Not too despondent as hoping for a 0 0 if possible and the first 35 minutes we held our own. After their goal, they stepped up a notch and we couldn't cope. As has been said, Burnley look a good workmanlike team with a few quality players. Hats off to their fans, as I can't remember a game for a long time where the opposition fans only sang about their team. So refreshing to hear and also not hear the usual abuse or 'Going Down' being espoused. Small club with good fans. Wish them well. Onward for CAFC somehow. It added insult to injury yesterday to read that Ricardo scored Blackpool's only goal to win! Watched it on goal express: clinical finisher that we don't have.
Burley are a good side, but until the penalty (which should never have been given) we passed it round well and looked good - forced Burnley to stay in their shape and defend for the most part. But they do have more confidence and quality than us going forward and that was crucial. They are second top for a reason. After the penalty we just became disjointed and increasingly frustrated.
Still, we remain just outside the relegation zone and that is a very hard game out of the way.
As a side note did anyone see Morrison and Hamer totally blank Riga at the end?
I wasn't there yesterday but thought Ben deffo blanked Riga at the end of the Hudders match as Riga shook all the players hands as they came off the pitch. As much as these players love SCP , they have to be professional and show respect to the new manager for the harmony of the squad .
This is disappointing. I understand the players' loyalty to Powell. But if they let that get in the way of working together that is poor. I'm thinking it might be just the bad defeat and the players were just down, rather than a lack of disrespect for Riga. Morro and Hamer were both really celebrating after the win against Bournemouth. In addition, after the Huddersfield game, 24 hours after Powell had been sacked, there would have been a lot of emotions running through the players. Understandable if one or two players were feeling the strain. I think the players will get behind Riga and pull together, hopefully there's nothing too much in this.
Am getting pissed off with excuses etc, charlton aint good enough for this league, all div one players, too fragile, need some tough midfield players, and goal hungry forwards, am I being too greedy,most other teams have them, nearly every game this season at home we have had the least possesion, so we arelike an away team at home, no wonder we are struggling at the bottom
Hi guys, don't be too despondent. You played some neat stuff around your midfield when they had it, and Diego Poyet looked class today. He was by far your best player and never panicked with players around him. I'd love him in our team!
The first 25 minutes looked pretty even on an appalling surface. You need to get that sorted sharpish, as despite it being a 'leveller', it won't be doing your team any good at all. The horrible pitch prevents your team playing a passing game with any confidence. If you can't get confidence from playing well at home then it will affect, to an extent, your away performances. Just an opinion of course, but some of your passing today was a bobble here or there from being perfect, and it can give a players confidence a kicking when they hear groans from the crowd.
Second half I felt we dominated. I don't mean massively outplayed you, just that we were in full control of the game, particularly after the penalty. Scott Arfield was causing your left back a lot of problems, either winning the ball back for us quickly, or forcing him to play backwards. The same happened on your right back, though not to the same level. This forced long balls to our centre halves. It sort of felt like we could step up a gear if needed.
I genuinely wish you luck down there. It's horrible(we were in your position for a couple of months last season), but you have plenty of games in hand and I think you'll be fine. Keeping hold of Poyet might be difficult though, but you never know; the money you get for him may rebuild your squad for a promotion push next season!!!
Good luck chaps.
Sadly young Diego is out of contract in the summer and we will get a development fee only which will be a fraction of his true value. Just can't see him signing as things stand.
What's your view on Eddie Howe btw? There's a bit of history rewriting going on down here to the effect your current team is effectively one he put together!
I thought Burnley didn't get out of second gear and after their first goal didn't need to. The foul for the penalty looked just outside the box to me though. We look so clueless in attack. If we were creating plenty of chances but just not putting them away it wouldn't be so bad but yesterday we looked like we could have played until midnight without having a shot on target.
Nowhere near our worst performance but once they scored we had no idea how to get back into it.
Just so hesitant going forward, unlike Burnley, who all knew what they we doing. Could've been different if Churchy could shoot but very few bright points. Poyet & Dervitte & one great effort from AA. Other than that, feeble, toothless.
Disappointing performance after a lot more positivity on here after Tuesday.
Burnley kind of reminded me of us in our League 1 winning season. Can imagine opposition fans have probably said they're not that good, but they're doing it consistently. They didn't take us apart with exciting football, just a good all round team that made it difficult for us and took enough of their own chances.
Still plenty of games to go, we can afford to lose some of them and that was one we didn't expect to get anything from.
They handed a great chance to Church and as he has done for most of the season hits his shot so weakly it looks like a back pass. Surely he can't keep his place in the team. I said when I first saw him I wasn't sure what type of player he was. It's clear now that wasn't because he was a good all rounder, he's just a hard worker that doesn't stand out in any area. His energy alongside good players would have got him by at Reading, but in a team like ours he doesn't add a great deal. He doesn't even look a real team player that could get a lot of assists, instead he'll take a shot on and barely trouble the goalkeeper.
Poyet is getting better, was looking to take the ball forward more often and look for a killer pass. Unfortunately there's not a lot of movement ahead of him.
Obika was disappointing. Green was Green. Rightly taken off at half time but shouldn't be starting in the first place. Like Powell, Riga hasn't tried Cousins behind Wilson. Must be a reason but I'm not really sure what it is. The other option Nego is good enough to make the bench, can he not start? Some have said he did ok at Wigan.
We lack players that can run with the ball and beat players. In midfield Green tries but can't beat a defender and the other three aren't that type of player. How many times did we take the ball forward before losing it? Obika even went on a decent run only to fall over.
Second half the changes made things worse. No real formation and players out of position. Obika playing as a left winger/striker, AA up front, Reza right midfield (clearly a poacher and definitely not a midfielder), Jackson in between left midfield and just in front of Poyet and Cousins. Had Powell made those changes he'd be called tactically inept and clueless. Chucking on attacking players early might look positive but it's no good if you're weakening the midfield that's supposed to support and create for them.
I don't mind Wiggins playing his way out of trouble but his refusal to use his right foot could have handed Burnley a goal. He's not looked the threat going forward that he used to and that continued yesterday.
We still have a chance of staying up but we really need to start creating and taking more chances. Getting another striker in, unless they're a very good target man to hold up the ball and create chances for others isn't going to make much difference. We now have plenty of strikers but no obvious partnership.
We need a good right winger or right back to strengthen that side of the team and help us create more chances.
I don't think any of the teams around us would have got anything against Burnley. I think 5 wins and a couple of draws from 12 games would be enough. We have winnable games but it's going to be difficult especially with our lack of goals.
''easy for them and aren't ever gonna score with church and green on the pitch''
Good quote from CAFC4life, completely agree. When I saw Church and Green were starting my heart sank. Both were useless against Bournemouth. Church alone will get us relegated. Worst striker I've seen and seen some poor ones. Virtually every home game he gets a 1-1 with the keeper and either side foots or misses. Surely the professional coaches and managers can see which I and most supporters see. Please no more Green and Church this season!
Hi guys, don't be too despondent. You played some neat stuff around your midfield when they had it, and Diego Poyet looked class today. He was by far your best player and never panicked with players around him. I'd love him in our team!
The first 25 minutes looked pretty even on an appalling surface. You need to get that sorted sharpish, as despite it being a 'leveller', it won't be doing your team any good at all. The horrible pitch prevents your team playing a passing game with any confidence. If you can't get confidence from playing well at home then it will affect, to an extent, your away performances. Just an opinion of course, but some of your passing today was a bobble here or there from being perfect, and it can give a players confidence a kicking when they hear groans from the crowd.
Second half I felt we dominated. I don't mean massively outplayed you, just that we were in full control of the game, particularly after the penalty. Scott Arfield was causing your left back a lot of problems, either winning the ball back for us quickly, or forcing him to play backwards. The same happened on your right back, though not to the same level. This forced long balls to our centre halves. It sort of felt like we could step up a gear if needed.
I genuinely wish you luck down there. It's horrible(we were in your position for a couple of months last season), but you have plenty of games in hand and I think you'll be fine. Keeping hold of Poyet might be difficult though, but you never know; the money you get for him may rebuild your squad for a promotion push next season!!!
Good luck chaps.
Sadly young Diego is out of contract in the summer and we will get a development fee only which will be a fraction of his true value. Just can't see him signing as things stand.
What's your view on Eddie Howe btw? There's a bit of history rewriting going on down here to the effect your current team is effectively one he put together!
Eddie Howe did bring a lot of those players in, and I really liked him. The trouble was that he couldn't get us to defend, no matter what he seemed to try, so we'd win 4-3 one week, and then lose 3-1 the week after. Straight away Dyche went from 4-4-2 to playing 4-5-1 with Austin up top on his own. It made 2/3 of last season horrible to watch, but our defence improved no end. You can see from the lack of goals from Charlie Austin after Xmas how to formation change affected him.
So Dyche also set about building a strong team ethos with army style training pre-season. We had a blow losing Austin 2 days before the opening game, but it meant a proper front 2 pairing - Big strong Vokes and quick skillful Ings - who Dyche had given belief to and trust in.
Did Howe buy/sign a number of that squad? Yes. Would Howe have got us to where we are now? Not a chance. In fact, I'd go as far as saying we may have gone down last season!
As a side note: He lost his mum suddenly in early/mid 2012 and the team didn't play too well after this. His family were on the south coast and he was stuck up north. Not ideal for a then 33 year old. I think his spark had gone and the move back south was ideal for him. I lost my mum at the same age and it's a big blow.
He's still relatively well liked by our fans anyway, but this success is mainly down to Dyche.
Claret forever.........At last a fan who posts a lot of sense and shows compassion. Interesting insight in to how a club's fortunes can change within a year or two. Thanks and good luck. Unfortunately our future seems a lot more uncertain.
Small club? We are Burnley. We are far from a small club. Read up on your history before posting. Easy win without two of our best players. Just be thankful it wasn't 7 or 8!
I am surprised by the universal negativity on here - the timing of the first goal was clearly key (we were the better side up until then) and then an iffy penalty straight after HT killed the game and atmosphere completely. I didn't sense at any point we were being outclassed by the 2nd best team in the League. I felt we passed and moved with some purpose but our performances are bound to be volatile until Riga finds his best side. Experimenting with different formations and positioning probably makes some sense - I can't blame him for going with so many strikers at once since we lack any quality wide midfielders.
If fitness is a problem for Ajdarevic then surely this can be worked on? We look a better side with proper ball players like him in it. He has a vital part to play if we are going to survive.
Poyet is different class - will be heartbroken if he leaves.
But we didn't and don't have time for that. Hence, we've seen the reappearance of Bradley Pritchard and Danny Green on the right side in recent weeks when we already know it doesn't work. This really shouldn't come as a surprise to Karel Fraeye given he was watching the team long before Powell was sacked.
Interesting comments from you guys on here regarding us. I think you are spot on when you use the word 'workmanlike'. We are not particularly flashy to watch (although we have played some beautiful stuff this season) but every single player knows his own job to a tee - and we are very consistent with that (only lost 3 games out of 37 in the league).
I enjoyed my trip to The Valley, and not just for the result. I was totally lost trying to find my way and thankfully a group of four Charlton fans guided me the way! You have a great set of fans and a self deprecating humour about your position. You deserve better than you are getting and it s
Small club? We are Burnley. We are far from a small club. Read up on your history before posting. Easy win without two of our best players. Just be thankful it wasn't 7 or 8!
Fair point about the small club comment scouse and you may well have scored more but you will need to bring in some top players to survive when you go up or you will be sunk without trace.On our second half showing we could be still be playing now and would not have scored.
I've been saying the same all season, burnley1882. We have the older German look to us in a way. Not flashy to watch as such, but not long ball and horrible either. We're just very efficient and work extremely hard for each other, making sure that the opposition don't get a moments rest on the ball.
Small club? We are Burnley. We are far from a small club. Read up on your history before posting. Easy win without two of our best players. Just be thankful it wasn't 7 or 8!
You sound like a Wednesday fan!! I think the original poster meant you'll be perceived as small in the Premier League, just as Charlton most likely would be if they returned.
Had our "striker", who tries hard but struggles to strike a ball, scored in the first half I think the result might not have been so "easy" for you.
Interesting comments from you guys on here regarding us. I think you are spot on when you use the word 'workmanlike'. We are not particularly flashy to watch (although we have played some beautiful stuff this season) but every single player knows his own job to a tee - and we are very consistent with that (only lost 3 games out of 37 in the league).
I enjoyed my trip to The Valley, and not just for the result. I was totally lost trying to find my way and thankfully a group of four Charlton fans guided me the way! You have a great set of fans and a self deprecating humour about your position. You deserve better than you are getting and it s
Yeah when I say you guys played simple football yesterday it was definitely not meant as a criticism. Every player seemed to know their role and did it will, the team was very effective without having to resort to hit and hope long passes. Not many teams could lose a player of the quality/form of Ings and still manage to look so efficient and well drilled.
Well, I've tried to stay positive throughout the last month or so and up until they scored yesterday I was still positive. Until Barnes scored there was nothing between the teams and if anything we were edging it. The Church "effort" has been done to death elsewhere, but it has to brought up again. It was pathetic. He has scuffed so many shots this season that you can't help but think he is lacking the most basic striker requirement - the ability to shoot. He did something similar on Tuesday (ridiculous chip when clean through) and that was forgotten because we won. Jose needs to move on and not consider him again.
I'm now more or less resigned to league one. The way we fell away after the goal was alarming if not unexpected. Our confidence is so fragile that we just can't cope with any set backs. We were never coming back in that game yesterday.
Clearly the goal scoring situation is not going to be resolved. None of the forwards we have on our books are going to score enough goals between now and the end of the season to win us enough games. The lack of creativity from wide areas is a problem, but I don't have any confidence that any of our forwards will take any chances presented to them anyway!. I sat there yesterday thinking who on earth is coaching our forwards? The lack of movement in front of the man on the ball is shameful. Time and time again Poyet got on the ball, only to look up and see 2-3 blokes standing still in a line.
We have further problems in as much as our better players are also wobbling. Wiggins seems to put in one decent performance in every 4 games at the moment and Morrison is "recapturing" his early season jitters.
I keep reading people sniping over the sales of Yann and Dale, but would ask how many goals had we scored when they left and how many points did we have? I honestly don;t think they would have made a blind bit of difference. Poyet aside I wouldn't bat an eyelid if we didn't see a single one of the players picked yesterday in the team next season.
YK is exactly the type of player needed. He can win the ball in the air and hold the ball up with his feet/chest, giving the (non-marauding) masses time to get up. But his injury problems since leaving suggest he might not have been available anyway. Obika can do it, with a bit of luck, patience and encouragement. May as well try him with Reza or Marvin next game.
We are not in bottom three so why so much resignation about relegation? We need Obika and Sordell to do something with whatever deliver they receive. Games in hand and the loan window open (just) suggests 66% chance of staying up. We were always going to lose yesterday ~ the real question is where is our next win coming from? Is it too much to ask to keep the faith until April with all those home games?
Church strikes me as the type of player who 'proves' that the market for footballers is inefficient.
This inefficiency is an opportunity for clever clubs to exploit by acknowledging that there must likewise be undiscovered gems (not necessarily young ones) lurking in the lower divisions and non-league.
An interesting recent interview with Barry Fry on Talksport drew attention to this and Peterborough's remarkable record of polishing up these gems and selling them on.
As a clever man (albeit not a traditional 'football man' for better or worse), I suspect RD intends to try taking advantage of this inefficiency in various ways.
I watch a fair bit of non-League and I genuinely wonder what it is that Church possesses which good strikers at that level don't (let alone L1 or L2)? He isn't quick, good in the air or a natural finisher - he works hard and runs the channels but so surely would any player offered the opportunity. Maybe the lower quality of defenders at that level distorts things.
I am sure you don't get picked regularly for your country or make 100+ appearances at this level without having something, it's just not clear what it is. Powell presumably rated him quite highly as he would have been one of hundreds of forwards available on a free last summer.
Hi guys, don't be too despondent. You played some neat stuff around your midfield when they had it, and Diego Poyet looked class today. He was by far your best player and never panicked with players around him. I'd love him in our team!
The first 25 minutes looked pretty even on an appalling surface. You need to get that sorted sharpish, as despite it being a 'leveller', it won't be doing your team any good at all. The horrible pitch prevents your team playing a passing game with any confidence. If you can't get confidence from playing well at home then it will affect, to an extent, your away performances. Just an opinion of course, but some of your passing today was a bobble here or there from being perfect, and it can give a players confidence a kicking when they hear groans from the crowd.
Second half I felt we dominated. I don't mean massively outplayed you, just that we were in full control of the game, particularly after the penalty. Scott Arfield was causing your left back a lot of problems, either winning the ball back for us quickly, or forcing him to play backwards. The same happened on your right back, though not to the same level. This forced long balls to our centre halves. It sort of felt like we could step up a gear if needed.
I genuinely wish you luck down there. It's horrible(we were in your position for a couple of months last season), but you have plenty of games in hand and I think you'll be fine. Keeping hold of Poyet might be difficult though, but you never know; the money you get for him may rebuild your squad for a promotion push next season!!!
Good luck chaps.
Sadly young Diego is out of contract in the summer and we will get a development fee only which will be a fraction of his true value. Just can't see him signing as things stand.
What's your view on Eddie Howe btw? There's a bit of history rewriting going on down here to the effect your current team is effectively one he put together!
Eddie Howe did bring a lot of those players in, and I really liked him. The trouble was that he couldn't get us to defend, no matter what he seemed to try, so we'd win 4-3 one week, and then lose 3-1 the week after. Straight away Dyche went from 4-4-2 to playing 4-5-1 with Austin up top on his own. It made 2/3 of last season horrible to watch, but our defence improved no end. You can see from the lack of goals from Charlie Austin after Xmas how to formation change affected him.
So Dyche also set about building a strong team ethos with army style training pre-season. We had a blow losing Austin 2 days before the opening game, but it meant a proper front 2 pairing - Big strong Vokes and quick skillful Ings - who Dyche had given belief to and trust in.
Did Howe buy/sign a number of that squad? Yes. Would Howe have got us to where we are now? Not a chance. In fact, I'd go as far as saying we may have gone down last season!
As a side note: He lost his mum suddenly in early/mid 2012 and the team didn't play too well after this. His family were on the south coast and he was stuck up north. Not ideal for a then 33 year old. I think his spark had gone and the move back south was ideal for him. I lost my mum at the same age and it's a big blow.
He's still relatively well liked by our fans anyway, but this success is mainly down to Dyche.
Cheers fella, interesting stuff and I agree that off the pitch factors can effect managers just as much as the rest of us.
FWIW I expect Eddie Howe to have another year down here, maybe with a shot at the play offs, but then get his chance with someone like West Ham.
For me Burnley are a team full of confidence, well coached, well drilled and well organised. They worked very hard closing us down all over the pitch and if anyone of them let up, the manager shouted a bollocking at him while his team mates picked up the pieces. Apart from up front where they were clearly better, we were very evenly matched and at times were the better team.
Our new manager has had a few weeks in which he can add value to our team and for the most part I’d say he has done that, even though we’ve been playing two games a week. What he hasn’t got is a magic wand, we are not going to suddenly start beating top of the table teams, not with our front line any way. He has however, recognised that fact and brought in (obviously with help) Obika, who is a good Championship squad player with potential to be more than that.
I think we will stay up, in fact I’m sure we will but, it’s our defence that will keep us up not our attack. If there is any scope to bring in (temporarily) more front line players then this must be done just to be sure. In the closed season we can sort out more permanent solutions.
I know we are at the bottom of the pile and we’ve just been beaten three nil at home by an ordinary team so pessimism and gloom are perhaps to be expected but, lets try at least to keep some perspective on things, all is not lost in one game. We always knew that this and the next two would be hard but, we have Yeovil and Barnsley to play and some other very winnable games.
Comments
Hats off to their fans, as I can't remember a game for a long time where the opposition fans only sang about their team. So refreshing to hear and also not hear the usual abuse or 'Going Down' being espoused. Small club with good fans. Wish them well.
Onward for CAFC somehow. It added insult to injury yesterday to read that Ricardo scored Blackpool's only goal to win! Watched it on goal express: clinical finisher that we don't have.
Still, we remain just outside the relegation zone and that is a very hard game out of the way.
What's your view on Eddie Howe btw? There's a bit of history rewriting going on down here to the effect your current team is effectively one he put together!
Just so hesitant going forward, unlike Burnley, who all knew what they we doing. Could've been different if Churchy could shoot but very few bright points. Poyet & Dervitte & one great effort from AA. Other than that, feeble, toothless.
Burnley kind of reminded me of us in our League 1 winning season. Can imagine opposition fans have probably said they're not that good, but they're doing it consistently. They didn't take us apart with exciting football, just a good all round team that made it difficult for us and took enough of their own chances.
Still plenty of games to go, we can afford to lose some of them and that was one we didn't expect to get anything from.
They handed a great chance to Church and as he has done for most of the season hits his shot so weakly it looks like a back pass. Surely he can't keep his place in the team. I said when I first saw him I wasn't sure what type of player he was. It's clear now that wasn't because he was a good all rounder, he's just a hard worker that doesn't stand out in any area. His energy alongside good players would have got him by at Reading, but in a team like ours he doesn't add a great deal. He doesn't even look a real team player that could get a lot of assists, instead he'll take a shot on and barely trouble the goalkeeper.
Poyet is getting better, was looking to take the ball forward more often and look for a killer pass. Unfortunately there's not a lot of movement ahead of him.
Obika was disappointing. Green was Green. Rightly taken off at half time but shouldn't be starting in the first place. Like Powell, Riga hasn't tried Cousins behind Wilson. Must be a reason but I'm not really sure what it is. The other option Nego is good enough to make the bench, can he not start? Some have said he did ok at Wigan.
We lack players that can run with the ball and beat players. In midfield Green tries but can't beat a defender and the other three aren't that type of player. How many times did we take the ball forward before losing it? Obika even went on a decent run only to fall over.
Second half the changes made things worse. No real formation and players out of position. Obika playing as a left winger/striker, AA up front, Reza right midfield (clearly a poacher and definitely not a midfielder), Jackson in between left midfield and just in front of Poyet and Cousins. Had Powell made those changes he'd be called tactically inept and clueless. Chucking on attacking players early might look positive but it's no good if you're weakening the midfield that's supposed to support and create for them.
I don't mind Wiggins playing his way out of trouble but his refusal to use his right foot could have handed Burnley a goal. He's not looked the threat going forward that he used to and that continued yesterday.
We still have a chance of staying up but we really need to start creating and taking more chances. Getting another striker in, unless they're a very good target man to hold up the ball and create chances for others isn't going to make much difference. We now have plenty of strikers but no obvious partnership.
We need a good right winger or right back to strengthen that side of the team and help us create more chances.
I don't think any of the teams around us would have got anything against Burnley. I think 5 wins and a couple of draws from 12 games would be enough. We have winnable games but it's going to be difficult especially with our lack of goals.
Good quote from CAFC4life, completely agree. When I saw Church and Green were starting
my heart sank. Both were useless against Bournemouth. Church alone will get us relegated.
Worst striker I've seen and seen some poor ones. Virtually every home game
he gets a 1-1 with the keeper and either side foots or misses.
Surely the professional coaches and managers can see which I and most
supporters see. Please no more Green and Church this season!
So Dyche also set about building a strong team ethos with army style training pre-season. We had a blow losing Austin 2 days before the opening game, but it meant a proper front 2 pairing - Big strong Vokes and quick skillful Ings - who Dyche had given belief to and trust in.
Did Howe buy/sign a number of that squad? Yes. Would Howe have got us to where we are now? Not a chance. In fact, I'd go as far as saying we may have gone down last season!
As a side note: He lost his mum suddenly in early/mid 2012 and the team didn't play too well after this. His family were on the south coast and he was stuck up north. Not ideal for a then 33 year old. I think his spark had gone and the move back south was ideal for him. I lost my mum at the same age and it's a big blow.
He's still relatively well liked by our fans anyway, but this success is mainly down to Dyche.
I enjoyed my trip to The Valley, and not just for the result. I was totally lost trying to find my way and thankfully a group of four Charlton fans guided me the way! You have a great set of fans and a self deprecating humour about your position. You deserve better than you are getting and it s
And it's my genuine hope that you stay up.
It's served us well this season anyway.
Had our "striker", who tries hard but struggles to strike a ball, scored in the first half I think the result might not have been so "easy" for you.
I'm now more or less resigned to league one. The way we fell away after the goal was alarming if not unexpected. Our confidence is so fragile that we just can't cope with any set backs. We were never coming back in that game yesterday.
Clearly the goal scoring situation is not going to be resolved. None of the forwards we have on our books are going to score enough goals between now and the end of the season to win us enough games. The lack of creativity from wide areas is a problem, but I don't have any confidence that any of our forwards will take any chances presented to them anyway!. I sat there yesterday thinking who on earth is coaching our forwards? The lack of movement in front of the man on the ball is shameful. Time and time again Poyet got on the ball, only to look up and see 2-3 blokes standing still in a line.
We have further problems in as much as our better players are also wobbling. Wiggins seems to put in one decent performance in every 4 games at the moment and Morrison is "recapturing" his early season jitters.
I keep reading people sniping over the sales of Yann and Dale, but would ask how many goals had we scored when they left and how many points did we have? I honestly don;t think they would have made a blind bit of difference. Poyet aside I wouldn't bat an eyelid if we didn't see a single one of the players picked yesterday in the team next season.
We were always going to lose yesterday ~ the real question is where is our next win coming from? Is it too much to ask to keep the faith until April with all those home games?
Church strikes me as the type of player who 'proves' that the market for footballers is inefficient.
This inefficiency is an opportunity for clever clubs to exploit by acknowledging that there must likewise be undiscovered gems (not necessarily young ones) lurking in the lower divisions and non-league.
An interesting recent interview with Barry Fry on Talksport drew attention to this and Peterborough's remarkable record of polishing up these gems and selling them on.
As a clever man (albeit not a traditional 'football man' for better or worse), I suspect RD intends to try taking advantage of this inefficiency in various ways.
I watch a fair bit of non-League and I genuinely wonder what it is that Church possesses which good strikers at that level don't (let alone L1 or L2)? He isn't quick, good in the air or a natural finisher - he works hard and runs the channels but so surely would any player offered the opportunity. Maybe the lower quality of defenders at that level distorts things.
I am sure you don't get picked regularly for your country or make 100+ appearances at this level without having something, it's just not clear what it is. Powell presumably rated him quite highly as he would have been one of hundreds of forwards available on a free last summer.
FWIW I expect Eddie Howe to have another year down here, maybe with a shot at the play offs, but then get his chance with someone like West Ham.
All the best for the rest of the season.
Our new manager has had a few weeks in which he can add value to our team and for the most part I’d say he has done that, even though we’ve been playing two games a week. What he hasn’t got is a magic wand, we are not going to suddenly start beating top of the table teams, not with our front line any way. He has however, recognised that fact and brought in (obviously with help) Obika, who is a good Championship squad player with potential to be more than that.
I think we will stay up, in fact I’m sure we will but, it’s our defence that will keep us up not our attack. If there is any scope to bring in (temporarily) more front line players then this must be done just to be sure. In the closed season we can sort out more permanent solutions.
I know we are at the bottom of the pile and we’ve just been beaten three nil at home by an ordinary team so pessimism and gloom are perhaps to be expected but, lets try at least to keep some perspective on things, all is not lost in one game. We always knew that this and the next two would be hard but, we have Yeovil and Barnsley to play and some other very winnable games.
Frazer’s are not helpful