| A few thoughts in light of day 08:57 - Dec 4 with 3973 views | SomethingBlue |
There's a low point in most seasons and it very often comes on a gloomy Tuesday night in the guts of autumn or winter. Hopefully that was ours. Just a non-event from our perspective really and a rare example of a game passing us by. Everton was frustrating at the time but there were a couple of misses and a penalty flashpoint; last night very few complaints at all.
I thought things might work out OK in the first 10 minutes – Greaves found Leif in some good space with a ball he couldn't quite control and J Clarke/Delap marauded a bit. Looked like we might be alright on the transition. But from about 20 minutes onwards I didn't seriously think anyone bar Palace could win the game. The spine of their team is huge and they are all good on the ball; they shut us down, didn't do anything too complex but had a wonderful player in Eze to float around and work things in the pockets, and looked much the better for long spells.
Frustrating though that the goal came at a time when we were, if just huffing and puffing really, on top and under no real threat. I thought Greaves had a good game overall but he's got to do better there. A shame we couldn't see whether we might build on the foothold we'd gained. But as we often say now, these are the margins.
This is highly arguable and H Clarke did absolutely nothing wrong for the goal but I wonder if, with Tuanzebe's recovery speed and timing in there, he does something to at least complicate things for Mateta.
Think our reliance on Hutchinson and Delap is very evident on days like that. They are both wonderful and as a minimum they'll be a meal ticket to serious investment in a promotion campaign next year. But we are asking a colossal amount of them and struggled to offer either any real support. A scrap like last night exposes a lot of the raw edges. Getting out of trouble with two 21 year-olds in their first PL seasons leading the way would be tantamount to a miracle. They are going to need some help and need looking after, too.
Not that we've seen much to judge, but also think Ogbene is probably missed on this kind of occasion – presence and directness on that side. We lacked out there and that's not to dump on Clarke and Burns.
We are also at a point where we really need a run of games from both Phillips and Johnson – two fine, highly PL-experienced players who were showing very good things until their recent injuries. This is the calibre we badly need. I think it's crucial they both start getting out there on the pitch
This is a tough month through to January and it's vital we get these guys some help then. The target must be to fall no further adrift. I imagine we will largely have to look at loans. A striker with some presence and pedigree is a must and we need to be looking at either flank too.
All really is not lost though. If we roar back on Sunday I doubt anyone will remember last night much. The next two or three are all surmountable in isolation and should be games that suit us more, which brings its own challenges as we do seem better when it's a bit hectic. Sat in the west stand last night for the first time in a long time, and have to say the vibe felt very flat in there from the start and didn't pick up much. Temperatures? Kick-off time? McKenna seemed to acknowledge afterwards that at HT we just needed to get the ball forward more quickly and start scrapping for stuff to get people enthused a little. Hope people keep the faith because there is a very long way to go.
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:28 - Dec 4 with 3093 views | Exiled2Surrey |
Thank you - the balance we all need.
We have to play the long game - while we are not always taking points in the places we might expect to, we are taking points in places we would not. It’s a long season, pressure does funny things to teams and players, and we are not the ones under pressure.
The disappointment of West Ham was followed by Leicester, Spurs and Man Utd - there will be more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing
The atmosphere for Leicester was great - let’s just do that again on Sunday! | | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:31 - Dec 4 with 3056 views | waveneyblue |
As always, an excellent summary.
Its plain to see that we are probably one or even two seasons ahead of plan at the moment and we are expecting a lot from the players we have.
The saddest thing is the negativity from sections of the fanbase, including on this site.
Its unhelpful in the extreme and does nothing but make the situation worse. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:34 - Dec 4 with 3039 views | blueasfook |
Burns was the most disappointing player on the pitch. I don't know what has happened to him but he looks a shadow of the player he was in L1 and Championship. He seems to have totally lost the ability to get past his man, put a cross in or even win a ball. Totally ineffective last night. I was hoping we'd start with Chappers in the middle and Hutch out on the right where he likes to cut inside and curl one into the top corner. But hey, i am not the manager. |  |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:47 - Dec 4 with 2925 views | SomethingBlue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:34 - Dec 4 by blueasfook |
Burns was the most disappointing player on the pitch. I don't know what has happened to him but he looks a shadow of the player he was in L1 and Championship. He seems to have totally lost the ability to get past his man, put a cross in or even win a ball. Totally ineffective last night. I was hoping we'd start with Chappers in the middle and Hutch out on the right where he likes to cut inside and curl one into the top corner. But hey, i am not the manager. |
All that's happening with Burns is that he's a player who nobody ever thought could reach the Premier League and has juiced absolutely everything out of his ability, becoming a key player for a team that got there. If the step proves too big (and he definitely has his uses as we saw vs United) then I'll not judge him on that. I'll applaud him to the heavens, he's an incredible example for any mid-20s footballer whose career is not going anywhere particularly fast.
I agree though that the ground Hutchinson can gain on the right, going inside or outside, is maybe more useful in a match like last night's – in hindsight I'd have liked to see him start out there. [Post edited 4 Dec 2024 9:48]
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:49 - Dec 4 with 2899 views | reusersfreekicks |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:47 - Dec 4 by SomethingBlue |
All that's happening with Burns is that he's a player who nobody ever thought could reach the Premier League and has juiced absolutely everything out of his ability, becoming a key player for a team that got there. If the step proves too big (and he definitely has his uses as we saw vs United) then I'll not judge him on that. I'll applaud him to the heavens, he's an incredible example for any mid-20s footballer whose career is not going anywhere particularly fast.
I agree though that the ground Hutchinson can gain on the right, going inside or outside, is maybe more useful in a match like last night's – in hindsight I'd have liked to see him start out there. [Post edited 4 Dec 2024 9:48]
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Well said. He is either not quite fit or has reached his ceiling or a bit of both |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:51 - Dec 4 with 2875 views | bsw72 |
I agree about the crowd, I’ve only missed the Man Utd game but without doubt last night was very flat, even personally I was struggling to get into it.
Can’t put my finger on why as we’ve been competitive at home in all but the Everton game.
I do think credit to Palace for the way they nullified our threat and as such silenced the crowd, and I also think that the Palace fans have been the most vociferous I have seen at PR this season.
All in all last night felt a little predictable, and despite my best efforts to “enjoy” the Premier League ride, you can’t beat that winning feeling we have had for the previous 30 months.
As you say, good performance and 3 points on Sunday and the mood will change. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:55 - Dec 4 with 2814 views | RobTheMonk |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:49 - Dec 4 by reusersfreekicks |
Well said. He is either not quite fit or has reached his ceiling or a bit of both |
Burns has used his pace exceptionally well in League 1 and the Champ. In the Prem you need a little bit more as pretty much all the fullbacks will be just as quick. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:58 - Dec 4 with 2785 views | portmanking |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:47 - Dec 4 by SomethingBlue |
All that's happening with Burns is that he's a player who nobody ever thought could reach the Premier League and has juiced absolutely everything out of his ability, becoming a key player for a team that got there. If the step proves too big (and he definitely has his uses as we saw vs United) then I'll not judge him on that. I'll applaud him to the heavens, he's an incredible example for any mid-20s footballer whose career is not going anywhere particularly fast.
I agree though that the ground Hutchinson can gain on the right, going inside or outside, is maybe more useful in a match like last night's – in hindsight I'd have liked to see him start out there. [Post edited 4 Dec 2024 9:48]
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It definitely wasn't a game for Omari in the middle. Their mid block meant it was far too congested, especially since Morsy seemed unwilling to try and risk playing through the lines to find him.
Kieran seems to play Omari wherever the 'space' is on the pitch and I feel it's one of the few occasions he got it wrong last night.
My biggest concern is how isolated Delap is. I think it's time for Szmodics to be given a go in the central 10 and asked to get as close to Delap as possible. Omari - Szmods - J. Clarke/Broadhead should be the 3 behind Delap on Sunday IMO. | | | |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:01 - Dec 4 with 2735 views | soupytwist |
I think that the contrast with Palace in terms of athleticism and power was stark. Before the game I said to my son that they looked to have a considerable advantage over us in those departments.
And while we've rightly lauded Morsy since the start of the season, the comparison with Will Hughes was interesting. I've never heard anyone say that Hughes is a great player, should be in the England squad etc. but last night he just did everything required of him very well and looked better than any of our central midfielders. I guess that's what comes with having played nearly 200 top flight games. Our most experienced top flight player hasn't played half that number and didn't get on the pitch last night. [Post edited 4 Dec 2024 10:01]
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:04 - Dec 4 with 2675 views | BlueOura |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:34 - Dec 4 by blueasfook |
Burns was the most disappointing player on the pitch. I don't know what has happened to him but he looks a shadow of the player he was in L1 and Championship. He seems to have totally lost the ability to get past his man, put a cross in or even win a ball. Totally ineffective last night. I was hoping we'd start with Chappers in the middle and Hutch out on the right where he likes to cut inside and curl one into the top corner. But hey, i am not the manager. |
You have kind of answered your own question there. He is now playing in the top tier against far better defenders and is simply not able to operate in the same effective way he was able to 2 divisions below. Very few players can continue to be effective when making such a climb, Morsy being one of the rare exceptions imo. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:06 - Dec 4 with 2640 views | FrimleyBlue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:55 - Dec 4 by RobTheMonk |
Burns has used his pace exceptionally well in League 1 and the Champ. In the Prem you need a little bit more as pretty much all the fullbacks will be just as quick. |
This is a difficult discussion for me to be involved in as I know many will be quick to bring up the past in a manner that isn't required.
But, firstly, I appreciate the Burns stuff in the past, it wasn't the content it was the volume of content.
Burns at the moment I feel sorry for, some of what I said last year was my truths on how I felt he performed against certain sides, and his goal scoring figures, assists etc were far less than he achieved in league 1.
But more importantly his main attribute has always been his directness and running into space, he's not a technical player, he doesn't have Omari's feet, he just runs. It was effecting in league 1 as most players couldn't match his pace. In the champ, some clubs couldnt cope, many could which we saw as he wasn't as effective in the champ
Now we're prem it's even harder for him to be a positive attribute, however we've still seen flourishes of it, the utd game for example, we got him into space and he put some great balls across the box.
Last night, we barely got the ball over the top for him to run onto, there is no point giving the ball to Burns and asking him to make something of it, he hasn't got that natural attribute, that's not a slight on him, it's just not his gift. His pace can still be useful but you have to make use of it properly, which we didnt.
But he's also without doubt not fully fit, he was yards of eze last night, and yes he managed to thankfully get a slight touch on eze's shot, but he had lost 4 yards on him from a standing position, that's not wes.
For me, if we are to use Wes then the directive needs to be that the ball is played over the top for him to run onto, I think for this to work well, chappers needs to play in the middle as he understands his runs and the timings. |  |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:11 - Dec 4 with 2579 views | thebooks |
I’m kind of hoping there’s something in the “we do well against teams that go toe-to-toe but struggle against pragmatic teams” argument.
Palace were good in a been-in-the-PL-for-years-have-an-identikit-team-of-internationals way (see Bournemouth, Wolves and every other middling team that looks exactly the same).
They bought on Adam Wharton as a sub. We simply can’t compete on that level, but we can compete in other ways if the opponent plays into our hands (normally by getting fullbacks forward from a back 4).
I can’t really ask more of this season than we compete and entertain, which we do every match.
My bit of the NS is disproportionately full of old men, and my God they fall back into moaning very, very easily. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:17 - Dec 4 with 2545 views | gringoblue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:06 - Dec 4 by FrimleyBlue |
This is a difficult discussion for me to be involved in as I know many will be quick to bring up the past in a manner that isn't required.
But, firstly, I appreciate the Burns stuff in the past, it wasn't the content it was the volume of content.
Burns at the moment I feel sorry for, some of what I said last year was my truths on how I felt he performed against certain sides, and his goal scoring figures, assists etc were far less than he achieved in league 1.
But more importantly his main attribute has always been his directness and running into space, he's not a technical player, he doesn't have Omari's feet, he just runs. It was effecting in league 1 as most players couldn't match his pace. In the champ, some clubs couldnt cope, many could which we saw as he wasn't as effective in the champ
Now we're prem it's even harder for him to be a positive attribute, however we've still seen flourishes of it, the utd game for example, we got him into space and he put some great balls across the box.
Last night, we barely got the ball over the top for him to run onto, there is no point giving the ball to Burns and asking him to make something of it, he hasn't got that natural attribute, that's not a slight on him, it's just not his gift. His pace can still be useful but you have to make use of it properly, which we didnt.
But he's also without doubt not fully fit, he was yards of eze last night, and yes he managed to thankfully get a slight touch on eze's shot, but he had lost 4 yards on him from a standing position, that's not wes.
For me, if we are to use Wes then the directive needs to be that the ball is played over the top for him to run onto, I think for this to work well, chappers needs to play in the middle as he understands his runs and the timings. |
I'm generally a big Wes fan, and it is certainly possible that he is not 100% fit so not able to go full throttle, but I thought he was poor last night. We got him into some good positions, especially first half, one on one against his full back. I know he isn't a dribbler or very tricky, but at his best he has drive and power. Think of that sub cameo against Bristol City last season, he was a force of nature. Not once did he just drive into the box against Palace. He kept banging crosses straight against the full back. Now he might get tackled 80% of the time, but skin the full back once and it creates doubt even if there is no goal at the end of it.
That Eze chance he was half asleep and didn't spot the danger. He actually did pretty well to get back as he made up 5 yards.
In general I thought we wasted good break opportunities throughout the game, which experienced premier league teams rarely do. It was the same against Forest. Jack Clarke doing well and then being dozy by not releasing the ball early enough. Delap being greedy. Our best bit of play in the second half was one touch football between Taylor and Davis when he whipped a cross in early for Delap to miss the header. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:23 - Dec 4 with 2472 views | tonybied |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 09:49 - Dec 4 by reusersfreekicks |
Well said. He is either not quite fit or has reached his ceiling or a bit of both |
The thing is though, he's not trying. I think he's confidence is gone, in his body and his ability. There was a ball that was pinged out toward him last night and in the last couple of seasons he would have tried to get on the end of it, but last night he shuffled in the general direction of the ball and then just turned his back on it. I am not saying he would've managed to control the ball and be away in the last couple of seasons but he would've been close to getting that ball all being well.
I think he could do with being the backup guy for a while with less pressure on him and hopefully he'll come back in to a good headspace. The only issue is we are so light on players to play his role if McKenna wants to stick with Hutch in the central 10 role. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:24 - Dec 4 with 2466 views | Rsj13 |
This is a great - and balanced - summary.
One of the things I found frustrating yesterday, was that it was a bit like watching Southgate's England. Plenty of possession, but most of it sideways and backwards. We need to be braver.
I think Burns has hit his ceiling. He has always relied on raw pace to get past players, and the athleticism in the Prem means that no longer works.
The thing that is a key challenge for us, is that fundamentally most of our subs are a drop down from our starters now. Al Hamadi is not as good as Delap. Taylor is not as good as Cajuste. In the Champ, our squad was probably more balanced and had greater depth, which is why we scored so many late winners.
I'm still torn on Muric. It's not his ability, it's his hesitancy. He seems to get stuck in no mans land quite a lot. I really would not be averse to giving Walton a run out, he is a great shot stopper and very calm. He knows the squad etc, so I don't think it would be a massive change for the defence?
The positives:
- Cajuste looks very good. Super calm, can help set the pace of the game, and definitely supplements Morsy. Makes me far less nervous of losing Morsy to a suspension. Could a middle three become an option, Phillips or Morsy just in front of the Defence and then two in the middle?
- I agree with the points around Phillips and Johnson. We need those with Premiership experience to step up, lead by example and teach us how to get results in this league. Ultimately we can't look at O'shea for that, because Burnley didn't get results in this league! But others can for sure.
- Delap is an absolute workhorse. Should we try and temper that slightly, though? Whilst Al Hamadi puts in a lot of effort, it feels less structured and more chaotic, and I just feel that Delap is far more likely to bury a half chance than Al Hamadi...
- Over the game, our defence is looking better than previously. That does beg the question about my comments about Muric, and do we want to disrupt that - but our defence has been disrupted by Tuanzebe and Greaves' injuries.
Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I nervous? Getting there. But I agree with the Blue Monday podcast that we're the best coached new team, and probably the fittest. I think we have a higher ceiling as a squad, and we only need to string together a few good results and the complexion is very different.
Finally, worth noting that Armando Broja still hasn't played for Everton - looks like his most recent game was for the U-21's, so probably a good move stepping away from that one, given how close we are to the Jan window! | | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:29 - Dec 4 with 2411 views | bsw72 |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:24 - Dec 4 by Rsj13 |
This is a great - and balanced - summary.
One of the things I found frustrating yesterday, was that it was a bit like watching Southgate's England. Plenty of possession, but most of it sideways and backwards. We need to be braver.
I think Burns has hit his ceiling. He has always relied on raw pace to get past players, and the athleticism in the Prem means that no longer works.
The thing that is a key challenge for us, is that fundamentally most of our subs are a drop down from our starters now. Al Hamadi is not as good as Delap. Taylor is not as good as Cajuste. In the Champ, our squad was probably more balanced and had greater depth, which is why we scored so many late winners.
I'm still torn on Muric. It's not his ability, it's his hesitancy. He seems to get stuck in no mans land quite a lot. I really would not be averse to giving Walton a run out, he is a great shot stopper and very calm. He knows the squad etc, so I don't think it would be a massive change for the defence?
The positives:
- Cajuste looks very good. Super calm, can help set the pace of the game, and definitely supplements Morsy. Makes me far less nervous of losing Morsy to a suspension. Could a middle three become an option, Phillips or Morsy just in front of the Defence and then two in the middle?
- I agree with the points around Phillips and Johnson. We need those with Premiership experience to step up, lead by example and teach us how to get results in this league. Ultimately we can't look at O'shea for that, because Burnley didn't get results in this league! But others can for sure.
- Delap is an absolute workhorse. Should we try and temper that slightly, though? Whilst Al Hamadi puts in a lot of effort, it feels less structured and more chaotic, and I just feel that Delap is far more likely to bury a half chance than Al Hamadi...
- Over the game, our defence is looking better than previously. That does beg the question about my comments about Muric, and do we want to disrupt that - but our defence has been disrupted by Tuanzebe and Greaves' injuries.
Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I nervous? Getting there. But I agree with the Blue Monday podcast that we're the best coached new team, and probably the fittest. I think we have a higher ceiling as a squad, and we only need to string together a few good results and the complexion is very different.
Finally, worth noting that Armando Broja still hasn't played for Everton - looks like his most recent game was for the U-21's, so probably a good move stepping away from that one, given how close we are to the Jan window! |
Yesterday it felt like 2 sides who were more scared to lose than brave enough to win, classic relegation feel to it. | | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:41 - Dec 4 with 2311 views | davblue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:06 - Dec 4 by FrimleyBlue |
This is a difficult discussion for me to be involved in as I know many will be quick to bring up the past in a manner that isn't required.
But, firstly, I appreciate the Burns stuff in the past, it wasn't the content it was the volume of content.
Burns at the moment I feel sorry for, some of what I said last year was my truths on how I felt he performed against certain sides, and his goal scoring figures, assists etc were far less than he achieved in league 1.
But more importantly his main attribute has always been his directness and running into space, he's not a technical player, he doesn't have Omari's feet, he just runs. It was effecting in league 1 as most players couldn't match his pace. In the champ, some clubs couldnt cope, many could which we saw as he wasn't as effective in the champ
Now we're prem it's even harder for him to be a positive attribute, however we've still seen flourishes of it, the utd game for example, we got him into space and he put some great balls across the box.
Last night, we barely got the ball over the top for him to run onto, there is no point giving the ball to Burns and asking him to make something of it, he hasn't got that natural attribute, that's not a slight on him, it's just not his gift. His pace can still be useful but you have to make use of it properly, which we didnt.
But he's also without doubt not fully fit, he was yards of eze last night, and yes he managed to thankfully get a slight touch on eze's shot, but he had lost 4 yards on him from a standing position, that's not wes.
For me, if we are to use Wes then the directive needs to be that the ball is played over the top for him to run onto, I think for this to work well, chappers needs to play in the middle as he understands his runs and the timings. |
Disagree with the below it was the ball watching that allowed Eze to get away from him.
“But he's also without doubt not fully fit, he was yards of eze last night, and yes he managed to thankfully get a slight touch on eze's shot, but he had lost 4 yards on him from a standing position, that's not wes” |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:44 - Dec 4 with 2270 views | FrimleyBlue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:41 - Dec 4 by davblue |
Disagree with the below it was the ball watching that allowed Eze to get away from him.
“But he's also without doubt not fully fit, he was yards of eze last night, and yes he managed to thankfully get a slight touch on eze's shot, but he had lost 4 yards on him from a standing position, that's not wes” |
Yeah I appreciate that, but that's what I mean by fitness, Wes defensively in the past was always on it, physically and mentally, ball watching for me from wes is him taking breathers, which at the moment seems to be quite regular in comparison to previous seasons. He's just not fit yet. | |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:44 - Dec 4 with 2273 views | LankHenners |
On the atmosphere - unfortunately I think a large part of it was people expecting us to at the very least replicate the Utd game if not win the match. When Palace started to get on top it completely deadened the stadium and led to frustration when we weren't moving the ball quickly enough or lost possession etc.
As has been covered elsewhere we could have done with being a bit braver but sometimes we had no choice but to go backwards, even to Muric, just to retain possession and look for another way through. When that happened there were pockets of moaning which eventually turned to stadium-wide groans.
One of those games where there wasn't much on the pitch for the fans to get excited about but the fans themselves didn't seem up for generating a lot of positive noise. A forgettable night all round. |  |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:47 - Dec 4 with 2246 views | FrimleyBlue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:44 - Dec 4 by LankHenners |
On the atmosphere - unfortunately I think a large part of it was people expecting us to at the very least replicate the Utd game if not win the match. When Palace started to get on top it completely deadened the stadium and led to frustration when we weren't moving the ball quickly enough or lost possession etc.
As has been covered elsewhere we could have done with being a bit braver but sometimes we had no choice but to go backwards, even to Muric, just to retain possession and look for another way through. When that happened there were pockets of moaning which eventually turned to stadium-wide groans.
One of those games where there wasn't much on the pitch for the fans to get excited about but the fans themselves didn't seem up for generating a lot of positive noise. A forgettable night all round. |
TBH, I can't remember a game where we were that slow with the ball at the back like we were last night. There wasn't much going on to get the crowd going, no quick breaks, no quick 1-2 passing. You only really heard the crowd early on when we did get 2 balls over for Burns. | |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 11:21 - Dec 4 with 2118 views | davblue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:44 - Dec 4 by FrimleyBlue |
Yeah I appreciate that, but that's what I mean by fitness, Wes defensively in the past was always on it, physically and mentally, ball watching for me from wes is him taking breathers, which at the moment seems to be quite regular in comparison to previous seasons. He's just not fit yet. |
maybe, not totally convinced that ball watching is a lack of fitness, but you might be right. | | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 11:24 - Dec 4 with 2080 views | JakeITFC |
I think we have had a few games in recent times that have shown us short of the level (Everton, Forest, Palace), but I'm not sure the level is technical quality or flair, but rather sheer athleticism.
You are spot on in that losing Axel, Ogbene, Johnson and Phillips we have lost probably the members of our squad who have proven they are at that physical level previously. I think our team had as much on the ball quality as Palace yesterday but they just were able to shut down a lot of our avenues. Telling that our subs effectively exacerbated the problem really - four players who were playing in League One last year.
Tough to see how we overcome that in January without another splurge - maybe we learn our lessons, go down and have a better stab at it next time around. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 11:35 - Dec 4 with 2011 views | Durovigutum |
It’s an unpopular opinion, but we will go down because we are not winning the games in our relegation mini league. Palace and Everton have taken six points from us at home, Leicester stole a point, West Ham battered us at their place, Southampton we scraped a point. Yes we need to pick up others from elsewhere but that’s no good if we’ve gifted 11 to others that would have us at 20+ now.
We can still go on a run but it must be against the bottom 6. |  | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 11:36 - Dec 4 with 1998 views | SomethingBlue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 11:24 - Dec 4 by JakeITFC |
I think we have had a few games in recent times that have shown us short of the level (Everton, Forest, Palace), but I'm not sure the level is technical quality or flair, but rather sheer athleticism.
You are spot on in that losing Axel, Ogbene, Johnson and Phillips we have lost probably the members of our squad who have proven they are at that physical level previously. I think our team had as much on the ball quality as Palace yesterday but they just were able to shut down a lot of our avenues. Telling that our subs effectively exacerbated the problem really - four players who were playing in League One last year.
Tough to see how we overcome that in January without another splurge - maybe we learn our lessons, go down and have a better stab at it next time around. |
We can't and won't splurge – I think it will be a couple of loans or loans-to-buy-if-stay-up. But the needs are pretty clear and yes, if those four were able to play regularly it would look very different in games like yesterday. Add Hirst to that mix, not as a PL-experienced player but somebody who has the attributes to come on and mix it physically while matching the technical level. We've been unfortunate in losing some of the players whose absences are toughest to absorb. | |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 11:47 - Dec 4 with 1913 views | BlueOura |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 10:06 - Dec 4 by FrimleyBlue |
This is a difficult discussion for me to be involved in as I know many will be quick to bring up the past in a manner that isn't required.
But, firstly, I appreciate the Burns stuff in the past, it wasn't the content it was the volume of content.
Burns at the moment I feel sorry for, some of what I said last year was my truths on how I felt he performed against certain sides, and his goal scoring figures, assists etc were far less than he achieved in league 1.
But more importantly his main attribute has always been his directness and running into space, he's not a technical player, he doesn't have Omari's feet, he just runs. It was effecting in league 1 as most players couldn't match his pace. In the champ, some clubs couldnt cope, many could which we saw as he wasn't as effective in the champ
Now we're prem it's even harder for him to be a positive attribute, however we've still seen flourishes of it, the utd game for example, we got him into space and he put some great balls across the box.
Last night, we barely got the ball over the top for him to run onto, there is no point giving the ball to Burns and asking him to make something of it, he hasn't got that natural attribute, that's not a slight on him, it's just not his gift. His pace can still be useful but you have to make use of it properly, which we didnt.
But he's also without doubt not fully fit, he was yards of eze last night, and yes he managed to thankfully get a slight touch on eze's shot, but he had lost 4 yards on him from a standing position, that's not wes.
For me, if we are to use Wes then the directive needs to be that the ball is played over the top for him to run onto, I think for this to work well, chappers needs to play in the middle as he understands his runs and the timings. |
I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment to be honest. I also don't think he is fully fit and firing and it was noticeable that the one time we did play him in over the top in the first half he fell over unchallenged when in a potentially great position. Regardless of his limitations at this level he just doesn't look quite at it. | | | |
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