| A few thoughts in light of day 08:57 - Dec 4 with 3976 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 12:03 - Dec 4 with 752 views | Kev_W |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 11:36 - Dec 4 by SomethingBlue |
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. |
January is always a difficult transfer window especially for clubs in the relegation zone. My assumption is we have the scope for one more significant buy and then loans. The essentials are a striker and a replacement for Ogbene. Ideally we need another more creative, quick forward but suspect that will be out of reach in this window.
More generally, we need the players with the required physicality on the pitch even if that means tweaking formations. It would be interesting to see Philips added to the midfield with Cajuste and Morsy. | | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:16 - Dec 4 with 711 views | SomethingBlue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:03 - Dec 4 by Kev_W |
January is always a difficult transfer window especially for clubs in the relegation zone. My assumption is we have the scope for one more significant buy and then loans. The essentials are a striker and a replacement for Ogbene. Ideally we need another more creative, quick forward but suspect that will be out of reach in this window.
More generally, we need the players with the required physicality on the pitch even if that means tweaking formations. It would be interesting to see Philips added to the midfield with Cajuste and Morsy. |
Yes, I'm often sceptical when ideas are put forth to chop and change as people often end up talking about plonking square pegs in round holes – which just doesn't cut it at this level. But I'm with you on this one, I do wonder if Cajuste could be deployed as a kind of advanced eight/withdrawn 10 on occasion with the other pair behind him. On paper that is a very strong, combative, varied and technically sound three. | |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:27 - Dec 4 with 680 views | Kev_W |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:16 - Dec 4 by SomethingBlue |
Yes, I'm often sceptical when ideas are put forth to chop and change as people often end up talking about plonking square pegs in round holes – which just doesn't cut it at this level. But I'm with you on this one, I do wonder if Cajuste could be deployed as a kind of advanced eight/withdrawn 10 on occasion with the other pair behind him. On paper that is a very strong, combative, varied and technically sound three. |
McKenna has a tried and tested system, inevitably he will want to stick with it and rightly so. Cajuste has added the ability to break forward from centre midfield which has added an increment to our attacking play. Like most of the best players he seems to have that extra bit of time on the ball and it feels like he could adapt to a slightly more forward role. KM has sometimes hinted about that position in the past e.g. when signing Camara and Taylor | | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:38 - Dec 4 with 650 views | FBI |
I think there's also a case to be made for going up too soon, without the chance to consolidate. The amount of change at the club, on and off the field, is positively head-spinning and I don't imagine anyone at PR seriously thought we'd end up in the Prem this quickly. That,whilst fabulous in many ways, is potentially a banana skin because it doesn't allow time to develop and build as cautiously as I suspect Kieron would have liked - including his own growth as a coach.
There are, as we've noted before, players who have come up from L1 and L2 and have been, to some extent, thrown in the deep end. Wes, Ali, for example. Great players but, perhaps, not likely to be in next year's PL squad if we were actually on a promotion push THIS year instead of last. There might also be a small element of impostor syndrome at work with some of the players, perhaps: just guessing, really.
I still think we'll scrape staying up and that opens a world of possibilities for next year but, if we do go down, I won't be heartbroken because I still remember standing on the terraces at Forest Green Rovers watching the pitch get watered with p!ss and wondering what it had all come to.
I'm keeping the faith but also managing expectations! [Post edited 4 Dec 2024 12:40]
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:43 - Dec 4 with 625 views | southnorfolkblue |
| 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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The issue isn't Burns.
PL FBs are a different beast to the levels he's played at previously. | |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:54 - Dec 4 with 585 views | nshearman1 |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:27 - Dec 4 by Kev_W |
McKenna has a tried and tested system, inevitably he will want to stick with it and rightly so. Cajuste has added the ability to break forward from centre midfield which has added an increment to our attacking play. Like most of the best players he seems to have that extra bit of time on the ball and it feels like he could adapt to a slightly more forward role. KM has sometimes hinted about that position in the past e.g. when signing Camara and Taylor |
While I love Mckenna, and we have been affected by injuries, it does feel like he doesn't know his best front 3 behind the striker. There's been lots of chopping and changing, Clarke has admitted he's been brought in to play in a position unfamiliar to him, and it just feels very messy right now. 4 changes last night, only one forced upon him by injury. | | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 13:06 - Dec 4 with 550 views | aqu1la |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 11:36 - Dec 4 by SomethingBlue |
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. |
Let's hope we have some sort of plan to be active immediately in Jan too, getting players in early rather than deadline day could be vital. | | | |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 13:53 - Dec 4 with 494 views | SomethingBlue |
| A few thoughts in light of day on 12:54 - Dec 4 by nshearman1 |
While I love Mckenna, and we have been affected by injuries, it does feel like he doesn't know his best front 3 behind the striker. There's been lots of chopping and changing, Clarke has admitted he's been brought in to play in a position unfamiliar to him, and it just feels very messy right now. 4 changes last night, only one forced upon him by injury. |
I assume Szmodics was one of those with a knock – he's not perfect but we needed the kind of bite and snap he can offer yesterday. Surely he'd have come on if really fit. | |
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| A few thoughts in light of day on 13:58 - Dec 4 with 480 views | Parmigiano |
The atmosphere started flat because 10k were still stuck outside at kick-off, queuing up for the airport-style security. Ridiculous and totally OTT. [Post edited 4 Dec 2024 13:59]
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