I wopuldnt say that our ball retention and passing were much better without him though. Still very sloppy at times, perhaps the increase in forward play is taking some adjusting to.
We are lucky to have 2 good keepers...you never know when you might need them. The hard thing is keeping them both happy. After some losses it was especially important for the team to get something here...not just the point, but what it does for their self belief and belief in the manager. A good win on Saturday would be real reinforcement of their confidence. COYR
Its never too early to worry about other teams. Spent the majority of the 90's wishing ill fate on any team who happened to be near us. Can't get away from the habit now!
Yep, plus we have played city and Chelsea twice now, the only bottom half side to have done so. We HAVE to start beating some teams around us. In Ralph we trust.
Which is exactly what he’s been doing. The players were knackered against West Ham, so he rotated in the ‘free hit’ against City, so his first choice (bar injury) team could come back in against Chelsea and do a job, which is what happened. Remember he has a ton more info than we do about player condition etc. I’d expect rotation for Derby too (our priority is staying in the league, rightly so) and I’d expect the usual suspects to moan about that rotation too.
I wouldn’t. I’m just wondering how many Ralph wants in for January, and how much we’d need to raise to get them. I don’t anticipate him going, for what it’s worth.
Cardiff, Newcastle and Fulham (not to mention Huddersfield) all lost during this round of fixtures. I wouldn't call it a particularly bad set! The four of us all had very tough fixtures, and we were the only one to avoid defeat. Yes Burnley won, but they were playing Huddersfield. Everyone should be beating Huddersfield! Burnley have now used up their Huddersfield fixtures for the season. We maybe could have hoped for Palace to do worse, but at the end of the day they had the most points of the seven of us - and arguably are the best of the seven of us. It's really not the end of the world if a seven-horse relegation battle becomes a six-horse relegation battle.
Well in which case maybe my theory holds. It would be harsh, but as saleable assets go, I wouldn’t drop an egg if we did sell McCarthy. He’s good, but I think Gunn is better.
Must be weird feeling. Combining the jubilation of having your name chanted with the horror of hearing Baby Shark.
