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He may not be playing at the same levels of two year's ago and only have one goal this season, but the Yak HAS to start our next game at West Brom.
In one of David Moyes' more bizarre team selections he choose to drop Yakubu to the bench just for the Blackpool game just a few weeks after he netted the winner against Stoke and earned praise for his return to form by his manager.
To then drop him shows a startling lack of confidence in the player and must have damaged his confidence. The only logical explanation is that Moyes saw something in training that pursuaded him to go with Saha.
But lets face it, Saha doens't play well on his own up front, especially away from home. True he might be a better finisher than the Yak but he can't hold up the ball as well and create space for other players like the Nigerian can.
Playing two up top isn't an option while Cahill is in such good form. He is nowhere near as effective when pushed back into midfield and playing him behind two strikers may leave us short in midfield.
I also think Heitinga should drop to the bench. As a centre back he is a good player but in midfield he is limited. I would much rather see someone like Rodwell - who is more cultured on the ball - in the middle, dictating play.
Arteta needs to sort himself out but his ability to create something out of nothing, no matter how badly he is playing (as displayed on Monday) means he probably should stay in the side.
My team therefore for the WBA game (injuries permitting) is:
Howard
Neville Jags Distin Baines
Coleman Rodwell Arteta Pienaar
Cahill
Yakubu
If things don't go well then Moyes needs to be DECISIVE in his subsitutions. I can't believe he waited 10 minutes before throwing Beckford and Yakubu on on Monday. Take Rodwell off and bring Saha on to join Yak upfront, Beckford on for Coleman if things get really bad.
We are lucky that a few wins will take us back into the top half but we can't keep relying on that for long. If we keep making the same old mistakes we will get stuck in the lower half of the table and have a spring full of meaningless fixtures.
Thoughts everyone??