He also mentioned that the quick two goals at half time prevented a change in shape for the second half.
Those players are being sold in order to bring in reinforcements. No doubt. I just hope Ralph has a major say in who.
One problema with that!! Who is going to want this calibre of player? No, for me it is the definite lack of quality within the squad.
Well yeah there is nobody in the team who I would be massively fussed about being sold, but mowgli said we have quality everywhere and don't need to buy unless someone exceptional comes along. He thinks Hassenhuttl will succeed with the current squad as it is so good, but then lists half what a lot of people would consider would be our best 11 and says we will sell them, just seemed pretty odd.
Can I say how pleased I was with Elyounoussi's pressing that led to the goal? Started running to close down the CB well before Danilo made the pass, started hedging the CB-to-CB pass so that he could pressure Laporte, and even gave Hojbjerg a little point to ensure that he charged down Zinchenko. Has been disappointing as an attacking force, but that will really endear himself to Ralph.
I think you’re in danger of over analysing a passing comment. And apart from Lemina, none of those players I listed have really featured in RH’s plans. We’re definitely lacking quality but we do have a coach that can bring the best out of people, providing sufficient quality to survive.
I can see two players being signed (maybe one permanent and one on loan). Maybe three at a push, but I very much doubt it. More players will leave (including on loan) than arrive, I'm in little doubt about that. But there's simply no way that we'll be offloading five or six or seven players. I just can't see it. As I said earlier, they might be available for transfer, but they won't all go. This isn't Football Manager. It might well come down to which of them get suitable offers, and which don't (eg despite our willingness to sell Fraser in the summer, clearly no-one came in with a suitable offer for us/the player). Fraser and Gabbi are the two I'm most hoping we can offload, because they're probably the two sales who would benefit us most financially (whether in terms of wages saved, or transfer fee obtained).
Gabbi could probably attract interest, and at this stage, despite my long held hope for him here, he might as well go if he’s not going to play. Forster I’m not sure we’ll be able to get rid of him unless he is willing to take a pay cut and probably drop a league too. We should take whatever we can get just to get him off the books. January is going to be a balancing act for sure.
Having seen MOTD I can see why Højbjerg’s foul has divided opinion. Clearly reckless, and could easily have injured Fernandinho. On the other hand, it didn’t, and was very nearly a good tackle. He will learn from it though, and as has been said many times, not least by Ralph, we will miss him badly.
Thinking about it, 3rd round replays must take place between the Leicester and Everton games (the weekend after Everton is 4th round weekend). So this would be a very rare example of a replay being quite useful. Would get PEH back for Everton.
I am sorry, NZ, but I find your observation clearly absurd. For 15 mins in the game with the score at 1-1 Saints competed. As for the remaining 75 mins + injury time, we were spectators. I am not sure how you can compliment Ralph for managing the game because it was blatantly clear for much of the match that the game was beyond him. City had the game under such control that there was nothing for him to manage. Granted that Man City are probably one of the greatest teams assembled in the modern history of the game and a win was a very, very tall order but the early formation change seemed unnerving for the players compounded by the unfamiliarity of a squad of fringe players just does not imply yo me that "Ralph managed the game very well.) We didn't seem to take to the pitch with the correct attitude. The interview this evening given by Ralph corroborated the impression that he was resting players for the Chelsea match although quite how he envisages that being any easier than today's game is difficult to appreciate. I have been impressed by the improvement in the squad and the run of good results and was confident that we would have been entering this match after a win against West Ham. As it stands, it was the kind of game Adkins would have said "draw a line under and move on." I doubt if we will play as bad as this again at home this season but I find it bizarre that some people are looking for crumbs of comfort out of a match where we did not pick a strong squad and had so many players woefully out of sorts. No doubt it will get better but I think we should be giving 100% for every game and not accepting defeat before a ball has been kicked. I saw nothing positive from this match other than McCarthy's point blank saves which were exceptional in some instances. I can take no comfort from today's match . We were simply outclassed by a City team who barely got out of second gear.
Brendy I concur with these comments but wonder just how many players we now have out of loan. It is quite staggering just how many there seem to be either ploughing their trade in the Championship or some European League. I think this will be the fate of a number of other players too as I am not convinced which of the fringe players would be able to seriously command a fee. I can see Moy, Hoedt, Cedric , Gabbi and Fraser leaving with maybe PSG coming in for Lemina as rumoured. As far as the others, I would struggle to see who would take them. I am not so sure about JWP being moved on.
I simply don’t understand why you find it so strange that Ralph made a lot of changes. Many people have said how tired and jaded a lot of players were during the West Ham game, just 3 days ago. He was resting players because they needed resting, because they have lost core fitness in the last 2 seasons and they are still adapting to the new training regime. So of course he had to rotate the squad, and this game was in a way a free hit. Even with his first-choice side fully fit we were always going to struggle against a side like City, especially when they had had an extra day’s rest after their game on Wednesday. I only saw tonight’s highlights on MOTD so I can’t comment on the game itself, but surely blooding an 18 year old full back is a positive to take from it? The fact that Ralph is ready and willing to look to the Academy fills me with hope.
Also worth mentioning that I think he'd be getting a lot more credit for a nice assist to put us 1-0 up if Charlie didn't fluff his touch.
