I notice the enthusiasm is waining on the prediction thread for Argyle victories. Wot you reckon Joe? Bunch of fannies or wot. Now of course we could just throw this one to piss off the Tractor Boys who are the most fantastic team ever to have played in League One last term and they just hate their neighbours. Or of course we could just pull out one and win this. I'm going for the second option just because I can. COYG
I don’t think I’ve ever put Argyle down to lose since I started in this competition. Touch wood, I’m not superstitious but looking at the recent stats, this is what you might call an optimistic draw forecast! I’m confident we can win games in this league. Some **** commented on the Bristol City game that we’re playing League 1 football in the Championship. Well, no, we’re trying to play Premiership football and not reverting to big lads who can hoof it and their opponents a long way. We just need to remember defending well IS part of good football.
Bit of a glitch on my computer surely......it's saying Argyle are winning 4-0.....must be soft wear breakdown.....or something like that ?
well sensible, i always predict a win never a draw nor loss, and as i predicted a few weeks ago we would wallop someone soon, there we go enough said.. always confident . what a result .. i had a pass or two today for the players lounge but passed it to my son and friend ,, i missed out i think ,,
Every one of those Argyle players will be facing a drugs test tonight. How else did they produce this performance? All the “C”s. Compact, Combative and Creative. Yes, we sat back a bit too much in the second half but in the first, Norwich were unable to penetrate a densely packed Argyle team whereas we opened them up time after time. I have a complaint though. Whose idea was it to get a 6 year old to take penalties against Pilgrim Pete for a first prize of a Dyson vacuum cleaner? He deliberately missed two in an attempt not to win it whereas if he’d been offered a Play Station, they’d both have been Top Bins.
There were 2 prizes notdistant and the first was an Argyle shirt. The runner up prize he definately tried not to get was the vac. They were determined to get rid of it though and made him win it in the end. Who the feck buys a vac for £850 though. What's wrong with a brush and dustpan. I really don't know what to make of today. The first 10 minutes or so we couldn't even get the ball let alone do anything with it. Then somehow we got it and scored. Repeat the previous, repeat the previous and repeat the previous. 4 - 0 and I'm reeling as to how we got there. They were decent enough goals but we have made much better chances in other games and scored none. When the first one went in I turned to son and asked how that had happened. He simply replied remmember Blackburn. And so it became true. Second half it just got better even though as said above we did sit back rather. When you have lost a few I guess protect what you have is the way to go. However we stuck 2 more in even though we let two in. Mumba was the culprit for a penalty against. I actually thought he was a bit of a wild card today. More intent in making his own point than playing the game. Not impressed even if he does normally impress. Now for my MOM. Bit of a surprise I will guess but I would go for Hardie. He was intrumental in a number of the goals even if he didn't get on the sheet. Normal players would have given up the chase for Whittaker's second but not Hardie and he more than made that one even if he didn't actually tuck it away. A weird day but very acceptable nonetheless.
I thought we were brilliant today. Tightly organised when they had the ball, moving it much more quickly than them in attack and with a front three they couldn’t contain on the counter. Back to 3:4:2:1 of course making Whittaker and Azaz constant threats, tirelessly aided by Hardie, who had a super game even though he didn’t score. Randell was able to make a much bigger contribution than of late from a central midfield spot with some good passing. He isn’t quick enough for an attacking midfield role but boy can he ping the ball about. A born quarter-back. I said early in the second half that Mumba was sticking his foot in, ploughing into dubious tackles and lucky not to get booked. He plays with his heart on his sleeve at the best of times and this one was clearly personal. He can’t do that though and the penalty was not only well justified it was a stupid and unnecessary lunge in that position on the far edge of the box. That Bundu is a big unit isn’t he? Taller than Dan Scarr and with the torso of an Olympic swimmer. You wouldn’t want him rampaging at you would you? Ten minutes played and an assist. That’ll do nicely. Much more of the same please Mr. Schumacher.
The Bundu debute was a bit on the funny side really. For about 8 or so minutes he couldn't get a touch on the ball and no matter what it just sort of passed him by. Not his fault may I add quickly before anyone thinks that's a criticism. Then he gets a touch and we score from his assist. He nearly gets a second assist with another touch. If he can turn that magic into a weekly contribution then he is going to be some favourite. Yes by the way he is a big unit.
Trying to make sense of Tuesdays team selection and the reversal to the obvious line up today.....surely Schumacher cannot make a case for resting seven players was the reason why they played so well today. If someone had told me before the match that one team would have scored six today.....I must admit I'd of got the answer wrong......just makes no sense on some of the previous results.
I haven't read one thing from Schuey in the way of an excuse for Tuesday and he as good as said he got it wrong. He did not try to justify anything. What did happen was he looked at his mistake on Tuesday and put it right today and the players responded in kind. That for me is a good Manager who learns like the players do.
Let.me say first that I’m sorry to drone on about this but I think it’s vital to our survival in this league. We only had 31% possession yesterday and yet to me we won it by a country mile, leaving aside the score, if that makes any sense. We defended brilliantly. They spent ages passing it from side to side without penetrating. We hounded them into going backwards or occasionally made them give the ball away when we then attacked at speed with more threat in 20 seconds than they’d achieved in 5 minutes. Part of that low possession score is that we’ve quietly abandoned playing out from m the back after the scares in previous games. If you kick it long, it tends to come straight back at you most of the time. Part of the turnaround was mindset. Clearly Tuesday was a shock. But there’s also the change in formation that I’ve been banging on about for weeks. We’re better balanced like that. We’re going to have to do more defending in this league and we won’t dominate sides like we did in League 1. Three at the back and two holding midfielders in front of them is inherently stronger. It allows Whittaker and Azaz (and Hardie) to roam making them hard to pick up. They they can hurt teams in this league. It gives us more chance to play out from the back and improve the possession stats, if that’s an aim in itself, although that may have to await the return of Michael Cooper. The downside is what do you do with Bali Mumba? He can be devastating going forward. To me, the goal he scored against Huddersfield ended the Goal of the Season competition on Day 1. But he’s erratic as a defender as we saw yesterday. Perhaps that’s a risk we just have to live with. We really only conceded one goal yesterday against a good side. The penalty was totally unnecessary and a rush of blood to Mumba’s head. Surely a lesson will be learned from it. I believe we have some good players outside the First 11. In fact, there’s no one in the group I feel can’t play at this level, no one who I groan about when they come on. It’s wrong to blame them as individuals for Tuesday night. It was partly too many changes which Schumacher has admitted. But as well as looking at why we lost on Tuesday, we need to look at why we won so well yesterday. Yes, you could see they were determined to do better but I maintain the change in formation was the key. It suits us, it worked last season and we have a stronger squad now. Give it a chance to succeed in the Championship.
As I said... surely Schumacher cannot make a case for resting seven players against Bristol C....and he didn't....it just makes no sense why he did it.....in the end two changes where forced upon him...because of a mild concussion and playing another player twice within three days who was recovering from injury.....so we're down to five changes and that was too much in the circumstances.
Just watched the video.....we made Norwich look a very middle of the table team. Their fans were disgusted that they lost to a team like Plymouth.......thank you very much.....sorry we weren't Barcelona.
I just watched the goal highlights: most of the goals were at the wrong end from our position. That probably wasn’t a penalty. You can see the mark on the turf where it happened and it’s just outside. Still a stupid tackle though. I don’t care what they think. The played as well as we allowed them to. In Azaz and Whittaker we had the best two players on the pitch. We were first to every loose ball. We tackled like tigers.
I care what others say about our club and I care that they are disrespectful. That isn't on no matter who you are playing and where you are or think you should be in the pecking order. I get greater satisfaction from a result if their supporters are like that. I watched the TV highlights today and have to say it most definately wasn't a penalty but can see why it was given even if wrongly. With VAR that would have been a free kick only. I did think Mumba was trying too hard yesterday and was a disaster waiting to happen. If the penalty isn't given who knows what else he would have done with even worse outcome. Once it was given I think the penny dropped and a little time later he got the hook. There was a lot to be happy about yesterday let alone the scoreline. We were good going forward and showed up their forward line in how to do things. We were pretty good at the back and showed up their defence in how to do things. The goals in themselves were well taken and Whittakers first was better than I thought it was in real time and from my distant perch. It was further out than I saw it and he didn't scuff it as I also thought. Hardie was as said my MOM for his sheer persistence and he ought to have scored if there was any justice out there. He deserved to get one. The Officials were near as damn it like most we get. Inconsistent at times and going to miss a few things they should have penalised. The Lino on the Lyndhurst was crap from the get-go and behind play a number of times. There again the Lyndhurst Lino always is. Thought the Green Army support was again first class and some of the chants well executed. The Canary Mob were quite vocal at times also but gradually faded as the score went up. You can't really blame them can you. Have to say it made my trek across the wilds of the Park after the game to get to the Bar a little easier to bear.
They just can’t believe what we did to them Sensible and in truth, I can’t either. They’re trying to rationalise it but the truth is we were just better than them. Miles better. The task now is simple. Be that good every week.
I doubt there was a single bet predicting that score yesterday even from the most ardent or optimistic of supporters. So it was a surprise to everyone. I don't care how disappointed they are there is still no excuse to belittle other clubs with those sort of comments.
Do you know what, It's Monday and I still expect to wake up on Saturday and set off to the match. I keep expecting it to have been just a dream.
Been watching the...."Pinkun Norwich City Podcast".... Three Norwich lads talking over the game last Saturday....64 minutes of quite boring chat on how bad they played...no acknowledgement at all on how well Argyle played to make them look so poor. Also mentioned a few times that Argyle was their longest away trip of the season.... as if that was the reason....that they didn't perform. Bleeging hell that wouldn't have been the longest by any means for Argyle this season.....making it a possible reason for the result....how disrespectful to use that as a reason when they were obviously out played by a better side on the day. I think I heard them say that they flew down as well.....so how can that be much of a long journey....possibly from Exeter by coach. Argyle just seen as a small club....and that was obvious in the way they spoke.
