Graham had a better game than Aluko today. He made better runs, gave the ball up less. Neither did anything of course but Aluko really did need to come off.
Presenters saying it was a boring game, I enjoyed it thought it was a decsent game, elmos crossing was poor but I reckon it was a 1 off, quality runs down wing, huds was quality dont think he's had a bad 1, man of the match def davies
While ever we keep on accumulating points Graham should retain his place in the team. Dropping him will only dent his chances of becoming a decent goal scorer even further. Besides, he's had some good games so far and is unlucky not to have got one. Given the service he received today it's hardly surprising he didn't bang one in today.
with crystal palace and cardiff losing results have been decent for us today. Just need sunderland to go down to Man U and we will have had a good day.
The reason the commentator kept mentioning it was that sadly it was true & bleeding obvious. He also made reference to Graham not scoring for about 24 hours of football a few times.. Everyone, every pundit & most of us said 0-0.. and it was... (on a plus: Figgy gets me another 6 pts with the clean sheet)
A good point today which takes our total points from a winnable run of games up to 8. We'd have been delighted with that return from the last 4 games. 11 points in total is a great return and we seem to be surpassing expectations at the moment and hopefully we'll maintain our standards. Important that we made the most of this run of games given that we face testing trips to Everton and Spurs next.
But there are excuses every game, first it was " can't blame for not scoring at stamford bridge, can't blame him for not scoring v the giants of man city etc..." I honestly don't know what he has done to receive such confidence from so many fans. He missed a handful of chances v newcastle which was only forgotten thanks to Aluko. Look to the future for a little bit. What if his drought is 18 games... Do you think it's reasonable for a manager to justify keeping a player in week in week out because of his confidence for that long?? When a striker isn't scoring you change things around, mix it up a little, give other players a chance. I don't see how dropping him for one game will dramatically change things. I reckon he has more pressure starting every game and adding the numbers each week to this goal drought total. Give him some rest, make him come as a sub for once, see if things change. At the moment we're banging our heads against the wall.
So your management tip of the day is just to have faith, cross our fingers and hope he will come good? A player is usually undroppable based on facts and evidence not on superstition and hope. I agree on the service aspect but if not even RVP would have scored today then why not give prozzy some minutes? It's quite simple, we have 3 strikers right now. None of them are a cut above the rest and taking their chances. But by persisting with one player through blind faith, we're removing the possibility that one of the other two comes good. Why do you have so much faith in Graham and not Sagbo or Prozzy? Is it purely based on 2 seasons ago with Swansea?
The only thing that matters is we're now 8 points ahead of Palace and if Sunderland lose against Man U we'll be 10 points ahead of them. Both gaps will take a hell of an effort to close. West Ham are away to Spurs tomorrow and if they lose we will be 6 points above them. All we need to do is keep picking up points like today and those gaps will increase
We arnt banging our heads against a wall, you are. Graham has had a couple good games and just about all the others he has been ok. Has he scored? No. Has he helped in other ways? Yes. We have 11 points in 7 games. We are doing great. If Bruce thought for one instant that Sagbo or Pro provided a better chance to win a game then Graham he wouldnt be on the pitch. You are not a better coach then Steve Bruce. Simple as that.
I'm Sorry Ellewoods but he was brought in to SCORE GOALS. You're being extremely generous by claiming he has had good games when a) he hasn't scored b) just for making some semi-decent runs. c) and considering he hasn't even got an assist. You are 100% wrong. Everyone (including Bruce) seems to be sticking with Graham IN FEAR of him losing confidence. Is that good judgement? It's unheard of really. What is this trust based on? training sessions? his past record 2/3 seasons ago? because as far as I'm concerned if none of them are scoring, then it makes no difference who is on the pitch and it's an opportunity to try all of them out. We're putting all our eggs in Danny's basket at the moment through blind faith that he'll find the same form he had 3 years ago. That's poor management in my book. Sure we're picking up points and maybe we shouldn't jinx but I don't credit Graham for any of those I'm afraid. Also, I expect graham to be a professional and to be benched for one game should not destroy him. Not sure how much confidence he has at the moment anyways. I personally feel we can't persist blindly like this. There has to be a cut off point where we change things around. Fair enough if you want to wait for a thrashing to do so, then maybe that's the way to go but if this goes on for a while more, people will look back and think how ridiculous it was to stick with the same player without changing things for so long when his output wasn't changing. Brown paid for those mistakes last time round also. What happens in January then? Will you be suggesting we don't buy a striker because it will ruin graham's feelings???
5 games unbeaten, another point. Game plan worked well today, Villa were boring in the first half however.
I'm sorry, I disagree. He has been bought to improve the team, whether by setting up goals, scoring goals, starting off the attack, which he has done.
Yea I am 100% wrong. Which is why just about every game you have gone off on him others on this forum have had to tell you that you were wrong. Its why Steve Bruce continues to put him in the starting 11. You know because he sucks major ass and Steve wants us to lose and be relegated. Sometimes you have good things to say but here you are just beyond off. Go take a look at our bench and find me ONE player who can play up front who is better than Danny Graham. Find one, just one and maybe I will agree with you. Bruce can not find one, so after you find him walk down to the training ground this week and let him know because I am sure that he wants your advice.
Nah, Brucey could put an arm around him and let him know it is a squad game. He could tell him he needs to give Sagbo a run out, you'll get 30 minutes off the bench so give it your all and make me HAVE to pick you to start for the game after. This management lark is easy you know
