Yes, I think we were today, simply because that Fulham match was Hughton's first game in charge, we've strengthened since and his 'strategy' had yet to be established. Today, however, was a carbon copy of that clueless, disjointed - dare I say pathetic performance But what hurts most is that this same bunch of guys have proved that they have what it takes to win games, hang in there for a point, defend for their lives etc, etc. He's now had 23 matches in charge, plenty of time to experiment, change it if not working and so on. So why Pilks for Snodders afetr 85 minutes when we're five nil down, for christs sake? Why no second striker to at least stop Holt from being totally isolated? To allow us to spend a little time in Liverpool's half, causing the odd problem? Even if we'd scored a morale boosting (?) consolation goal - just to prove we DID eventually get into their half of the field The 10 game unbeaten run, I'm afraid, has proved a false dawn in that CH now refuses to set up any other way, teams have rumbled that, and we have no plan B. Shocking, especially for the poor 1,800 who travelled to witness relegation fodder! Drive safely, each and every one of you Sorry, Mr Hughton, but you've been found out. What do you plan to do about it - before it's all too late?
I just took a (very) deep breath, watched this and life is good/better again. I so love Tal Wilkenfeld on bass guitar [video=youtube;VC02wGj5gPw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VC02wGj5gPw[/video]
Look on the bright side there aren't many teams below you! Last 8HomeAway Form table (last 8 matches) P W D L Pts 1 Manchester Utd 8 7 1 0 22 2 Manchester City 8 6 0 2 18 3 Tottenham 8 5 2 1 17 4 Chelsea 8 5 1 2 16 5 Liverpool 8 5 0 3 15 6 Sunderland 8 5 0 3 15 7 Everton 8 4 3 1 15 8 Arsenal 8 4 2 2 14 9 Swansea City 8 2 4 2 10 10 Southampton 8 2 4 2 10 11 Reading 8 3 1 4 10 12 QP Rangers 8 2 3 3 9 13 West Ham Utd 8 2 2 4 8 14 West Bromwich 8 2 2 4 8 15 Fulham 8 2 2 4 8 16 Norwich City 8 2 1 5 7 17 Stoke City 8 1 4 3 7 18 Aston Villa 8 1 3 4 6 19 Wigan Athletic 8 1 2 5 5 20 Newcastle Utd 8 1 1 6 4
Objectively it was a very bad day at the office. Just like after the Fulham game and later the previous Liverpool/ Chelsea thrashings it will come down to how we react in our next games. 11 days time and with Bassong and Whittaker back and a new striker ready to prove his worth, the tide may turn again. Don't panic and let's see what happens.
I think we're been very complacent there was no major upsets against Manchester City or Chelsea, we won in the cup comfortably with a second string team, then we were a bit off the boil against Newcastle. I think this defeat might actually be a good thing, have the players been giving it 100% as of late? I can think of a couple who don't seem as effective as they did a while ago, perhaps they need this wake up call to kick them into line.
Right, so we've 'accrued' one (1) point out of a possible 18, and you still can see some positives? I'll have a pint of whatever you're drinking, please
No what I'm saying is we haven't been thrashed yet so we continue on using the same tactics and the same nucleus of players. Perhaps this defeat will highlight that we've been doing things badly of late and some players need to be changed around or brought.
