I can't believe that there are plenty on here defending PJ and blaming everything on Roy Keane. PJ has had plenty of time and money to sort out our problems but has failed to address the one major problem, the defence. Now in my world you always get your defence sorted before any other position on the park, main priority is to stop the goals going in!!! Has Jewell addressed this problem? Has he ****, instead he bought the likes of Ellington in. I honestly can't see how people are defending him and saying its not his fault, yes RK did leave us in a mess but Jewell has had time and backing to sort things out and has so far failed to do so!! I am not calling for Jewells head, far from it at the moment, i am hoping that this latest thrashing is a massive wake up call for him/Clogg and Evans. We are probably 4 players away from being a very good side, RB, CB, a decent striker to partner Chopra and a creative midfielder. Hopefully he can get a few defenders in quick smart and then maybe we can get back to winning ways but until then...
Just one other thing, anyone else think we are woefully short of any real pace? Too many slow plodders in the team?
agreed we're very badly short of pace especially at centre half, embarrassing at best. I can't get how people go on about Smith being the future etc. He makes Diallo and co look good. He's absolutely 100% terrible
Crap performance last night but Give PJ a chance, he's only been there five minutes. More than ever we need CB's and Jewell knows it. I Expect signings to come. Having said that i'm gutted we didn't get another CB in the transfer window, Maybe PJ spent too much time going after St. Ledger. Fingers crossed that Mr Evans gets his cheque book out.
Cant argue with any of the above. The only other thing I'd throw in to the mix is that from what I have seen so far, we have zero leadership out there on the pitch. There is no sense of togetherness whatsoever right now and Captain Leadbitter is so quiet it's scary. Want an example of how powerful a sense of team can be? Then look no further than the England cricket team right now to see how powerful 11 men working as a unit and looking out for each other with some passion can be! Give the armband to Andrews, as I think he has the qualities of leadership. We're missing players and arguing about formations etc., sure but, good sides also work hard together and for each other and show some passion and leadership. We're not doing that right now! There is no noise!
Indeed Spanish some just don't ****ing get it!!! I am laying the playing nearly completely on Keanes door for this. Yes last night was a defensive shambles and maybe Jewell did get the formation wrong but I think part of it was down to slight injury in case of Lee Martin and lack of fitness in terms of JET. But I do not believe he has had enough time to sort this out, Yes we now desperately need CB's but at the end of the summer was there really a position that we didn't need to strengthen? He has made in the main 8 very good signings and has been trying to address the CB problem but its clear he's had no luck atm, I think we need to be patient and perhaps we are going to take a few more hits before we experience some highs. Come the end of August and we haven't addressed the problem then I shall be concerned. We are short of pace yes, especially in central defence but I actually think we are a quicker team than we were last year. Certainly we need improving there is no question about this but I actually think we are not far off being a good team in this division the problem is we have had to many problems to address this summer. As for Tommy Smith, he hasn't had a good start and looks pretty useless but I think Delaney is alot worse than him. Delaney's positional sense as a centre half is terrible, he leaves the rest of the defence with no shape and often Tommy Smith was left one on one with no idea who to mark. We need a leader and an organiser at the back and I think Smith will look better, Delaney has to be kept as far away from the 1st team as possible!!!
Jewell said in his post-match interview that he needs to address the pace problem. What you say has an element of truth but all in good time Spanish.
Despite my personal euphoria; in the post match interview, I was extremely moved by Paul Jewel's confession, regarding the trouble he's had bringing defenders on loan from Premiership teams.
That's a load of bollocks SaintJack. We have got to do better with our bids. There were good centre backs to be had and there still are but we have been too tight with the transfer fees. We're supposed to have an owner with close to a billion quid and while no-one wants us to be careless it's shocking that the club has made more than it's spent on transfers over the last two years. Loan players just aren't the answer.
We could loan you Aaron Martin or Dan Seaborne? They could do with some championship experience. One of them may well be surplus to requirements if (when) Adkins brings in another proven centre back like Jemal or Gorkss.
Agreed - I dont think you will be the last team to come unstuck against our front line. Leeds already know all about it, and Barnsley were lucky to escape without conceding 5. We just need to sure up our defence!
I was being ironic, LYHL ...was a load of guff wasn't it? He had ample opportunity to get talent in, we're supposedly looking for a CB, but NA would complain if Seabourne or Martin (recently of Exeter and Eastleigh respectively) were made to look like mugs. You go with what you got and don't make excuses. What kinda of a manger seems to be relying on loans on Premiership clubs, after the signing he's made?
He has made some good signings but as Spanish has pointed out on another thread he has barely addressed the defence, which should be the foundation on which you build the rest. This stuff about 'trying' doesn't really wash. Why did we bother trying to sign Upson and Woodgate but not St Ledger? It's ridiculous. I think he thought he could get by with the Delia Smith partnership until the loan market opens up.
Keane started our rather sorry slide and the idea of buying lazy premiership and overated good for nothings. Jewells appointment and approachability was a breathe of fresh air but last nights formation was easily as baffling as any keane put out. we played (given their true positions) Gk RW - CB - CB - LB converted to CM CM - CM - CM - LB ST - ST Square peg - round holes.
tractorbhoy, indeed that formation was strange but it was not the one we started with, I think we started with a 4-1-3-2 formation with kennedy sitting behind a midfield 3. I found this very strange but it seems Martin had a slight knock and I don't think JET is still 100% fit, so perhaps that was the reason for them starting. We played 4-4-2 after we'd gone 2-0 down. Although got it right in bringing on JET and Martin I wish he would have taken Bowyer off as he was very poor an put Martin on the right with Leadbitter going in the centre.
ptc, good to speak again. i couldnt really work out if it was a 4132, 442 or just 11 idiots standing pointlessly on a pitch. regardless of which variety it was there was still no sense. in our squad we have Peters, Edwards, Carson and Drury who can give width. We have Ainsley who is right footed and reportedly our best carling cup player. Im not panicing yet but there seemed no sense from the first minute to the last.
We have a lack of pace, all over the pitch, not just in defence. We have no movement or pace in midfield to stretch teams, when teams do have it, you see the result of it, like last night, we could not counter the midfield of Southampton, thus the defence was badly exposed, and they of course badly lack pace. We still do not have a genuine contender for right back, Edwards is a converted midfielder, who allthough one of the few who does posess pace, has limited positional sense. Delaney is not good enough for this level, and sorry, Smith is one of the worst centre backs I have ever seen at this level. Don't say he is young, and he will learn, he will not, when he was on loan at Colchester, he was a disaster, what makes Jewell think he is good enough for us.Tractorboy you are joking I hope, Peters has no future here, not sure what level he could play at, but can assure you, its not the championship. I did say at the time when we bought Drury that just because he was too good for the Conference, did not guarantee he could do the same at pro level, which at the moment is proving correct.
