More on De Guzman

[RS]

I thought Brennan plays left mid with Norwich.

[David C.]

Brennan is left-sided and plays left-mid at Norwich. He did, however, play left-back at Nottingham Forest but reports (game and fan) suggested that he is not the shut-down type of defender needed for the position and is better suited to moving forward.

Count me in the "Stalteri has more impact on a game from the midfield position" crowd. With his tireless running and range, he can impact both offensive and defensive sides of the field. Despite playing right-back for his club, I don't see that as his best position (for us anyway). Watch the Finland game tapes again and you will see that his defending was very poor on two of the goals. He seems more of a fore and back-checker (def. mid.) than a marking or zone-back. Also, I do believe that he has better offensive skills (or impact at least) than Bent, Bircham, Imhof and Nsaliwa (remember his Gold Cup performance last summer).

Pesch as a playmaking midfielder/withdrawn forward? People have been suggesting this for years but - apparently - Paul has not warmed up to the idea. I still remember the Northern Ireland game (Holger's first) where Paul kept coming back to midfield then ran circles through their team and set-up Bent (of all people) many times.