More game time needed to know really, he shanked a header leading to their goal, didn't exactly set world alight and he still looks half interested
A point will do as a starting point after only a few days with the squad. As others have said, we played some decent stuff at times. Disappointing not to get the win after going ahead, and another goal conceded from a set piece due to Richards being a clown. Give Cif a few more weeks with the rabble and then hopefully the points will start to come, on the whole a heartening start !
Didn't really get the ball too much tbh, had one driving run before being fouled. Off the ball he might be the worst I've seen, zero effort and zero brain activity. Switched off and plonked a dozy header straight to one of their guys forcing Field into a foul, and they scored from the resulting free kick. Compare the effort of someone like Chair and its like chalk and cheese. He worries me a lot.
Pass completion 75%. Hugely encouraging considering he only had a couple of days with the players. I didn't see the game, but by all accounts we were miles better than anything under Ainsworth. That's good enough for me, even if we go down, at least we'll go down playing football.
The best we can hope for is that we might just have enough to scrape into 20th or 21st. Anything higher would be incredible.
We will play much better football, hopefully tighten up at the back, but I still have no idea where the goals are going to come from, unless we rely on shots from out of the area by Chair (and Willock if he wakes up). I’m hoping that El Cif will work out a way to get Dykes the ball where he needs it often enough for him to score one miss five. Armstrong is sadly chronically unsuited to this style of football. Keen to hear what @bobmid thought of it, once he’s dried off.
Apart from pulling out of a tackle towards the end i thought he was quite good, unlucky not to score too
There's a lot of negativity about Richards... I actually thought he looked decent except for his daft header which lead to the free kick and their goal, especially when he moved central, taking on players and he moved effortlessly.... Certainly a step in right direction for him...
Just back from a wet and cold Rotherham. Already can see what Marti is trying to do. Only one, maybe two long goal kicks. All the rest short with a purpose to find feet out wide or for Dixon Bonner in middle. Didn't always work but it's early days and the passing between the defence had a purpose at long last. Pretty even first half but we were trying to play while Rotherham were more direct. The 2nd half was quite entertaining and chairs goal was excellent. I was right behind it. If Rotherham were going to equalise then it was going to be from a set piece and so it was. Cifuentes was animated in the touch line, the crowd singing his name and we just kept attacking. It's a shame that all the subs were made actually. I can understand Armstrong but that would have been my only one although I think Smyth had a knock. All in all, after probs one training session, you can see a different style already.
Thing with Richards, if it didn't go exactly to his feet then he ain't getting it. Us fans were screaming at him to chase down a defender near the end but he just didn't bother. We really could have and maybe should have nicked the game at the end.
Getting on the pitch is a minor miracle for him. He’s a deeply incomplete player, who now has a coach who can improve him. If he wants to be improved. Tracking back and not staring into the middle distance murmuring ‘hello birds, hello sky’ like Armand Traore would be a good start. I was giving him a lot of benefit of the doubt because I thought he might have mental health problems, but his highly negative retweets of stuff about Ainsworth were disgraceful. If he, and I suspect Willock, just haven’t been bothering because they didn’t like Ainsworth I don’t want them to have an easy ride, it’s a horrible example for the squad. I hope he turns out brilliantly and plays a key role for us going forward but he has to work hard. Likewise Willock. I don’t think anyone can hide in El Cif’s system.
I liked Chair out wide and Smyth on the other wing. Both really kept the width with the former having a great game. Willock did all tha basics right and that's a start. Simple lay offs, he just doesn't look the sharpest at the moment. Dixon Bonner certainly did ok in the middle too. Nobody really had a bad game. The only person who doesn't suit this progressive passing is probably Begovic. He's old school, save it and whack it!
Yes he was mate. He did the simple things well enough but didn't quite support across the pitch from Smyth to Chair. He mainly drifter towards chair. More game time is needed I reckon before he regains his form, which I reckon he definitely will.
