This team is dead. The sooner we get rid-off them the better. Frankly I wish we could get relegated tomorrow and stop this humiliation. They have not turned up again today. Also I wish Rene starts using the youngsters. At lead twill build a team for the future...
We needed at least a point tonight. I was hopeful if we played as we did against Arsenal we would get at least that... Unless we get some players with some fight in the next week I fear we are going down... I'm getting resigned to it now...
Not much to add but things really are looking desperate. Sounds like we played well in the first half, but we need 90 mins of quality. Shelves scores another one from outside the area and how many deflected goals have we conceeded !!! Whilst there is still enough time to get to safety, Rene really has to go back to drawing board and pull something special together. Still keeping the faith ......
The first two substitutions were terrible. Sorry but Rene has learned nothing from the Arsenal game. Before continuing with the negatives, let me say how well Stek and the back four played, again. And while unfair to single out Dan Burn, he's such a shining light. Back to the bad then. Through the middle to the front we are powder puff; Dempsey and Berbatov were so ineffectual going forward and the term "defend" is an unknown to either. Consequently Sidwell was the usual headless chicken. Which of course brings me back to the first substitution in particular. We were being over run in midfield - to bring on Bent meant that we completely lost it. And the game. Final word (s). Felt so sorry for the back four. They didn't deserve that even if the 'team' did.
Playing Dempsey tonight is almost unforgivable for me. It's one thing to be ambitious away from home, but it's just stupid to take on one of the best passing teams with 2 midfielders (both on the wrong side of 30) and 2 passengers up front. This was the kind of game we needed Karagounis - Dempsey should have been used against Sheff Utd.
So between Rene, Wilkins & Curbishley, no-one has noticed that Sidwell is terrible when in a two man midfield? That Dempsey plays as a striker, not a midfielder? That Dejagah is our main attacking outlet? Bringing Bent on for Dejagah was stupid. Starting Dempsey was foolish. Honestly, I'm losing faith; at least in the wreckage of Sanchez I could see what Hodgson was trying to do and could see him structure the team to achieve it. Rene seems to have identified a style of play that suits us, then refuses to pick the team to let us play that way. *sigh*
What really stings for me is the fact that in our first two games (Spurs, Villa) we went with a 4-3-3 of Kara/Parker/Sidwell in the middle and saw a massive improvement in our shape and overall play, since Curbs and Ray have come in, we have only gone backwards. Did Rene need extra heads to be brought in? I think it was 58 who said it was a case of 'too many cooks' and I think he may have been right. Some of the decisions Rene has made since he's been here have been baffling. Bent, misses an absolute sitter against Sheff Utd, gets game time coming on tonight as a sub, Rods, scores equalising goal in the cup to keep us in the competition, is left to rot on the bench. Bent/Duff coming on did it for me. Switching Dejagah and Kaca also didn't help matters. Dejagah was probably our most offensive player in the first half, and despite fading in the second, didn't deserve to be taken off ahead of Kaca who was again ineffectual. Dempsey should have played against Sheff Utd and been replaced today by either Kasami or Karagounis, both of whom weren't even in the match day squad. Sorry guys but my faith has gone. A bitter pill to swallow is seeing both Palace and Sunderland showing signs of massive improvement by changing manager whereas we seem to have regressed under Rene if anything. Just for lols, here's my individual match ratings: Steks - 8/10 - Could do nothing about either goal, hampered by deflections, made two great stops. Riether - 7/10 - Dejagah fading in the second half meant his attacking presence became marginalised, did nothing wrong Hangeland - 6/10 - Missed an absolute sitter in the first half but apart from that, solid Burn - 7/10 - Really like this lad, seems to get a lot of calls against him when going for headers due to his height Richardson - 6/10 - Much improved performance, still woeful from set pieces though Dejagah - 7/10 - Would have kept him on, always a threat and perhaps should have done better with a first half header Sidwell - 6/10 - As mentioned previously, doesn't do well in a two man midfield, unimpressive Parker - 6/10 - Couldn't impose himself on the game Kaca - 5/10 - I like Kaca but every week I'm becoming less and less convinced he can cut the mustard. No end product whatsoever. Dempsey - 5/10 - Another poor turn from our former star, fitness levels just aren't there and looks a shadow of the player he once was for us Berbatov - 5/10 - Fed off scraps, but as is the case with Berbie, doesn't exactly help his own cause Rene - 4/10 - Starting line up wasn't too bad considering he was never going to change the 4-4-2 formation. However, subs decisions were atrocious. Rodallega should have come on for Dempsey at half time, and Kaca needed to be replaced by either Tank/Christensen. I don't believe Duff should even make the first team squad these days. Overall, very disappointed, especially considering we rotated the squad so that 10 days off meant these 11 players would really have a go at Swansea, what we got however, was the complete opposite.
4-3-3 is the system we should be playing. Singling out Sidwell is unfair as the guy tries to cover so much space without support. A CM is needed to the level of Kara to keep it up for 90 mins. Berba should never play again. Useless and too much of a luxury.
The web site had both sides down as 4-2-3-1. Shelvey ran the show really. There is no hope really if we continue this path. Why can't they see it? Berbatov should be dropped, he adds nothing but a couple of flicks and passes but nothing else. Sidwell/Parker had an impossible task last night. I am not apportioning any blame on Sidwell. Did dejagah run out of steam? Why take off your effective wide player. He worked hard last night. Gutted as we aren't strengthening (see post in Jan transfer window) and our competitors are. The other relegation teams have done their business early and are winning. FFS!
The first point here is exactly what I said about Dempsey. He was nominally the CAM last night, but he just doesn't have the energy or the discipline to drop back to help our central midfield. It was in 442 in all but name, but without the right kind of players or balance to make 442 work. The Dempsey point leads on to the Sidwell one. It is not Sidwell's fault that he was exposed last night. He isn't a defensive midfielder and after 3 years you'd think the club would have realised that. We either need to player Sidwell in a 3 man midfield, or we need to play someone else. The same goes for Karagounis, really. Constantly exposing Sidwell doesn't do him, or us, any favours at all. Either sign a good midfield partner for Parker, or stop playing 2 in the middle. This is not a complicated equation. I think we'll bring in 1 or 2 players on the last day and we'll spend about £3m. That is far from being enough. I am just so disillusioned by the farce unfolding in front of us at the moment.
Everyone at the club needs to step up, including me as I'm being rather too negative for my liking. My issue is we've gone backwards recently, there are positives (Burn) but my frustration is with thecoaches and players not realising that we're in the poop and doing something about it. Why havent we secured new players before today? We were led to believe way back in November that the club had made inroads for fresh legs etc. I'm not seeing anything of the sort. We are going after players with ridiculous offers, that no club in their right mind would accept and we're desperate! I think my frustration is also manifesting itself into the realisation that we will be relegated and if I'm honest its nothing less than my wonderful, lovely club deserve. My expectations of te players we have exceeds their ability, passion, guts, attitude and fight. However, I support my club thriugh thick and thin and hope that we have the management expertise to get us back in the prem.. I must also stress that Sunday was an anniversary of sorts as it was at Brammall Lane that I saw Fulham for the first time in the mid seventies. I've loved them ever since!
When you have so many players behind the ball you invite efforts from outside the box and they will get deflected - some in some wide. Parking the bus backfired last night especially as Fulham looked a reasonable side after the first goal. The year we played you in the cup and took the replay to Craven Cottage I remember thinking how similar in style the two teams were (you obviously being the better team) and being impressed by Fulham ⦠what has happened? That was, for us, very comfortable. Good luck for the rest of your season - for what it's worth I hope you stay up (as long as we are there as well).
The highlights in case you are interested: http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/january/29/swansea-highlights?utm_source=hoot&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=AW
I wouldn't say we parked the bus last night, we had more shots than Swansea! When playing against a possession team away from home there's not a lot else you can do but sit back and attack on the counter, especially as we don't really have the players to dominate games. Why oh why we didn't build on our first half performance remains to be seen, perhaps Rene thought our attacks were leaving us too open at the back (as opposed to only having a two man midfield, eh?)
