complete agreement, valjing. i struggle to see how we did so dreadfully in th second half after a fantastic first 45. the only answer I can think of is Jol, for this has happened many times, so it must be something Jol tries to get the players to do, probably to hold on to the lead and get behind the ball. But when a team starts to do that at 45 minutes, they have **** all chance of being able to keep their opposition out for 45, o even 50 minutes. We were lucky not to concede more that second half. Jol has to be the problem, he is just so bloody uninspring.
The problem is, the teams below us are now playing with some confidence, and if we continue with our erratic lack luster performances Feb could see us in the bottom 3. So lets get shot quickly of the 2 want aways, buy or borrow 2 good defenders, and loan a proven goalscorer. And to JOL earn your corn and motivate.
Roscafe I agree on all points. We are playing without a pure proven striker. Dempsey I grey but he is not striker.
Sa is a proven striker, he does have a cap for Portugal after all and has played at some decent clubs (how, I will never know) but I fear his good goal yesterday purely papers over the cracks. The guy is absolute pony, I lost count of the amount of times he lost the ball in the second half. I hate to say it but Zamora would have had a much better game even in his moods.
Bandit we need to be realistic, we can't be calling him useless one day and the next have high expectations. This is his second appearance and has a better ratio of goals than AJ and BZ combined... Also let's be honest. Everyone who gets a new "job" needs some adjustment thus the probation period... And Sa is on probation with a short contract. Others with 3-4 years on the job and are failing miserably. Playing as a lone striker is a tough job and he did the best. He was not brought in to replace either of BZ or AJ. But as a squad player. We will be fine. Just a transitional period. We are playing much better football at certain times than Hughes or Hodgson. Overall we need to make account at the end.
It's what happens when you have a manager that goes over the scout's heads and is allowed to by the chairman.
Think it happens to all teams not just us, but we remember ours. When winning 1-0 or 2-1, most teams seem to start defending deeper and deeper and the opposition push them back in the last 10 minutes, and we try and hit on the break to get the killer goal. If it works then great but more often then not, there is a last minute goal in so many matches to bring the game level. How do you stop it.......score more goals....so you don't have to be hanging on with 10 minutes to go. Easy eh
Good Lord, he is too. Question - why is it he's so tired that he can't last 90 minutes? Okay second game in a week but he only lasted 80 or so minutes in each and it's not as if he's bust a gut in either. He's 23 for goodness sakes and (supposedly) of International status.
We had been complaining about not attacking away, yet did well in the first half, so that's a positive. However, I accept from some of you there that the second half was bad poor example of poor example sitting back too much and pay the price. As for Sa. I have been critical about his poor form and have resented relying on him in the same way as we once relied on EddieJ and DioKamara. Interestingly one of the papers today said "the dynamic Portuguese was a revalation", which sounds doubtful but another opinion.
It happens even to the best... Sunderland snatched it from City. Think is a crazy league. Oh forgot to mention that both our main forwards are internationals. Does this mean anything these days? Nope... Absolutely pants!
The difference being that Sunderland had a makeshift defence up against a world class attack that City have. Sunderland had almost no choice but to defend, after our first half performance I would say that we definitely had almost no choice but to continue attacking.
Sure things can be crazy, occasionally. But as the thread says, "How many more times?". Also City weren't exactly 'sitting back'; we did for 45 minutes on Saturday, and against Twente and against Utd and Swansea (arguably the whole 90 against Stoke and Woves). Since 15th October we have conceded 12 goals in the last 10 minutes (15 if you include extra time). Add another 7 goals conceded in the 5 minutes either side of half time and surely there is a message there for someone at the club. Is it fitness ? (Jol is supposedly not too bothered about that, assuming, since the players are athletes, they know How to take care of themselves. Dodging in to - and quickly out of - another thread, Jols's Spurs team were not known as the roly-polys for nothing). Or is it concentration? Possibly a bit of both - so why is Jol as manager not addressing this very obvious problem? Or is it his tactics that are at the core? Which brings me back to Sa. Of course it's nothing to do with him, or anyone else, being about an International. Whatever, he can surely last 90 minutes. My point was about Jol consistently replacing our lone front man in the last 10 minutes. On Saturday taking Sa off just invited Norwich to push even more men forward. As a further example, IMHO he lost us a victory at the Emirates by doing just that and taking BZ off. Still, time to get the trusty scarf out and head for the Cottage - to see us taking all 3 points from the Wenger lot this time of course. COYW
