| Frustrating on several levels 09:43 - Jan 17 with 2806 views | SomethingBlue |
No word of a lie, when the teamsheets came out my main worry was about how those latter stages would look. The dynamism and power they could bring off their bench really stood out, and ultimately made a massive difference. Elements of the last half hour felt a little like one of our games from last season – just able to bring legs & quality off the bench and run opponents into the ground.
Obviously they had the leg up of a sloppy opening goal directly before that. Really frustrating because we'd done well and limited them to pretty much nothing. Looked the more threatening and perhaps unlucky not to score. Thought Broadhead in particular was great between 20 and 55 min. Much like in the Fulham game, we'd taken a game against a very good side to pretty much where we needed it – but without being able to make it count.
Think we saw again that, at the end of the day, while we have a lot of good players we are relying largely on two great but fairly raw 21 year-old forwards for those moments of attacking inspiration. Omari looked bright for periods but his choices in some really good positions, one stands out in each half, were way off – it's to be expected and we have two weeks to get these guys the help they need, I suspect it may be the difference for us.
Maybe a few issues about what we do with the goalkeeping position. It was fair enough that we sussed Brighton out for 20 min before testing them but a lot of their most possession-heavy spells came after we hadn't found that ball from the back. Love Walton but he's not really the guy to provide it. We defended well for an hour but on the ball were a lot more scrappy back there than we'd want to be and it affects the rest of our patterns.
Can't be devastated about it, there were good elements, the table shows we are in with a proper chance and it probably won't look hugely different in 10 days' time. Hopefully we can bring in what we need before then, McKenna was pretty clear afterwards that we're after one or two more who would start games for us.
Oh, and can I just say one thing. *This is not the reason we lost* and *I don't want anyone to take this personally* and *yes you pay your money you can do what you like* ... but it felt really, really quiet in there last night! I know we didn't start with a bang but we should all know what the deal is this season and what the stakes are. This was a big game and we largely did well in it. It feels to me that, if we're not playing one of the top few teams, we're reverting to expectant "entertain me please". Maybe that'll be OK if we stay up for a couple of years, but it isn't now! We'll need it to be much better for a massive game with Saints in a couple of weeks – no doubt many will want us to be three up by half-time but a cursory analysis of their away results shows nobody is blowing them away. I'll leave it there.
[Post edited 17 Jan 9:52]
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| Frustrating on several levels on 09:46 - Jan 17 with 2427 views | Meadowlark |
I know it doesn't help, but we miss Hladky. |  | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 09:51 - Jan 17 with 2369 views | SomethingBlue |
| Frustrating on several levels on 09:46 - Jan 17 by Meadowlark |
I know it doesn't help, but we miss Hladky. |
In those moments on the ball, definitely. | |
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| Frustrating on several levels on 09:52 - Jan 17 with 2367 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
I thought the crowd was fine before the first goal, but much like with the team, it seemed to kill us off.
Agree with the rest. Always good to have your sensible, measured comments on here SB! |  |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
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| Frustrating on several levels on 09:56 - Jan 17 with 2287 views | BseaBlue |
I think you hit the nail on the head about relying on two 21 year olds. When they are off it, we just do not have the options to affect the game. Philogene will now help with some of that and hopefully another striking option will give us more depth for these situations.
It certainly is fine margins in this league. Wes Burns has a decent chance inside the Brighton box which goes wide then shortly after, Greaves makes a mistake and its one nil down and game over. |  | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:04 - Jan 17 with 2226 views | tractorboy1978 |
Feels to me like we need a bit more experience in those attacking positions. It seems all those we are being linked with are sub 23 years old. Signing young players to develop is obviously our MO but I think we need a bit of nous, experience and someone to hang your hat on, a bit like Moore last January. Probably going to be hard to find admittedly. [Post edited 17 Jan 10:05]
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| Frustrating on several levels on 10:05 - Jan 17 with 2211 views | SomethingBlue |
| Frustrating on several levels on 09:56 - Jan 17 by BseaBlue |
I think you hit the nail on the head about relying on two 21 year olds. When they are off it, we just do not have the options to affect the game. Philogene will now help with some of that and hopefully another striking option will give us more depth for these situations.
It certainly is fine margins in this league. Wes Burns has a decent chance inside the Brighton box which goes wide then shortly after, Greaves makes a mistake and its one nil down and game over. |
Philogene will help – wonder if his physicality is quite up to what we need here and now but hopefully he can make a quick impact, we just lacked options on there last night while Brighton had a galaxy of them. | |
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| Frustrating on several levels on 10:07 - Jan 17 with 2166 views | Keno |
well thought out
you should be a writer you know |  |
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| Frustrating on several levels on 10:07 - Jan 17 with 2173 views | Kieran_Knows |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:05 - Jan 17 by SomethingBlue |
Philogene will help – wonder if his physicality is quite up to what we need here and now but hopefully he can make a quick impact, we just lacked options on there last night while Brighton had a galaxy of them. |
... and then their fans had the cheek to start singing 'how sh!t must you be, we're winning away'.
Whoppers. |  |
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| Frustrating on several levels on 10:08 - Jan 17 with 2154 views | BseaBlue |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:05 - Jan 17 by SomethingBlue |
Philogene will help – wonder if his physicality is quite up to what we need here and now but hopefully he can make a quick impact, we just lacked options on there last night while Brighton had a galaxy of them. |
It's another ball carrier to try and aleviate when we are under pressure. The concern for me was that as much as Hutch kept giving the ball away or running into trouble, nine times out of ten, he had no other options. Same for Delap when he was receiving the ball long.
I do wonder whether thats where we need more energy in midfield. | | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:11 - Jan 17 with 2110 views | Kev_W |
It’s a difficult call but I fear the negatives from last night outweigh the positives of the first half. The last 30 minutes or so, but in truth most of the second half, was a case of an opposing manager making adjustments and neither the players nor McKenna having a response. The problem is that this is becoming something of a pattern where a team/manager react and then bring on subs who can add impetus. KM is and has been limited by the relative weakness of our bench but I sense he has also become more tentative about making changes.
The hope must be that with Philogene, Godfrey and a couple of other signings plus the return of Tuanzebe and Szmodics we have more options from the bench and that KM feels able to use them more proactively as he did last season.
Not entirely convinced that we can keep the current formation(s). The imbalance in midfield numbers in so many games keeps us on the back foot. Although an additional striker is the priority, attacking midfielder feels like a gap we ought to fill. | | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:12 - Jan 17 with 2083 views | loyalfan |
What a well- reasoned post.
I agree that the crowd were very quiet- although, as usual, BA did their best. Someone mentioned on another post that they are preferring away games to home games and I fully agree with that. Even though there can be some grumblings there is generally good singing and, apart from at West Ham, nobody really leaves early. | | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:13 - Jan 17 with 2017 views | FrimleyBlue |
I would perhaps like to see KM be the first to make subs rather than reacting to when they do, set ourselves up for a good final 30 minutes rather than reacting when the games turned and not quite going our way.
I think the Taylor, Morsy sub combo came at the wrong time, likewise Hirst's was far to late. |  |
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| Frustrating on several levels on 10:18 - Jan 17 with 1898 views | Swansea_Blue |
All very valid observations imo. Ultimately it'll be this that defines our season - "we'd taken a game against a very good side to pretty much where we needed it – but without being able to make it count."
It sounds basic, but it's those fine margins and being able to capitalise when on top and kill a game off that makes the difference. Too many times we've not been able to do that.
Still, a long way to go and we're in with a good shout and yesterday or Sunday doesn't change that. I don't think those in teh bottom four are particularly better placed than us. Someone from the group above could also have a poor run, although we'd be daft to rely on that. |  |
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| Frustrating on several levels on 10:24 - Jan 17 with 1812 views | Europablue |
It's much more enjoyable going to an away match because everyone is there to support the team throughout the match. At home the supporters are just too nervous. | | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:26 - Jan 17 with 1785 views | seblue78 |
Spot on. The two most prominent differences in the Prem so far to me have been (i) the sheer upgrade in the size and strength of the opposition, and (ii) the strength in depth these teams have from the bench. Being able to bring Dunk, Welbeck and Rutter on for e.g. The second point will be helped by Godfrey, JP, Axel coming back and some more recruitment (as will the second with Godfrey and Axel). In terms of that recruitment though, we definitely need to add some physicality as we looked decided weak against the likes of Baleba and Estupinan, theatrics aside. | | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:28 - Jan 17 with 1767 views | SomethingBlue |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:11 - Jan 17 by Kev_W |
It’s a difficult call but I fear the negatives from last night outweigh the positives of the first half. The last 30 minutes or so, but in truth most of the second half, was a case of an opposing manager making adjustments and neither the players nor McKenna having a response. The problem is that this is becoming something of a pattern where a team/manager react and then bring on subs who can add impetus. KM is and has been limited by the relative weakness of our bench but I sense he has also become more tentative about making changes.
The hope must be that with Philogene, Godfrey and a couple of other signings plus the return of Tuanzebe and Szmodics we have more options from the bench and that KM feels able to use them more proactively as he did last season.
Not entirely convinced that we can keep the current formation(s). The imbalance in midfield numbers in so many games keeps us on the back foot. Although an additional striker is the priority, attacking midfielder feels like a gap we ought to fill. |
Yes, it feels like we need a bit more presence and composure in that No10 area at times – or at least the option of them – but suspect it may be seen as an area where we're well enough stocked when players are fit.
The defensive shape and distances are largely very sound at the moment but it does have an impact on our ability to impose ourselves and dictate a game. We were always going to have to compromise on that, but arguably we could do with finding a balance where we're able to build a little more sustained pressure than three or four spurts of genuine incision in a half. [Post edited 17 Jan 10:30]
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| Frustrating on several levels on 10:28 - Jan 17 with 1758 views | Europablue |
| Frustrating on several levels on 09:46 - Jan 17 by Meadowlark |
I know it doesn't help, but we miss Hladky. |
Hladky was great with us at a lower level, but we have no idea if he would be any better than who we have. The truth is goalkeeper is a weakness for our team. It might be time for Slicker to get a run out if he is that good. The kind of players we have will play very well one week and not so well other weeks. Us supporters need to change our expectations, because playing well and getting results some weeks and being poor and losing other weeks will still be enough to stay up. | | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:34 - Jan 17 with 1694 views | Bluish |
It was frustrating given that we competed well in the first half. Had the game finished 0-0 in the same manner, I think most of us would be content with the point against an established Prem side. As others have mentioned, compare us to last season when we were bringing on players such as Sarmiento and Omari in the second halves against tired defenders, and it's easier to see how we were able to finish games so strongly. Hopefully our January transfer dealings will give the team similar options for the remainder of this season. |  | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:38 - Jan 17 with 1653 views | homer_123 |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:24 - Jan 17 by Europablue |
It's much more enjoyable going to an away match because everyone is there to support the team throughout the match. At home the supporters are just too nervous. |
Doesn't help though with the whole 'tonight really matters' narrative that was going on pre-match. |  |
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| Frustrating on several levels on 10:39 - Jan 17 with 1635 views | RonFearonsHair |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:07 - Jan 17 by Kieran_Knows |
... and then their fans had the cheek to start singing 'how sh!t must you be, we're winning away'.
Whoppers. |
That was a very weird moment. Why would they dig their own players out like that? |  | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:50 - Jan 17 with 1532 views | ITFCSG |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:39 - Jan 17 by RonFearonsHair |
That was a very weird moment. Why would they dig their own players out like that? |
Because they were winless in 8 and we handed them a win on a platter? | | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:53 - Jan 17 with 1492 views | Churchman |
| Frustrating on several levels on 09:46 - Jan 17 by Meadowlark |
I know it doesn't help, but we miss Hladky. |
I disagree. He would not have been able to do what he does best (pass the ball out) at this level. He can’t get in the Burnley team and made an error so horrendous at the weekend that even the Muric scapegoaters would have broke out the pitchforks and torches.
No, it doesn’t help. Excluding last nights game that I haven’t seen, we just don’t control games enough. We have some good players but look short in some areas and very much work in progress - which means at this level you get cruelly exposed. |  | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:58 - Jan 17 with 1421 views | BloomBlue |
Confidence or more the lack of
I still think we'll survive just but a concern I had from the start of the season was, would lack of wins hit confidence. That's what impacted Burnley, Sheff U & Luton last season, not getting wins hit confidence and as soon as they went behind the players heads would drop.
Not something I've seen from us, until last night. Once that first goal went in, the players became devoid of ideas, heads dropped, same with the fans.
That is a concern for me |  | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:59 - Jan 17 with 1409 views | RonFearonsHair |
| Frustrating on several levels on 10:50 - Jan 17 by ITFCSG |
Because they were winless in 8 and we handed them a win on a platter? |
One defeat in their last five away games and mocking their own players for it.
Each to their own. | | | |
| Frustrating on several levels on 11:00 - Jan 17 with 1399 views | OldFart71 |
Whilst I would only on a very rare occasion criticise KM. I do feel to set up a team with five at the back a strange idea when at PR. One position that doesn't seem to come up that often and that seems to be midfield where we have five players vying for two positions but none of the combinations are able to dominate games and very rarely when substitutes come on do they have any impact. To a certain extent I suppose that can be aimed at most positions on the field. Our strength in Division One and the Championship was the ability to bring on four or five players and not only maintain a similar level, but improve on it. I appreciate we are the new boys in this Division and there's a lot of learning to do. Both from the players and from the management. I listened to the game and was frustrated by the stop start, ,so many Brighton players feigning injury. Yes unfortunately it's now part of the game. But had we had more of the play, a better grip on the game and scored early then the messing about by them would have stopped. Disappointed we can draw against Man Utd, beat Chelsea and Tottenham and then make a Brighton team look like world beaters with 80% possession for the first 20 minutes and most of the second half. | | | |
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