Fantastic performance and result, albeit against a very poor Swansea outfit. Meite came good - looked a different player from his previous outings this season. His play deserved a goal and have got a feeling once he gets off the mark. he's going to lead the line instead of Ugbo who looks far too lightweight for me. Switching Ugbo out wide swapping with Meite is not an option. Tanner was so direct he made all the difference. Ramsey was a different class and Siopis was just as good but in a different way - he was everywhere. At the back we got the clean sheet I mentioned before that we needed as a base line. All in all a very impressive performance, and with the likes of O'Dowda and Robbo to come back, it's looking pretty good to me.
Just watched the bitesized highlights. A few good saves by their keeper and one by Alnwick. How good was Tanners first touch for his goal? Nice strike too. He's going to trouble a few full backs as the season wears on. As Sparkey says, a couple to come back and a couple yet to click. For all his wrong subs in the last game, the right ones this time from Erol. Not time to get carried away, but it would be nice to back this result up with another on Tuesday.
What an excellently written article on Wol from the Tom Coleman who I believe is the usual Swansea reporter - well worth a read. Glen take note.......... https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport...ws/south-wales-derbys-unseen-moments-27729388
Just watched the full 90. Couldn't help myself. On paper, there have been quite a few good signings. Yesterday a few of those looked good in practice. Looks like we have quite a few technically capable and intelligent players now. More so than the last few years. Grant and Meite showing why they've scored goals elsewhere. When Meite gets one, I think he'll get a few. Plenty of rotation among the front 4 which will trouble defences. Siopis looks to be a missing piece. All action and does the simple stuff well. Its starting to look like a team, with a strong bench with options. At the back, Collins is starting to look like the player we thought we had before his injury. He can play a bit, with a bite in the tackle. Ng becoming a bit of a super Kev. McGuinness looking the part, but Goutas gave the ball away too often. Not time to get carried away, but time to be hopeful. The problem we've had in the last few years seems to have been resolved, with more to come. Goals. Not failed to score yet, one goal in 2 games, 2 or more in 6. And now a clean sheet. My glass is half full. Edit: Tanner is quite a lump.
With 48 quid standing in my account, I had every confidence in my team to win and it's captain to score.................... please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
It's interesting how we see things differently. I thought Ng had a poor game for him. His crossing and passing was not good, giving the ball away a lot. Also drifting upfield they played the ball in behind him putting Goutas under pressure. The latter is not good in one to one contests and, first half in particular, got out muscled a few times, by Lowe in particular. Sometimes he just needs to lump the ball away and not try to be clever. Contrary to other opinions I thought Ugbo had a much better game and contributed much more away from the six yard box. Jck please note. Wintle's passing was also poor. Again trying to be too clever. A better side than the Swans could have made things difficult for us. However, McGuinness, Ramsey, Siopis, Collins and Meite were excellent. I'm also starting to gain confidence in Alnwick. I'm sure goals will start to come for Grant and Meite soon. Tuesday will be a good start. Coventry, drawn their last 4 games, will be much tougher and we need to pick up our game again. We now have our own super sub in Tanner. Once he gets the run on his full back he is tough to stop. And we still have O'Dowda, Bowler and a fully fit Robbo to return. Our bench was very strong yesterday and before long Bulut will struggle to decide who to leave out. When could we last say something like that?
Another strange thing. My friends (yes I have some) from Swansea gave me loads of grief in the last 2 years. They must be on holiday or lost/broken their phones as I haven't heard from them. I'm not wasting my time giving it back for now. Revenge is a dish best served cold!!!
I'd forgotten about Bowler. Going into winter with Tue, Sat, Weds, sat in full flow, we'll need every one of those players. It'll be interesting to see the side he puts out on Tuesday. I can't see Ramsey playing another 90, especially if he wants some involvement the following Sat. Do you put Colwill in there or Robinson? The Wed's game is the cup, so some rotation in there? Don't think we'll see a fully fit squad for the rest of the season, so sometimes Bulut's hand will be forced, but it'll be interesting to see what tunes he can play. That elusive 20 goal striker can stay just that if we can get 10 each out of half a dozen players with a few more chipped in from the rest of the squad. I feel that our ability to stay tight at the back will define our season this year.
I'm with you on this one BfB, which is why I thought our performance was solid rather than excellent. Ng definitely poor with his passing and lack of composure at times when clearing the ball, Goutas much the same but was immense in the air. Grant was very poor first half, seemed to lack confidence but much improved second half (a Bulut bullet at H/T maybe?). Meite similar to Grant but marginally better than him in the first half, second half he was very good. I too thought Ugbo worked very hard, especially when we were under a bit of pressure at times and he had little support around him from Rambo etc . I think his attempts to close the Jack defenders down was admirable. Rambo was excellent in spells but seemed to tire and need a few breathes. JC is absolutely getting back to his best thankfully. Several times he stretched out a leg to make tackles at the last moment. Man of the match for me was definitely Siopis. Busy, hard in the tackle, jumping against much taller opposition just to be a nuisance, covered loads of ground, all whilst being very neat, tidy and composed on the ball. Despite the "negatives" the evidence is there that we're continuing to grow as a team. Mrs Brizzle and I have been watching Mission To Burnley. In the episode we watched Friday night, Vinny Kompany was explaining how long it takes for a team to get totally familiar and comfortable with tactics and patterns of play. I can't remember the exact numbers but it was something like 120 training sessions and 130 team meetings before it starts to become second nature. And to think, some of our fans would have been calling for the managers head had we lost last night
I’ll never tire of reminiscing on last nights battering of those down west. For Buchanan, Ronson, Bellamy, Chopra, Caulker and Flint now readTanner