1 down at half time. Bloody Waghorn. Not a shot until 10 minutes before half time and none on target although Moore has hit the post. Bugger all on the bench to change things. Hope Harris has a stirring half time talk. I'm not holding my breath.
Did my eyes deceive me or did we score a proper footballing goal - 3 or 4 forward passes and it’s in the net? Rest of the time it’s the usual backwards and sideways crud, poor crosses and constantly giving the ball away in our half. Thanks Ralls for doing just that and then fouling Lawrence. Poor effort by Moore in the wall though. Derby were there for the taking but we blew it. 2 points dropped
Looking forward to Harris' explanation for Wilson's absence. No Wilson or Tomlin, no creative ability in midfield.
Personally I think I have to lower my expectations to avoid all this disappointment. It maybe time to accept that we're not a good team at the moment. Now, whether that's because we have poor players or poor managment is now confusing me. However, the lack of drive seems pretty clear.
Harris has said he had a hip flexor problem on Tuesday. No word on how serious or length of time out.
Paid my 10 quid into City's coffers for the privilige of watching the best available coverage of my club's game, but once again sat through uninspiring football dogged by exactly the same problem as against Middlesbrough. I said after that one that Ralls and Vaulks together in midfield just doesn't work and it didn't again - they were hopeless as a pairing. If you add in another very poor performance from Hoilett and ragged play from Pack, the problem is obvious - without Wilson and/or Tomlin we are bland in midfield and create nothing. Don't know how long Wilson and Tomlin are going to sit it out with their respective problems, but it needs shaking up. More of the same is going to kill any chance we've got this season. There's got to be some radical rethinking about the structure of the team. Vaulks in particular and Hoilett need to feel the bench under their arses. The goal we actually scored and the way it was created should highlight what to do. In the absence of either of our two playmakers I'd move Ojo (who's not a natural winger anyway) inside and give Whyte a go on the right with Murphy **** or bust on the left. Ralls needs to up his game but I'd keep him in there and pair him with Bacuna to provide far more energy going forward than Vaulks. Pack can stay in front of the back 4 with Nelson moving to right back (let's face it, we've got no one else) and Benkovic/Bamba starting alongside Morrison. Bennett can hang on to the left back slot though very harsh on young Bagan who did no wrong during his games. I wont hold my breath though. EDIT - hang on a minute - I think that's 11 without a keeper.... OK, drop Pack.
Im with you on the Ojo approach, was thinking the same. He made Moore's goal from a central position. Either that or give Mark Harris a run out.
Great post Sparkey. I fear "radical rethinking" may just be beyond the current regime. I hope I'm proved wrong.
Awful performance. If Wilson or Tomlin cant play Saturday then Ojo needs to go to 10. We need a right back in as back up. Vaulks and Pack are ok back up at this level. We need Ralls and Bacuna as the midfield 2. We really need to up the tempo in games. I dont understand why Murphy didnt come on last night. There should have been a double substitution when he brought Glatzel on. Sadly last 10 the obvious sub for me would have been to replace Glatzel with Murphy. We really need to accept hes nowhere near Championship standard and allow him to move on.
I think they're different but both suffering from a lack of creativity from midfield and quality of delivery to them. Glatzel still holds promise for me as does Moore but they need a change of style around them.