I think it was a good point against a desperate team that is having an up turn in form under a new manager that has spent ££££££££'S in the transfer window. Glass half full for me. 2 points from the last 2 games is a good return for 2 tricky fixtures. I thought Garrido was a bit poor though giving the ball away a bit and i actually thought in the 1st half Tettey held the ball up well, but his passing was a bit poor. Holt had a poor game again, gave us very little up front.
He said in the interview at the end of the match that he will use Holty and Becchio up front together in the coming weeks. I think for today avoiding defeat by playing a 4-5-1 made more sense than risking a 4-4-2. I do agree that the substitution should have come earlier though because every time we tried to clear the ball away it came straight back at us. Had Becchio come on earlier, we would have had two men to hold up the ball and more easily retain possession.
Bad result for qpr with reading winning, they are quite a way from safety now, they need victories now more than ever as the bottom 3 are in danger of being cut adrift. Very bitter about it too.
Don´t agree with some of the criticism here, we were playing a side desperate to win, probably their only chance here in Feb, while we were equally determined not to lose, nothing odious in that. Hughton set us up, as he has done for the most part, with that in mind, which when you consider we were away from home, makes perfect sense. Had we been at home, then it would have been a different matter and now that we have both Becchio and Kamara, 4-4-2 ought to be more of an option there, but 4-2-3-1 is still the best option away from home I think. This was definitely a game we couldn´t afford to lose, both for our momentum but also to keep the gap to the bottom the same, which we did.
RBF - as I said on your thread yesterday, it was more important not to lose and really do hope that if CH doesn't start with 4-4-2 aagainst Fulham, that he will make the change no later than say 60minutes. Considering the threaat posed by the new signings at QPR, a draw was a good result and it will be interesting to see if our penalty claim gets a mention on MotD - I guess we'll be on last again!!! We still maintain our 7 point gap to 18th and we still have to play Wigan amd Villa. With the exception of the trip to OT, some very winnable games in March!!!!
Agreed JR, but I do understand Hughton´s dilemma, whenever the thought of 4-4-2 comes up, he´s really left with only one option, and that´s to sacrifice Hoolahan for the extra striker, and sometimes we can´t afford to lose his sparkle. But I too think he should start with two strikers against Fulham and have Wes on the bench just in case, not sure he will though, he does seem to swear by 4-2-3-1.
I think we are more likely to pick points up against the mid table teams as they have nothing to play for really. Look at villa today, very unlucky not to take 3 points at everton. I think we have more chance against the teams like fulham, sunderland, stoke etc......
We played a flat 4-4-2 against villa in the cup. We were totally passed of the park and exposed on the wings and got a good kicking. Not played a flat 4-4-2 since. Maybe try the diamond? It is a system the players know quite well and you can still play wes.
I agree with the current criticisms of CH in that his tactics are a bit dull and predictable, however when the boys r on it not only are we hard to beat but we can really play. Today was a must not lose and we didn't, next year in the PL (we'll be there!) I hope to c a bit more going forward. After all wasn't it his Newcastle side who scored hat fulls and won the championship? I will say though, he needs to use his bench better, can't argue today, but more than once this season games have been screaming out for a change and he's left it far to late to effect any change. Already loving the Becchio signing! Bah!
People need to realise Holt is playing a new role in the team. He impressed me with his work rate yet again, determined to win the ball back and breaking up QPR attack, making good passes./crosses opening up space for other players. People need to look passed the lack of goals. Hoping Becchio will get to play alongside Holt, think that could help us score more goals.
Redruth is perfectly correct about the football on offer, it is a drab excercise in how to bore the opposition and fans to death. If any other team were playing it you'd all agree as to how bad it is. It is no coincidence practically all of our games are on virtually last on MOTD. The games we have been involved in have been dreadful affairs, even alot of the ones we win are crap games. Winning is not the only important thing. If he carries on with this style of football the fans will just get sick of him in the end, particularly if the results continue spiralling.
Unfortunately carrabuh, picking up points is exactly what it´s all about, it won´t always be pretty, last year it just so happened that Lambert´s happy-go-lucky/attack at all costs, style worked, this year he´s trying the same thing with Villa and so far he´s failed miserably. It may be more fun to watch, but points, not pretty play is what keeps you up, naturally we´d all like to see pretty play that also picks up points, but the two don´t always go together.
It is also unfortunate that we are playing turgid football and STILL not really picking up points, so we have neither the results or the entertainment. It's the same thing except its alot rarer for the results for an unispiring performance to go hand in hand with 3 points.
Its strange how people are complaining about the style of football now. During the ten game unbeaten run the only real complaint was the Villa game and that was put down to Villa dragging us down to their level. As Paul McVeigh said on talksport the other night, the only reason fans are getting frustrated is because we had a big undefeated streak followed by a winless streak. If some of these losses were thrown in amongst the unbeaten run we'd consider 28 points from 25 games and sitting seven clear of relegation a success.
The type of football we played against Manure and Swansea for instance was defensively solid but far bolder going forward. I, and I don't believe I'm alone, don't want to see us just hanging on for the sake of being in the Prem. Are we really saying the dire stuff we are playing at the moment is all we are capable of? I do not believe that. And I don't think Hoolahan has to be sacrificed. Neither Tettey or Pilkington, injured now, are particularly worth their place in the team on current form. We could play a diamond against Fulham. Hoolahan at the tip, Johnson at the base and Snodgrass and Bennet on the width.
I'm with the glass half-empty people. Let's face it, the football is dire. As someone says on here, if any other team were playing it, we'd slag them off big-time. And it's not enough to say that's due to our being the away team today - the Newcastle game was just the same. We seem so paralysed by fear that all we can do is hoof the ball forward just in case we attempt something creative and make a mistake. We look like a championship-level version of Sunderland or Stoke, or (dare I say it) like McLeish's Villa last year. Teams in trouble don't have to be so totally negative - look at Southampton and Reading. They are similar teams to us in terms of ability and yet they are playing to win their games, and so far it's paying off for them. I know you'll say we have more points than they do, but I suspect not for much longer. It may work and just about keep us up, but is this how we see our future? Is staying in the Premiership so important that it justifies such ugly, negative, fear-ridden football?
Answer to first question: Nope, and it isn't Hughton's either. His brief from the board for this season is to keep us up, full stop. Doesn't matter how. Answer to second question: in the opinion of the board, yes. The priority for NCFC is to stay in the Premier League. That doesn't mean that the board regard relegation as a total disaster; only that it would delay implementation of their ambitions for the future. People need a more robust sense of where we are right now and what the priorities are. If we can average a point a game to the end of the season we will be fine. If we can get some stylish wins in that time, that's a bonus.
