Bet 365 stopped talking bets on relegation, after watching our recent games can understand why, glad I got in early
Pedro’s form has fallen off a cliff, Palmer has been useless, Lincoln seems to be getting forced into the side. 2 latter are impact subs at best. Pandur Drameh Egan Hughes Coyle Alzate Puerta/Slater Kamara Gelhardt Joseph Pedro People can slag Joseph off all they want for his goal scoring exploits but he presses like mad and he will run through brick walls for us.
Is this the time when their agents start talking to the club about another contract ? Not sure of all the different contracts our lot are on? is Alzate on a 2/3,year contract etc??
My tin foil hat theory is that it's a wider version of us being **** in the 2nd half. I have an image in my head of the players blowing out their arse trying to recover at half time and Selles waffling with a tactics board making their heads spin as they try and down an energy drink and scoff a banana or whatever. I imagine that, but even more intense over a week, they just seem so much more confused compared to a few weeks ago.
Alzate is until 2026. I know you think he’s overrated, Chazz, but he’s one of the few midfielders we have that doesn’t cack his shreddies with the ball at his feet and he’s the closest thing we have to a holding midfielder. If, and it’s a big if, we stay up and Zambrano’s ban is reduced so he’s available next season, we should be building the midfield around them both. They’re both good players at this level on and off the ball. Palmer’s just not what we need in midfield and Crooks still looks unfit as ****. I’d rather Ömür or Mehlem as a number 10 right now over those two. The players out of contract in the summer are Sinik, Fleming, Amrabat and Pedro (we have an optional year on Pedro). Of those, I’d only activate Pedro’s optional year. Slater, Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Egan and Vaughan are all out of contract next summer.
Hull's Ruben Selles: "The defenders told me the ball hit his face but the referee had a different interpretation so there is nothing I can do. Going 1-0 down made us chase the game. "We could have defended the situation before the penalty arrived a little better, but the reality was that the game completely changed after that. That was the key action of the game. "We weren't good in the first half and they were really good in applying pressure on us. We ended up trying to overplay the situation and we should have gone forward more."
Just as an example rudoni for Coventry strolled about and Alzate went nowhere near him He never passes forward or not enough Seems to do a 360 and then pass back to a centre half Selles isn’t getting enough out of him and he’s playing within himself
Joseph has probably looked our best left winger by far Im surprised he snot played again there since sheff wed?
I agree about Joseph, I think some of the best we've been under Selles is when he's played. I'm unsure about Gelhardt through the centre though, he can be decent and when he's switched there from the wing he's had a couple of good games but he can be a bit greedy and he's struggling a little just now with productivity. We as a team have really struggled to get a foothold up the pitch at all so unless he pulls something off it becomes wasteful and adds to that issue. I wouldn't mind seeing him up top again if Pedro is still struggling to capture his form.
I think he keeps us ticking, takes the ball in very tight areas, rarely loses it. Selles needs to get Gelhardt in front of him and one of Slater/Puerta to do the dirty work. Get Joseph, Pedro Kamara as the 3 and get in teams faces rather than having the pedestrian Palmer and Lincoln
I actually agree with you, partly. He’s playing as the deepest midfielder because he’s the best on the ball under pressure and also the best midfielder we have off the ball in terms of defensive work like tackling, interceptions etc. since we let Simons go out on loan. However, I think his abilities are better suited more advanced as a number 8 rather than a sole number 6. I think if we had Zambrano as the holding midfielder and Alzate as a number 8 in a midfield three, we’d be a lot better in possession and wouldn’t be so sloppy with the ball. It would give Alzate more freedom in the middle as well. He’s playing where he is out of necessity and I think he’s done alright all things considered but we’re not getting the best out of him.
Even though since the international break overall we have been poor going forward, one saving grace is that defensively we are not shipping shed loads of goals. Even the goals conceded have been unlucky, and we have kept in form sides to minimum chances. If we are to survive, then this part of the game will have been our saviour. I personally have enjoyed for the most part our defensive play. Egan does look a better partner with Hughes than Jones, even though Jones had been okay. I agree with Kalman, if we had had Zambrano or Matazo then Alzate further forward may well have worked much better. Joseph has to come back in, at least he works the back line more, also Gelhardt needs to be more central. Whatever happens, we just have to beat PNE and/or Derby, and a point from the other fixture as a minimum before going to Pompey to stand any chance.
a fair point that, 3 goals conceded in our last 4, one a horrible deflection and another from a scandalous penalty. we may be honking the place out going forwards but we're solid at the back
