Just some opinions of yesterday's match, most have probably already been said so sorry if I repeat anybody. 1. I think I'm in the majority when I say Alex Bruce should not be played in CM again. He hasn't played there in his entire career (in which he has been a good, if not anything special, CB) so is it tactical or is it just for the sake of him being his son? Faye would surely be the natural choice as a DM to sit in front of the back 3, followed by Evans, Chester and Fathi, all of whom can play the DM position and have done in the past. In any case, he was cack yesterday. His passing was woeful and he spent half the match doing some sort of Irish jig in front of their goalscorer as he placed it into the net. He should be played in his natural CB role or dropped, those are the only realistic options available. 2. Koren was completely off form. He doesn't seem to have the confidence on the ball he did at the start of the season; this needs to be addressed quickly because we are at a point in the season where we need everybody to be pulling their weight. The last two games he has played on reputation, if he was playing on form he'd be so far back in the dressing room he'd be chewing on the spare shorts. 3. The difference Quinn made yesterday was clear for all to see. As soon as he came on Brady's confidence went up 200%; he lifted everybody on the park and should be included if available to play. Please, let us never leave him out again. 4. Talk about a game of two halves! The lackluster display in the first half was, to all intents and purposes, ****, but at least we made a go of it in the second half. 5. Strikers - It was nice to see Proschwitz given a chance and that Bruce has faith in him in for such a big game. That or the other strikers just weren't pulling their weight. I thought Gedo looked solid but his service was starved by a very strong Watford midfield and the less said about Boyd in a CM role the better. Simpson again was a work horse but he just doesn't look like scoring goals. When Swanny said "He just needs to add goals to his game", it makes him sound more like a midfielder. A striker shouldn't need to add goals to his game, he should be scoring them. Being a workhorse isn't enough to justify taking up a forward spot, you have to score goals at least some of the time. We saw when Boyd moved up front that he was allowed more creativity and I actually thought going 4-3-3 at the end worked really well, but it just left us vunerable to counter attacks so perhaps it is a good tactic to revert to if we are chasing a game, as opposed to the more conventional 4-4-2. 6. I'm not going to take anything away from Watford, they were superb. Chalobah is going to be a special player and for a lad that's only just turned 18 this season, he has the vision and skill of somebody twice his age and he ran the show for them today. They work well as a unit; the way they play is exactly how we were playing at home earlier in the season. That's how good we know we can be, but we just don't do it. 7. **** me, their goalie earned his crust this week didn't he? The save in the second half from Hobbs' (I think - I was in the South Stand) header was PL class and he was the difference today between nicking a point ( or all three) and defeat. I didn't really know much about their keeper before the match, but you'll be seeing him a lot more soon if he keeps performing like that. Remember the name; Bond, Jonny Bond. 8. Looking at the fixture list, there are but two teams I think we might fall to. One of them is Saturday's home game against perennial bogey team Middlesbrough and the other is the dreaded away game at a resurgent Barnsley. Boro are off form and have made a real hash of wanting to be a PL side and Barnsley are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table. Add to that our track record against either isn't brilliant and you get a nervy couple of fixtures. Cardiff play Watford on Saturday so it might be time to surrender hopes of winning the title and just accept the race for second place. 8. It's not all doom and gloom; City are still the ones to chase and with 7 games remaining we have a great chance of securing a return to the top flight. Of course, it was never going to be as cut and dry as being 7 points clear of one of the most dangerous sides in the division - I think we all expect it to come down to the last day against Cardiff, needing to match Watford's result to secure promotion. And it probably will. But such is the nature of the Championship; looking at the table, there aren't any teams who's season is over, everybody is either fighting relegation (technically, Leicester in 7th can still mathematically go down) or vying for promotion or, in a bizarre twist, both. Imagine that, a win would get you into the playoffs, a loss would relegate you. I ****ing love this league. 9. Poor Fathi, there was a moment when the subs were warming up at half time and he didn't come out and I thought "My God, Bruce is going to take his son off and bring on our classy Egyptian DM with nigh on a century of caps for his country." Then, he trudged out onto the pitch looking a tad morose and didn't make an appearance. Now, Bruce sees him every day in training, so he knows the score but honestly ask yourselves; is Alex Bruce a better call in that position that Ahmed Fathi? And the honest answer is no, he isn't. He isn't like Martin Pusic or Tijani Belaid, this is a guy who has renowned class and and energy, but somehow can't even make it onto the field for just a few minutes. I'd have thought with David Meyler AND Quinn out there might finally be a space for him but SB went for Boyd and Bruce out of position ahead of him. Now, there'll be some people who think I'm just making it all up, but he is honestly good enough. He really is. And it's frustrating to see him just sat there doing nothing. I've followed the Egypt national team for a while (I have work colleagues to thank for that) and a lot of their fans are pointing out that despite making just three appearances for us, he is still held in such high regard that he is stuck straight into their squad. You wouldn't hear of England players making just 3 appearances for their club and then being called up. Come on Brucie, give him his shot. 10. Some kid in the South Stand, about 4 rows in front of me was sick and literally said "Daddy, the burger made me sick." You have to laugh, but I remember ordering one in the distant past and it consisted of a dried out "burger", a boiled lettuce leaf, a mulch of tomato and an oversized bun. Anybody know if they have got any better?
We always look the better team when we play the ball on the floor. Why then does Bruce tell us to start hoofing it whenever we go a goal down? He's lucky that the division is so poor this season, because any other year we'd be mid-table and a good 10 points from the play-offs. After the money he's wasted on Brady, Meyler and Proschwitz, he's very fortunate indeed
Fathi should have played in one way or another yesterday.. I mean **** sake give him a chance, you can guarantee he's no worse than alex.. He will be twice the performer and id bet alot on it.. Pisses me off
If he hadn't 'wasted' money on Brady, we'd be playing Rosenior at LWB, limiting our attacking outlet down the left which is vital to the way we play. Also, if rumours are to be believed, it would have made Watford stronger. As for Meyler, we would have witnessed more games like yesterday, had he gone back to Sunderland, were it was clear he was needed.
Should we reach the promise land next season I imagine Brady will be played as a winger, with Dudge behind him, where he should indeed flourish.
Some very good points made, I wish that Bruce hadn't been so cavalier in his approach - protecting our 4 point gap was the most important thing. Sure a 7 point lead would have been great, but 4 points would still have been more than handy, so a stifling job would have been a much more sensible approach. We did neither, agree about Chalobah - he looked the best player for them, though I do feel our lack of midfield industry made him look better - nevertheless a great player especially given his age.
Also, people like to ignore how he got bargains/loans in: Stockdale, Faye, Elmo, Quinn, Aluko, Boyd, Gedo, etc. Obviously Proschwitz was the poor signing, we possibly overpaid for Brady, but had no option and Meyler, whilst not the best technical footballer, offers a great deal to our team.
Look if the worst happens and we don' get promotion we could still have next season: Keeper Rosenior Hobbs McShane Dudgeon Quinn Meyler Boyd Brady Fryatt Aluko (ok this means either Quinn or Brady plays on their wrong side)
I doubt that would be good enough to get promotion esp if a big club like villa or sunderland come down
Just trying to say that we still have a decent squad even if we lose a few players....... Would Boyd stay? Chester? Even if not then it's not all bad.....
Yes, his 2 year contract kicks in when his Peterborough one expires, so for people to snaffle him it's going to take a hell of a lot of money. Chester isn't looking to leave, it's if somebody comes in for him but he hasn't been his best this year so I doubt there will be many queuing up for him. I think our squad would stay intact, plus you'd probably see us pay the £750,000 for Gedo when the time comes.
I thought we came into the match in the second half because Watford eased off. The midfield was never going to work. I would play Evans instead of Bruce every time. Koren is actually working harder than last year. Ive always thought he was never a good passer of the ball, only a midfielder who scored goals and had long shots. It shows how much we have come on this season. He was one of our better players last season, now on form he probably doesn't deserve a start when everybody is fit. Boyd is a striker. Bruce obviously doesn't rate Fathi. If we don't go up, yesterdays match will be always remembered as the day it went wrong.
Bruce has to change the line up for Boro as another first half performance like last night could be another vital 3 points lost. - No more Bruce in CMF. Fathi has to be given his chance. A player with real quality and enormous international experience. Links well with Elmo like Quinn and Brady on the left. - Boyd up front with Gedo. We dont need a hold up player like Simpson. We need two strikers who can put the ball in the net. - No more Koren. He's a fading talent and contributes little. We cant afford to play with ten men. - Evans as the DMF till Meyler is back for the next game. - Quinn back in the starting line up. We should be able to handle a weak Boro team. Cardiff beats Watford and we're back to 4 up with 5 to play. But Bruce has to go for it with our best players.
One defeat and its all doom and gloom by many. Then again if we had won last night it would have gone totally the other way. Dont let the highs get too high or the lows be too low. LETS KEEP A FINE BALANCE EH ? FFS.
If Fahti prefers playing on the right, surely it'd be logical to put him in the right-CM position, allows him to link up with Elmo, cover defensively for Elmo, join in attacks and most importantly.. get Koren out the team
have faith people-- if watford go on another run, beat cardiff on sat, that really opens the league up for a nervvy finish, i think which ever team holds their nerve and keeps cool will truimph, that big old lead of cardiff's might come to haunt them...
