Just got back from the mis-match against Northampton. Brief Summary: Didn't deserve to win - outplayed and outfought - congrats to Northampton (Didn't want to win?) Played beautiful square passes in our own half followed by a hoof and hope. Downside Hyam - bloody awful Healy - slightly less awful Peters - lost confidence? - looked poor (and I have always been pro-Peters btw) All others bar JET - crap Will affect gate for Saturday Shows no strength in depth and players still needed. Only (remotely positive) positives Ainsley - very good first half JET - despite drifting in and out of the game - best player by a country mile. Better when Martin came on but too late. Should have had a little more strength in the starting line up OR at least one or two on the bench who could turn it around if it went wrong. Tin pot cup - sure, but the more games I go to each season, the better. Fewer now.
Why would Jewell expect Hyam and Peters who have got no prospect of getting near the first team to perform for him?
You would have thought Hamps that perhaps they had a point to prove. Only one they did prove was that PJ is right.
" Will affect gate for Saturday " If people are fickle enough to not turn up after a carling cup loss with a changed team then they aren't worth bothering with. That said, we live in a rather thick nation so that point wouldn't actually surprise me......! " Why would Jewell expect Hyam and Peters who have got no prospect of getting near the first team to perform for him? " Jewell didn't HAVE to give them the chance tonight, however, he DID. FANTASTIC management, we're on the back of a 3-0 opening day win, and he's keeping the squad together, giving players an opportunity to prove themselves. Its certainly not his fault players didn't take their opportunity, they had the chance to..... What we'll find with the 5 subs as opposed to 7 - there will be casualties by August 31. Peters as far as I'm concerned can go. Not good enough to get us up and certainly not good enough in the prem. Jack of all trades master of none. Can't beat a player on the wing and not good enough at full back. Thanks for trying hard all the best time for a new club. Hyam really REALLY needs a spell on loan for his future development, which he will get. He did v well under Keane last season ( which is a BONUS not a given for him to constantly be at that level as he's new to the game ) - Jewell could hardly play the lad often in a relegation battle could he. So he would very much benefit from a spell to possibly a league 1 side...... Really shows to me how badly we need another quality CB in too. I don't rate Smith one jot.
Of course it will affect the attendance for Saturday. Not saying it's right but we know that there are a whole bunch of either fair weather 'supporters' or 'disillusioned' supporters of old. Winning builds confidence in the people not just the team. Those that just turn up for the big cup draws, I agree Westlake, sod 'em. But those who used to follow and we want to get back - this type of performance doesn't help.
It's really harsh because Peters gives his all, but we all know in our heart of hearts he's not good enough. It seems like his morale and spirit has been squashed so now he doesn't even have that spirit!
A number of points to make, no particular order; Chances were given to squad players, almost none were taken. Team to lightweight to compete against fellow pros, albeit a couple of divs lower, they were hungrier than us on the night. Squad not deep enough to mount serious promotion challenge, good eleven or so but the rest, not good enough. JET (& Ainsley) stood out for Town throughout, another night JET could have had hatrick. Understand selection tonight to give chances to others but bench was never strong enough to get us out of the hole we found ourselves in. PJ states 2 new signings before Sat, well half the week has gone, please pull you finger out and get them on board. Early days I know but we have a realistic chance of getting well into double figures for points from our 5 games, anything less is not good enough...IMO. Roll on Saturday, hope to put tonight’s set back behind us. COYBs
It's very different swapping in a couple of players to cover injuries to making nine changes. We have two key players - notably Chopra and Stockdale - who we cannot replace with squad members. It looks like Andrews is now done and dusted - there's still a few weeks left of the window and then we have the loan option.
You could see the quality difference between the first team players and the squad players and last night there wasn't enough first teamers playing . Jet once fully fit will be a fantastic signing. Cresswell also looked v.good I know we lost but i came away from the match feeling positive . Great signings so far Mr PJ. C O Y B
Bit worried about the prospect of playing with Ainsley and Smith in defence on Saturday if Ingi and Delaney are still unfit, they were both woeful last night. Whenever they had a chance to clear it they gave it straight back to the opposition and their positioning was terrible, as was Peters who looked like he had lost all confidence. I remember Peters being exciting going forward and taking players on, none of that last night. Perhaps it was not helped by having a shaky keeper in goal and Stockdale could make a huge difference. Hyam had a lot of the ball but did not a lot with it and although he was supposed to sit in front of the back four he found himself the wrong side of the attackers too often. Healy had little impact on the game and Drury did OK but should have done more with the possesion he had. Cresswell looked very good and JET was brilliant. Scotland was poor, a better first touch would of seen him in on goal on a couple of occasions. Ellington looked good on the ball but needs to be more direct, he looks more like a supporting striker or even winger rather than someone who could score reguarly, perhaps a goal could change that. Excited about the prospect of Andrews playing for us and who knows, if Bullard's contract is settled he could choose to come and play for us for a lower wage. Andrews, Bowyer and Bullard would be the best midfield in this league bar West Ham. The priority has to be getting soem strenth in depth in defence. A right back as back up and two CBs are urgently needed.
Actually Sven, I thought that Ainsley had a very good first half (defending in front of me in the SBR as he was). Made a couple of goal saving tackles and his distribution was pretty solid. Second half was another matter of course but I think the fact that the defence (well, team) was largely cobbled together didn't help anyone's cause.
To be honest, that´s no surprise And maybe, no bad thing for you guys, With now no Cup run The league will become Much easier as the main prize Although alarm bells could just ring Despite that being your second string, If injuries hit Just a little bit Who knows what effect that could bring It´s Hull, I see, who come to you This Saturday, still black and blue, From their two defeats But then, when the heat´s On, that´s when they could battle through.
I do remember Ainsley making a few good tackles but those aside I can't remember anything good about his performance. He made some simple passes sideways but nothing worthy of saying his distribution was good. He reminds me of Richard Naylor when he first started in that position, very naive but maybe with experience out on loan he could come good. I have more faith in him than in Tommy Smith.
I also think Ainsley had a decent 1st half, he was not so good in the 2nd period but that was probably due to us being under so much pressure each time the attacked down our right, Peters got caught to far up the pitch in the 2nd half on a number of occasions this then totally pulled the rest of the back four out of position trying to recover bad situations. Last night proves that our squad is still way short of what is requred to mount a promotion push. Required still as a minimum; Goalie CB RB ball playing Midfielder Striker, Scotland has to go
