 | Forum
Reply | Just back!
at 22:34 15 Dec 2024
Missed that, good news indeed! |
| Forum
Reply | Just back!
at 15:13 15 Dec 2024
We were supper lucky to get a draw from that. We did nothing all game accept Smyths goal and that's only due to a complete brain fart by the brizzle keeper.
Brizzle keeper does not come out, and it stays 1-0 with them all day long.
To be fair, our defence was pretty solid. They only had the free kick, and that was due to some Field charity..
Andersen is gone; his legs are totally gone. Saito was poor as well in this game. Kohli was ill, as we know, and should not have played. Lloyd is not really a target man, but he tried his best.
We need Chair in for Andersen or hope Madsen can do it while Chair gets match fit. Andersen is a sub only at best now. And season end needs to be let go. I hope to see Frey on the subs bench soon, and Kohli should have recovered from illness for the next match, hopefully.
We cannot play like we did against Oxford and Bristol again; otherwise, we will start losing games. We got 4 points from games we should have probably only got 1; this is down to Marti.
Witchcraft, Witchcraft, I say, Witchcraft! |
| Forum
Reply | Oxford's Des Buckingham gone
at 15:06 15 Dec 2024
Does Oxford have a better team than Brum or Wrexham, a div below?
No, they do not.
He got them being well above where they should be.
Tough gig that for anyone. Gaz should have waited for this and then stepped in as he's the only type of manager who s gonna take this jobbie. |
| Forum
Reply | Gary O Neil
at 15:04 15 Dec 2024
Que Beale with his Powerpoint masterclass! |
| Forum
Reply | Oxford Utd
at 22:21 11 Dec 2024
So, I mark Pompy and Oxford as the worst sides. Derby were terrible as well, but they seemed to get results.
Now, who will take that third spot? |
| Forum
Reply | Sam Field or no Sam Field?
at 09:25 9 Dec 2024
When Varane was rested, Morgan was just okay. I think Morgan's playing well wasn't because Varane was so good; it was more because Norwich was so off the pace. This is not to say Morgan is not valuable; he certainly is and is one for the squad now, not the future. He's already proven himself, in my view.
It should be Field and Varane, as this allows everyone ahead of them to stay ahead of them. This is important as Madsen cannot get up and down the field quickly enough.
Also, Field is entirely fresh, and we can now see the partnership with Varane devolpe. Not to mention, Field is useful for defending corners and getting back for those crucial tackles on the left side.
This also means Saito can stay forward a bit more, as Ashby is coming in for Paal, and he will need cover.
I doubt we shall see Frey on the bench, but it seems there is a chance Chair may be there, or it's still too early for him. Either way, we shall see what it means for Frey if Chair is present or not.
Oxford will be a grind game, we shall need Field for that. They will press us and charge into us, they won't let a kid like Morgan play. I fear Charity Park Rangers turning up again.
It's clear we need a LB and CF in Jan on loans as these are our weak areas in the squad. I would be greedy and want a creative midfielder as well. But we won't get that, as three loans would be way too much money. |
| Forum
Reply | Cook.
at 14:32 8 Dec 2024
He's not that fit, but he's managing his fitness well.
What he seems to be the best at in the Champ is positioning. He just fills the gaps or makes it really hard for even fast-paced forwards to get a shot away or any space to even run into. Reads the game the best.
If, we can get the ball up the other end, break the press and then keep it there, this is a nightmare for other oppo attacking teams.
As how do they break past QPR's defence with so few attacks as Cook is used to wave upon wave of attacks and now you only a have a few to try and beat a man who is 99.9% accurate in everything he does in defence.
We would be down last season and this season without Cook.
The spine last season was Asmir (yes, he made some crucial saves), Cook and Colback. If we had a better forward, we would not have been in so much trouble. Defence starts at the Papa Furlong frontline.
This season, we have Nardi, Cook, Varane and Frey. But the last two have been unavailable for too many games and Varane took time to get going. Bring that spine back and we look tough enough. Then we only need the creatives around them to make it happen. Add in extars like Field, Dunne, Morrison, JCS, and you look hard to score against. And has it not been so, recently?
The spine is there once they are all fit. Cook is critical to that.
New one plus one contract for me. |
| Forum
Reply | Chair
at 14:24 8 Dec 2024
Chair does something that none of the others can do.
When you give him the ball again and again, he gets you out from the press, which means you can get the ball up to the final third.
In the past we just gave it to Chair and Willock and this got into the final third and out from balls being flung back at our defence for 90 mins. Problem was they both took too long to do anything with it and the oppo defence got back quick.
Over time Chair started playing in balls fast in attack, even Willock would take on his man and cross quicker by the end.
Saito is starting to do this, he's not quite there yet. But he's proving a possible outlet on the left compared to our right side of Dunne's header on or Cooks ball over the top for Smyth to run onto, which is aspirational in its effectiveness.
I quite like the idea of Saito at LB when Chair comes back. He would need help in that position, but attacking wise it would cause major problems for the oppo.
Or, Chair is in the middle, with Saito on the left and Smyth (Dembele) on the right. This means Madsen would be dropped, but I can live with that for the upside of a more creative attack (which we still need). Then these three can rotate across the pitch, creating even more havoc for the oppo. Dembele draws the oppo LB infield, creating space for the Chair to nip in behind, or even the Chair goes left, and Saito does the same. That should create the spaces we need. |
| Forum
Reply | Jimmy Dunne
at 14:14 8 Dec 2024
He made a mistake that lead to goal a few games ago. Stopped doing that and corrected his game. This means he's learned and is more intelligent than he looks.
I call this being a first-class professional.
Consistently, he wins headers from decent corners, meaning he must be one of the best headers of the ball in the Champ. Despite limited attacking skills, he tries to impact the game by dribbling, playing 1-2s, through balls, overlapping runs (don't laugh at the back; it's true he does these), headers on from goal kicks, and sometimes, he even crosses the ball!
Yet despite his limited attacking skills, when he does these moves, he actually impacts the game better than many so-called flair players.
Hes pro.
My worry is what about his contract?
I would rather keep Dunne than Paal. |
| Forum
Reply | Madsen today
at 14:09 8 Dec 2024
Madsen has changed. Now, he gets back into position to fill the gaps. Which makes it really hard to break us down.
However, he still cannot get up the pitch quickly enough for breakaways. or to support the forward (which is the position he's playing now). But he's getting stuck into the tackling a bit more (just a bit more not a lot, but that's improved his all over game). Which you saw for the third goal.
He has the skill; he can do the correct five-yard simple pass sideways and also the clever through balls. The problem for him is you need to be in the last third quickly enough before the entire oppo defence gets back. Hes not there fast enough. Freeman could do this (not the slow overweight one, the lean fit Freeman), which with his skill made him a top champ player and got him a prem move.
Madsen needs to do a year's worth of Gerry Terrible Tuesdays: run, run, run. It has worked for Frey, who has learned that you need to run around like a maniac. Even if it looks like it won't work, it does. Even Chair runs and runs.
It's stupid, but that is the reality of the Champ, it's an endless grind of running around like maniacs. Otherwise, you will get carved up by PNE, who will then do shithousery to win. |
| Forum
Reply | Kolli
at 14:01 8 Dec 2024
He plays similarly to Papa Furlong (@North, that's copyrighted :P).
People said he was bad with WBA, but I thought he was okay, and he did an assist for Andersen for our only goal.
But he's only on the subs bench as Frey and Lloyd are out and Celar got injured for him to come on.
He's not a LW like Chair and we have Saito anyway as backup. No, he's a Centre forward of the Furlong mode for me.
If he starts against Oxford, I wonder who his backup forward will be on the subs bench. that's what happens when you too few forwards and run out of them when injuries happen.
If Kohli has to come off, Madsen up front? |
| Forum
Reply | Paal
at 13:53 8 Dec 2024
For me Paal does not look fit. He clearly has the quality, as he can cross a ball and can tackle and head it for a small player.
However, he has always had the problem of lack of pace. So, when he comes up against a player who can dribble with pace he's in trouble.
In the past, he has mitigated this through clever positioning, which is what Dunne does on the right. Now, though we don't see him as commit to the tackle as he used to be and as Dunne is. You know the winger goes to take on Dunne and he just slams into them, often getting the ball first. Paal used to do this type of tackle always, not so much anymore.
So, what has gone wrong?
Well, his passing is off because it's not quick enough. The opposing player closes him down, and that half-second lost when he could have played it earlier means the angle is now tighter, and the passes go astray.
I am putting this down to his not being 100% fit as he does not move the ball quick enough. Also, in my view, it will get worse as his contract runs down. Why injure yourself just before the contract runs out? No one wants to be finished like Angel Rangel. Hence the lack of slamming tackles against wingers.
If he's not signing a new contract, than come Jan we need to sell him. Regardless we need a new LB in Jan if he's not signing as he will stop playing to 100% when the window closes (he may have stopped already). Then in Feb, with new LB or one on loan, Paal should be dropped to the subs bench as he wont play 100%.
Now you may say, but someone like Jimmy Dunne will play 100% and his contract is running out so, we should not drop him in Feb. True, but that's because he's Jimmy Dunne, Paal is not of the same mindset and we know that. |
| Forum
Reply | Varanne
at 23:45 30 Nov 2024
Marti said he was dropped to give him a rest.
But the reality is that he was dropped to avoid Field and him, picking up a yellow each and then both being out for Norwich. Possibly he would have been out more as he collected a red. We could not afford to lose our complete midfield like that with Colback out.
But I beleive the card count resets now so, while Field is out, Varane can come in for him and Morgan was okay.
Getting that draw away to Watford with so many players out and caution taken with Varane paid off for Marti.
Varane will be Colbacks long-term replacement as I am guessing that Colback, Andersen, and Fox will be let go at the end of the season. We just need replacements for the others now. |
| Forum
Reply | Cifuentes’ comments
at 15:44 28 Nov 2024
From what he says there I suspect he means he is missing one or two players in positions he wanted.
That has got to be a forward for sure and possibly another player.
Its code for get me players in Jan as we shall need them and he's right.
Our squad is not large like the old days and he's blooding the kids so, you cannot say players do not get a go, because they do. He even gave Taylor Richards a go last season. You cannot say he does not give players as chance. Even EDB makes the bench.
If Smyth gets injured right now we have no one to play RW so, its back to wing backs and so on if that happens. Dembele isnt' a RW anyway he's an AMC really. |
| Forum
Reply | Willock?
at 12:23 28 Nov 2024
Yes, Willock is super talented at keeping the ball and driving upfield.
He showed he could beat players on either flank to cross the ball. He would go straight into our team as he can do everything Smyth can do but also cross and score.
The fact that he lost the ball and then we went up the other end and scored, is really great for us as that means the Cardiff fans will hate him now. And him cuddling Marti at the end, will also be noticed so, they will hate him even more.
He will become a boo boy and then possibly we can have him back on a cheap loan if they go down to L1.
Teams I see going down is Portsmouth for sure, I thought Derby were dreck but they have 20 pts on the board so, who knows and Cardiff were very poor, but once again that could have been a one off. I also thought Stoke were poor as well.
We need to sort out the front 3, and with this defence and goalkeeper, we should be okay. But we need to do that fast. One more win is what we need and then to get all the injured players back.
Then, in Jan window, a hold-up player like Frey who also scores goals as a backup for him and one more creative player to play behind Frey as Madsen is not it. These should be loans. |
| Forum
Reply | Willock?
at 12:02 28 Nov 2024
I mentioned on one of the other threads, that Celar would have a good game. I wanna see it against Watford.
But, while he scored a great first goal out of nothing (which I already identified he could do in previous threads), his link play was actually terrible. We really struggled to get out of our half as he could not hold it up. Playing one up front, that person needs to hold onto the ball so, we can get out of our half. |
| | LazyFan
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 1042 | | Comment Votes: | 0 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 1042 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.