**** OFFICIAL Premiership 2007-08 season Thread!*****

[KJS]

Alex should have been in there too. You got the feeling that Ben Haim played only to agitate Rooney.

The biggest issue for me was that they were in essence playing with a lone striker and when you combine that with horrible service from the back you get squat for chances. Plus Sheva does not have the pace to chance down seemingly lost causes or the power to hold the ball up for long. The formation was not a terrible idea for the first half of a tough away game but they got stuck in it after the sending off.

The balls coming from the back were atrocious all game, particularly Essien's. For the one time he managed to split 2 players and get upfield he gave it away 10 times. Makelele was good cover as usual but he tried to pick up the slack on playing some longer balls and failed quite often.

Overall however, I think they were playing to not concede first and foremost and did quite well in that department aside from the one goal, which was defended woefully. Many worse teams would have given up a lot more chances and goals away at OT down a man.

KJS