The Hornet's Nest

I just hope Dyche can get them playing football but I fear - really fear- that he has set his stall out tactically with the big hoof the Iwelumo's head. There seems to be no plan B. I hope for Dych's sake he realises the error of his tactical ways. He's a nice guy and has Watford fc running through him, but that might not make him a great manager. Do we really need a bastard in charge? Nice guys rarely make good managers.

 

Morning all, not the best night's sleep and then the alarm went off. Then "wham" I switched over to BBC 3CR for the sports news and it all came back "West Ham won 4-0".

The children have also slept on the their thoughts and they aren't happy. I had to give them my "watching Watford is a rollercoaster" speech (again)! I think some calm heads are required to see us through this patch to the better waters beyond.

 

Morning all, weather forecast to be very hot again this afternoon, so must try to get as much done as possible this morning.

A couple of random thoughts that came to me after the game last night.

McGinn is alongside Jon Marks at the moment and is giving a different insight into the team. He said at one point that there had been talk about how the better more experienced teams know how to manage a game. That is what seemed to happen yesterday, WH managed the second half totally.

This time last season Pompey were in free-fall, yet with Ian Woan as part of the management team down there they turned it around. They had a squad of players even smaller than we did, yet finished up quite comfortable in mid-table. I still think that it is unreasonable to expect Marvin to fill DGs boots as well as chip in with goals of his own. I suspect that we just haven't found the right partner for him yet.

 

Agreed Frenchie but it also seems we still lack that creative midfielder pulling the strings in the middle! The other thing that worried me was that we didnt have a recognised midfielder on the subs bench! Maybe its going to take a little more time for SD's and IW's ideas to gel , but I hope it happens sooner rather than later!
Noting Le fondre has opened his account with 3 or 4 already this season! If we could get him alongside Sordell might be give us a couple more options than big Chris!
How did Massey do when he came on ?

 

BB why I dont bother with it because of its reliability issue! Like you my confidence in the season ahead has been severely tempered
The creativity doesnt seem to be there or the appearance of a plan B!
Still early days yet !

 

Góðan daginn til allra. Cappuccino, coffee, tea and donuts are on the bar.

Frothy cappuccinos for al HH Leon and W_Y
Coffees for COYH, Frenchie, Kev, rob and theo
Strong coffee for Sandy
Milky coffee for Yorkie
Strong black coffees for Bragi Norway and zen
Black coffee half hot half cold and no sugar for Charlie
Teas for BHD jsybaz and Millens
Coffee and cake for Minx
Caramel latte for Hornette
A chocolate monster for BBW
Espresso for SuffolkHorn
Orange juice for Lloydinio
And a glögg for NZ as he is so ahead of us in time and with the weather in that area needs something warm.

We have again a wet day but is brighter than yesterday.

 

Cheers Ak still a bit despondent from last night and the weather matching the mood

 

wooahh! Way too early to be so negative guys...come on! So we have played 3 games..the first we were happy with, despite losing a two goal lead, the second we were just bloody unlucky, and did you honestly expect anything out of last night? I know most of us hoped in our hearts, but our heads told a different story. Okay, so obviously there's a lot of work to be done with the team, we know that. We are nowhere near the right level yet, but give it time. Let's stay positive this early in the season...we will be okay, we haven't even been in the bottom 3 yet! ...

I know it seems hard to imagine where goals will come from, since our strike force does seem particularly weak...but they will come, and our defence will improve, and we will end up there or thereabouts. i might have to revise my '12th', but i won't go below 18th!

COYH!

Oh, and morning all! Rough night with a sick daughter, and i really don't do sick very well! Long and arduous day ahead...ugh! Hope you all have a good one!

 

thanks for the caramel latte Ak

 

Hopefully daughter 1 will get well soon H , should really get out in the jungle ,but its tipping it down

 

I hope your daughter feels better soon Hornette.

You're right of course, its way early to be too negative and certainly not a time to dump your manager. I get incredibly frustrated when we return to the hoof (I call it hoof rather than long ball because long ball assumes the pass is accurate!). I was really looking for some continuity of the passing and possession football started by Rodgers, and carried on by Malky. Dyche was there throughout those periods and I was really hoping he would see how we have prospered under that model.

The purchase of a big lump up front and the angled hoof's of the first few games get me so annoyed - its 2011 for god sake and not 1979 with the original Ross Jenkins up front bless him. I'd hoped to see some development between then and now!

But onwards and upwards (hopefully!). Fingers crossed things improve and SD gets the message.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with having a big target man upfront. As long as we have decent wingers (which we do) and they get some chalk on their boots and cross the ball from wide. What doesn't work is hoofing the ball aimlessly upfield in the hope that the big man can control it.

 

Trouble is it's hard to tell if we have decent wingers because they are so rarely used as the angled ball just keeps being floated in....we need to keep the ball on the deck and play a striker alongside Marvin that can hold the ball up and work with and off Marvin - that is not Iweulmo. We also need a creative mid-field player that can bring the wingers into the game and provide another attacking option just outside the box - both are missing. Hopefully a couple of loan players could fill those gaps.
Norway - Massey, looks OK, but a bit lightweight againt Prem quality defenders. Needs to beef up and get some games under his belt.

I am with Suffolk - it is not so much losing 4-0 at home, after all they have so much better quality players than us, it's the manner in which we played. Reminded me so much of the 'orrible days when Betty starting to get found out...

 

Oh dear dont want to go down that road! W-y all our kids are a bit lightweight ,tis the nature of the beast I guess! However they do give top effort!
Why not start Massey for a couple of games and see if he can click with Marvin!
Keep hoping to see we have signed a striker and a creative mid!!

 

Afternoon all

That was a long drive home last night...made worse by roads being closed the moment I got off the M3 so midnight before I got in.

It was certainly a difficult game to watch last night. I see Dyche is saying this morning that Iwelumo isn't really fit which does make you wonder why he's starting. The answer perhaps is that Deeney is not looking quite sharp enough and his touch could be better while Murray has skill but nothing like enough muscle and experience to cope with the kind of defenders West Ham put out. For me the concern is still midfield. Not only do I not feel Jenkins and Eustace are not a good combination, they didn't even play to their strengths last night and give us a sound platform in front of the back four. They were static, by-passed easily and we conceded two goals from shots such a formation ought to be getting out and blocking. Both seemed only to show some urgency once we were 3-0 down. The wide players may get better but aren't quite delivering yet, though I thought Forsyth made some useful contributions and for a wide player is very good in the air. It's hard to see where the goals are going to come from at the moment...oh for a Cleverley or Mutch to spice up the midfield. Defensively we were opened up at times, but by a better side than many in the Championship, and too many tackles were missed through what looked like slow reactions. By the second half most clearances were too long and inaccurate, giving possession straight back to West Ham. I think we need to try more passing movements and that would be easier if players were making themselves available more quickly.

I'm sure we'll play much worse teams than West Ham, but like the Derby game, we need to make sure we don't get into a situation where we're not playing badly but we fear the result might go against us. Let's hope Cov is the start of something better.

 

I agree, especially with the Iwelumo point. Why play him for three games if he's not fit? Probably because our only tactic appears to be lumping the ball forward at every opportunity.

Which leads me to my second point. If we have to play a Ross Jenkins, why not bring back the old one who at least created some chaos and allowed his partner (Blissett, Jennings, or now Sordell) to get on with the goalscoring. I'm still not convinced by the 'new Ross' (certainly not 'same as the old Ross').

But I'm not giving up hope at such an early stage in the season. We are still creating (half) chances and have had 29 shots on goal in the last two games.

 

Welcome to not606 Skyser - good points made about the number of shots - and anyone who gives up after 3 games ought to go and support a Manchester club - that is where the money that buys success is held

 

Sorry to hear about your daughter Hornette - hope she did not pick up the bug in Wales

 

Yes great book Gordon.. real insight into the country which is France and its disparate background

 

thanks for all the well wishes for my daughter...i don't know if it's a bug or something she's eaten, or maybe it's just exhaustion from her time away...but i'm sure she'll be on the mend soon .

Welcome to not606 Skyser .

And good point Leonardo! How are you?