Yep, that ref is on my hate list with Stroud and the bald, fat git. After that series of decisions against us second half I was convinced we would lose.
O Hares dive was feckin pathetic and he should have been booked cheating tw@t. Seconds later its a pen but it should have been a yellow and a free kick already. Bottled the diving decision then must have felt he couldnt give the pen.
Morning Bluebirds..... So, the dust has settled on what I would describe as a toughly contested but welcome three points last night. Coventry had lots of possession but no-one to apply the finishing touches required on any of their play. Truth be told I can't recall Smithies having to make too many saves, but that second half one was fantastic, a real "match winner" of a save. Agree with Hilts on the early penalty shouts for O'Hare (or should that be Oh Dear after his first pathetic attempt to con the ref?? ) but the second one with Smithies should have been given. We rode our luck there as had it been given and they'd scored, who knows what would have happened?? Quality goal from Bagan and an outstanding performance again. He totally looks back to the confident young man he was when he first broke into the team. Good movement from Harris for our second goal too. Then we come to Watters. I must say I'm 100% behind SM on his handling of the situation. He absolutely wasn't putting in a shift at all and although he could, on another day have scored twice, he can't trapse around moping because he's being asked to do things that don't appeal to him or form part of his natural game. If the likes of Kevin DeBruyne can find it in themselves to press, track back and generally be a nuisance when out of possession, I don't see why Watters can't. Be interesting to see how he's handled from here as in my eyes, he's slipping down the pecking order again quite quickly.
It was quite pitiful watching him sulk in the dug out. He should have realised after the public castigation of Davies and to a lesser degree Colwill that there’s no hiding place of a player doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do. Saying that given the type of central defenders Coventry had maybe this wasn’t the game for him rather if he wanted to rest Hughill, then Uche should have started. Anyway anybody got any views on King? He just didn’t seem to fit in at all. As for Vaulks, he improved second half but he was simply hopeless in first half. Thankfully we have a quality central midfielder in Wintle. Marlon’s days here surely are now numbered.
Apart from Morison down in front of me waving his arms about shouting himself hoarse at Watters, I tend to miss too much during the game. Recorded it on Sky and had time to watch it back this morning to confirm my first impressions. Poor game for first half hour with what looked like a botched up side. Watters probably deserved the hook for his low intensity performance, but he had no Ralls or Doyle behind him to create - King and Vaulks are no substitures in that department. Morison was decisive with the change but surely he knew what Watters was all about before he started him - it was as much Morison's fault that Watters up front just didn't work last night in that set up. Defensively we're improving with every game - to be honest that department couldn't have got much worse. Moving Ng inside is a masterstroke - he has time on the ball and can pick a pass out of defence instead of row Z as the target. Drameh and Bagan add width and class at this level - Bagan in particular looks reborn. I like Wintle. He's very aware of what's going on around him and asssured presence in front of the 3 CB's. I'm not sure of the reasons why both Ralls and Doyle were on the bench last night. Handing the critical midfield pivotal positions to King and Vaulks together looked a strange choice. King is too inexperienced, and though Vaulks had a decent game, he has no pace and tends to amble around. Up top we seem to have so many options now. Hughill and Uche provide the power with Davies and Harris the pace. Collins has become the main casualty with the arrival of the two loanees, but I think there's a goal or two in Watters still. With the right service and game plan, he's a definite option, but he was just not physical enough to play in last night's set up. Not sure if Morison's man management skills are exemplary but he seems to be on a mission. He looks very single minded (that's being polite) and it appears to be his way or the highway with players. Time will tell but the recent transformation in the side is tangible. If it carries on like this, he'll have no need to say he deserves a contract - he'll get it.
Good summary Sparks. I'm guessing Ralls might have picked up a knock pre match as he didn't come out for a half time warm up. Thanks to BT wanting to enhance his reverse diet and buy a fat burger from the "calories are us" van outside, we didn't get in until just after kick off. Watters showed once where his strengths are in getting off that shot saved by their keeper's head (ex-Bluebird Simon Moore). Watters had a go where others would not have bothered. He wants to play off the shoulder of the last defender and before he got hooked he got in the right place a couple of times and called but our midfield, usually Vaulks, always turned the other way. < However, he doesn't like the hard graft, physical stuff and needed to be hooked as every long clearance towards him just came straight back. Isaak Davies did better in challenging their cb's and he's only knee high to a grasshopper - but willing to try and gets on with it if dumped on his ar$e. Watters is probably better as the no. 2 up top playing off someone like Hugill who is happy to take the lumps. Our midfield 3 were odd. Wintle is fine and did some great work, covering and tackling. He reminds me of Don Cowie in the ground he covers, just needs to get forward a bit more. It looked to me like King and Vaulks were under orders to hold their positions and limit their forward moves. I have never seen Vaulks so restrained. He stuck to left midfield and hardly went off point, rarely getting stuck in or even arguing with the useless ref. I guess he was under orders with Moro's game plan and we saw clearly what happens when orders are not followed. King was also under orders, worked hard and made a couple of breaks but his touch let him down. He will get better the more chances he gets. Due to the midfield limitations and Watters lack of inclination we did very little until Hugill came on as no one would go into the space between midfield and the front two. Indeed I thought we were in for a stuffing. Hugill changed that with his ability to challenge and hold the ball under pressure. That forced the midfield to get forward and give him someone to lay the ball off to. Our game lifted almost immediately. We were much better second half and how Hugill failed to score after another Cody lung buster up the right wing beats me. Ng and Bagan have improved immensely. I'm sure opponents will get wise to Ng trying to pass/play the ball out but more pressure on him should give more time and space to others. Bagan is a different player to the one we saw under MM and Harris. It looks to me like he has spent his time away eating steak and doing weights in the gym. He is much stronger and more physically imposing. He has listened to Morison and is getting forward much more hence his 2 recent goals. He still has things to iron out but could be a real force in the future. Harris is an odd one. He hardly did a thing right when he first came on but then put away a cracking goal. Credit to the lad for having the courage to go for it. Others would have looked to pass rather than go for goal. It is good that he has that instinct.
Thanks @Oldsparkey and @BluefromBridgend , always good to get views from people in the ground. It still feels a bit like the house that jack built (no, not the jacks, that would be rusting.). Promotion of youngsters and loans with a rapid change of style means things still arent settled, especially with the required rotation as games come thick and fast. We're still learning a lot about this squad and I think a few more will get bruises from Morison before the season is out. Cant say I agree 100% with the public nature of his outbursts, but we have to remember he is also learning. Provided we continue to pick up results that see us pull to pull to safety I think we'll start to learn a lot more about the squad and where recruitment is needed along with a clearer picture of how we want to play.
I thought King did ok. Probably kept things too simple , sidnt want to lose the ball a lot of back passing. With games I think he will be better. We need Ralls and Doyle fit though. Saying that the team restricted Coventry to only 1 real chance with all that possession. Whereas even with a weakened line up scored 2 , Hugill should have buried one and Watters 2 decent chances. How much of that is our improving defensive organisation and Coventrys weak attack im not sure. Probably a bit of both.
We have discussed whether or not Morison should get the job beyond the end of the season. The more likely we are to avoid relegation will force the club to make a decision earlier not later. Particularly with 10 out of contract players (some we don't want to keep but a few we should) and 5 loaners to go back. That's 15 players potentially walking away. Half a squad. Whoever the manager is, the rebuild needs to start ASAP, otherwise we will be left with a very thin squad when pre-season starts.
