Having watched that clusterfuck rather than spending an hour or so chilling in an infinity pool, I then hit the bar and worked my way through the cocktail page of the menu. Aperol Spritz, Cosmopolitan, Negroni, and a Tanqueray 10 if you're interested. Here's my less than sober thoughts though as I wait for Her to get ready for dinner. Dinner! You **** Ernie. It's tea. It's always been tea. Dinner my arse. Anyway, someone needs to sort out how we position ourselves when they've got the ball. Midfield and defence are shocking at this. We need more grit in the midfield. The reason we do not break with speed and meaning is that we lose the ball too easily in the build up. Our crossing and creating through the midfield is bab. Individually: Vale was out of his depth. Not his fault. You don't put a boy in to do a man's job unless you've detailed someone to look after him. Figueiredo is shot. Bench him. Baxter or Ingram? What difference does it make. If we don't defend better further up the field either of them will make mistakes and concede. It doesn't look good and I think we need a change of manager. However that's not going to sort the imbalance in this squad. Who's to blame for that?
For the second goal he may have been trying to back heel it to Baxter, missed, and then panicked and fell over (to either get a foul or just because he lost balance). We saw it as early as the friendlies, this passing around in very dangerous areas to ourselves will only lead to problems. But nothing has been learned yet.
Which do you think is more likely for the next manager: City appoint someone with a good track record in English football or City appoint someone from Turkey?
Posted this before today's tame but I'm not sure how I feel now. I really don't like constantly changing managers and writing them off too quickly but today looked really bad on Shota. The last two home games I think you could say we were unlucky and I didn't want to criticise him too much for them. But today we went into the game already on a bad run of results and our response was to give our worst performance of the season. Felt like we went into hiding because it's not been going well. Forget formations, the test of a manager is whether he can turn around a situation like this and get a big performance from the players. Sounds like he's been given the Luton game at least. It'll be very interesting to see what he can get out of the players in that game with everyone knowing what's at stake.
Watched Luton a couple of times this year.... they are quick all over the park.. another Sky game, ( I dont know what our stats are on Sky)... their manager will be telling them to go for the jugular.... Shota's inspirational team talk, well lets wait and see...
Plenty of highly rated coaches on the continent. If Acun is serious he’d be looking at getting us the Bodo Glimt manager or someone of that mould. He was linked with taking over from Dean Smith at Nodge so why not. Experience domestically is overrated imo.
Yep it wasn't Shota’s lack of experience here that bothered me when he was first appointed, it was his poor record in other leagues
This. Success in Uzbekistan is meaningless. Probably a similar standard to the 7th tier. Feel like I should bring up the fact that we have the worst defensive record in the top 7 divisions of English football, all the way down the the North / South divide. Edit: and it may well go further down the pyramid than this, I could no longer be bothered to look at the myriad of league tables from that point. Edit 2: Dorking Wanderers have this afternoon drawn level with us.
Yet the powers that be decided he was a better option to McCann. They need to shoulder some of the blame too. I want either, but if I had to choose...
We can suggest on here whatever line up we would prefer - I have done the same. Unfortunately, as much as I feel for Shota not having his full squad to choose from, we have a manager out of his depth. We have not invested enough in the defence but with the attacking talent we have, we should be doing better than this. I don’t think Shota can take us forward. The question is, when will Acun see this?
... and a £50k grafter. Not meaning to have a go at him, at least he works his socks off ..... but he's a £50k grafter and it shows. There's a reason Sheff U let him go, and for next to nothing. Not much between him and Dan Batty. He's been over-rated by us, as has Figs and our defence. They are nowhere near the solid base needed to allow players like Seri, Tufan, Pelkas perform in front of them. Shota and Acun likely equally at fault for the recruitment errors. 17 players, even with 5 out injured still, that's 12 that should have massively improved what we had. Yet we have no pace, a midfield and defence that gets cut open time and again, and now that Oscar has dried up, no goals either. Incredible.
I think that’s harsh on Slater. I don’t think he was ever signed as anything more than a short term option, but has made that place his own. He has stepped up his game massively this season and although he isn’t a stand out star, is definitely now of a standard to compete in this division and worth many times more than what he cost us.
**** me just seen the goals… What the absolute ****… Basically a gift.. 1..2..3.. Figs is ****ed !!!’ Fact…
Agree Malet Lambert might have run City close but if so Bransholme high would definitely have beat them.
