Hopefully positive news on both Gunn and Nunez, both suffering with soreness but potentially available Tuesday or the following game
Not a lot of positives to be taken from that debacle. The more I see of Doyle the less I rate him. He does good things but then effs everything up with poor pass/tackle/decision. He will never make it in the EPL, his allround play is quite ponderous. Slimane does good things then completely switches off. Without Nunez there is no impetus in midfield. But I thought Sorensen had a good game without setting the world alight.
I was concerned about our midfield 3 because there was no natural leader and that's the way it looked until McLean came on. Sorenson had a steady performance after a really good one at Blackburn but he doesn't seem to be a leader. Wright looked better in this game and there seems to be potential there. I agree that Slimane was inconsistent, but that could be due to the lack of leadership. McLean's through ball to put Sainz through showed what we had been missing before he came on.
Quite bluntly I was concerned about everything I saw. Until now I have been a great believer in the idea of giving youth a chance but last night without Duffy and McLean there was no obvious leadership or organisation on the pitch and off the pitch all we saw were the coaching staff just sitting there looking glum. The back 4 and midfield just wanted to pass the ball amongst themselves until Oxford had got back into a defensive fortress. Non-stop individual mistakes all over the pitch - Cordoba running the ball into touch for the throw in leading to the equaliser was worse than what you would see from a school team. There were no positives from that performance whatsoever. I was prepared to accept that we were in transition - last night I feared transition to what?
Agree 100%,we don't seem to be learning from our mistakes. Too much faffing around at the back, when we should be getting the ball up to our strikers quicker. Why didn't Duffy start last night?
Apparently turned up late for a meeting. 2 cases of that in a short period of time would indicate a further problem in the squad.
Surely a heavy fine would be more beneficial than leaving him on the bench. Play your best 11,at all costs
I disagree, discipline is important in a team, no exceptions. After dropping Cordoba earlier in the season, he had to be consistent. I also don’t think Duffy would have made any difference last night, he may be experienced but I don’t particularly view him as a leader. Cordoba and Doyle partnership also gives us both progressive passing and pace between them.
Extenuating reasons for being late. Obviously not a good enough reason. If he was available to be on the bench, he was available to start. If you are going to penalise the player, the team and the fans, have the balls to leave him out of the squad. Thorup trying to appear strict, but failing.
I agree with much of that 1950, but our goal was top class, with Fisher's cross spot on and Sargent timing his run to perfection. I really thought there was more to come but instead we went into our 'possession based' shell and created mostly half chances against a packed defence until McLean's through ball to Sainz which could have won the game. McLean made a difference when he came on but we needed Marcondes as well to beat the low block defence. I know we're supposed to be excited by the new tactics but I agree with Bure that the build up is usually too slow. The goal was an exception but it showed what we can do when we move the ball quickly. After 36 games we're now 6 points behind West Brom in 6th with 10 games to go against tougher opposition than Oxford. It looks to me that we're stumbling towards the end of the season.
Failed to prepare, didn’t leave the house early enough, if he was stuck in traffic for 20mins then he was cutting it fine to be on time anyway
Doesn't SD live in Hethersett? The meeting he was late for would have been at Colney. That's a 6 min drive by car. Multiple alternative routes even if the most direct route was blocked. He's the team captain in the absence of McLean. He won't be in the starting eleven next season. I wouldn't be surprised if we bought out his final year. [Edit] According to CS in the Pink'Un, the meeting was at Carrow Road, not Colney. Same points apply; he should have made sure he was there on time.
PinkUn are suggesting that the traffic/incident was around Town Hall. Nobody else was late to the meeting, that would indicate a time keeping issue on Duffy’s part.
