Watt had a bust up with Matthew, in the week before the season started, which was why he was surprisingly on the bench against QPR and came on after 46 mins.
We started really slowly and Cardiff could have scored three times before we got going. Without playing particularly well we then came into it a bit and went close ourselves twice from set piece situations. Watt really should have scored from a header before half time although their keeper got a bit lucky as it hit his legs without him knowing too much about it. Bergdich had a drain of a first half and so it was no surprise when he didn't come out for the second.
We seemed to start playing with more purpose from the off in the second half. KAG took his goal well although it was a bit of a gift as his marker over committed himself as the ball was crossed by Watt. Had we managed to keep the lead for 10 mins they may have started to chase the game and we may have been able to pick them off on the break but conceding so soon after scoring was criminal. However we were still well in the game and almost went ahead again when Watt shot from the edge of the box and their keeper parried to Cousins who couldn't finish from the rebound on his wrong foot. That was on about 65 mins.
After that we were pitiful. We seemed to just stop playing. We gave them all the possession. We didn't tackle, harry, mark or have any aggression in our game. When we did occasionally get the ball there was no purpose or ambition. We simply handed them the points from a position where we still had a chance to win it ourselves. The last 25 minutes was the limpest performance I can recall for some time and I can't understand what was behind it. Perhaps a combination of substitutions Cardiff made, fatigue and a lack of experience. We lacked a leader on the pitch certainly. However, there can be no excuses for us being quite so bad in that last quarter of the match.
Watt had a bust up with Matthew, in the week before the season started, which was why he was surprisingly on the bench against QPR and came on after 46 mins.
I thought that's because he was dicking around in training? This is why I find it hard to attach any truth to any of these. Who really knows what goes on?
Watt had a bust up with Matthew, in the week before the season started, which was why he was surprisingly on the bench against QPR and came on after 46 mins.
I thought that's because he was dicking around in training? This is why I find it hard to attach any truth to any of these. Who really knows what goes on?
It was & I know it's true, because a reliable source told me beforehand.
Watt had a bust up with Matthew, in the week before the season started, which was why he was surprisingly on the bench against QPR and came on after 46 mins.
I thought that's because he was dicking around in training? This is why I find it hard to attach any truth to any of these. Who really knows what goes on?
It was & I know it's true, because a reliable source told me beforehand.
We played like Birmingham away last season (end of season nothing match). I would not of backed us too score a second at 100/1. We never looked like threatening.
I could be proven massively wrong but Roland got rid of Peeters, Riga and Powell earlier than I expected him to and the same will happen to Luzon-I reckon he has the Fulham game and, if the inevitable happens, we'll be fed the same old bollocks again about finding the right man for the job only to see some network Johnnie with no knowledge of the Championship given the gig.
Not seen Kennedy play but he was never on my radar as one to watch. Lookman however (if we have no recall on Harriott) could do a job on the left. Also need a new captain, Solly not doing it.
Nothing wrong with Solly as captain. If anything he is the only player over the past few weeks truly fulfilling his side of the bargain. Nobody else in that starting eleven is as consistent week in and week out on the pitch and therefore cannot be looked at as captain material.
Nothing wrong with Solly as a player but a captain needs to have a bit of ooomph to get his team giving it their all and fighting for the cause Between the manager and the captain the teams spirit /effort /commitment/ any other footballing cliche you want etc needs to be a lot better than what we are currently showing
Not seen Kennedy play but he was never on my radar as one to watch. Lookman however (if we have no recall on Harriott) could do a job on the left. Also need a new captain, Solly not doing it.
Nothing wrong with Solly as captain. If anything he is the only player over the past few weeks truly fulfilling his side of the bargain. Nobody else in that starting eleven is as consistent week in and week out on the pitch and therefore cannot be looked at as captain material.
I have to disagree with you about Solly. He is not vocal enough does not encourage/goad enough and does not shout at/organise the defence well enough. Fox was doing far more of this at Cardiff than Solly was.
Also, at Cardiff, and by his standards, Solly had a very poor game. I lost count of the number of occasions when he received the ball in a potentially attacking position with the front two (either Watt and JGB or more frequently in the second half Watt and KAG) making early threatening diagonal runs. Without exception, Solly ignored or worse, did not see, these runs and played yet another meaningless ball across the back four. Of course, eventually, the forwards get disheartened and stop making the runs. After all, what was the point?
The last 10 minutes of normal time and the 4 minutes of extra time were particularly disheartening. We were losing, against all the odds, by only one goal, yet played really, really meekly. There was plenty of keepsie being played between the defence and Pope but no attempt whatsoever to get the ball into the opposition half. You know, that bit of the pitch where the goal is. It was shockingly inept and something any half decent captain would not have tolerated. (Not to mention the massed ranks of the coaching staff on the sidelines.) Guess what - the meek do not inherit the points.
It was all very disappointing indeed, particularly as (after the totally awful opening spell) there had been (Bergdich excluded) some slight indication of an improved performance after the shockingly inept Blackburn game.
"I didn't like how we played in the first half and we needed to be more offensive" was GL's confirmation of why he sent K A-G on. And it worked because he scored straightaway.
But nobody needed a crystal ball to see that this was likely to happen. No team in the Football League can have scored as few goals of us in the first half of matches this season - just the one and that wasn't even in the first 40 minutes and the equivalent of netting just once in almost five matches.
What happens at half time? Well GL changes things and presumably sends the team out having given them a right rollicking. And we do inevitably score - in fact five times as many goals in the next 10 minutes as we did in the preceding 45.
So either GL isn't picking the right team/formation in the first place or it is taking him to vent his spleen at half time to galvanise the side. Either way he needs to sort it. And fast.
Another comment made to me after the game re captaincy: When we had a corner in the second half near us (when it was 1-1, I think, after the keeper had blocked Jordan's follow up), if JJ had been on the pitch he would have been geeing up the fans as well as the players - I know it wasn't on Chris's side but we seem to have lost that fan/player interaction. TWWW did it a couple of times last season, but I REALLY don't think the armband should go anywhere near him ;-) (or any striker IMHO, I think midfielders always make the better captains)
up to Cardiff to watch the match, then made it back into London to watch the rugby, safe to say there wasn't a lot of love for the welsh at about 10pm Saturday night, thought we were terrible on Saturday but young paper thin squad, need some experience on the pitch as at the moment I cannot see us winning another game the gutting bit for me was after there 2nd went in we didn't even try, Wednesday was different we were outplayed by palace for 90 minutes and were lucky to escape 4-1, as many have said you don't mind losing when you try but when they perform like that and people have spent hard earned money going up there to see it, its annoying,
Plenty of people at fault - but not time to sack Guy (yet)
- GL needs to focus on motivating the squad. That's one of his main jobs and he's not doing it at the moment. He also needs to figure out how to be effective tactically with the squad we've got as he's just smashing his face against a wall at the moment. Try something new.
- Solly needs to be a motivator/leader on the pitch or we need a new captain. The passion has to come from the captain during the 90 and he needs to be massively more vocal.
- All the players need to work harder, work at 100%, earn their money. Ok they're young and need motivation (see above) but if you are one of the 11 you need to act like it matters.
- RD needs to stop being such a stubborn prick and support the manager and the team with the right signings, particularly with a focus on EXPERIENCE in the CHAMPIONSHIP. Without that we dont have the fight needed. Proven last year with a few free journeymen making the end of the season far more comfortable. Big fucking surprise that a bunch of young overseas players are struggling.
- KM - genuinely no idea what she does or what role she performs, but if we're so tight on budget can we sack her and use the money for a loan?
Nothing wrong with Solly as a player but a captain needs to have a bit of ooomph to get his team giving it their all and fighting for the cause Between the manager and the captain the teams spirit /effort /commitment/ any other footballing cliche you want etc needs to be a lot better than what we are currently showing
Not sure the "bit of oomph" stuff really does a lot in this day and age of modern football, especially with an international team like ours' that speaks different languages and is still gelling. Leaders will lead, whether they have an armband on or not.
I'm not entirely sure the likes of Naby Sarr, ElHadji Ba etc are players who have developed in that 'bit of oomph' footballing environment. The players just aren't doing the things that they are capable of technically at the moment.
Plenty of people at fault - but not time to sack Guy (yet)
- GL needs to focus on motivating the squad. That's one of his main jobs and he's not doing it at the moment. He also needs to figure out how to be effective tactically with the squad we've got as he's just smashing his face against a wall at the moment. Try something new.
- Solly needs to be a motivator/leader on the pitch or we need a new captain. The passion has to come from the captain during the 90 and he needs to be massively more vocal.
- All the players need to work harder, work at 100%, earn their money. Ok they're young and need motivation (see above) but if you are one of the 11 you need to act like it matters.
- RD needs to stop being such a stubborn prick and support the manager and the team with the right signings, particularly with a focus on EXPERIENCE in the CHAMPIONSHIP. Without that we dont have the fight needed. Proven last year with a few free journeymen making the end of the season far more comfortable. Big fucking surprise that a bunch of young overseas players are struggling.
- KM - genuinely no idea what she does or what role she performs, but if we're so tight on budget can we sack her and use the money for a loan?
If Jackson isn't considered a first team regular any longer then I think the captaincy has to go to Diarra as the most experienced old pro on the pitch. Can see the whole game in front of him at centre back and should have the respect of the other players.
Jackson should continue to be club captain off the field.
Agree that Solly is not captain material and I am wondering if it is effecting his own game a tad.
Centre back is the best place for a captain as he can see the game unfold. Chris Solly is Captain on games played in championship and the fact that he is consistent. I would like to think that Patrick Bauer could be a good leader.
Anyone else see the irony that Solly plays 3 games in 8 days and most of the rest of them are struggling to do the same ?
When in Prem there was a significant minority hankering after champ footie. Now it seems there are people misty eyed about FL1. Don't worry we may well be swapping places with the gills if not careful.
Palarse a training ground affair of mutual benefit to both clubs. Any addick expecting a full side against a top 6 Prem outfit in view of injury situation lost track with the modern game. Note the scum element amongst our supporter base out in force last Tuesday.
I work in sales, and a big mistake sometimes made by companies is to choose your best salesman as the next manager. Very often he or she does not have the right character for motivational management, and you have now lost your best salesman. The same applies in sport, you have to choose them as a player and then re-assess them in terms of suitability as a leader. Right now if we could find a good offensive/attacking midfielder with leadership qualities a la Kinsella, I would be a very happy man and we would look a much better team.
Comments
We seemed to start playing with more purpose from the off in the second half. KAG took his goal well although it was a bit of a gift as his marker over committed himself as the ball was crossed by Watt. Had we managed to keep the lead for 10 mins they may have started to chase the game and we may have been able to pick them off on the break but conceding so soon after scoring was criminal. However we were still well in the game and almost went ahead again when Watt shot from the edge of the box and their keeper parried to Cousins who couldn't finish from the rebound on his wrong foot. That was on about 65 mins.
After that we were pitiful. We seemed to just stop playing. We gave them all the possession. We didn't tackle, harry, mark or have any aggression in our game. When we did occasionally get the ball there was no purpose or ambition. We simply handed them the points from a position where we still had a chance to win it ourselves. The last 25 minutes was the limpest performance I can recall for some time and I can't understand what was behind it. Perhaps a combination of substitutions Cardiff made, fatigue and a lack of experience. We lacked a leader on the pitch certainly. However, there can be no excuses for us being quite so bad in that last quarter of the match.
We played like Birmingham away last season (end of season nothing match). I would not of backed us too score a second at 100/1. We never looked like threatening.
Happy KAG scored. Nice to see Moussa again.
Desperately crying out for a LM and an AM.
Pathetic effort.
I believe that is 10 games now.
Between the manager and the captain the teams spirit /effort /commitment/ any other footballing cliche you want etc needs to be a lot better than what we are currently showing
Also, at Cardiff, and by his standards, Solly had a very poor game. I lost count of the number of occasions when he received the ball in a potentially attacking position with the front two (either Watt and JGB or more frequently in the second half Watt and KAG) making early threatening diagonal runs. Without exception, Solly ignored or worse, did not see, these runs and played yet another meaningless ball across the back four. Of course, eventually, the forwards get disheartened and stop making the runs. After all, what was the point?
The last 10 minutes of normal time and the 4 minutes of extra time were particularly disheartening. We were losing, against all the odds, by only one goal, yet played really, really meekly. There was plenty of keepsie being played between the defence and Pope but no attempt whatsoever to get the ball into the opposition half. You know, that bit of the pitch where the goal is. It was shockingly inept and something any half decent captain would not have tolerated. (Not to mention the massed ranks of the coaching staff on the sidelines.) Guess what - the meek do not inherit the points.
It was all very disappointing indeed, particularly as (after the totally awful opening spell) there had been (Bergdich excluded) some slight indication of an improved performance after the shockingly inept Blackburn game.
But nobody needed a crystal ball to see that this was likely to happen. No team in the Football League can have scored as few goals of us in the first half of matches this season - just the one and that wasn't even in the first 40 minutes and the equivalent of netting just once in almost five matches.
What happens at half time? Well GL changes things and presumably sends the team out having given them a right rollicking. And we do inevitably score - in fact five times as many goals in the next 10 minutes as we did in the preceding 45.
So either GL isn't picking the right team/formation in the first place or it is taking him to vent his spleen at half time to galvanise the side. Either way he needs to sort it. And fast.
- GL needs to focus on motivating the squad. That's one of his main jobs and he's not doing it at the moment. He also needs to figure out how to be effective tactically with the squad we've got as he's just smashing his face against a wall at the moment. Try something new.
- Solly needs to be a motivator/leader on the pitch or we need a new captain. The passion has to come from the captain during the 90 and he needs to be massively more vocal.
- All the players need to work harder, work at 100%, earn their money. Ok they're young and need motivation (see above) but if you are one of the 11 you need to act like it matters.
- RD needs to stop being such a stubborn prick and support the manager and the team with the right signings, particularly with a focus on EXPERIENCE in the CHAMPIONSHIP. Without that we dont have the fight needed. Proven last year with a few free journeymen making the end of the season far more comfortable. Big fucking surprise that a bunch of young overseas players are struggling.
- KM - genuinely no idea what she does or what role she performs, but if we're so tight on budget can we sack her and use the money for a loan?
I'm not entirely sure the likes of Naby Sarr, ElHadji Ba etc are players who have developed in that 'bit of oomph' footballing environment. The players just aren't doing the things that they are capable of technically at the moment.
Jackson should continue to be club captain off the field.
Agree that Solly is not captain material and I am wondering if it is effecting his own game a tad.
Shy, quiet and introverted.
I was at a POTY "do", which he won a few years ago.
You would have thought he'd come last. He looked totally unenthusiastic and barely raised a smile.
I'm not criticising him. But we can't all be leaders.
Surely, Diarra would be the best bet or Bauer.
Chris Solly is Captain on games played in championship and the fact that he is consistent.
I would like to think that Patrick Bauer could be a good leader.
Anyone else see the irony that Solly plays 3 games in 8 days and most of the rest of them are struggling to do the same ?
Now it seems there are people misty eyed about FL1.
Don't worry we may well be swapping places with the gills if not careful.
Any addick expecting a full side against a top 6 Prem outfit in view of injury situation lost track with the modern game.
Note the scum element amongst our supporter base out in force last Tuesday.