i say 'ish' as there have been a few cup games in there as well but as far as the league is concerned how are we all feeling? think we will mostly agree that our style of play has improved more than expected with new additions to the squad settling into the side quite nicely. my own opinion is that we have been a bit weak in defence and since pre-season feel we have allowed crosses to get into or through our box too easily, since we got over our 'blip' however and with bailey back in the side and back to his best i think this has been looked at and worked on as there has been improvement. this seasons additions for me get a massive A+, the hoff looks assured in his goal but with me being an auld bassa i just prefer to see keepers control their area and if that means going in strong to claim a ball then so be it but it looks these days as if they are coached not to leave their lines much and to palm/punch the ball away rather than catch it, also to go on their @rses, feet first when one v one. doyle and cirkin, doyle probably hit the ground running and showed within a few minutes that although he is still young he was not one to be bullied, cirkin on the other hand started a bit nervy but improved and once back up to speed should be a starter. dajaku was another, maybe trying far too hard at first but seems to be settling into his stride now although he still has to fully convince us i feel...broadhead, no idea how he did not get starts sooner but has looked class in recent games, damn shame he got another injury...probably the pick of the bunch would be pritchard, had a bad start with injury, covid and lack of games but really stamping his name on the midfield now, evans unfortunately needs game time and be injury free but has shown at times he just calmly gets on with it. the rest have not really had enough time but huggins looked well assured when he got a chance, the 'regulars' flanno having a great season so far, winchester showing why LJ wanted him, gooch needs a goal or two to calm him down, drogba just wants to get back to taking his time and the goals will flow again, other than that i dare say every single one of them, young lads included, have played their part when called upon. agree/disagree?... anyone i missed that has impressed (or not) the rest of you lads and lasses?...or anyone i just plain forgot to mention?
Our play can be wonderful at times but agree we have a weak underbelly whether that's the defence or a weak midfield haven't been able to work that one out. I would add Pritchard to the plus side of things. Think he's been outstanding lately
Overall I'm very pleased with how it's gone, lots of new players to bed in and most look upgrades on what we let go. We have a load of injuries at the moment and are still in a great position to end the year top of the league. The style of play is easy on the eye as well which is brilliant to watch at times They will add to squad in January I've no doubt and get the players we need to kick on. The cup run has sent a nice little reminder that we are on the up again as well.
Considering we've spent basically the whole of the first half of the league campaign with no real full backs and a long injury list, we've done brilliantly. We had a bad few games in November but we bounced back really well. Hopefully we spend a bit of money in January to plug those holes up with the right type of players and we can finally get out of this bloody league
I said after the Doncaster game that I thought we had genuinely clicked for the first time in many years and obviously tonight only reinforced that opinion. Our young players are coming on leaps and bounds and getting results, our senior players are all in top form and I don't see any of it as temporary.
I was talking uo an old mate just before Christmas. We both were saying the same thing in that we just wanted to see the club trying to keep doing the right things over a decent period. That's how to get your proper rewards, and we have starting to do those things now this last year Quite a while since this old tanker was pointing in the right direction, but it's turned now.
well i started this before the game tonight (sheff wed) and right now i would struggle to pick a fault anywhere in the squad, if i am being over critical and desperate i could probably say AoB has not been firing fully lately but that would be it. in my opinion this was a real 'statement' game well above previous games and i am still trying to go over the game in my head to see why they did not pose more of a threat but each time i can only see us stopping them from playing, they did not give the ball away or resort to sh1thousery, the ref was hardly a home boy so we really won this one with our playing style. obviously the question now will be 'can we keep this up?' and again, my own opinion is that i see no reason why not...when we do suffer an injury blow, someone comes in and steps up to the mark as if they have played every game, 'seamless' is not a word i use often but it does sum the squad up right now and i do mean the squad, not the starting regulars even those on the 'fringes' are all pulling together.
Ower the moon. We’ve had a wobble and came out golden, which gives me confidence if we do have another wobble we be sound. Individuals are improving and some of the football is of a genuinely great standard. Been a great few weeks.
I agree with @samwise_new , this was a real statement match. A comprehensive demolishing of one of this divisions better sides,from whom we'd previously had a thumping, in front of yet another fantastic support, must serve notice to the others in this league. All the talk a while ago of dressing room unrest etc. was very obviously overstated....this looks to me like a group of very together lads,with an excellent spirit. I'm delighted for Ross...I've been impressed with him all season. Pritchard,Dajaku have shown what they can do and I thought Evans was outstanding last night too, and all are justifying our recruitment policy,which gives me huge confidence for the future...in this Jan and beyond...at long last we appear to have the right people in charge. In a way,it seems as though the injuries have almost created the formation and line up we're currently playing and I love seeing a settled side with very few changes match by match,which I'm sure has contributed towards this run. I'm certain Wright and Flanagan have benefitted from the consistent line up. Special mention to players like Lynden,who've adapted to a different role....a real team player,typifying the obvious spirit. Lee Johnson has shown himself to be an astute manager......I really hope the doubters will back off him now. We still are weak at defending from wide positions,which I would describe as our achilles heal. If we can address that issue,I believe we will be unstoppable in reaching our goal.
In a bizarre way I think all our injuries have helped bond those lads who are in the starting eleven, as well as the whole squad. Some are being asked to play out of their comfort zone, Gooch for instance and they aren't letting anybody down. As has been said before the teams reaction to the young lads scoring was first class. LJ and his coaching staff are to be applauded, be interesting to see who the scouting team have in their sights next month. Can't remember being this relaxed during the busy festive period before and long may it continue.
I would say a very good 8/10 performance overall. This is a very young side in an ugly league and they have had to learn quickly. We saw that youthful inexperience in our bad run. The experienced lads have played a big part in turning that round and helping the young lads learn. We have a style of play now that is good to watch. It is hard on the players to be able to do that week in week out, but it looks to me like fitness levels are being raised a bit like with Leeds. If you consider the injuries it makes being at 2 points a game now impressive. It also shows that we should do a bit of business in January. If we can get someone up front to backup / help Ross. If we can also get an extra CM that would help. Maybe 1 or 2 will go which will mean another couple come in too. Overall a very good 1st half but we have room to improve further in the secind half. Which is a good place to be. We have the coaches and players to achieve it as well I think.
Delighted for where we are in the league, maybe Fleetwood away a shame, Charlton beat us here and are 20 points behind, strange that. I will have to wait till after the dreaded Jan transfer window to end to see where we are i worry about if the lochness and Dan neil (unless Burnley sign him for £3m and loan him back to us) will stay, who will we bring in i would go for Matty taylor (Oxford) a couple of midfielders and there is a few really good in this div, a tall defender. last night was fantastic we beat a ex championship team 5-0 and with the injury situation the way it is, 2nd best points total before Jan in history(1998-99) best home run since 1998-99 so would not want to start this season again 99 times out of 100 !i could talk about the players Lee has brought in and Pritchard is the best to me really goes at players and last night his best game.
Recruitment was excellent and the playing style a marked improvement on recent years. We are still weak defensively although that may be a by product of the attacking style. We've been very unlucky with injuries but with some solid recruitment in Jan we should be a shoe-in for the top 2. No excuses this time
Flanagan for me has been a revelation this season. Could t pass water last year but looks calm and assured this season. Bailey Wright us back in form and we are starting to look a bit more solid at the back. Evans was very calm and assured last night. Just got on with things with a minimum of fuss. need a few solid recruits on Jan to really kick on but we are very much headed in the right direction now. Long may it continue.
We are clearly doing OK and sit top of the league on points but the fact is we are still 3rd on PPG and that tells a story of how strong the other two are. Wigan are currently headed towards a massive 98 points but with a schedule from hell coming up so let's hope it knackers them over the course of 25 games. Rotherham are still going to very strong but maybe have a lighter squad? Maybe something like that can just sway the balance. I think its going to be tight and if we want to go up we are going to have to win some big games. Let's see what January window brings as something as simple as losing Stewart for only 3 or so weeks could completely sink us.
Something else to throw into your thinking - we still have to play against both Wigan and Rotherham. Win them both and the pressure is on those 2 teams to catch up. All we can do is think about our games
I think we are showing signs of sorting out defensive frailties mate. Wright has been great at RB and gives us more strength. Wide midfielders showing a bit more savvy as well not letting easy crosses in. Bit to do yet of course but with full backs coming back we should hopefully be better.
Wright has had his critics including me. But I thought he was magnificent last night. Set the tone by clattering their forward early on. Coached Dajaku defensively through the game the pair were constantly talking to each other. And topped it off with a great cross Nicky Summerby would be proud of for Stewart’s hatrick
