Well firstly that's a vital 3 points. IMO we needed to beat Hull today and we did even though we left it very late. We knew it wasn't going to be easy; after our controversial defeat in the reverse fixture the red mist descended on me and I called Hull a pub team, when they are clearly much better than that. They remind me of us in our first season in the Prem (this spell anyway) with players nobody would think were good enough being competitive. Today they played the near perfect away performance with extremely resolute defending and still maintaining a threat at the other end. That said, we had so many chances and only scored a very late goal. Only some of that can be attributed to Hull's admittedly brilliant defending the rest is down to our improved but still below par final ball and wayward shooting. Our forwards looked lively today but had chances they didn't take. I was glad to see Rusty and Jonas instead of Redmond and Whittaker who I felt were both poor lately. Snodgrass also had a very good game IMO although I might be the only one who thinks he has been our best attacking player this season anyway. We kept a clean sheet and got 3 points however difficult we made it. Now we have Tettey and Pilkington back too so maybe there is light through the clouds. The win is great but the important think is we now kick on from here. We have a home game against Newcastle and then Cardiff away both of which I think there could be points in for us if we play well and we will need points on the board before the run in. Hughton, whom I have continued to support throughout his tenure here, has proved he can get the team playing well enough to win games but this result must not be a stand-alone win. We must build on it.
I agree with all of the above, and the critical thing, other than the three points, was that we kept going. It will give the players belief that they can get something from the skunks. The players need to create chances and to begin to gel, which can happen as long as the same attitude is shown. Competition for places is now back and that does make a difference to players
Spot on, although on the face of it a 1-0 victory cannot be seen as comfortable or conclusive, make no mistake this was a vital win. Not only does it take the immediate pressure off Hughton, it also takes pressure off the board. But you are quite right, we need to build on this and quickly. If we could get 4 points from the next two games I think things would look a whole lot healthier. Lose both those games, and I suspect that will be the end for Hughton because we are starting to run out of games.
It's great to talk about the football again. This was always going to be a tough 6-pointer, but like others I admired the endeavour and the chances created but perhaps the release in pressure will allow City to play like they can in future.
DM: re Snodgrass, I disagree with you entirely. I think in general he has been really poor this season. However, yesterday he looked back to something like his best form. Is it my imagination or is that because we used him much more flexibly, with him coming into the middle much more? For me this took away the biggest problem with his performances this season, which has been predictability. I wanted him out of the side against Hull, and he proved me wrong.
Absolutely seeing the fixture list in the summer scared me enough - now it is nearly upon us it focuses the mind in a VERY uncomfortable manner!
It's your imagination. He wasn't "used" more flexibly, he just played his usual inverted winger role better than he has been so far this season. If he keeps that up and we get Pilks back and firing we may actually see the system working more as it should. The other factor IMO is that he was partnered with Russ Martin. That combination works better than than the Snodgrass/Whittaker partnership.
I told you tactics weren't my strong point. I'll nearly always defer to someone else on the issue of tactics. Btw, even I can see that Martin and Snodgrass work together much better than Whit & Snod.
It's not so much your appreciation of tactics vietnam, it's your habit of attributing virtually everything to something the manager does. So Snoddy played better only because he was "used more flexibly" i.e. CH used him more flexibly. I don't know whether you actually believe that CH exercises this God-like control over everything, or whether it is just an unconscious result of your antipathy towards Hughton.
Great victory for us, very much a vital 3 points, BUT the lack of goals from our strikers is still a bit worrying. I think they are almost there, RVW was unlucky not to get a goal, came real close. If we are to stay up this needs to be addressed, we can't rely on goals from midfielders or CB.
I am just so relieved, that is my main emotion this weekend. The table also makes so much better reading today, but you can't help but think that 12th does flatter us a bit. I have never known a season like it, because IF we can go on and get another 4 points (or more) from the next two fixtures we will be looking really comfortable.
A two edged sword.Five points clear with sixteen games left is beginning to look like a buffer.If we can carry that on for another six then we will start to look comfortable.What people need to bear in mind about the run in is that days like yesterday when we are at home taking three points off Hull ,relegation threatened teams are taking on Arsenal,Man City and Southampton.
It's unlikely to be comfortable at any stage until we are mathematically safe. I think you make yourself a hostage to fortune by endowing speciific games with particular importance. We likely need 14 points from our remaining 16 games to be sure, it doesn't matter where they come from, or how we get them. The next two fixtures are no more or less important than the other 14. We are averaging marginally over a point per game; we need marginally under a point per game to survive. Over the first 19 games, having played each team once, we averaged exactly a point per game. With important players coming back from injury and others hitting better form, prospects are good. The most alarming factor IMO is that the players are nervous about playing at home because of the lack of sustained support. Our fans need to earn their reputation for being among the best in the land, not just put their bums on the seats and certainly not generate a bad atmosphere.
Although CH seems safe at present after the Hull result there is speculation that Neil Lennon of Celtic is in the frame to replace him. I can't help feeling that Lennon will not seriously consider NCFC as his next step in management when Celtic are almost certainly going to be playing Champions League football next season. Should he come, what does he offer us that is different to CH? What does interest me is the possibility of having Kris Commons if Lennon should head south to Norwich. Sorry if this has been discussed in another post.
I truly hope to God that he won't come here! Odious little man keeping Celtic near the top of a one team league!
Back to business, it's quite a sad and worrying state of affairs when winning a game feels like we've won a cup. We need to seriously get some points on the board and establish some space between us and the relegation zone. I'm hoping the table pans out very soon Manchester City are rumbling away in the background Arsenal are stubbornly hanging in there, Chelsea are lurking about in there somewhere too, but it's the whole Spurs/Liverpool/Everton situation which I'm keeping my eye on as it's the battle for the fourth spot which is going motivate a lot of clubs this season. I must admit we really need some order to be established if two of the top four could break away from the pack with the lead then it'll make things a bit more bearable.
To be honest I reckon it's a case of DM looking at options, CH hasn't got the best out of the strikers, and the win we had yesterday was down to a non-striker, does that look good?
I doubt if it's anything to do with DM -- except that he once worked for Celtic, which is just the sort of spurious consideration that attention-seekers in the media grab onto.
