I was very dissapointed with the team yesterday , it will sound stupid to some posters i know ,but at 2-0 down and with Chelsea losing torres i thought we would have had more bottle and upped the performance. The team didnt look like it was prepared to do this and thats something i havent seen from us for quite a while, if we are going to be picking and choosing our games thats fine but it does the travaling jack army a massive dis service. Our season starts next week , we have had difficult away games but non the less i felt we should have got something from Arsenal(look what blackburn did) and even chelsea(look what norwich did) i never thought i would say that in a million years but i think alot will agree. Most will expect us to get something from Stoke but look what they did against Man utd?? they were undone by one piece of sheer class, but competed strongly with a team that has rolled over most this season, Lita ,graham routledge ,moore dont sound as threatning as the man utd lot but its these players that hold the key to our survival. We enter the proper part of the prem league in the next 4 weeks , this will tell us what we need to know, failiure against the next batch of sides will prove that we have bought badly and come up from the NPC woefully under prepared, it will be Do or Die against these teams and no doubt they will be thinking the same. Im worried about our front options but until they play against the run of the mill prem teams we wont know if they are up to it. The defence looks ok but does start to creak after prolonged pressure, Vorm has shown that he has some weak points too . Think we have proved that our style can work ,my biggest problem was the size of our midfield but its actually turning out to be an advantage IMO, goals win games and we need to hope the boys can perform against the lesser teams(who still spend almost 50m-100m quid on players) . What do fellow jacks feel about the way are season is shaping ? Do you think poor signings or to early to tell? Have we got enough as aclub to compete and survive in the prem league? Will we take enough points from our next 4 games and how many points are you expecting to take from these teams ?
I think you've hit the nail squarely on the head Norway ... the next batch of games against the "non-awesome" clubs will provide a fair yardstick over who and what we are ... in our players' heads, hearts and feet. Like you I was disappointed with yesterday's match for the reasons you cited and others have cited on other articles. Clearly there is an overlap between the Prem and the Championship. We turned over WBA like we were playing Leeds or Forest or Norwich at the tail end of last season - our first glimpse this campaign of the way we were playing at home closing out last season. This next batch of games will definitely tell us where we stand. And we need to make a mark away from home. Playing our brand is great, but we need to start scavenging for points away from home too.
Good post Norway but I would pick you up on only one tiny bit Most will expect us to get something from Stoke Home or away they are normally a tough nut to crack for teams in the bottom half of the league. Do not be too surprised if you do not win this one, as much as you will want to.
I agree - I think many underestimate Stoke - just as many underestimated Chelsea. Stoke are now an established Prem side and Pulis is a canny manager but I think if we play the way we did against the Baggies we can do it. No offence but I'm getting tired of 'our season starts next week'. That was said just before the WBA game. The reality of this League is that in order to survive you need to beat the 'lesser' teams, have a reasonably solid home record and nick the odd surprise point away here and there. That will prove to be the case until the end of the season and the pattern will be the same. Thumping wins one week then losing horribly the following week. That's just the way it is - if you're lucky. As for yesterday I've looked at the goals again and anyone who thinks Monk is up to this level is very wrong. He was involved (and not in a good way) in virtually all their goals. A really poor defensive display from him, injury or not. We have to get someone in and sharpish.
HTR ... I am going to take a closer look today also, but from yesterday's replays during the game I thought the same as you, Torres drifted off Monk for the first goal and Rangel's attempt to cover was foiled by a lovely reverse touch ... just about the only thing Torres could do under the circumstances, and he did it, and of course it rolled gently inside the post.
Thai- i take your point RE Stoke, but non the less they are a side we have to look to compete closely with.There are 5-6 teams that are out on their own but the rest we have to have the confidence and belief that we can get a result against. I made the point in the origional post about how well they played against utd, they will be hard to beat along with 19 other teams!! Hit the road- The reason i say it starts now for us is because we have a consistant run against the more regular prem sides ,home and away ,it will be intresting going away with a little bit of extra hope in the next few weeks , we are about to find out how good we are . The first 4 games have been a case of feeling their way into this league and the players finding out about themselves with regards to having enough ability or not. Most of the boys can compete at this level and the next group of games are against teams that we should be able to get parity against . Gary monk wasnt great but neither was ash ,vorm,taylor,lita,sinclair,routledge and graham !! of course gary is a bit out of his depth we all knew this was the case im sure he knows it too , but against the lesser teams he should have just enough to cope. Caulker was first choice for us and would propbably have been undone by torres the same way monk was, there is no shame in that
Maybe, and you're right - against WBA Monk did OK. But if you analyse the goals from yesterday like I have I don't think we'd have shipped 4 if Caulker had been playing even though we would have almost certainly lost the game anyway. I'm not usually one for singling particular players out, particularly as there were awful performances all over yesterday and the opposition was class, but Monk was just atrocious.
Hit the road- I have not analysed the goals like you have but regardless of Monk being poor positionally or not he was the best option avaialable,caulker would have made a difference but how much we will never know. We all knew the limitations of the defence and it is suprising that the club left it late in the day to sign players that we knew we would need. Hopefully we will create enough going forward not to worry so much at the back,wishfull thinking maybe ?
do or die ....we are doing what was expected of us, we and 12 -13 teams are not in the same class as the so called top 4 sides and it will only be luck if we ever get something....we are outside the relegation places having played 3 massive clubs away from home after the first 6 games.... we are the minnows of this league and so far we have done as good as expected. the lads are trying their best where some are nowhere near premiership standard but hey that's all we have got so we can only do with what we have got available....stoke are a big club and an established club in the premiership with some very good players and we are not even in the same class as teams like them yet. We will ride our luck in the hope we can just miss out of the relegation places this season and recruit some more premiership standard players for next season. lets walk before we can run and don't expect anything yet from the team. It will be a fantastic season just to stay up this first season and that must be our goal. If we fail then so be it......
To put into context, we got 0 points out of 9 from 3 of the biggest teams in the premier league and europe, we got 5 points out of 9 from teams who will be around us come the end of the season imo, I think that is a good tally of points, I had us down to have 6 points at this stage, as I thought we'd nick a point off Chelsea.
daiswan- I understand your point , its what we all understand . Its the games against the rest that will decide our fate . We have done ok so far and IMO should have had more points on the board, my concern is that injury will stop us competing alot sooner than other teams, our squad is thin while at full strength ! There should be an urgency to get points while we can ,which was what i found a little dissapointing against chelsea 2nd half. As good a team they are we had chances and had them on the ropes for a spell , its that killer instinct that we will need to survive in the prem league, we will need it against stoke !
I realise that Monk had to play. Not saying there was any alternative. But that doesn't change my assessment of his performance.
We will miss Caulker's height against Stoke and I have an uneasy feeling about that game. We must be careful not to give away unnecessary corners and free-kicks (preferably no corners!). Likewise with throw-ins near our penalty area to stop Mr. Catapult from getting assists.
Well it will certainly be a different approach from chelsea!! and if you think Monk struggled against the blues ....
corners will be a problem for us with crouch up there with stoke, we must not try and give away many corners or throw In's inside our area. these so called lower teams which we are bottom of the pile with lack of experience will be just as hard to break down than the big sides where we know we wont get many if any points.
Hit the Road - you are clearly some sort of football master. I'm sure none of you have studied the game as I have, as I am an expert on all things football related. Ok, jokes aside, Monk wasn't fantastic yesterday, and I thought they second goal wasn't good. The first goal though hit it, by the way you are talking, i recon you weren't at the game, because if you were, you would have seen Rangel was the man not in the right place...We could see it for about 15 seconds before the goal...Everybody around me was shouting at him to get on side. After the Goal Monk and co had a go at Rangel. I would say he has had a big portion of blame for about 5 out of the 9 goals we have conceeded. Lets also remember Monk is still carrying an injury, and is playing and risking his own body for the sake of the team. Bit of credit would be good.
Thanks for the sarcasm Rhys. Well done. Just because I've looked at the goals and come to a conclusion doesn't mean I'm right. But I'm entitled to an opinion, especially if it's based on sound reasoning. You appear to be suggesting you see more at the game than on repeated playbacks on TV. Really? Btw, not saying Rangel wasn't at fault as well for at least one of the goals. I'm fully prepared to give players credit where it's due - check my posts. But giving credit when it's not due devalues it and is just plain daft. Monk's injury doesn't effect his positional play - and it was pants on virtually every goal they scored. I'm not making a big deal of it as we all knew this would be the case and as others have pointed out, there wasn't an alternative.
It can be difficult to single players out sometimes, monk is getting stick but for me the other defenders were equally to blame. The thing is we were playing against torres and drogba !! They are top professionals .we sometimes forget The jump we have Made ,we all knew a few hammerings were going to happen regardless of who was playing at the back . Its just never easy to watch us being out classed, its something we havent seen much of in recent times! Overall i Think everyone Jack is happy but most Think we can do better,nothing wrong with expectation,the manager has it,so do the players ,why not the fans too? Monk Will be first to put his hand up in the dressing room
..along with ash,rangel,taylor and vorm ! The NeXT 4 games Will be the most accurate measuring stick for us, it Will tell us if we have the tools for survial or not .
