We did deserve to win although only really played well for 45 minutes. FF did pretty well but couldn't finish whilst the defence in the main were excellent. Chalobah and Hogg were very solid in midfield..will be for anyone to break those 2 up. I did think Deeney wasn't as his best but maybe the early booking din't help.
I think I will have no hair left at the end of the season. That was painful. However, when the oposition are getting 10/11 men behind the ball it is going to be slow. Again we showed flashes of quality, but not nearly enough of it. Chalobah looked hungry for a goal and deserved to get one. The penalty was contentious as Kennedy simply slipped, however he did wipe Pudil out. Then Vydra did blast it, but the keeper was not too far from saving it. The ref had an interesting game, he failed to give a foul when Fitz was having his shirt ripped off but he spotted Deeney apparently tug the defender when he was much further away for the second. However, three points is not to be sniffed at, especially with the games we have coming up.
Delighted we won but it was far from convincing.The formation didn't feel right for this game. I think 5 at the back works if you have wing backs with a bit of pace but both Cassetti and Pudil are some way off that. With Hogg and Chalobah just in front of the three central defenders we were often very deep with no outlet but Deeney who looked very leaden-footed today and spent much of the game waving his arms in frustration. Doyley hardly put a foot wrong and Hoban and Hall were good in open play, though neither looks sure where they should be in defending corners. Abdi has skill but no stamina and it's slightly worrying that his fitness doesn't seem to be improving. At the end of the game the players looked relieved rather than thrilled...and I know how they felt!
Definitely a game of two halves. The first half was so very dull, nothing happened and it was fairly even. The second half was exciting, nervewracking, scary..etc...just like watching Watford really. The win was deserved for sure, but we took a tough route to get it! Forestieri was fantastic in the second half, though he does try and find that wonder goal when a pass might be better. Chabolah is definitely class. Vydra looked very lazy when he came on, though when he scored the pen, that was forgiven. It was odd though, having seen Forestieri chase everything and work so hard, to see Vydra not try at all was a real let down, and not typical of his recent performances. Hopefully he was just saving his energy for Cardiff! Almunia had pretty much nothing to do but made one stunning save near the end of the game. It's frustrating to see 10 statues at times, when the player on the ball has nowhere to pass it to, and everyone is standing there watching him think about it! But, we move onward and upward, getting there, just not quite there yet. With difficult games to come, it's going to be an interesting couple of weeks. Good game today though, in the end!
interesting assessment H First half would agree , but 2nd half thought the lads did everything they could bar score , I`m excited at whats happening , so much better than last seasons standard of football
they did much better in the second half..like i said, game of two halves. It was a far more exciting half, but there's still a way to go. Is there anyone who isn't excited about the future? It's thrilling! But we're not there yet...having such a large squad doesn't help, finding a team that works is tricky, and having 3 injured CBs didn't help either! lol
indeed having 3 cb`s out was a major concern , a la derby, but the lads are getting fitter ,starting to gel ,we will defo improve and having a big squad helped today 2 years ago if we had 3 CB`s out we would have had a teenage defence, not that I`m against that if they are good enough play them, and that seems to be GFZ way
yes indeedy, but then..we wouldn't have had 3 CBs 2 years ago lol. Had a visit in the Rookery from the lovely Mr Mensah today too, was good to see him at the game for a change, instead of in the car lol
Happy with the 5yr contracts for Tommie ,Sean and Connor , we havent been able to afford to protect our better players before this is great , hoping Britt gets his soon as well as i have said all along the lad is class. Pozzo message of keeping the backbone appears to be true
Yesterday was my first game of the season and although almost everybody else seems to think the first half was slow and a little boring, I enjoyed it. It was so good not to see hopeful hoofball, and if we did pass it across the back and midfield a bit, we kept possession which will always frustrate the opposition. And also players have to move about to get in a position to receive the ball. It is not just passing the ball to statues. It was good to see this movement which has been sorely lacking in previous years. I cannot say for last year as I didn't get to the Vic at all last year and only saw a couple of away games and a couple on the tv. I thoroughly enjoyed the second half. It was exciting and frustrating. Frostieri is a player who excites and gets you off your seat in anticipation. Something again sorely lacking for too many years. I didn't renew my season ticket last year because I had lost hope for the future, but I bought one again this season as the future now has a great deal of hope and expectation. The drive home last night was good, especially after all the long boring drives home after boring games of the not too distant past.
Blimey Cornish - you haave a season ticket but have only made it to one game so far - that makes cost per game pretty high
If I go to football then I have to allocate a whole day, at the moment, time is the limiting factor. If you live more than 75 miles away then you can get a 75 miler season ticket where you only pay for 15 games. I think mine was about £250 and I bought it really in hope for the future so If we did get promotion in the next couple of years then I would not have to go on a queue and I would be guaranteed a ticket. Also will be first in queue for attractive cup games. Such was the hope generated by the Pozzos, that I thought this would be a good gamble to take. The only problem was that while I was at the Vic yesterday Mrs CM went shopping ! It would have been cheaper to get her a season ticket to stop her shopping. But she doesn't like football. Also to put it in context, my freezer blew up on monday night - fantastic show of electrical sparks at bottom of said 30 year old freeezer but a bit worrying at the time that it was in the garage - and it cost £400 to replace. I think Leo that we are of similar age and I expect you are like me in that the team you grew up with as a boy becomes part of your DNA which you can't change.
Fair play to you Cornish and fully agree with you on your view of the 1st half - although I did not go yesterday, I also just love watching the possession football we are now playing...
Hi W-Y. I hope I can infer from your comment that our differences from the past can now remain in the past and be forgotten.
