For me the most satisfying part of yesterday is that it felt like the first time that we have beaten a team in good form competing close to the level we want to be at. In their four matches prior to this they drew with Luton and Burnley and beat Sheffield United and Stoke. They hadn’t lost at home in ages. Really satisfying. And plenty to work on of course, not least the brexit-like defending.
And a pat on the back for Wagner who had the vision to imagine this use of Sorensen in a game where we were in danger of being bullied and overrun in midfield. My reaction to the line-up was 'WTF is this? I don't understand.' but he got it exactly right. EDIT: Another big plus of Wagner so far is that he gives his players a job to do and seems to trust them to do it.
In (slight) defence of Smith, I don’t think I ever remember a moment he ever had almost a full squad without injuries to draw on
Thanks to Brexit we have a squad of Internationals & South American Superstars rather than cheap continental journeyman. It also gives opportunities to our home grown British academy talent to come through .
Ironically we went from a squad stuffed with Germans and no English players to a super diverse team from all over the World with our kids getting a clear path to the first team too. Brexit forced our hand into being more inclusive, outwardly looking rather than relying on cheap European mercenaries coming here for the easy cash .
In fairness, our economic situation was very different before two promotions and two years of parachute payments. For me, the difference is that our new players are young and hungry and ready and willing to take on new roles, as are many of the older players like Hernandez, McLean, Hanley and Gibson.
But Dunc, those cheap European mercenaries gave us some magic moments to relish and remember, and every one was a hero to us at the time. And our kids, Aarons, Lewis, Godfrey and Cantrell came through in that period.
Until Max broke through after Maddison was sold we didn't have a single English player in the team . It's much easier to buy a player that couldn't cut it in the Bundesliga for a few hundred grand than put the time into developing young British players . Before Brexit there were far less opportunities for young British players , this has strengthened our England youth set up as Under 21s nearly all play first team football now . So far from being xenophobic England not wanting cheap foreign talent, we are blessed with Chilean , Brazilian & American players rather than half a dozen Germans. The EUROPEAN UNION is more of a protectionist model which excludes foreigners
Can we keep it to football please. Other forums are available if you need to vent your political opinion
The reason I never criticised the players under Farke was that they did what Farke wanted -- and did it supremely well in the Championship -- having been coached to do exactly that (and nothing different) from the moment he came in. The problem was that they were not capable of playing that way successfully in the EPL, hence my argument that Farke needed to change, or go, if we were to have any chance of surviving at the top level. Eventually the club reached the same conclusion and Farke went. If the club had been content to continue as just "a top 26 club", there would have been no case for relieving Farke of his post; whether he would have stayed for another tilt at the Championship is a different matter. The most significant development in all this was the surprise (and never formally announced) switch, in the summer of 2021, from having "top 26 club" as the objective, to setting the bar higher and aiming to be "a top 17 club". To my knowledge, the club have never offered an explanation for the shift. My view (and clearly the club's view also) was predicated on the belief, which I now recognise to have been false, that the players were good enough, and sufficiently coachable, to adapt to and make a success of a different style of play, better suited to surviving at the top level. That was what Dean Smith was brought in to do. It proved beyond him, but it sickens me how he has been, and continues to be, subjected to often ignorant and ill-founded criticism, never mind ridicule and personal abuse, with little attempt to understand the many contributory factors resulting in the task eventually defeating him.
Don't allow yourself to be sickened by it Robbie. It's just people expressing differing opinions about football matters. You know, the usual thing that goes on on football forums....
Did Sara's masterful goal remind anyone else of Andrew Crofts vs Barnsley back in 2011? Or was it just me doing too much reminiscing??
Remarkably similar goal but IMO Sara's was that bit better for being in the top corner just brushing the crossbar on its way in. There's no such thing as doing too much reminiscing.
