Is this performance an anti-Knapper display? Match stats NCFC shots 14 on target 6, with 1 goal Birmingham City shots 16 on target 6, with 4 goals.
Birmingham are an in form team having scored 4 goals in their last 3 games, including this one, but our only consolation is that we are the only ones who scored against them in those three games. Not much of a straw to grasp but it is Kvistgaarden's 4th goal in 4 starts and 6 sub appearances.
I still think Manning was the wrong choice I’m afraid, but Knapper is surely in real trouble after that. We need the transfer window and a proper break for players to reset
Manning was the wrong choice as was Knapper. The main difference is that Knappers wrong choices get the sack - Knapper doesn't. He must have the photos as they say. We need a proper experienced SD in place by the window if we are to have any chance of survival so Knapper needs sacking now!!
This is going to take time, It’s going to take several weeks before Clement can raise the fitness levels of these players, if that’s possible.
Yes, it will take time as PC emphasised in his post match interview, but he knew that was the case when he took the job. With over a third of the squad out injured (Jurásek being added because of illness), choices are stretched thin, but there were some positives as well. Sargent and Kvistgaarden linked well again and Matthias got his 4th goal in 4 starts and 6 sub appearances. Rated 7.3 by WhoScored for his 60 minutes, he can make a big difference for the rest of the season. Surprisingly Marcondes, who replaced him, scored 6.9 in his 30 minute stint. As PC emphasised, our performance in the second half was for once better than the first half as these stats show:
Stacey, who was one of three players to pass Clement's fitness test (along with Sargent and Topić) had this to say about fitness: “My opinion is, as a player, your body and your fitness should be 100% your responsibility. The guys at the club are there to help you if they can but everyone should look at themselves and ask if they’re fit or not. It probably shouldn’t be coming from outside sources.” Obviously, players coming back from injury will take longer to regain fitness, but it's clear that Clement is going to demand it from every player so City can become “the fittest team in the league”. "In the first half, we lacked intensity, duel power (they lost 87% of aerial duels in the first half), also structure and didn’t do defensively what we trained, but we didn’t have much time training together and I know there are no miracles in football. It’s necessary to make strides quickly but on the other side, every team with 10 players unavailable will struggle. I don’t like to make the comparison, but look at Manchester City last season, when they missed a few players.” https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/no...kqo0E3Y_eHJTJYqOmd1fHzS5LV5TOM_cga6O2Dsvbk14m
