DF certainly has some headaches to sort out about who starts on Saturday. David Freezer thinks McLean will definitely be a starter and possibly Tzolis and Williams as well. Aarons, Hanley and Gibson are likely to return as the defence had little to deal with tonight. Sørensen had a solid match, but I suspect it will be Lees-Melou, Gilmour and McLean in midfield and Pukki, Cantwell and Rashica up front, though Tzolis and Sargent have certainly made a case for inclusion.
Just back from the game - controlled and hungry were two words that sprung to mind. Just shows that we can take it as well as give it.
Now that's more like it! Very exciting to see new players coming in and staking such a strong claim so early on. I agree with Farke having to do some difficult reshuffling of the team now for the next game. But those 6 (6!) Goals should really kick start the season now. I'll stop grumbling about our inability to beat Barcelona now
Any thoughts on Sorenson's game? Keen to know what impact he made. I've only seen goal highlights. Edit: 3 tackles according to Whoscored - highest on the team.
Ah yes. That was the game where Fleck scored a hat-trick and Malcolm Allen scored 4, after Sutton had beaten Coventry (the holders of the FA Cup) in the 3rd round! That’s when football was football guys.
Or maybe Coventry had won 2 years before - but anyway - that’s when the FA Cup was a glorious tournament. All those non-league teams like Yeovil, Sutton, Barnet (there are others) that used to regularly feature in the proper rounds.
Yes. @Rob I hope we can beat Leicester 7-0, but I don't do another thread until the next round of the cup.
No Dunc, enjoying a good night's sleep. Compared with the exercise afforded by a few seconds of cat-kicking, a relaxed night's rest is far more beneficial. As for the match, a morale-destroying Cup exit spectacularly avoided (with a bit of help from Scott Parker of all people). Two key factors IMO: first, from what I gathered from the little real-time information available, a change of tactical approach -- counter-attacking rather than possession-based (until Bournemouth were reduced damage limitation); second, character, though to what extent that was at the forefront of DF's mind when picking the team I've no idea. Tzolis clearly has character in abundance, as well as pace and skill. Plenty of backbone in that starting eleven -- McLean, Dowell, Zimmermann, Williams, Sargent, Sorensen AND Rupp (who rose above the ignominy of Saturday's half-time substitution to be his level-headed self and score his first goal). Well done to everyone who pulled on the shirt last night.
I may be stating the bleedin' obvious, but, just as we shouldn't panic when we lost our first two games to Liverpool and Man City, we shouldn't get over-excited about beating a Championship side by six goals. From the highlights, Bournemouth looked woeful in that second half and effectively gifted us the last three goals. Still great, though. As Robbie says, imagine how flat everything would feel if we had lost that game. At the very least, there seems to be a new mood of hope once more. I wouldn't want Farke's job in deciding the team for Leicester, though.
Just watched the highlights on YouTube. So much time and space the Bournmuff side didn’t look up for this game at all. Don’t we wish it was this easy in PL, but the harsh reality will come on Saturday against Leicester. Still a win is a win and we would all take that.
Can anyone who went give an opinion on Sorensen? Pleased he got his chance at DM, even if the opposition didn't offer much. Interesting to see that Farke brought Gilmour on to play slightly ahead of him when he replaced McLean too.
I was following the Pinkun thread and David Freezer started off by saying that Sørensen was looking solid and quietly efficient but not putting in the crunching tackles that Tettey was famous for. As the game went on he shifted to higher praise for his positioning and shielding work. Here's the WhoScored final ratings again: That's a very high score for a DM without any goals or assists and he made some telling passes forward as well. He seems to be a good option in that 3 man midfield. Tzolis's perfect 10 on his debut is hugely impressive, as is Sargent's 9.5. What a night!
