It's probably the worst I've seen us at home for a while, even under Walter we didn't sit back like that and just let the opposition attack. I don't know what the game plan was, we can't counter because there's zero pace in the team, we can't score because there's no goals in the team and we can't defend because our main centre halves today, if I'm being honest, aren't up to standard. That's the first time I've felt like we actually played like a proper relegation side. Yes, there's injuries and the odd bright spark in Alzate and Pedro, but today was bottom of the barrel stuff. We played like we were playing Man City or Real Madrid, there wasn't sharpness for the whole game, even when the subs came on. There was a period in the first half where we got stuck in and Middlesbrough got flustered, but then once Puerta came off (never, ever take Puerta off, every time we do we lose. If he breaks a leg, tough.) we just looked toothless and fragile. At one point, Pedro was tracking back to DM to do the dirty work, he's a cracking player and the way he takes on players is brilliant, but he just doesn't have the pace to get back into position afterwards, so other players have to push on and yet they don't. Our full backs seem to leave huge gaps down the sides, I lost count of how many times they played it out to the right where their winger was stood all alone with an empty wing in front of him, only to watch us very slowly get across. It was crap, there's no other word to describe it and even though the opposition will be tougher, I'm expecting a response on Sunday because that'll tell us just how up for the fight these lads are. I want to be proved wrong, but to use a phrase coined by a certain user on here, it's going to be a dry bumming and the dildo of consequence rarely comes lubed.
Yeh was truly woeful in a different way. Just looked a game too many for Xmas, which is even more worrying for the Leeds game.
Rewriting history to suit your ego fuelled opinion . QPR & Stoke, we were bang average & lucky to win both. Burnley we managed 2 shots on target. Zambrano didn’t start v Burnley or QPR. Millar was our 2nd worse rated player v Burnley, only Jones worse. All 3 games we could easily have lost, probably should have & definitely would have if it wasn’t for Pandur. We didn’t have a single “great game” under Walter. You’d struggle to highlight a great half. Maybe Stoke 2nd half at best.
And Stoke second half we missed a pen but managed to score the rebound, scored a crazily angled own goal for our third, and scored a fantastic goal through that 'crap like' Slater.
A footballing disaster - played like beached whales without a compass. Hard to recall a performance so bad.
Had to keep reminding myself it was ****ing middlesbrough at home not Liverpool away at times. Just didn't understand it. Yes it was the fourth game in 10 days or whatever but to not lay a glove on anyone at home is unacceptable. Even non league sides playing a Premier team in the cup have a go. Which brings us to Saturday. We'll just have to go again. No excuses. Get at them and see what happens at least.
Is that the Stoke with Mark Robbins now in charge who got a late point against Sunderland and should have beaten Burnley away yesterday.... or Cardiff who somehow managed to not win against Coventry yesterday despite playing with 10 men.?
I know it is what it is and you have to play with what you are dealt with , but hanging on for 0-0 draws at home in the championship and a full 45 mins of attack v defence is depressing , just very very depressing
Especially when draws won't save us. We needed a 12th man last night, as it happened on the pitch and off it, but we didnt give the one in the stands ANYTHING to get them involved. This manager looks lost to me already (feel for him with the hand he's been dealt, but thats true of TW also) and his YT interview does not inspire me to think he knows the answer.. we need at least 6 'oven ready' (not need time to get up to speed) players by the end of next week, not the last week of this window.
Barring a few we look a l1 side don’t we, we are struggling with the basics eg coyle tucking in too far. We lack the quality to create anything, we give the ball away too easily. We knocked the ball long and it just came back, honestly regardless of Tim’s system or Ruben’s system if your squad is made up of sub standard players then it’s always going to be a struggle over such a long period. Injuries have done us Poor poor recruitment has done us We need to take points off teams around us, we need to win the window again. We need to hope as a squad we manage to over achieve in a few games and pick up points against the better team.
We need a new manager in quickly. Someone to bring some fresh ideas in, give us a proper shake up and can truly be treated as a fresh start. The transition between Walter and Selles has been pretty seamless and more of the same isn’t getting us anywhere.
I’m not sure if you’re serious about a new manger . With the squad we’ve currently got, I’m not sure there’s much more to get out of it regardless of who’s in charge
Just a point Millar ruptured his acl against burnley 10 mins into the game.. I wont have any millar criticism
If we'd have held on another 30 seconds we'd be saying 'outplayed but what a gritty performance to secure a much needed point', as it is the outcome was the fair result. The way we're playing under Selles at the moment is going to throw up these kind of results - as it did at Blackburn; some we'll nick, some we won't. The two big concerns is that the players looked knackered in that game as an obvious result of the efforts at the weekend. Not much recovery time before we play another top side on Saturday. Also, we have nothing really coming off the bench. The need to sign half a team more couldn't be clearer. I guess the plan now must be see if we can roll the dice we have for Leeds, bin off the cup (yet again), get our targets in quickly (if recruitment is doing its job), and start to pick up points. The positives are that we appear to be harder to beat under Selles (even though he's lost more than he's won/drawn so far) and that we are coming out of a run of particularly difficult fixtures.
I agree with most of your analysis but think you're being very hard on the CBs. If teams are allowed that much space to get crosses into our box (which happens game after game, particularly on Coyle's wing), then assuming a modicum of accuracy in those crosses (which most teams have, unlike us), then we're going to concede the odd goal. But overall if it wasn't for the CBs and the keeper we'd be in even direr straits. If the table was based on goals conceded, we wouldn't be in the bottom three. Our problems are for every where but in those 3 positions.
