I was well pissed of with yesterdays result, with the starting 11 and with the substitutions and this morning felt no better, however. I have now watched the full game again on football first and feel better for it. I think yesterdays disappointment masked some good things about the game, we did not play anywhere near as bad as my disappointment made me think we had. Yes a strike pairing of Bendtner and Sess does not work, however Sess on the wing does, with Larsson back next weekend we will revert to that IMO. Our defence looked solid and goalkeeper looked very good, we will stick with them. The only things for Bruce to decide on are, central midfield and partner for Bendtner. Midfield will work whoever he picks with Seb and Sess on the wings so its down to striker. I hope Bruce is brave and starts with Noble, what's more I hope the coacher's spend the week working with a Bendtner/Noble partnership. Not saying all is well by any means, just decided they are not as bad as I thought, an early goal next weekend and confidence could well return.
What happens if Larsson picks up an injury? The lack of a suitable replacement within the squad will bring about a return of what we saw yesterday. Bruce is the manager and he should ensure that we have players that are able to perform in the premier league. In ensuring that we do have those players, Bruce paid £2 million for Ahmed Elmohamady. Bruce also left us short in the strikers department and its no coincidence we play poor and rarely score when playing 4-5-1. Heaven forbid how poor we could be if Bendtner picks up a hamstring whilst he is over exerting himself in a 4-5-1 formation.
well we can spend the week saying yes, its all Bruies fault but I am looking at next week and how to get 3 points.
It's a good question you ask there Syd. On a positive note, atleast the obvious is becoming obvious and when that happens not so many people feel the need to highlight what the problem is.
We could havr done better, we could have done worse. Its frustrating when it seems obvious that the team setup isn't an effective one.
To be honest Syd iv'e watched the ful match twice now.. As a game it wasn't to bad to watch, a neutral may even have enjoyed it.. Some fundamental flaws...Elmo was ****e, especialy his crossing, but as bad as he was, he made Baird (a decent defender) look amatuer at times, shame he's as soft as ****e and can't cross a ball.. I'm not overly impressed with O'Shea, maybe he was ok, but not up to what we expected, so the right side was weak as piss and only Elmo's flaws distract from O'Shea. A midfield of Catts (who did wellish, especially after his card) and Colback will never work, not if you want to attack and get goals...Stifle opposition is different. Westwood, imo is gonna keep Mig out, and could be a gem. Turner and his smashed nose, alongside Brown, could be the pairing we are looking for... Sess is all show and no end product, but this is also down to the inabilities or lack of bodies, named strikers. Bendtner at times looked dis-heartened, but given some help and a decent partner, would be a star...keeping him is another matter. Bardo was just Bardo...kept going, and will put his heart and sole into it..nowt spectacular..just Bardo.. Was gonna leave Ricco out, as i just don't know..good bad or indifferent? Not easy to be moved from a position where he's done ok...But same as Bardo, he'll try, so i won't criticise.. I will leave my judgements on the manager out of it..
I think Bruce probably thought the same as me yesterday,that Fulham was the toughest game of the four.Where we differ though is that I would have played two up front (Ji or Noble) with Bendtner and played Sess on the wing instead of Elmo and gone for the win. Bruce, I feel, was scared to lose the game
I agree other than Wolves away could be tougher. If Bruce is living in fear how do we ever expect the players to express themselves with confidence?
We did play some decent football at times, but the fact is that he reverted to what basically transformed to one up front, and to top it off played two defensive midfielders in the centre. This for me was the wrong tactics to play at what I would say was a very winnable game. Although Bruce still has my support, as I believe he has signed the right players but just isn't getting tactics and selection right just yet, I also have to say I was very disappointed yesterday, simply because he appeared to go out not to lose rather than be brave enough to try and win the game.
I thought we on the one hand we just lacked that bit of luck needed sometimes ( hit bar twice, lucky but equally great save at the end from Swarz), but we ALSO thanked our good luck on a couple of occasions (header off the line and that breakaway 2 v 1 that Dempsey shudda scored / squared). Sess worked his magic all game but lacked a decent goal poacher. One thing was obvious to me though......... I cannot remember ever opening up any defences this year and scoring a simple pass and move, get to the byline, pulling the ball back for someone to run in and fire home !!!!! Its all dross served on a plate with chips I'm afraid. Wigan may be bottom at this stage, but never have a dull game. They were robbed yesterday of a good win by a terrible penalty decision. They look to score goals, goals and some more goals !! If only they had our defencive lineup........... BUT will that be enough for them next week ?? I fear for us that we will lose 2-0 ............ and Brucie must then fear the chopping board !!
The only alternative view I want to see is that of a new manager. This one we have has a view that is shocking.
The way I view it is... I don't believe that Bruce has been deploying the right tactics all year. He also left us short of adequate cover in the event that we picked up a couple of injuries/suspensions which subsequently influenced his formation and a to return to 4-5-1. He didn't quite get his tactics right the season he relegated Birmingham and afterall, Steve Bruce has been a manager for 13 years. That is a longtime to be getting these basic principles wrong... It's no different at SAFC or any other club as the same rules apply accross the board.
Try being positive. Frazier Campbell is about to start training again and should be available within a few weeks
Dont think they come more positive than me TBH. I am 100% positive that if we start with Seb on the right, Sess on the left and Bendy and Ji or Noble up front next weekend we will win.
Draw at the very best at Wolves and 4 at the very best from Blackburn and Wigan. 5 points from 4 "easy" Bottom 6 all year.
Life in the fast lane eh Syd! Confident of beating the mighty Wigan! For what it is worth, I think we are capable of beating Wigan too although I'm not so sure of beating Wolves the following week. Good old 1519 Mick Mcarthy done the double over Bruce last season. I must say that it will be good to experience a win as it is becoming a bit of a rarity these days. (Assuming we do beat Wigan). I doubt that the bigger picture will change a great deal if we do manage to beat Wigan.
