Match Day Thread Boro vs City
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Huge improvement, perhaps the players wanted the head coach to get the bullet ?
It does appear that JHT had at least lost a few of the players, if not the majority. Even Borja looks rejuvenated this afternoon
Just heard on BBC Radio Norfolk that Sainz, with 18 goals this season, has only scored two in his last 22 matches. Wilshere has got the team playing again, but this might be as a reaction against JHT now that he has departed.
Not a great performance, but the players stepped up when needed. And the defence defended, wow. We were probably, overall, the better team, but neither team really created very good chances. But, sign Wright NOW. He looks to be a future star. McConnville had a very good game and Stacey was excellent as RW, but tired in the last twenty. But for a team where three of our first choice full backs were missing that was a very good peformance.
I’m afraid I have to disagree unless you mean “pretty good” by “not a great”. I thought that was a really excellent away performance against a team with a stake left in the season. It wasn’t perfect only because Sargent wasn’t quite as ruthless as he has been at times - and there were a couple of other decent chances. But we were comfortably the better team and the defence was dramatically improved.
I agree, and so does WhoScored. It was great to see passion and commitment from our players again. If Wilshere can produce that after a couple of days, let's see what he can do after a whole week to prepare for Cardiff at home.
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Wilshere hasn't "produced" anything. Players who couldn't be arsed to put the same sort of energy into game after game over the last couple of months, are now engaged in personal damage limitation. They simply put in the basics today, something that any coach should be able to count on. Get rid.
Totally disagree with that. We'll never know all of the details of what happened behind the scenes but the difference on the pitch today was obvious. In a challenging away game against a team fighting to stay in the playoff places, the players fought for every ball and made it difficult for Boro to progress the ball through the thirds. They had more possession, not by passing the ball around in their own final third, but by moving the ball quickly and decisively. Playing Stacey WR was a masterstroke which caught Boro by surprise and Sargent and Sainz were back to their best up front. It's sad that things went wrong for JHT, who I liked a lot, but the club is more important than any individual.
I don't know what Wilshere's chances are, but his debut as HC was impressive and enjoyable, something I haven't felt watching any game for a long time.
A bizarrely un-measured post from you Robbie
I’ve criticised various parts of your style of posting, I admit; but credit where it’s due, you’ve always been pretty measured when it comes to commentary on the team. So this is a bit eyebrow raising
I can see where Robbie is coming from. Yes there were a few changes in tactics for which JW deserves praise but the basics should be there whoever is in charge but they haven't been until today. This improvement in effort etc was down to the players themselves and not JW.
I can't speak for Robbie but I assume he was referring to some of the players who hadn't done their job before today.
I wonder whether JHTs messaging is what has been wrong in recent games, prioritising performance and development over results? This would tie in to his belief that the table didn’t matter so much, clearly not to the board or for his job. But it is eye raising to see players certainly putting more effort into today’s game after JHTs departure
I would question the emphasis all season on the three year transition and the way players saw that. How many players want to wait that long for success? Wilshere's position is very much about the here and now with tweaks to JHT's fundamentals to move the ball more quickly while keeping a better defensive shape. Chris Goreham commented several times about the better balance between defence and attack.
Another factor could be Wilshere's PL and CL experience at Arsenal and the respect that engenders in the players. He's been there and done what they all hope to do. His 'Style of Play' comment in Wiki includes this:
"As a player, Wilshere was known for his movement, vision, passing and combination play, as well as his leadership on the pitch. He was described by Arsène Wenger as having "Spanish technique, but an English heart."
That combination of attributes could be going down well with players now that he's in charge.
Wilshere's post match comment:
"I think we did get hunger, energy and commitment. I said to the players before the game when you come away from home, especially in this league, and especially at the top, top level, like we are, in my opinion, you have to make sure that you stay in games. Too many times this season, we've conceded one and conceded another, and then you're chasing a game, and it becomes a game that probably doesn't suit us. The way that the players defended their box was excellent. It's interesting when we talk about defending, because if you're a defender you love defending, and if you're not a defender, you have to create and develop this, I call it, like a ‘love’ for defending and I think the players took a big step in that in the way they defended their box, the blocks. And also, I think we had a few nice moments with the ball. We could have probably scored, but it was good performance."
"I think we did get hunger, energy and commitment. I said to the players before the game when you come away from home, especially in this league, and especially at the top, top level, like we are, in my opinion, you have to make sure that you stay in games. Too many times this season, we've conceded one and conceded another, and then you're chasing a game, and it becomes a game that probably doesn't suit us. The way that the players defended their box was excellent. It's interesting when we talk about defending, because if you're a defender you love defending, and if you're not a defender, you have to create and develop this, I call it, like a ‘love’ for defending and I think the players took a big step in that in the way they defended their box, the blocks. And also, I think we had a few nice moments with the ball. We could have probably scored, but it was good performance."
I pretty much gave up on this team in January/February but didn't criticise too much as I respect the academy to 1st team pipeline.
When the results dropped off a cliff the season became boring.
I just wanted to scream at the head coach & say "sort your ****ing defence out" .
Jack managed to get cohesion between defence & attack & the players weren't fannying about & losing possession they finally started playing out with crispness .
When the results dropped off a cliff the season became boring.
I just wanted to scream at the head coach & say "sort your ****ing defence out" .
Jack managed to get cohesion between defence & attack & the players weren't fannying about & losing possession they finally started playing out with crispness .