That was what I call a terrific day at the Office! Well done everyone...Mick included for getting it right!
I do love a thrashing! Edit: I'm on about a football-related thrashing, with Ipswich dishing it out. Nothing kinky.
had to be out for the match this afternoon, maybe should make it a regular habit if we get results like this every week
BBC Final score suggested Rotherhams defending was worse than sunday league standards but you can only play whats in front of you. Its a continuation of the potential from Tuesday and its showing signs of promise but will be interesting to see how we do when we play a team in form.
just seen the goals and the ones we scored were defensive blunders and the ones we conceded were decent goals so not too much to blame the defence for... and then MM opens his mouth and say hes read comments about us being boring nd he cant understand where they come from. Yeah fair play this week but the last month or two have been difficult to say the least.
Was thinking how good it would be when Bish and Fraser are back to full fitness, put them with Murph, Pitman and Sears and you have quite a scary attacking force but how would you fit them all in?
I think The answer is you don't, Spanish. Quite happy to have a balanced line up and a scary bench. Sears and Murphy to lead the line. Fraser and A.N other on the wings Ideally I'd like to see Bish with one of Skuse/Douglas in the middle but whether that would be too gung-ho for a defence that has as shown itself to be fragile is up for questioning
It was a great day out yesterday with the boys really going for it from the first whistle tearing Rotherhams Mid field and defence to pieces and yes we could have had 3 or 4 more, it was great to see Murphy back on form with a Hat trick but we were good everywhere across the park and Gerken didn't stand a chance with either of their goals which were well taken. Great noise in the away end, great result, and another step forward after the Bolton match.
Back from Germany! First off, after completely BALLSING up the train and not buying in advance from Stuttgart to Mainz in advance ( I didn't think every country was like Germany where a day before or on the day they become a joke ) meaning I didn't end up going as I'm not paying 80 euros for a 2 hour train return - shame! My own fault. Anyway, onto us. I got back into my room and saw us 3-0 up h/t. Couldn't believe it! 3-0, became 4-0, a nervy 5 @ 4-2 then game over. Woohoo! Now I haven't read through everything, but can i assume with the front 3/ midfield 3 we did indeed play a variation of 4-3-3 ? " Bruuuuu pure quality, i know Westy dont rate him but he is the bit of quality we had been missing!! " Spanish the thing is, I DO rate Bru - In a 4-3-3. Technically he's very good. Nice touches, passer etc. Problem Bru has in a Mick 4-4-2 ( and with the wide guys as proper wingers this season ) is Mick prefers an in theory FIRM base - letting the wide boys play and push on. Bru's positional sense is bloody awful, so I stick by a 4-4-2 Bru in the middle - not a massive fan of. I would also say 4-3-3 - Douglas in the middle = absolutely fine! Problem with 4-4-2 ( I M O ) = CM is a bloody disaster with what we have. Skuse plays, but then if he's alongside Douglas they don't seem to click - and how I've mentioned the above, I don't see Bru playing a lot in a Mick 4-4-2 @ Cm for the reasons stated. I also think Niles in a 4-4-2 isn't disciplined enough to do the job asked. Solution to everything? We HAVE to play a variation of 4-3-3 this season. With Fraser / Bishop to come back, the international break has come at a decent point for us. So that wins nicely got us back into the mix, only 4 points off the play offs. Mick's a better manager than often given credit, it's alright a forum going into absolute meltdown on a bad run, but people need to be a little balanced. So credit must go to Mick for these past two victories - sure it's vs two of the poorest five sides this league has to offer, but it's 6 much needed points. 8 points from the past 4 is much more like it. Also fantastic that Murphy's back amongst the goals. McGoldrick does seem damn injury prone. Would love him to have a properly fit season for us. Bring on the Wolves!
It was a 4-4-2 Westy, with Sears on the left and Bru on the right and to his credit it sounded like he had a good game out wide. His corners are better than we've been used to lately and the 2 'wide men' put in a variety of crosses from grass skimmers to driven or floated. Personally not worried about McG being out, we seem to get better results when he's not playing. He has plenty of ball skills and is great to watch but it often doesn't amount to much. I'm happier with the other three right now and can't see there being a place for him once others are fit.
Interesting if it was an actual 4-4-2 with Sears + Bru outwide. I think that shows Mick is happier with the spine of the team, and a lot happier to play 4 attacking players this time around. Last season we had the likes of Tabb ( I don't think Mick ever fully trusted Tyrone defensively ) and Anderson ( absolute workhorse, who said in an interview he LOVED hugging the touchline - and from seeing him for Bristol City/ Forest he was definitely capable of much more attacking play than he was allowed under Mick ) to all kinds of attacking players. San Diego you have a very good point re McGoldrick - I'd be tempted to cash in come Jan actually. He's so damn injury prone, yes he's a good player but he's going to be on big wages and I'd rather have a fully fit player for the season. Very happy we're having a look at the Gray's striker, you never know when you could unearth the next gem. Very good question Spanish re them two - Fraser 100% HAS to play every game. Our most dangerous threat, pulls players out of position for fun. Bishop cannot be too far from full fitness with the international break. I like the options we have too. Not seen the best of Oar, Toure has been a pleasant surprise.