Getting stuffed 5-0 is better than losing by the odd goal again because now we won't be able to tell ourselves we were unlucky/if only Pilkington had scored with that last minute header blah blah blah. Today I don't put most of the blame on the defence. It was midfield where we were totally and utterly outplayed despite having five players. More generally, we will not go down because Liverpool or Chelsea or even Fulham stuff us. We will go down because we didn't have the guts to go out and beat teams who were there for the taking, like Villa and Newcastle. Look at today, where Reading came back from a goal down to beat Newcastle. Newcastle were there for the taking and we didn't do it whereas Reading did. And that, in my opinion, is where CH needs to improve and (dare I say it) learn from Lambert. Fortune favours the brave and this season we have been cowards.
Agreed - Apart from the FA Cup game against the Posh we haven't beaten anyone by more than a goal all season. The inability to push on in games where we are on top may come back to haunt us at the end of the season when we look at the goal difference.
After the last two games it is hard to draw many positives and this is not a knee jerk reaction, I have been concerned by 1 goal winning margins all season, especially after the Swansea game at 3-0 up! Perhaps we are not quite as good as we thought just two months ago, however survival was the only aim this season and if we do that it is job done.
Yes, but we have to pick our games. Those six points against MU and Arsenal should have put us in a wonderful position. If we had won at Villa and Reading and beaten Newcastle, we would more or less be safe by now. Yet we played for the draw.
Thing is VC, we still need to play alot of the teams you have named again and at home! Fulham, West Brom, Reading, Soton, Swansea, Villa and Everton i would say are winnable game considering were at home and tbh we only need to win 3 or 4 of those and we should be above the safety line i would say and thats without other points picked up Today was a seriously bad day at the office, the last one was probably against liverpool at home. Keep the faith bor!
Hughton doesn't have a plan B, its just change the personnel for the same system. The life is being sucked out of those players, they're not allowed to move anywhere, it is so formulaic and easy to read.
Some advice from rafiki [video=youtube;EF39O_OQm6M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF39O_OQm6M[/video]
I have to agree. We are back to square one with a tactically devoid, negative manager. Perhaps what Saints did is now not looking such a bad thing (except Adkins was doing ok and they play good football) No plan B, no change of system, no subs until it is too late...etc Something needs to change and I am not sure getting in new players is going to make a difference.
Can't believe what I am reading. Hughton is a better manager than Lambert... one loss and panic sets in, some perspective would be good. Today wasn't good, but Hughton know's what he is doing, our football is better than it was under Lambert in my opinion, we just need to be patient and Hughton will probably find the right balance again.
He clearly DOES NOT know what he's doing, or he'd have contingency plans on the bench - or in the squad at least. It's not 'one loss' - it's one point from a possible eighteen! Slippery slope, especially if devoid of a plan B.
Me neither, a few weeks back we're praising him for bringing defensive solidity to our side through our formation, now people seem to want out? Ridiculous! Ok, since the West Brom game we've not been at our best. Under Lambert, our entire squad were at a very similar ability level, so he could tinker, and the quality of the team he put out wouldn't change too much. Under Hughton, we've improved the starting XI, but not the entire squad, so when players are tired, perhaps Hughton considers playing them is better than bringing in weaker players. Before, Hughton was being praised for having a settled formation and starting XI, now we're asking for new formations, and a return to the Lambert era. Not everyone tinkers, and over a congested christmas period, the focus would have been on getting bodies rested and injuries sorted, just so we had a reasonable side to put out. Under Hughton, the 4-2-3-1 formation, with all players fit and in form, works fabulously, as our unbeaten run showed. However, throw in injuries, loss of form, tiredness, etc, and the formation struggles because we don't have players in the squad to fill the roles: In the lone front-man role, we have Holt, that's pretty much it. Morison seems way out of form, Jackson can't cope with the role, and Kane has mainly been out injured. In the summer, Hughton clearly wanted to bring someone in, but had to settle for Kane for whatever reason. He couldn't have predicted Morison would be as poor as he has this season, but now we're obviously trying to remedy it in January, as bids for Hooper and Graham show. Our entire squad consists of 3 wingers, when we're playing 2 each week, there isn't a lot of opportunity for resting, or dropping players for poor form. Snoddy and Pilks were poor against Newcastle, but the squad doesn't have 2 players to step in. Surman has been unfit and isn't a true winger, same for Lappin. Clearly Hughton realised Pilks had a bad day last time out, because Bennett came in. No doubt another winger is something we'll look to bring in during the summer. The CAM. We have Butterfield, Howson and Wessi. Butterfield has comparatively recently returned from a major injury, so is being brought back to match fitness through loan spells, Howson has been out of form, and ill too I think? That leaves just Wessi. Again, he had an off day last week, so CH brought in really the only option, Howson today, and he was poor too, what else could he have done. 'Keeper: We're very lucky CH and co had the foresight to bring in Bunn this summer. Bunn is being moaned at for not being Ruddy, but how many arguable England number 1 keepers do you expect a team to have? Would you have been comfortable if it was Rudd or Steer between the sticks for 6 months? Defensive Midfield: Tettey and Johnson were outstanding during our run, but recently they've been out of form, but who would you bring in? Ok, I'd have loved to have seen Fox have more time I'll give you that, certainly against Newcastle, but he's not as tough-tackling as either of the players mentioned, so against Liverpool, a team you know are going to try and dominate possession, breaking up play will be crucial. As I said, they've both been below par, so it didn't happen. But, we can't drop both, because beyond Fox there's nobody else who can play DM. It's no coincidence we've been linked to Kayal, Bridcutt, etc, it's a position where we need to introduce competition. The formation: Ok, against Newcastle, maybe Reading away, perhaps we could have sacrificed a DM, but that's 2 in 20 odd games since we introduced that formation that it has been obviously wrong. Hughton inherited many players, and we also made a lot of signings in the summer. CH didn't have as much time over the summer as he would have liked to work with the players, so he concentrated on one formation, and as we've seen, our first choice side in that formation works brilliantly. Had he had more time, I suspect that he would have introduced a plan B, but time wasn't something he had, so being solid at the back was his first priority. Pre-christmas, it clearly worked. Now, there's mitigating factors. Yes, I'd like to see a plan B, but was anyone calling for that when we went 10 games unbeaten? It'll come, but it takes time. When we suffered over christmas, the players were playing, on a rest day, then getting ready for the next game, there was no time to get players thinking in another way. With more time between games now, I'd hope CH is now working on a plan B, we'll see. But certainly by September that'll be in place. Was 4-2-3-1 the right way to go to begin with? Personally I can't think how else we'd have become more solid defensively with the players at our disposal. Subs: I agree CH can leave subs too late, but we've been spoilt under Lambert who wouldn't hesitate to make changes. Very few managers are actually like this, so in that respect perhaps comparing CH to PL is unfair, and we should look to other managers. I'm sure if you speak to the fans of many teams on a bad run, they'd criticise the manager for a similar failing. At the end of the day, CH's tactics led to us putting a very good run together, and whilst recently we've slipped up, the majority of those games were against very good sides, when we've suffered from injuries, bad form, tiredness, and a shortness of time to implement changes. Even if we had been playing well, how many points would you realistically have expected from West Brom, City, Chelski, the Hammers, Liverpool and Newcastle? I can't believe any of our fans would realistically think more than 3-5 was attainable. The width of a Carrow Road post from a Russell Martin strike is all that prevented us being at the lower end of that prediction. Now isn't the time to panic, we're still in a good league position, and there are definitely 3 teams doing as badly or worse, who are below us in the league.
Which includes last years champions, the European Champions, a strong Liverpool and West Brom team. I think of all them games only Newcastle and West Ham were games we could win. Look at the table.... and the games we have left. Attacking wise we are one dimensional, but take today's game out of it and we look solid defensively which Hughton is clearly building on.
One loss! Where have you been the last few weeks. Hughton is not proving to be a tactically adept manager. Sticks to same formation, poor subs and generally negative play. He needs to step up. The 10 game run was as much to luck as anything. With Lambert we may have got relegated but he would at least have gone for it. Hughton has no plan B and cannot see what we have been seeing all season I.e. no bloody striker. That said his negative style does not help singles strikers. What idiot plays Jackson up front in that formation against Newcastle and expects it to work!
How does £10m in bids for 2 strikers, and saying we want both of them, suggest he doesn't want a striker?? He also clearly wanted one in the summer, but things didn't work out. Yes Jackson may have been an odd choice, but with Morison and Holt out, there's not a lot of choice left! What other formation would you use when really you've got a striker who only has 15 mins in him, a 19 yr old with little experience, and a 5ft 8 striker who's fit, raring to go and played well in his last game?
As I said in my previous post, this bad run we are on at probably had two results where we possibly could have got more, Newcastle and West Ham. You look at the rest of the fixtures which include Champions of Europe and current Champions in England. A strong Liverpool and West Brom team. I don't think many teams beat Arsenal and United through luck to be honest, to me that shows he is tactically capable. We are on course to surviving in the Premier League this season, so why would you mention Lambert may get us relegated? I don't understand to be honest Okay with Holt injured and Morison dogshit this season who would you have but up front? I think there is two mistakes he is making, leaving Fox out of games where we are screaming for a playmaker who sits deep and making subs too late. He probably hasn't made one bad signing, we had that 10 match game and who says we can't go on a similar run again, we have good fixtures for the remainder of the season. And most importantly we are still 7 points clear from relegation. We've seen Hughton is a manager who reacts to problems and fixes it, look at our defence at the start of the season and than it was solid for weeks. He will react and fix the current issues. Let's put the whole season in perspective first.
Where am I saying Hughton des not want a striker? Strikers should have been in at the start of the season and we should not be in the panic position to be paying inflated prices in January. If we have this money available why not buy in the Summer? I would have started Kane. What is the point in having him otherwise You change the formation to suit Jackson 442 Playing long balls up to Jackson hoping him or Snodgrass would win the headers is worrying.
Yeah, I do, I think we are better at keeping possession than last year, Sunderland first half is prime example of that.
