I agree with the latter part but we are where we are because the owner sacked a manager that had a hard working but limited squad running through brick walls for him because he didn't trust him with his money. He replaced him with his mate who spoke terrible English and appeared to have never watched a game of Championship football. Everything that has happened since then is on the owner. From what I've seen Rosenior has made a big difference, especially at the back. We look more confident but as today showed still have an error in us. I'm also not sure we are as bad as people are making out. When we broke from the back it was generally leading to a chance or at least a cross. Before he came in we couldn't even get out of own half most of the time. He seems to be improving an unbalanced squad that has key players missing. Long, long, way to go but sign a proper striker and someone to help Seri in the middle and we do OK.
Seems to have stabilised us where we were sinking without trace. Still the leakiest defence in the league despite Rosie doubling the clean sheet count in his 5 vs the previous 18.
It isn't easy to climb the table. Will take a few wins, but we'll get them and keep picking up draws too. The chaotic pattern of 3 defeats, 1 win, 4 defeats that got us here has gone. We're a normal team again now.
Well we're playing a completely different way to how Shota played, which will take time to embed. You can see during the game that when we play quicker, we're much better, but it isn't going to happen in five games. For this to work, we need two proper wide men, a much better central midfielder to compliment Seri and somebody to link the attack and midfield. Players like Tufan, Christie, Seri, Sinik etc are used to playing at a higher tempo, which is why when they came on/played well we suddenly looked better and more confident. The grafters we have, while workhorses, don't have the quality that the others do. At the minute, we toil and work but it doesn't get us anywhere and we end up with the ball at the keeper's feet. Those players like Woods and Smith don't have the confidence to keep the ball or move it quickly. You're right, we don't create enough and I've said before our overreliance on crosses is stifling us. We don't seem to have a dedicated 10 and it shows because we very rarely play through the middle, which makes us very, very predictable and easy to push out of the attacking side of the game.
But shota did marginally better than McCann and saw us home. It wasn't a disastrous appointment - though I suspect a higher level of scrutiny fell his way given the summer business, and rightly so. I think Rosie is a better appointment, and wouldn't take mccann back so we are where we are.
It's a pointless discussion but I disagree about McCann and Shota. Thought we had turned a corner and given his relationship with the players a couple of smart additions, ones I am sure he would know well given his experience, and we may have kicked on. Rosie is getting a slight tune out of a rusty old trumpet. I really hope he turns into Louis Armstrong
Well, think of it like this, when we had an almost fully fit squad, we went unbeaten for four games, two away draws and two wins over very good sides. We then got stuffed by WBA, then beat Coventry. Then injuries really bit and we started tanking. Allahyar, Tetteh, Sinik, Baxter, M'Hand, Traore, Vale, Seri, Oscar, Pelkas, Fleming, Docherty and Tufan have all had injuries or been missing at some point this season, eleven of those arrived this Summer and two haven't even played a single minute so it is no surprise to see us struggling when the players expected to carry us are in the treatment room and the players supposed to be adding depth, the ones that we relied so heavily on last season to play out their skins to keep us up are now struggling against teams that have a near full strength side. And that's the crux of it. Because we have been so badly blighted, we've had to play lads that, no offence to them, aren't of sufficient quality to win us games consistently. The fact that players like Tyler Smith, Regan Slater and Ryan Woods have had to plug those gaps means we aren't going to be this whirlwind force in the league. We're going to have to win by any means necessary until those actual quality players come back or we are in a position to sign better ones. Many will probably look at Blackpool and see it as a gimmie, but it won't, it'll be scrappy and ugly and it may well end with another draw. And it'll keep being like that until the free transfer/embargo players are gone and we can bring in more quality. And that will take a few transfer windows.
What a deeply odd thread this is. A lot of people commenting who I assume didn’t actually see the game. it wasn’t a thriller and we gave away a soft goal. But we ground it out, another decent point in an incredibly even division. And the notion that this brand of football will drive away fans - utter garbage, if the results come the fans will stick around.
Sunderland had a man sent off. They brought a 7' striker on and went with two banks of four. That translates into them screaming 'We're going to soak it up, launch it to the big man, hope he can hold it for a bit, then support him, maybe, and see what happens'. They basically told us what they were going to do, and we let them. Lots of times.
And some wonder why others want to see a unit next to Seri. Even without that, they created **** all except their goal. And that came from 3 consecutive **** ups.
I also think Ingram could've prevented their goal. He could've played 'sweeper' and beat their striker to the ball, but he dithered and changed his mind three times.
Tufan lost posession, but in what should be a safe area. Centre halves were too easily split. They weren't in contact with Stewart when the ball was dinked over. Ingram was in no man's land and jumped to make it even easier to slot under. It was a **** goal.
Ingram wasn't in no mans land, and then he was, and then he wasn't. and then he was. He could've dealt with it, but his indecision cost him.
But that easy ball between the centre halves we've been done that way a few times. We look better now defending set pieces though.
