Match Day Thread Bristol City v Hull City

I totally get the criticism of McCann but this particular one seems illogical to me. For ages I think most of us (maybe not you) have been saying should play Toral even if only get an hour out of him , as he is our best footballer. So McCann plays him and then gets stick for doing so. His post match comments about the French guy were entirely consistent with the problem he has with Toral - i.e he isn't robust enough unfortunately.

 

Thing is with Toral at times he looks like the only real footballer on the pitch. I would play him every game even if he only lasts an hour. At least he can pick a pass out and looks cultured on the ball. Problem with Terry he only changes like for like and we haven’t got another Toral. Terry can’t change a system because he can’t work out how. Maybe in L1 and 2. that doesn’t matter too much but it does in this League. People say we haven’t got players who could get into the other teams starting eleven. I don’t believe that. We are pitifully short at full backs and I believe that is one of the most critical positions in the Championship level. The recruitment and the management of the team and club are the problem here. One at boardroom level and the other on the pitch. The coaching team is not up to it and the management not interested. Give the players a break.

 

The midfielders should have legged them up before they got to a dangerous area.

 

If the guy is incapable of playing any decent amount of minutes, then why play him last night when we have the next 3 games which will be the key to where we end up next season, the west brom and Bristol games where never going to be the keys, it's the next 3 that are without any doubt going to determine where we end up.

Total for 45 mins against Bristol after leaving him on for 80ish against wba or 60mins+ against Millwall/Wigan/Luton

 

Just no confidence in keeping a clean sheet and that's were it all starts, it's not just the defence it's the team defensively. Again we had chances yesterday but same story. Win one game in how many? and now would imagine need to win two from four?. Not looking good but has ever i still hope. I don't fancy us away at Wigan so for me the Millwall and Luton games are massive but I'm saying that the next game in our position is always big but always seems to be the same outcome.

 

Sorry mate I beg to differ .. Bristol was a glorious chance to grab some points .. they've nearly been as crap as us since the return hence why they got rid of their manager.

The problem I see is that yes Toral is a footballer of a certain quality .. but he alone can only do so.much .. the spine of our team is poor .. we leak goals through a number of reasons .. and no matter how good Toral is .. if he is having to create enough to get 3 goals a game just to give us a chance of a point it aint gonna save us.

Defensively we are a complete and utter shambles .. this 4-3-3 nonsense is good if you ha e the personnel to play it properly.. alas we don't.. we need to scrap for everything and grind out results.. get the points on the board. Fill the midfield and make it difficult for teams to get through us .. each time we play anyone lately its like watching a hot knife through butter

 

Bristol are a good team who've been on a poor run of form, unluckily for us the change of manager/coach galvanised them into what we saw last night - man for man they were miles better than we were, we huffed, puffed and chased but we played as well as they let us. As it turned out your ''glorious chance to grab some points'' was absolutely ''no chance''.

 

What is the spine of our team. We don’t really seem to have one. Does this make us spineless. Can’t really name the 4 players apart from Long who make up the spine. Haven’t really thought about this before and when you do it’s pretty worrying.

 

I’d go 3 centre halves Burke/De Wijs/Tafazolli seeing as 2 seem incapable of defending.

Elder and Silva as wing backs

Stewart/Honeyman/Batty in midfield

Wilks and either Magennis or Eaves up front.

We have to change some thing to stop the goals conceded. Play ugly and I’d even take a couple of draws at the moment.

 

very sensible - but we won’t.....only 1 page in Terrys tactics book.....same old ****!

opposition teams must love playing against us...10000% predictable on tactics

 

It was more wishful thinking

 

I hope you’re right but I would love to understand your logic!