Not sure it would have been on Sky with it being a rare 3pm Saturday kick off??? Think the Sky+ app thingy only shows the midweek games or odd kick off times? Anyhow, I reckon we've picked up a really solid point again there and the clean sheets are definitely clocking up nicely now after months of us looking like soft touches. It sounded as though we created the better chances but we shouldn't dwell on that. As Nin said, to come away disappointed from a draw away at the (then) 4th placed team shows our growing confidence. Now only 3 points off mid table and 7 off the playoffs. Onwards and upwards eh???
It's just remote trying to wind me up again for succumbing to the allure of Sky . We both knew it couldn't be on Sky. Sounds like we had the full spectrum of luck today both good and bad. What's impressing me the most is that we have finally figured out that with this group of players, our best form of defence is attack. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds
Sorry Cling, couldn't resist. Even when we were losing, we said that on paper the squad looked stronger than last year. Now Riza has taken the hand brake off, it's being shown to be the case. Fish and Daland can't get in. Neither can JC. A couple to come back from injury and a few youngsters chomping at the bit. A (proper) striker to push Robinson, another ball playing CM and another winger in Jan should see us right. Even without Ramsey we have Robinson (if we had another 9), Turnbull and Robertson who could cover for Colwill. Happy days.
The bench was weak today up front. Meite and Kanga are just not good enough - the way those two conspired to cock up a great chance of a very late winner was amateur. What’s the point of putting Kanga on with 5-10 minutes to go? Put him with the 21’s to get game time and promote Reindorff as he deserves a chance.
Aargh he’s on 5 so now banned. Incidentally his yellow today was a poor decision by the ref. His reputation probably isn’t the best with refs. So he’s out next game which is a real problem as unsure who can step into his position? Bagan & Collins very left footed. Chambers is too slow? Rhinomota possibly? ps Can Ng avoid the 10 card 2 match ban?
I endorse Kpakio for what it's worth. In the same way I would have Reindorf before Katanga Kanga. Are you watching Omer Riza?
I would hope that Purse is chewing Riza's ear. I'm not into throwing a whole load of youngsters in at once. There's enough of that in cup games. One in there shouldn't hurt though. That's how they develop. Especially with someone like Reindorf up front.
Chris Rigg is 17 fcs, if he’s good enough he’s old enough……. How will anyone know if Kpakio is good enough unless he plays? Too many of our previous managers have baulked at playing our young players preferring experienced players and safety first policy.
Not that it means anything other than provoking some discussion, but why do we longer get WoL City player ratings out of 10 for most away games? The Jacks get them for every game, good or bad, mostly the latter lately. Are WoL too tight to send reporters to our away games?
Because we don't need cheap, untalented hacks telling us such things. We're far too knowledgeable. Normally they repeat the opinions that we aired days earlier. I also think it's good that the less significant clubs get some attention
We've wasted too many youngsters in the last few years by being overly cautious. Its why I said we should have the likes of Kpakio and Reindorf on the bench. It gets them half a step closer to the team and more ready if they need to be called upon. If Kpakio had been on the bench instead of Fish or Daland, he'd be up to speed with the set up and ready to go. RB is a position with no depth so we needed to be preparing someone. He had some good run outs in pre-season and has been doing well in the age grade. With the other 10 high on confidence, its as good a time as any to blood him. Better than bringing him into a side that's getting battered every week. Yes, he'd be targeted, but with experience inside and in front of him and a settled team, its probably quite low risk.
Against Norwich I reckon we'll see Chambers switched to RB in place of suspended Ng, and Daland brought back to pair with Goutas at CB.
I'm with you Sparkey. That's how they'll play it. I think it's a missed opportunity though. We need to be creating that route into the first team for youngsters. The final step is blocking progress. By playing Chambers at RB you'll be making two changes to the team, one positional, one personnel. Kpakio would be more like for like than Chambers. Kpakio would give you the go forward Ng does.
I reckon they'll tend to "sit in" against Norwich - with all due respect they're a huge step up from Plymouth and Portsmouth. I'm OK with that as long as there's a way forward as well. The 6 in front of them should be unchanged.
Didn't I read that Robbo came off injured? If so hope he's fit for next week. If not then Reindorf is the obvious replacement, against his former club, not one of the Chuckle Brothers.
City need to go toe to toe with opponents - the attacking philosophy is the way to go. On another day yesterday we’d have scored at least 3.
.........on another day yesterday they'd have scored at least 6. Agree about being far more proactive going forward but we need to keeep the back door shut as well - I'll take a Norwich "nil" right now.
Pleased to see you've got your mojo back Sparkey. I think we've learned that this squad isn't very good at sitting back and absorbing continuous pressure. It seems our defence has got better since we started focusing on going forward. That doesn't mean throwing caution to the wind of course.