Marshall Peltier Morrison Manga Connolly John Gunnarson Ralls Whitts Immers Pilkington Subs. Moore, Ajayi, Huws, Harris, Noone, Gounongbe and Zohore. Officially the slowest side in the league. Richards injured.
Not Duffy's night. Hope there were no sharp knives in the dressing room. Overall another uninspiring show but a win is a win and an unexpected bonus with Kadeem's performance at right wing back. Okay needed Gunnar's help to mark Conway but great pace going forward with the ability to beat his man. Would have had a great assist if Fred or Immers had attacked his cross and not both hung off for the pull back. Another anonymous performance from Joe Ralls and Manga muscled out again for their goal. Gunnar made a difference in the middle and broke up play well plus got in the box a few times. Just couldn't get the ball into him early enough. Blackburn a very poor side but still matched us for much of the game. Same old problems still with us and Fulham will be difficult Saturday
I saw a plan tonight, we tried to get forward a bit quicker. Gunnar helped, as did having Pilks and Immers in more effective positions. Pilks should obviously have put away the 1 on 1. He looks desperately short of confidence. I thought Peltier was having a very solid game at wing back. When's he's fit again I'd play him instead of Manga as right cb though as Manga's a ****ing liability. Harris looks like a good option to mix the game up if we're chasing, better teams will expose him as a defender. I'll mention John who I thought played pretty well. Whits with both assists/key contributions, he might not be dynamic but we simply have no choice but to find him a place in the side due to the chronic lack of creativity from anyone else. Morrison made a huge difference on attacking set plays. We're probably good enough to not go down but we're bottom half unless we find some creativity, so we're not always regretting missing the one chance we managed to create per match.
This kind of football will get us nowhere fast in this league. Another desperately disappointing display. Thought Whitts and Gunnar were standout players, the rest were a mixed bag, Harris looked good when he came on.
Think that we need to play something more direct and attacking at home. Too many teams will figure that system out and make us pay. QPR lost at Barnsley last night so clearly not world beaters. 5 at the back might be a useful system to use away from home where traditionally we've had feck all of the ball! Declan John - so frustrating to watch. So much pace, why not try and get past your man? Why he kept stopping and passing sideways is beyond me.
Statement from PT: "I'm pleased to get off the mark, even if we made it a bit harder than it should have been. The win will breed confidence, but you can't relax. "Maybe for an hour or two, but then attention turns to Fulham on Saturday. "We were determined to bounce back, but we have been very calm in the group. "We knew the first win would come, but we have to build and grow from it." Does anyone feel confident watching?
I don't think he's that quick Stevo. His legs move quickly but they are so short that's what he has to do just to keep up. He needs the ball played into space ahead of him as happened for the first goal. Great ball from Whitts I think. I think Trolls has drilled into them "Keep the ball" so if he takes on the full back and loses the ball, he is out of position and gets a bollocking.
Some great tweets: - My personal favourite - Burton Albion have appealed against Shane Duffy's red card ahead of their game at Ewood Park on Saturday I felt for the young Blackburn kid, Shane Duffy. To be sent off in the last minute when you're on a hat-trick is such a cruel blow. Shame. Boos to the referee for booking Shane Duffy. He’s our best player, don’t want him to accidentally get sent off. Given the current lack of goals maybe Forest are looking for a player who knows where the back of the net is. How about Shane Duffy? @Arsenal need a CB and striker. Step forward Shane Duffy.
It was Sheep who said Declan had pace, I agree with you. He's sharp off the mark but I don't think he has real pace. With regards to being safe rather than attacking in possession you can't really blame him for wanting to find his way into the team and build a bit of confidence, we were loaning him to Chesterfield last season...... Ultimately though him and Whits are the only source of assists in the side (judging on preseason).
Sorry Stevo. I'm old and get confused. Lol!!!! You're right about him wanting to stay on Trolls side but the run he made for Whitts through ball must give him confidence to try other things. I've not been his greatest fan but you have to give the boy credit for sticking at it and being given his chance - as Kadeem was last night. He was beaming from ear to ear after his performance and the team getting a win. That will do wonders for his confidence too. Unfortunate for him he won't get a game Saturday if either Peltier (or Jazz) is fit again. If both were fit I would consider playing Pelts at cb and Jazz rb and dropping Manga who cost us a goal again last night. His first touch and distribution are so poor. We were much more solid in the middle of the defence with Morrison's return. He knows his limitations and works within them. The major issue Saturday will be needing height and strength to deal with Matt Smith. That may weigh in Manga's favour.
Another pretty lacklustre performance against lets be honest an atrocious Blackburn Rovers team, If City can pick it up especially with some pacevand some more direct running towards the opposition goal and the forwards start moving and making good runs then I doubt we are going to see much joy this season
I'd take Peltier's defensive ability over Manga's extra couple of inches (of height! ) every time. John had shown for that ball in behind about 3 or 4 minutes before Whits actually put him in, just the man in possession didn't have the vision to pick him out on the previous occasion.
