Chuffed to bits with the performance and result yesterday...just one little point. At the start of the season we were playing a very aggressive high press to a great effect. Last few games its disappeared. Anyone reckon this is a change of tactic.... if it is, hope they change it back
I thought we pressed first half but dropped back second. Mainly due to the wind. As soon as the team pressed second half stoke got out and into our half. But I agree it’s dropped from the start of the season. No idea why
I think its an intended change where we are more selective when using the press . Teams cant set up to counter as they cant now predict what we will do . Wether thats a good thing or better im not sure. We were conceding late on through fatigue maybe its to manage energy levels better .
Considering the conditions that was a very decent performance with an excellent result. Thought Neil was really good, especially second half.
The thing with Luke is that since he went to CB with Sanderson back in League One, whoever is fit, and whoever the coaches and managers have been, they all want him at CB. There is also the old quote from Sir Alf Ramsey. He picked Jack Charlton when he was nearly thirty, about a year before the World Cup in '66, and against stiff competition. Charlton asked Ramsey why he had picked him. "Jack", Alf said, "my job is to pick the best team, not necessarily the best players". Ramsey always had ways of keeping players grounded, but there was a lot of truth in his remark.
I think his game experienced showed significantly, there was a moment where it got a bit hectic and he just slowed it down , dropped the shoulder and got his going again. Was real quality.
I agree somewhat but the Samed one I can kind of understand (in that if he was fully fit and firing would we have a chance of him coming, possibly not) we took a somewhat calculated risk which at the moment looks poor but time will tell.
Morning all. Enjoyed the game given the weather. All been said really Neil had his best game for a while a lovely dummy in the 2nd half left there midfield for dead. Terrific. Onien was excellent ballard looked a little unsure at times but will still be getting up to full fitness. Great to see another youngster making it into the 1st team and looking like he should be there. We'll done Tommy. My slight disappointment was Wilson I just think he needs to offer more in the build up play to get us up the pitch. That said given the conditions a well deserved 3 points. Hopefully dryer on Tuesday.
The last paragraph I couldn’t agree more if samed isn’t fit in January we send him back and sign another. We simply need another player there. Browne to come back obviously but then we need one more
We absolutely do. We must use other players over the Xmas break. It's simply too much demand for any player, even more so for young players who body is still adapting to the robust challenges of the league.
Im just going to keep talking negative about players and watch them prove me wrong. I said Mayenda was shyte back in August, and I said Watson isnt ready for first team football last weekend. I love being proved wrong lol. This is why i work in Engineering and not football.
Just like all of us mate. I thought Watson looked good ball at feet but decision making lacked, pretty much the same as you until yesterday! He was shooting at the right times and crossing well. All good in my book
Great game yesterday, over the moon for Watson who's been motm these past few games.... he's growing into the team. Thought we'd end up with a draw as whenever there was a bouncing ball in their box, it never fell nicely to one of our lads. Great to get the rub of the green again. Think we are also lucky not to have var, as Isidor may have been caught offside for Watsons first... onwards and upwards. Cannot wait for Tuesday. Hhhaaa'wwwwaaaaayyyyyy the lads
Love how one win changes the entire mood man ****ing class on the offside, I’m not sure Isidor is directly impacting the keeper, looks off to the side yes it goes through his legs but don’t think it impacts anybody
If it was as simple as picking the best 11 players there wouldnt be much need for coaching would there? Team over individuals every day of the week for me. I played for a side in Notts for a season, when I was over 30. Truth be told I was slowing down big time and struggling to get round the pitch. The coach said he wanted some nous in the middle of the park. There were a couple of young lads in there who were clearly better players than me, and everyone knew it. I like to think I made the whole side better because I kept the game moving and never shut up. We got promoted and won a cup. I left in the summer as we both knew I wouldnt cut it at the higher level. I think ONien is a bit like this tbh. His value in the side is the impact he has on those around him, as well as his own talent and ability. He makes our team better when he is in it. It is a key job for a coach, to make the best team from 20 odd good players.
I was worried at around that 60 minute mark. Crowd got restless and started moaning at the lack of press. One or two players responded and chased it a bit - and Stoke played around us and got a foothold. Wouldn’t surprise me if RLB was refining his message to the players about feeding off the crowd energy as a result. It might not feel like the proactive thing for us to do, but it was resulting in Stoke playing themselves deeper due to a lack of options for progression. We all need a bit more patience at times I guess.
It's a tough one to balance in the instance you're talking about. The crowd needed something to lift them but the team also has to conserve energy and use it wisely. The players might have done the right thing in the circumstances, even though it led to Stoke playing through us a couple of times.
