That late scramble in our goalmouth. Looked to me like we'd had several chances to clear and made a right hash of it for it to get to the point of looking like an almost certain goal, but then they made a hash of it too and we somehow cleared it after all. Like something you'd see from Crap90sFootball on Twitter.
What impresses me about puerta more is his off the ball play He presses, hassles, always trys to get a tackle in And he makes our shape so much more structured
I don't know why everyone is fixating on the prices those players were sold for and not what we paid for them. Or did they magically inflate in value the minute they stepped foot on the pitch day one? We spent what, 8m on kamara and belloumi combined by comparison?
We didn't own most of them, just inflated their value for the parent clubs. We polished some rough diamonds. Now we've bought some of our own to do the same..
Overall a fair result and good performance, we do seem to be slowly improving and getting to grips with things. Hughes is even better than I was expecting a real talent, in fact, he sort of shines a light on Alfie Jones inadequacies, who defends well generally, but his work on the ball and distribution at times is woeful. Drameh and Coyle had very good games, Drameh in particular had his best game in a City shirt so far, playing like this Giles will have his work cut out to get back in. The midfield looked better balanced, both Slater and Simon's had solid games (Slater looks a much better option than Mehlem IMO), and Puerta is looking some player, he had a very good game and is getting better and better. I thought Kamara did okay, when he came on, got an assist and particularly helping on the left side ahead of Drameh in the 2nd half. Belluomi tried to make things happen by taking on defenders, but on the whole didn't have his better night. Joao Pedro never got into the game, only 5 touches the whole game, not his fault, mind. Bedia was more effective when he came on, held the ball up well. Having played 2 of the top sides, we were not out played, still room for improvement, but we appear to be getting better managing games. Derby next, they have good home form, so would be nice to burst their bubble.
This is the issue, especially as we never look capable of keeping a clean sheet. For all the pretty play, retaining position and short passing we just don’t do anything with the ball, I’m sure people had a similar complaint about the previous manager!
It’s also worth pointing out that those three players were rarely on the pitch at the same time, two had long spells out injured and one only came for half the season. It’s not like they were a settled trio for 40+ games.
Same - that underrated side of football which we’ve been crying out for! He has composure and class on the ball too. Going to be a top player without a doubt.
Cracking match....Was the first half our best performance on the season?....Could, should have been 2 up at the break.. Second half they must have had a rocket, because we hardly got a kick.. Encouraged that we looked as if we could compete...Shame about Millar going off...Some of our defending in the 2nd half was a bit keystone cops...Giles (wtf), tried to clear it and it went 5 yards, straight to one of theirs... PS..I was chatting to a couple of great Burnley fans in the Walton Street club after the game...One of them hasn't missed a Burnley game home or away since 1974...and he lives in Stoke...Good pair of guys, genuine football fans...
Puerta, Hughes, Drameh were absolutely unreal. Belloumi had a decent game his touch is incredible was also impressed with Slater. we matched Burnley I just aren’t convinced by this lack of involvement through the midfield the team was crying out for Zambrano/Alzate and playing it through them but for whatever reason he doesn’t want to utilise what could maybe be our strongest area. Both of them are a clear obvious step up and want to see at least one of them on.
Parker and his cronies were all off the bench thinking they'd won it - sit down you stupid cockney winker (or something like that)
Or 2. We lack a clear goal threat and we don't have an instinctive finisher / poacher. Case in point last night - Kamara put a great ball across their 6 yard line and no one gambled to be there to tap it home. We don't create a lot of chances so the few we do create we need to make them count
Bruce couldn’t get it wrong , bring on a defensive midfielder and try to eke out your one nil lead by cramming the midfield - it was not exciting !
How many more managers are going to fail to : Sort our crap throw ins out , none of our players wanted the ball last night , and we throw the ball up the line over our own heads BUT we don’t don’t mark the other team from throws. We still don’t pick up a back of the box corner by the opposition , and we don’t do it ourselves . Why do our players for the most part not move off the ball into space more successive managers seem to like them to be rigid in play Answers Tim , Micheal please
I think if you stick Liam Delap in our current team, you're realistically looking at a top six finish. We don't want another crazy January like last season, but we really need a decent striker to make us competitive, it's the only area that's letting the squad down.
Pleased with a point overall last night as I thought we'd get comfortably beaten. Burnley were not as slick as I expected them to be. We still don't create many chances, but last night neither did they. Think Wally knows his preferred back 5 now, but he still has no idea what his best midfield is. Hopefully Millar's injury won't keep him out too long, but I suppose it gives Kamara a chance to grab the spot - let's see if he can. In general play terms I think we are too predictable and don't understand why we can't vary things occasionally. Such as: Goal Kicks - instead of going short ALL of the time, why - when there is Pandur, Hughes and Jones on the 6 yard line and 3 of the opposition attackers waiting to pounce - doesn't Pandur (without waving everyone forward) chip one over their back line (who are invariably on the half way line) and see what becomes of it? We had 3 v 3 on their halfway line every goal kick last night. Just trying something unexpected would make them think next time - and maybe make them drop 10 yards giving us more space to play out from the back. Free Kicks - especially around the halfway line. Why do they ALWAYS have to go short, sideways or backwards? When you've got a big bloke like Bedia up front, why not occasionally put one in the box, see if he can get a knock down or a flick on? "Risk and Reward" football has brought us a meagre 3 home wins in a calendar year. That is woeful. Seems to be far more risk than reward and we are again relying on our away form to keep us looking upward rather than downwards. A minimum of 5 points from the next 3 games needed IMO.
You really do struggle with anyone having a different opinion to you. I thought (opinion, just to help you) that his use of the ball was poor, slow, unambitious, and with far too many hospital passes to Drameh near our corner flag. I'd also question his positioning for the goal, why is he stood next to the near post for a floated cross from the byline? You clearly have a different opinion, which doesn't make you a tit (although, to be fair, you seem to find other avenues for titosity).
