I've absolutely no issue with the players that came off, only with the players who replaced them. If Akpom isn't considered good enough to play as a striker for us, why the **** haven't we cancelled the loan? If he's staying, he should be playing, as we should never be in a situation where we have no striker on the pitch and he was the only option we had. I accept that it made no real difference last night, as they were dire, but the principal remains the same.
Don't even bother haha you'll get the same 'WE PLAY 4-4-****ING-2' standard of tactical masterclass I got from him.
Player management..... Henandez requires rest, Thud needs games (if only to increase his value) and Akpom needs teaching a lesson or two...
Having finally thawed out from last night (and had to put in a a shift at work), I`d just like to say that without breaking sweat that was as comfortable win as you are likely to see (one scary moment aside with the lob). I thought Clucas and Robbo were outstanding down the left but still feel we`re not getting the best out of Elmo and Dave on the right, perhaps they are too alike as many times during the game they seemed hell bent on occupying the same space. Davies and Maguire had their forwards in their pocket and tbf I can see where Harry has been learning from Dawson with his cross field balls. Livermore and Meyler had the energy in midfield which stopped the majority of Cardiff`s build up, although their passing still leaves a bit to be desired. Up front Diame and Hernandez linked up well, and a cracking penalty from Abel too. I`ve read a few pages raising the concern re the subs, but to be honest we could and should have more goals in the closing moments of the games but for two cracking saves from Marshall. I have no issue with the subs being made, it was clear for all to see that Bruce was managing the squad with the Saturday game looming. But I have to say I personally would have liked to see Akpom come on as opposed to Aluko, sorry but the bloke aint worth a shirt these days. Thudd looked good when he came on, but to be fair we had already won the battle and their heads were down. I have to say I like the energy of Hayden and given my choice wouldn`t mind seeing him in the line up for Saturday, perhaps in place of Meyler, as he seems to have a better distribution on him while maintaining the legs and tackling ability. All in all a good and very professional 3 points, and on to the next one. Quick footnote, how ****in bad was Manga !
The negativity on here is unbelievable. Cardiff aren't the worst team in the world. They're 9th Ffs. This Cardiff team beat boro and drew with burnley. We just made them look bad. We strangled the life out of em. The people round me were moaning we weren't 5 up after twenty minutes. I would have liked Akpom on but who knows. Maybe he will start Saturday along with Snodgrass so didn't play him tonight. Maybe he wanted to look at 4-3-3 for twenty minutes. Maybe he wanted to keep playing a terrific player who's lost his mojo a bit in hudd? Bit of faith. Maybe they want to keep aluko interested as you never know he may come in handy in the run in.
The problem people on here have is not understanding this, they think that what one football team does doesn't affect the other team on the pitch. It's not a coincidence that when we win the team we played are '****'. They are like that because the way we set up nullifies them. That's why I don't understand when people say 'we should just go out and play our game and we would win', the fact is that whichever team you play in the Championship will have a lot of top level players trying to stop our players, so it's not as simple as that.
Was it - 15 last night or summat. I dont understand why people are moaning about it wasnt that cold. Jesus in America they go when its -20+
I think Bruce didn't want to risk Akpom getting injured and leaving us with only Hernandez as the only striker for the forthcoming games. He'll play a makeshift striker like nzDiame, Snodgrass, Clueless or Aluko with either Hernandez or Akpom. Doubt we'll see them both playing in the same game, either starting or as sub's, for some time except if where chasing a result. Bruce is too cautious once ahead as we've seen regularly.
I think this is a good question and I have asked myself it, no answer was forthcoming. He isn't good enough, he should be returned and we should be looking at another option. Luer has been slated so he is not the answer, but there will be an answer, if Bruce looks outside of our own employees. I would normally always prefer to have a striker on the pitch, I think I have expressed that on here more than adequately, but I also take each game as a separate event and look for the best options in that circumstance and, with the options Bruce had, I think he made a good decision. We were never in danger of losing that game, in fact, even with the changes made, we could and probably should have won even more convincingly. I have absolutely no doubt that the horror scenario of a very wounded Charlton, being led by a returning Messiah (sic), scares the living bejabbers out of a home manager with too many banana skin slip-ups against supposed cannon-fodder. Same starting line-up, with, maybe, Snodgrass for Elmo and let's see if they can really put on the style.
Either way I think it's a bit early to write him off, I think he's in SB's thoughts, just not immediately stuck in the team!