Gooooalllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where was all this passion, energy, closing down at minute 0, rather than minute 45, nil-2 down???
The penalty decision was so obvious even VAR couldn't find a way to disallow it, although they did their best.
I would love to say that it was an encouraging 2nd half performance but it matters little in the great scheme of things. Too little, too late. I am still trying to fathom what the "play-style" is supposed to be. I fail to see any real coherent "plan" in our play.
No shame in the second half performance. Feared the worst after the way we started but we were much better after the break. PLM and Rupp provided some much needed calmness in possession and good pressing.
I think the style of play is quite obvious: Give the ball to Rashicas feet and watch him run, if that doesn’t work lump it up to Sargent
Realistically we were never going to win tonight but the least we can ask for is a bit of fight, we did at least get that in the second half so it’s a bit easier to take
Agree with that and Rashica also made a difference when he came on. Another good cameo for Rowe as well. Watford lost 4-0 at Wolves and Leeds lost 0-3 at home to Villa. Be great if we could finish above one or both of those.
Yes, but what's the point when the midfield line-up against Leeds is going to be McLean, Gilmour and PLM/Normann?
Yes I should have mentioned Rashica, he was a great out ball and carried a real threat with his driving runs
Right, targets for the remainder of the season: - Get another point to avoid the (joint) record for defeats in a PL season. - Four more goals needed to avoid being the lowest PL scorers of all time. - Five more points needed to do better than Farke’s PL season. - Avoid conceding more than 14 goals in our last 10 games, to avoid being our worst season for goals conceded in the PL (failing that avoid conceding 29 more goals to avoid being the worst defence in a 38-game PL season)
Couldn’t agree more. We seem to spend our time having “encouraging 30 minute spells”. That’s useless. We need to be able to defend. Failing that we need to be able to score. Smith has achieved neither.
Agreed I cannot understand how McLean gets picked every week. I saw a stat from the Brentford game that he made 0 defensive contributions - no tackles, no blocks and no interceptions whilst also contributing 0 shots on target. Which sums up my thoughts on him completely, each of our midfielders has better qualities than him, other than possibly km run per game but that’s often because he’s run out of position like a headless chicken or lost his man and had to sprint back to try to get near him. All our other options are better passers and better defensively. I didn’t get it when Farke picked him and I don’t get it with Smith but they are much more qualified than me.
Perhaps the team just isn’t good enough and no manager could keep them up. Farke lost 7-0 in the reverse before his name comes up again.
Saying that I’ve kept Norwich up in 3 consecutive seasons with mid table finishes on Football Manager 2022 and McLean was the first one I shipped out
I'm afraid my opinion of Smith is now so low that even if he has lucked his way in that second half to finding a first XI that might work, he'll go back to the usual trio of McLean, Gilmour and PLM/Normann in the next game. I don't think he's quite stupid enough to not start Rashica again, but perhaps I'm underestimating him.
I’ve actually just spotted it’s wrong… we need to avoid conceding 17 more goals, not 14. Still a tall order based on current concession rates…
