pretty much since the start of the season but last night his second half was very good. He played better than Bentley tbh. Hopefully he is on to something and can recover some form. With the injuries we have we desperately need him to.