Good post, you've made several good points about our performance yesterday which can be used to say where we should be looking to improve in January. However, we must remember yesterday was a blip, it was a poor performance. Tiredness contributed heavily to the performance which affected the players movement, work rate and clinical finish. This can only really lead to the assumption that we need more players. At the moment our squad is still paper thin, and the arrival of Kilbane, Simpson, Oli (back from injury) and some transfers in January will hopefully give the squad a big boost in numbers. It'll be good to get to the stage when we can rest players for a game who are feeling tired. The goal was an almighty **** up, and Gulasci is totally to blame. He has no command of the area and is poor at communicating with his defence. As Barmby said on the radio he should have communicated better with Hobbs and cleared him out if he had to. His distribution is also poor, and at times can actually heavily weaken the teams performance and effectiveness. When Mannone came in last season we all saw how effective good distribution of the ball could be. We counter attacked quickly, retained possession when the counter attack wasn't on and became much more efficient. To put it harshly, the sooner Gulasci leaves the club and is replaced the better. De Vries, Hammill, a new central midfielder (if he is better than Evans), some more depth and a new striker will be welcome signings. De Vries will give us the distribution we crave, Hammill will make us even more dangerous going forward, replacing Evans with an even better player will make our midfield all the more dominant, more players will make the squad more fresh, a new striker will finish off the team, and the chances. Roll on January, and let us hope we can secure four or more very good signings.
No he wasnt. Chester and Hobbs both played a part. I agree tiredness may be playing its part but if so why did Nick wait until the 83rd minute before making our second sub? He has done this a few times now. Against Burnley at home he held on and on before making a change.
A good keeper (a.k.a not Gulasci) would have cleared out his own player just to make sure the ball was safe. Gulasci doesn't command the area, doesn't communicate, isn't brave - isn't good.
It was an easy clearance for Gulacsi to make, he didn't make it, from that point of view it was entirely his fault.
I thought about this, there are plenty of decent keepers who would love to come to us. First thought would be someone like Tomasz Kuszczak.
Agreed. Chester and Hobbs let it bounce, then let it bounce again, Hobbs failed to clear and then when Gulacsi came out to cover for them both Hobbs decided this was the time to head it back. I can't see how anyone can say it was all Gulacsi's fault. There's little more he could have done! People are saying things like 'it was his communication' obviously none of us could hear whether he called or not so comments like that are simply making something up to suit the opinion you want to have. Hobbs and Chester are great players but none of the defenders have enough faith in the 'keeper, rightly or wrongly, and that was the problem. It was shown a fe minutes earlier when Gulacsi tried to take a ball in the area and McLean botted it out for a throw, both occasions it was very obvious what the keeper was doing but the defender just wasn't comfortable with it. He came out to the very edge of his area and just before taking the ball he had it fired at him from point blank range. What more could he do to 'make the clearance'? For the record, I'd still have Basso back in because he is clearly fit and for whatever reason, the defender's just don't trust Gulacsi.
Even though this mix up should never have happened, these things do happen from time to time. For me the fact that we had 13 attemps off target is more of a concern. However like Man City found out this afternoon, you can have more of the ball, but can be caught by a sucker punch. I hope the team put these 2 losses behind them, and put in a good performance and win against Derby.
I'd agree with this. The fact that we had 14 shots and didn't score, and 10 against Boro and didn't score, and 14 against West Ham and didn't score is more of a concern for me. We are absolute gash in front of goal. We consistently create way more chances than the opposition and a lot of teams say we're the best side they've played, we dominate possession for large periods and dictate play, but we cannot find a ****ing goal from anywhere. Even when we win games we waste a hell of a lot of chances. The worrying thing about it is that isn't just a one off that every team has now and then, it's the general theme of our games now. We're a great side in every other way and have a brilliant chance of promotion. If we can sign someone who is confident and skillful in front of goal we will be one of the top 2 or 3 sides in this league.
I agree that yesterday was a blip, tiredness like i said was the main factor. We haven't found a way to rotate our side and continue winning and i think Burnley could see that at times we where becoming very predictable, Stewart should of swapped sides more often to try and mix things up. I think the new signings that we are getting will fit in well (the three we know), and it is clear for every man and his dog to see that we need a striker and i have no doubts Nicky will have seen someone. Gulacsi is not good enough, i don't think its his fault but he is just not good enough. It not lack of effort or anything just quality.
