Nice looking stream. Seems like the players were very relaxed and played with a good rhythym. Something positive to shout out to Allen, Sinclair and Taylor ... positions are not guaranteed (well almost) etc. It will be very interesting to see what happens on Saturday, who lines up in midfield. I am presuming that Taylor relegates Ben without much question. Sinclair probably for Routledge.
Laudrup's signings are looking good! and we are quicker to the target, so it may just be a friendly, but Blackpool are no mugs, and the way I see it, it's a great start to this season, and the signs are very good, think I'll put a bet on my 10th to 7th prediction at the bookies ..................
Just got back from the match and am happy to say that the beautiful game is still alive, and a little more direct as well! Very impressed with the new signings; Chico very commanding at the back and also getting forward as much as possible â his work rate was excellent, and if he keeps this up we will not miss Caulker. Michu looked a very classy player (Gylfi who??), very comfortable with our style of play and fitted into the side beautifully. De Guzman also was very impressive, with some beautiful touches, and made some runs that will surely provide us with goals this season. Young Ben Davies had a good game (will forgive him the mistake that led to the opening Blackpool goal); made some great runs and provided some excellent crosses â very much in the mould of Neil Taylor. Danny Graham really seemed to be enjoying himself and feel that he could really flourish playing of Michu and De Guzman. Routledge also had a decent game and feel he could be a part of Laudrupâs plans in the coming season. Rangel and Dyer were solid without setting the world on fire â Ash was Ash, classy and rock solid (same goâs for Leon). Lita and Moore struggled when they came on, feel they could be on their way out. Tremmel couldnât save the penalty, but did save a back pass! Enjoyable game that we totally dominated before Laudrup started having a look at the subs; that said we never really looked in much trouble at any point of the game. Joe Allen was at the game and would have been impressed with most of what he saw and, with Laudrup starting to play hardball in the press, donât think that that saga is concluded yet! All in all a very enjoyable game that threw up plenty of positives; some of the movement and passing was breathtaking and I think we can all look forward to the new season whatever happens before the end of the transfer window; the new boys looked like they had been Jacks for a couple of seasons and am optimistic that they can flourish in the coming season. Think Blackpool were the perfect contest at this stage although, to be fair, they were average for most of the match â but then we made them look average. Think we will have more of an idea where we are after Saturday, but am really looking forward to that game.
Good post Cartoon, Michu looks the business, well they all do, but Saturday will be a stronger examination, which I think we'll pass with flying colours, this is going to be one hell of a season! Got a good feeling in my bones, and have had it since Brenda left!.........
Where did they get that from?............ please log in to view this image Wont ask you for a video stream either!............
I remember them abusing you at first ... perhaps the worm is turning already for some (and we all know who the worm is!!) Admit it ... the stream was funny!
I also have a very good feeling about this season. We're evolving into a Prem club as opposed to a club that just plays in the Prem. Perhaps by the end of this season there won't be any doubt that we have all the pieces in place to build something solid at this level. We are still a youngish side for this division, so plenty of room yet to grow up. Very quietly we've added three pretty tidy players without doing a Liverpool, and maybe one or two more to come. We're going to be shedding .... bad word ... moving on from some of the players that have served us very well during the climb up to this level of the last few seasons. We have a manager in ML that doesn't have to prove anything to anybody and can just revel in the results of his craft; hopefully he'll be with us for a while.
What I noticed more than anything was the incisiveness in the final third. Players were constantly looking to play through balls to put a runner in - and it was done at pace, in contrast to the slow, measured build up we saw last season. It didn't always come off but the intent was clear. We were not as fluent through midfield, which you would expect as players bed in and get used to each other. Joe would obviously make a difference there...... I thought all the new guys looked promising and showed some good touches but I really liked Chico at the back. He is a big unit, good in the air and likes to pass the ball out. He might well prove better than Caulker but let's see how he goes in "real" games. Michu looks like he can perform the Siggy role and took his goal well with with a sweet, early, left foot finish. As for De Guzman, to me he seemed to play a sitting role, although he did get forward on occasion and clipped several tasty passes over distance. Importantly, the new additions all looked comfortable on the ball and will improve as they gain match fitness and start to develop an understanding with the rest of the team. Of course, the real crunch will come when we start playing other PL teams because Blackpool didn't pose much of a threat and our lads had time and space to play. There'll be far less of that to be had when we start our campaign. We still have to find the fluency and the playing triangles that were so evident last season but that should come with time and it will be a big help to have our Olympians back. Okay, we might lose Joe but I assume we will replace him with someone of equal quality. Add that lot to our present mix together with the two new signings that ML has been talking about and I would say that we will be pretty well set up for the coming season. Final thoughts and they concern Danny boy. He wasn't rushing about tonight anything like as much as we've been used to. Now, I don't know if this was a conscious tactical decision by ML, or it might have been that there was no need to because we dominated the game. Against tougher opposition he might well be asked to do a lot more closing down but in this game he more or less played off the last shoulder (as he did at Watford) and scored three goals (as he often did at Watford). It will be interesting to see how ML uses him in the future.
The same kind of final ball Laudrup used to play every week in his playing days?? Intresting you mention DG Ivor ,i think we have both touched on the fact that DG was working so hard at times last season he was leaving himself half a yard behind when he needed to be half a yard in front, it was the difference between scoring and not scoring last season,and he took some unfair stick over that. I rate DG, doesnt mind a bit of graft and doesnt seem like a moaning bastard either, hopefully ML system will allow him the support he lacked last season. So good to here everyone was happy with the new players, early days of course but nice to have positive vibes
that's the way Danny should have played last season instead of running around like a headless chicken that he could not do his job properly. good work out abet lower league opposition...now lets see how we do against premiership teams where it counts.....bit of a concern with the defence though with some easy goals being conceded in pre-season. Im worried that if we go into the season with just 23 players we may find it hard to keep up and will be in a relegation battle for most if not all of the season......I hope not but there has been nothing special during pre-season to say we are stronger...
Nice to hear all the positivity (except for Dai of course, our resident moaner). I think this could be a special season for the swans!
I thought De Guzman was brought in as a wide man. Didn't realise he'd be playing down the middle. I guess he can cover the wing too. As ML says he wants versatile players
Nothing to moan about at all after last night, though there are always those who do nothing but. We had an uninspiring pre-season last time (losing to Neath in a dire display) but still finished mid-table. This time we've had a good pre-season with some new players to bed in and have a lot to look forward to imo. Ivor's post is spot on. Lots of positives and few negatives imo. Chico in particular looks a very good signing and I expect great things from him this season.
http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk//news/article/ollie-a-learning-curve-299113.aspx Holloways prespective on last nights game
Solid result and something we can build on. Looking forward to Saturdays encounter. One thing that's bothering me though, nothing to do with the game, but, did Kemmy play last night? He seems to be fading out of the squad which, for me, would be a great shame. Is he injured again? For me, when he's played, he's shown up well and looks a decent player. Covers well, passes not brilliant but OK, a soild, reliable player who looks comfortable in a holding CM/DMC role. I thought he he would shine this season. Does anyone have any insights. Is he injured, is he fit, is he any good or not? I fee, given a run of games, he'd make the holding CM role his own. Any views guys, would be appreciated coz he's baffling me.
