Another loss, timid first half, slightly better second half but just didn't do enough to earn a goal. Final third decisions were bad, ball movement too slow again.
A better second half, but unable to build on a surprisingly solid defence. All our defenders had good games, I thought. Phillips and Cajuste as a partnership didn’t let us down. But we sacrificed a body up top and it showed. Plenty of huffing and puffing - but Szmodics, Hutchinson, and Delap were completely ineffective. We abandoned a passing game to tighten up, but replaced it with something not exactly conducive to creating opportunities. Yet again, Broadhead came on and looked engaging. Less said for Al-Hamadi and Jack Clarke. Taylor was good. Maybe a back three will make us harder to score against - particularly against the “Big Six” sides. But it’s clear this side needs a few more signings and a better quality of squad depth if we want to stay up.
Kept the shape well and much better scoreline than I expected. Still not sure what more Broadhead has to do to warrant a start - has looked sharp whenever he has come on
Phillips is soooo ****ing dull, reminds me of Ray Wilkins...sideways and backwards passes, look forward you decking muppet
Honestly, I think we’ll send him back January. He’s not worth the massive wages we’re subsidising. Morsy and Cajuste still first team starters for me, with Taylor the third choice from the bench. Frees up an extra loan spot we can use to bring in a better/more versatile midfielder and reinvest the wage bill elsewhere.
Imagine that we are weaker than last season. With the exception of Delap, the players we have signed are worse than the likes of Hladky, Sarmiento and Harness. Baffling.
Always an uphill struggle, this game, this league etc., I question our decisions in match, our starting line up and our transfer business but also wonder would it make any difference. For me a couple of things are disappointing of course you have to take into account the opposition but I think there are elements of our game which have gone backwards since last season and that is our distribution from the back (mainly Muric) but also and whether because we don't have Hladky and don't play Woolfenden as much we don't break the press as well. Whilst I don't think Woolfenden was outstanding tonight he did well enough and I feel we see what we've missed especially on the ball in terms of build up play with him in the team. I also think our interplay and decision making in the forward positions hasn't been as good. When Delap has a quite game for me he's doesn't make enough of a difference in terms of his movement, Hutchinson for me has also been one of the biggest disappointments for me this season, his decision making has been very poor and perhaps he's not got the awareness to play the 10 position, Broadhead and Chaplin look far better in those positions. We also haven't seen what we're led to believe is Szmodics in his best position and for me he is tenacious, good in the press and makes decent runs but doesn't impact on the ball enough, he's not that type of player though. We need to get that balance right up top. I've felt the last few games Al Hamidi's position means the game opens up when he's on the pitch than when Delap is and really that's something we shouldn't be saying. Sometimes Delap seems to worried about where the opposition defender is rather than where the ball is. Delap and Hutchinson have a lot of potential but they've also got a lot to learn. I thought Davis was decent enough, he put a couple of really good crosses in, one of which there should've been a player trying to get on the end of but then a couple of times he did get in good positions and made the wrong decision (which is rare for him). Johnson offered very little but probably my MOM was Cajuste who again had a decent game. I thought Phillips was fairly anonymous and considering we had 3 at the back didn't need to come as deep as often as he did to get the ball. I don't think McKenna will but I'd send him back in January and look to get another permanent midfielder in and perhaps get a loan striker or winger (either left or right). A final thing I think McKenna is doing which he wasn't quite so much last season is making a lot of tactical changes game to game plus dropping in form players. It was like this in League 1, he chopped and changed before Hirst, Broadhead and Luongo came in and then generally kept a settled line up since then until the start of this season. He even kept faith with Hladky because we'd found a winning formula despite Walton being the outstanding GK in league 1 and clearly our number 1. It's very clear that the players who were here last season know their roles far better than those who weren't.
Excellent analysis as always,we just don't seem to be able to put out a settled side (down to injuries and suspensions or KMc's uncertainty about his best 11)and the failure of subs to make the same impact as in the past two Seasons.A lot of it is down to how the PL is such a big leap in quality.
I'm not sure it's as simple as that. I think the players who we've signed are far more of an upgrade on players who've left the club however it's certainly an interesting debate to ask the question if last seasons first choice 11 had been fit would we be any worse off if we'd kept faith with them. As I've said before I think physically the new players have looked stronger and I'm sure will prove to be better players over time but given the levels of investment when our first 11 from last season hasn't been involved we're definitely weaker in certain aspects. Some of that is new players getting to know each other, some of that is putting new players into a formation and way of playing which they might not be suited to. When you consider what the team cost we'd put together in League 1 and the Champ in comparison to the combined total of all the new players you'd expect to see a significant increase in quality, I haven't noticeably seen that yet. It was a very challenging transfer window, we've ended up buying potential (Hutchinson and Delap) who clearly need to work on parts of their game and top Champ performers or from teams who were relegated. For me so far that hasn't seen us have the necessary instant quality to look like we'd survive this season. We maybe couldve looked to recruit some more players with experienced PL players but probably the most notable weakness of our current set up us our lack of understanding of the foreign market...it feels like we've gone from picking up some real bargains in terms of their quality in league 1 to perhaps overpaying for quality of those who we've brought in. Unfortunately for me so far the PL has been everything we've been warned about and not from a positive perspective. It's a different game to the EFL. But we are approaching the half way point and only 2 points off safety and competed well in majority of matches, I would have probably taken that at the start of the season especially given the number of injuries and some of the decisions which have gone against us.
Good morning. I was wondering if you’d have any funds left to spend in January, keeping in mind the possibility of relegation and the financial implications with fair play, and I see you are the second biggest spenders of a newly promoted team ever at £140m Do you think you paid premium for those incoming, if the players are sold at a loss your FFP problems would of course increase. What’s your genuine thoughts, spend more and see if you can turn a corner, stick, get relegated and hope for an immediate return. Would the type of player you need be willing to join a relegation battle. I see the chat of wanting a striker and Keeper, they’re so hard to acquire, we are not happy with our keeper yet several PL teams want him as back up, that says something about the shortage. Striker, forget it unless you have £30m for unproven, can you hold on to Delap as I see he is gaining interest. Not gloating, I think we’ll get promoted and be in this same position next season, I still give my head a wobble and ask why do we long to be in the money cesspit of the PL
The opposition is so much stronger than last season so players we thought would do well in the Prem are struggling, Hutch in particular is ineffective as is Burns but they are not alone in this. I can't see what the attraction is in Muric, I know we couldn't keep Hladky but surely Walton has to be an improvement on this error ridden keeper who's cost us so many points this season.
The answer for newly promoted teams is youth set up, you need to get promoted with a few young players who are ready to make a step up.
I think the difference is really highlighted by the fact probably by far and away the best player last season in the Champ (Summerville) has only started 6 games this season in a lower table team.
It appears our recruitment under McKenna is about signing other teams academy players who aren't going to get in their team.
I’d question the £140 million statistic - I think it’s nearer £107 million - but it’s still a big outlay. We may end up spending more in January though. It’s also worth pointing out we haven’t actually spent £100 million odd in the summer. We’ve done what most clubs do nowadays which is spread (amortise) the amount over the player contract. So the actual cash spend in the summer is more like £40/50 million, which I believe our accounts will prove. But obviously we will end up paying out the full money. I’d like to see us give it a go in the transfer market, but not at the cost of our financial future. I think two or three loan deals probably makes the most sense - as long as they’re experienced, capable players that will improve the quality and depth of the squad. We’ve not been blown away by many teams at this level. We should’ve had at least several more points on the board - but I get that most fans of other clubs believe in the “what ifs”. Currently, the league table doesn’t lie - we deserve to be in the relegation zone. There’s been an ongoing debate about our success in the transfer market this season. I think we all agreed that we needed to invest - particularly given this team was playing third division football only two years ago. Unlike Southampton and Leicester, we’re a club with no recent history in the Premier League - so we haven’t been able to build a Premier League ready squad on paper from years gone by. No PL riches in 22 years definitely impacts us. Although some of us will grimace at the suggestion - I think we share more similarities with Luton than any other promoted club since Forest in that respect. Ashton’s approach has been to sign young, upcoming British players - particularly those that have impressed in the Championship. I think we’ve had half an eye on the strong possibility of relegation this year, and we’ve built a side that has the know-how and proven quality to achieve promotion should we go down. Some of those players have looked good, others haven’t proven to be a noticeable upgrade on what we had - with the caveat that we don’t know how the likes of Hdlaky, Luongo (still at the club), Harness, and Sarmiento would’ve played at this level. I would suggest not well - particularly as Hdlaky can’t even get into the Burnley first team in the Championship. I would’ve liked us to sign a few more players with Premier League experience. Phillips was a gamble that hasn’t really paid off considering what we’re spending on him. Cajuste has paid off, with his experience playing in leagues like Serie A. The jury is out on Johnson from West Ham, although he looks alright in a wide right position against top sides. Tuanzebe has fit in with his Manchester United experience - but is unfortunately so injury prone. As for Leeds, I think there’s a good chance you go up - although it might have to be through the play offs. The main difference between Leeds and Ipswich is that you have recent Premier League experience. Your squad still benefits and contains signings made back then. You’ve been able to reinvest money made from selling those types of players. We have some saleable assets (mostly Delap and Davis, who should fetch a decent chunk of change), but haven’t had a bank of recent Premier League seasons and money to draw upon.
We haven’t produced a first-team ready academy player for over a decade. As ptc points out, McKenna and Ashton currently rely on bringing in players that have been coached to a high standard as a youth player elsewhere. The state of the academy is not on McKenna or Ashton. It had been run into the ground and poorly invested during most of Marcus Evans’ regime (our previous owner), notably dating back to when we failed to gain the Category 1 status. We have lost a load of promising academy players to the likes of West Ham and Norwich over the years, which is a shame as we had a reputation for bringing through good players. It’ll take a few more years - at least - to get the academy churning out a high standard of first team ready players.
I think we've got to keep faith with the process and MA/KMc.Look how far we've come in such a short space of time.This Season was always going to be a big ask but as has been said elsewhere we're still in touch with safety and until that's mathematically impossible I'll keep hoping.And if we fail we'll give it a good go next year with parachute payments behind us.
100%. With the parachute payments and the amount of money churning in the Premier League - relegation isn’t quite the destructive force it had been in previous decades. If we go down - and it’s looking likelier by the week - we have an ownership, manager, staff, and group of players proven to play at a high standard in the Championship. Yes, we might lose a couple - but we’ll have the finances to replace them with talented players. The only wrinkle will be if we lose McKenna. He has got us punching above our weight so far, and is on the journey to turning us back into a consistent top flight club. His replacement - should he depart - will need to sustain the momentum and keep us competing for a Premier League place. Much easier said than done. Seeing Ashton’s preferences for managerial appointments, it’d likely be another younger head coach type figure. Hopefully lightning will strike twice.
Definitely BigAl and actually even though we are where we are, I've still seen progression this season. Particularly many of the games we've drawn we've often been in the ascendancy which is incredible. Add to that the injuries we've had and a few poor unlucky decisions. The Leicester 1 sticks in my mind plus the fact Wolves have won their last 2 games with Cunha starring after being sent off against us and facing a 5 game ban. Delap got a yellow for God knows what and suspended straight away for the next game.
