Weird game tonight but a deserved win. All the strikers are scoring, loanees in the main are playing well and there is a renewed confidence.
The only problem position I see is left midfield which hopefully we can rectify in Jan. Hopefully though, if Youga's injury is not too bad we can try a combination of him and Basey on the left hand side.
We really need to keep one of Mooney and Sodje for the rest of the season though - both if possible.
Still on the 2 points per game and if we continue with that trend we'll be promoted.
Basey looked very solid, gave a different option for free kicks and corners. Often criticised for his pace, but don't recall him being caught out tonight. Good peformance
Harsh on Omozusi nigel. Yes, at the start he was very nervous but he made some excellent challenges and blocks in the 2nd half I thought. Not ideal, and not my cup of tea but to say he deserved no more than a 4 is a taf harsh. All about opinions though.
[cite]Posted By: PragueAddick[/cite]Sounds like Basey has had a couple of good games, do people who were there agree? If so, that's good news, because it seemed like he wasnt going to make it. So its really just right back, and wide left man, where we are short?
I couldn't be there tonight, but Basey had a very good game at Yeovil - sound defensively and creative coming forward.
He looks the part now, so not surprised he played well tonight.
I was amazed posters saying on here in the pre-match run up that he should be dropped as he wasn't good enough.
They evidently had no idea of how good he was at Yeovil.
[cite]Posted By: WSS[/cite]Harsh on Omozusi nigel. Yes, at the start he was very nervous but he made some excellent challenges and blocks in the 2nd half I thought. Not ideal, and not my cup of tea but to say he deserved no more than a 4 is a taf harsh. All about opinions though.
Thought Rovers targeted him and got a fair bit of joy. He improved slightly as the game went on. However, one moment in the second half stuck in the memory - his air kick infront of the east stand and subsequent berrating of Llera & Sam.
IMHO he isn't up to it. Hopefully Richardson will be fit for Brighton.
One thing i think is worth highlighting, this side isn't there yet. You know, when you go into a game you should win on paper and be confident you'll come away with the win.
For a team with top two aspirations, we still allow other teams to play a bit too much for my liking, and we can at times look a bit vulnerable defensively, and one dimensional going forward.
I don't know whether we are being flattered with our wins, or we should be pleased we are showing the desire and resiliance to carve out wins which could go either way.
Anybody heard whats going on with McKenzie? Looks like he's a crock which is a real shame, because he's looked good in the brief cameos I've seen.Trouble is, we've wasted money on a contract for him, which could be better spent on Mooney or A. Sodje.
[quote][cite]Posted By: PragueAddick[/cite]Anybody heard whats going on with McKenzie? Looks like he's a crock which is a real shame, because he's looked good in the brief cameos I've seen.Trouble is, we've wasted money on a contract for him, which could be better spent on Mooney or A. Sodje.
Still, feels good. Important win tonight.[/quote]
True but Reading would probably want a fee for Mooney so he might not be available for a permanent transfer anyway, I hope we can extend his loan though.
Well delighted with the win and on the balance of it we deserved it.
First 30 min we were in complete control and I really thought we could put the game to sleep before half time, but with yougas injury and the idiot of a ref blowing up every 20 seconds stoping any kind of flow of the game we stuttered, started hoofing long balls (which admitidly did cause them a fair amount of problems) but then the only ball we played was a log ball, which in turn gave away possesion.
Bristol then controled the next 15 min and then the first 15 of the second half aswell and got back on level terms. When they really should have gone ahead we seem to come out of our shell and put in a really confident last 30 min and got the win we deserved. The two yellow cards incident really galvanised the whole crowd/squad and felt we really helped them get across the line.
Never thought id say it but boy did we miss youga, omazuzi was shite, utter utter toss, even with the amoutnt of rbs we've had grace our first team in the last 3/4 yrs he is by far the worst of a very bad bunch. Positionally he just really didnt have a clue.
As been said above no1 really stood out, be hard to point out a clear MOM
I'm with Clem and Scruffle on O-No's inadequacies. He may have improved slightly as the game went on - but then he could not have got any worse.
And I'm with Oggy on the excellence of Basey. He really has turned into a cracking little player. He's worth two of O-No any day.
Surely one out of Richardson or Youga will be fit for Brighton and that means no more O-No. It's nothing to do with him being a loanee or otherwise. He's just nowhere near good enough. No positional sense, he's a weak tackler and offers little going forward. Hard to see what he's there for other than making up the numbers and if Solly hadn't got injured, he'd be a better option.
AFKA
I understand your worries, but I guess its inevitable when you are rebuilding, or worse, arresting a freefall. Leeds have a settled team and know this division. We cannot possibly expect to be like them at this stage, rolling over everybody. And as the guy from Leeds says in the other thread, don't expect Norwich to keep up their form either, for the same reasons.
The thing to ask yourself now is, did you, mid August, expect to see us, late November, in 2nd place with 36 points? I didnt. And its not a fluke. Sir Lennie once said "by October, the die is cast."
Sleep well, tribe :-)
Wise words, Prague. And the sage Lennie was right, of course. Shame the board didn't realise that last season and allowed Pardew to blunder on until late November,when it was already too late. But that's water under the bridge. As you say, lets sleep well and contentedly tonight after a win to savour and look forward with hope, not back with regret.
[cite]Posted By: AFKABartram[/cite]One thing i think is worth highlighting, this side isn't there yet. You know, when you go into a game you should win on paper and be confident you'll come away with the win.
For a team with top two aspirations, we still allow other teams to play a bit too much for my liking, and we can at times look a bit vulnerable defensively, and one dimensional going forward.
I don't know whether we are being flattered with our wins, or we should be pleased we are showing the desire and resiliance to carve out wins which could go either way.
Or perhaps i'm just wanting too much !
We played most of the game with only 1 first choice defender, and without our first choice keeper.
So I'm not surprised that basically our reserve defence looks vulnerable at times - but the attitude is good.
Sam supplies trickery and thrust down the right - and I agree is perhaps our only major attacking outlet.
Teams would be crazy not to double up on him and, of course, they do - which begs the question as to why we don't use our spare man and space more effectively. Also, with 2 up front there is option for more direct outlets, compared with our early season midfield passing patterns with Semedo, Racon and Jonjo, which at times we do seem to miss.
At the beginning of the season we won 6 games on the trot, knowing that our starting XI was very good but feeling that we didn't have quality cover in depth. Well, suspensions, injury and individual loss of form has truly kicked in now - but despite that, we're scoring goals again, still picking up points and still 2nd.
But it's a patched up team these days, so not surprising that it can look a little vulnerable at times.
Weird game. We seemed to coast into a two goal lead without breaking sweat and from then on I felt we were somewhat complacent. I'm not sure it can all be put down to Youga going off. Sure, Omozusi had a mare in the first ten minutes or so after coming on - one of the first things he did was to fall over. You kind of felt at that point that the guy isn't sweating confidence.
On the other hand, we seemed to drift into a long ball game and completely lost control of the midfield. Once we'd relinquished our grip there, it seemed pretty straightforward for Brizzle to exploit the lack of pace in our defence.
I thought that Rovers completely deserved to draw level as by that point they seemed a much more cohesive unit, added to which, they wanted it more.
We were as lethargic as the crowd and both seemed to look towards the other to lift things. Notably, against MK, the crowd got behind the team at a crucial stage and it seemed to lift the players.
We then went ahead with a goal out of pretty much nothing and the rest is history. I didn't think there was an outstanding player tonight, but a bunch of players playing within themselves for large periods of time. That said, once we were ahead there seemed a bit of added effort and we started playing the ball on the ground again and from there on in we looked comfortable.
only my 3rd game of the season so not best placed to comment. Enjoyed it and we played some neat football at times.
the midfield seems a little bit too easy to bypass at times with the lack of pace in the centre of defence leaving a lot of space for opposition forwards to get on the ball.
as a team we definitely seem to get flustered if teams get the pressure on, but given time on the ball we can, i suspect, outpass any team in the league.
Thought the ref was picky and caused himself issues with the bookings, but whilst some of the stuff he gave was a bit soft there was little I saw that was obviously wrong, although the insistence on us not contesting a drop ball at one point was prety irritating.
Fantastic result against a decent side. 7pts from 9 and thats with a team suffering from injuries to key players. The lads have delivered the perfect response to 'that week' and I'm proud of them!
Good in spells tonight but frequently drifted in and out of the game and made Bristol look dangerous at times.We were edgy at the back after Youga went off,and the middle pair's severe lack of pace would have been crucified by a real quality side.
Shelvey never got into the game and i think we can cross off left mid for one of his favoured positions.The midfield and front line did not link up too well but it that did improve in the latter stages.Can't fault them for work ethic.Bailey was everywhere and Mooney worked hard.All in all,an above average performance in poor coditions and even poorer referee/lino performances They got the job done.Can't ask for more than that.
One point ....don't underestimate the effect of playing in swamp conditions at Yeovil may have had on some of our players tonight.
That Yeovil game was gruelling, and 10 men were having to do the work of 11 for an hour - it was only 3 days ago and may have cost us that sharpness and freshness that seems to have been lacking at times tonight.
thought Basey was excellant but Ohmysuzi was a complete disaster. I'd have rather moved Semedo back there and drop Shelvey into centre midfield. Feel sorry for Jonjo as we have never played him in his true position. Left midfield is getting a problem but Basey may be the answer or Sam with Waggy on the right.
I'm sorry but I really don't understand the acceptance of Mooney. He has no pace, no physical presence, no ball control, can't jump, can't win a header and doesn't chase down defenders. Two six yard tap-in's are the sum total of his efforts so far. Maybe that is enough ?
As for Burton, two 90 minutes inside four days and yet a few weeks ago Parky led us to believe he couldn't walk until a Wednesday after a Saturday game. Obviously not the case.
Whatever went on with the mystery of two yellow cards was not a Charlton error. I understand from senior staff that the fourth official specifically asked the club to post the original yellow card against LInes on the scoreboard and it was not a confusion with his goal, as both symbols were there. However the confusion arose, it was the officials who were responsible.
[quote][cite]Posted By: Oggy Red[/cite]One point ....don't underestimate the effect of playing in swamp conditions at Yeovil may have had on some of our players tonight.
That Yeovil game was gruelling, and 10 men were having to do the work of 11 for an hour - it was only 3 days ago and may have cost us that sharpness and freshness that seems to have been lacking at times tonight.[/quote]
[quote][cite]Posted By: LargeAddick[/cite]I'm sorry but I really don't understand the acceptance of Mooney. He has no pace, no physical presence, no ball control, can't jump, can't win a header and doesn't chase down defenders. Two six yard tap-in's are the sum total of his efforts so far. Maybe that is enough ?[/quote]
Bailey's goal was a real captain's contribution as we were looking distinctly wobbly at that stage and I was beginning to think that we were going to blow it and lose or draw. The goal settled us though and one could almost feel the relief and belief. The huddle after the goal with everyone except Ikeme told its own story.
Very hard to pick a MOM the team as a whole started well wobbled after the loss of Youga and then Bailey's goal was the catalyst for getting things together again.
Oggy for me has made the most significant pointin that we played most of that match with 4 reserves in our back 5 yet still got the result. Dailly may have given away a harsh penalty but he talked those defenders through the game tonight.
I really hope Youga's injury is not too serious not just for his defending but the attacking option he offers too.
I think Jonjo offered a lot more than Racon has of late. He oobviously is not a natural left winger but stuck at it well in my view. The boy is still only 17! It is all too easy to forget that and be over critical.
Good character though to grind out the victory so well done to all concerned.
[cite]Posted By: Oggy Red[/cite]One point ....don't underestimate the effect of playing in swamp conditions at Yeovil may have had on some of our players tonight.
That Yeovil game was gruelling, and 10 men were having to do the work of 11 for an hour - it was only 3 days ago and may have cost us that sharpness and freshness that seems to have been lacking at times tonight.
Another excellent point Oggy.
For a youngster you really are quite knowledgable :-)
Irrespective of how you may view our performance, as game that was excellent value tonight.
From our perspective we played really well first 20 minutes and had the Jonjo chance gone in the game would have been over, instead they go down the other end get a dubious penalty and a different game is on.
Could have easily gone behind second half, but full credit to the lads for sticking in there and getting the three points.
Good to see ‘pants’ man get another goal, as well as Sodje. Hope we keep these two on when the deadline comes round on Thursday. Basey put in another good performance but MOM for me was Bailey again and showing what a huge difference he has made since going back in the middle.
Mooney got stick from someone for tonight scoring a tap in from 6 yards - his 2nd goal in 3 starts, in one of which he was sacrificed after only 29 mins. Pretty decent return for a player who apparently doesn't do enough?
He also headed against the crossbar for Bailey to score our 3rd - so can claim that assist also.
Shelvey's natural inclination seems to be to wander, which is ok in a 4-5-1, but not so in a 4-4-2.
I thought he was actually better in the 2nd half, when he played his position and kept it simple.
IMO - talented, but not straightforward to accomodate.
Liked Basey tonight. Not my favourite player but credit where it's due, he turned in a decent performance.
Comments
The only problem position I see is left midfield which hopefully we can rectify in Jan. Hopefully though, if Youga's injury is not too bad we can try a combination of him and Basey on the left hand side.
We really need to keep one of Mooney and Sodje for the rest of the season though - both if possible.
Still on the 2 points per game and if we continue with that trend we'll be promoted.
Very good point.But I suppose its the away games where it becomes more important.
Also reminds us what a great signing Dailly has been. We gotta hope he stays fit.
I couldn't be there tonight, but Basey had a very good game at Yeovil - sound defensively and creative coming forward.
He looks the part now, so not surprised he played well tonight.
I was amazed posters saying on here in the pre-match run up that he should be dropped as he wasn't good enough.
They evidently had no idea of how good he was at Yeovil.
Thought Rovers targeted him and got a fair bit of joy. He improved slightly as the game went on. However, one moment in the second half stuck in the memory - his air kick infront of the east stand and subsequent berrating of Llera & Sam.
IMHO he isn't up to it. Hopefully Richardson will be fit for Brighton.
For a team with top two aspirations, we still allow other teams to play a bit too much for my liking, and we can at times look a bit vulnerable defensively, and one dimensional going forward.
I don't know whether we are being flattered with our wins, or we should be pleased we are showing the desire and resiliance to carve out wins which could go either way.
Or perhaps i'm just wanting too much !
Still, feels good. Important win tonight.
Still, feels good. Important win tonight.[/quote]
True but Reading would probably want a fee for Mooney so he might not be available for a permanent transfer anyway, I hope we can extend his loan though.
First 30 min we were in complete control and I really thought we could put the game to sleep before half time, but with yougas injury and the idiot of a ref blowing up every 20 seconds stoping any kind of flow of the game we stuttered, started hoofing long balls (which admitidly did cause them a fair amount of problems) but then the only ball we played was a log ball, which in turn gave away possesion.
Bristol then controled the next 15 min and then the first 15 of the second half aswell and got back on level terms. When they really should have gone ahead we seem to come out of our shell and put in a really confident last 30 min and got the win we deserved. The two yellow cards incident really galvanised the whole crowd/squad and felt we really helped them get across the line.
Never thought id say it but boy did we miss youga, omazuzi was shite, utter utter toss, even with the amoutnt of rbs we've had grace our first team in the last 3/4 yrs he is by far the worst of a very bad bunch. Positionally he just really didnt have a clue.
As been said above no1 really stood out, be hard to point out a clear MOM
And I'm with Oggy on the excellence of Basey. He really has turned into a cracking little player. He's worth two of O-No any day.
Surely one out of Richardson or Youga will be fit for Brighton and that means no more O-No. It's nothing to do with him being a loanee or otherwise. He's just nowhere near good enough. No positional sense, he's a weak tackler and offers little going forward. Hard to see what he's there for other than making up the numbers and if Solly hadn't got injured, he'd be a better option.
I understand your worries, but I guess its inevitable when you are rebuilding, or worse, arresting a freefall. Leeds have a settled team and know this division. We cannot possibly expect to be like them at this stage, rolling over everybody. And as the guy from Leeds says in the other thread, don't expect Norwich to keep up their form either, for the same reasons.
The thing to ask yourself now is, did you, mid August, expect to see us, late November, in 2nd place with 36 points? I didnt. And its not a fluke. Sir Lennie once said "by October, the die is cast."
Sleep well, tribe :-)
We played most of the game with only 1 first choice defender, and without our first choice keeper.
So I'm not surprised that basically our reserve defence looks vulnerable at times - but the attitude is good.
Sam supplies trickery and thrust down the right - and I agree is perhaps our only major attacking outlet.
Teams would be crazy not to double up on him and, of course, they do - which begs the question as to why we don't use our spare man and space more effectively. Also, with 2 up front there is option for more direct outlets, compared with our early season midfield passing patterns with Semedo, Racon and Jonjo, which at times we do seem to miss.
At the beginning of the season we won 6 games on the trot, knowing that our starting XI was very good but feeling that we didn't have quality cover in depth. Well, suspensions, injury and individual loss of form has truly kicked in now - but despite that, we're scoring goals again, still picking up points and still 2nd.
But it's a patched up team these days, so not surprising that it can look a little vulnerable at times.
On the other hand, we seemed to drift into a long ball game and completely lost control of the midfield. Once we'd relinquished our grip there, it seemed pretty straightforward for Brizzle to exploit the lack of pace in our defence.
I thought that Rovers completely deserved to draw level as by that point they seemed a much more cohesive unit, added to which, they wanted it more.
We were as lethargic as the crowd and both seemed to look towards the other to lift things. Notably, against MK, the crowd got behind the team at a crucial stage and it seemed to lift the players.
We then went ahead with a goal out of pretty much nothing and the rest is history. I didn't think there was an outstanding player tonight, but a bunch of players playing within themselves for large periods of time. That said, once we were ahead there seemed a bit of added effort and we started playing the ball on the ground again and from there on in we looked comfortable.
the midfield seems a little bit too easy to bypass at times with the lack of pace in the centre of defence leaving a lot of space for opposition forwards to get on the ball.
as a team we definitely seem to get flustered if teams get the pressure on, but given time on the ball we can, i suspect, outpass any team in the league.
Thought the ref was picky and caused himself issues with the bookings, but whilst some of the stuff he gave was a bit soft there was little I saw that was obviously wrong, although the insistence on us not contesting a drop ball at one point was prety irritating.
Shelvey never got into the game and i think we can cross off left mid for one of his favoured positions.The midfield and front line did not link up too well but it that did improve in the latter stages.Can't fault them for work ethic.Bailey was everywhere and Mooney worked hard.All in all,an above average performance in poor coditions and even poorer referee/lino performances They got the job done.Can't ask for more than that.
That Yeovil game was gruelling, and 10 men were having to do the work of 11 for an hour - it was only 3 days ago and may have cost us that sharpness and freshness that seems to have been lacking at times tonight.
I'm sorry but I really don't understand the acceptance of Mooney. He has no pace, no physical presence, no ball control, can't jump, can't win a header and doesn't chase down defenders. Two six yard tap-in's are the sum total of his efforts so far. Maybe that is enough ?
As for Burton, two 90 minutes inside four days and yet a few weeks ago Parky led us to believe he couldn't walk until a Wednesday after a Saturday game. Obviously not the case.
That Yeovil game was gruelling, and 10 men were having to do the work of 11 for an hour - it was only 3 days ago and may have cost us that sharpness and freshness that seems to have been lacking at times tonight.[/quote]
Yes, that's a fair point
Great movement
Very hard to pick a MOM the team as a whole started well wobbled after the loss of Youga and then Bailey's goal was the catalyst for getting things together again.
Oggy for me has made the most significant pointin that we played most of that match with 4 reserves in our back 5 yet still got the result. Dailly may have given away a harsh penalty but he talked those defenders through the game tonight.
I really hope Youga's injury is not too serious not just for his defending but the attacking option he offers too.
I think Jonjo offered a lot more than Racon has of late. He oobviously is not a natural left winger but stuck at it well in my view. The boy is still only 17! It is all too easy to forget that and be over critical.
Good character though to grind out the victory so well done to all concerned.
Another excellent point Oggy.
For a youngster you really are quite knowledgable :-)
From our perspective we played really well first 20 minutes and had the Jonjo chance gone in the game would have been over, instead they go down the other end get a dubious penalty and a different game is on.
Could have easily gone behind second half, but full credit to the lads for sticking in there and getting the three points.
Good to see ‘pants’ man get another goal, as well as Sodje. Hope we keep these two on when the deadline comes round on Thursday. Basey put in another good performance but MOM for me was Bailey again and showing what a huge difference he has made since going back in the middle.
He also headed against the crossbar for Bailey to score our 3rd - so can claim that assist also.
Against Yeovil last Saturday, we played against a Reading keeper on loan.
Tonight against Brizzle R, we played against another Reading keeper on loan.
Question:
How many keepers do Reading actually have in their squad ....?
Scoring for fun at home, just need to start doing it away. Brighton away is crucial as we have some very winnable games coming up.
Akpo is a hero
I thought he was actually better in the 2nd half, when he played his position and kept it simple.
IMO - talented, but not straightforward to accomodate.
Liked Basey tonight. Not my favourite player but credit where it's due, he turned in a decent performance.