[Maddix]

Kate and Barry should have started SG is F ucking clueless

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

think i frell asleep first half, whether hats the beer or the footbsll you make your mind up 2nd half was acceptable

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

Magiuire was wank AGAAIN!!!! we weer much better when Semedo came one and Lee went wide (ish)

[madsteve]

Hello, Goodbye

A strange afternoon at S6. A few words from MM & a warm send off from a small crowd - shame on the Wednesday fans that didn't bother. An inept first half & a stirring second half.

As we have for many games this season, we started sluggishly as SG stuck stubbornly to his rigid 442, bringing in none of his new midfield or striking options into the starting eleven.

Maguire had an early shot which the keeper palmed away but it was going wide anyway. Maguire was mainly at fault for Cardiff's early goal. He dribbled into trouble when Vermijl had overlapped into a good position, leaving us short at RB. Lees had to move across to cover at RB, Dielna moved across to cover Lees, leaving Mattock alone against the towering Kenwyne Jones. Once Lees & Lee had failed to stop the cross, the goal was inevitable. Maybe a sly foul here would have done the job.

Maguire gave the ball away again stupidly & picked up a yellow card for stopping a promising Cardiff attack.

We created next to nothing in the first half as Cardiff controlled the midfield. I felt sorry for Keane & May who were forced to feed on scraps. Half time substitution(s) were inevitable and any of the midfield could have been hooked.

As it was, Maguire was replaced by Semedo. This seemed to have an immediate effect. Semedo won two quick challenges as we built up some momentum. Helan, who had had a quiet first half came to life down the left as we switched to a 4132 formation. For ten minutes we had Cardiff on the rack. May burst clear of the Cardiff defence & hit the post with a 20 yard shot. Keane had a shot blocked when he looked like he should score.

Strangely it was Semedo who lost us the momentum as well by committing a stupid off the ball foul at a time when Cardiff were pinned in around their box.

Hutchinson shot over from six yards when it looked easier to score as we started to build up pressure again. Bus replaced Mattock as we went more 433 with Helan moving to LB. Crucially we played all three strikers mainly central and used the full backs to give us width, which meant we had more bodies in the box than usual.

Bus was clipped from behind & we got a penalty. Keane smashed it home with real confidence.

The match was really open as Wednesday pushed for a winner. McGugan replaced Lee and impressed immediately. McGugan had a fierce 30 yard shot saved as we forced a succession of corners. McGugan had another shot blocked, a Lees effort was cleared off the line & Keane had a shot saved on the near post.

Westwood - 6 - didn't make a save, couldn't get near the goal

Vermijl - 6 - bright, nice touches

Lees - 6 - struggled against Doyle but no critical errors

Dielna - 6 - comfortable generally but his man scored Cardiff's goal

Mattock - 5 - didn't add much & we improved after he went off

Maguire - 5 - gave ball away for goal

Lee - 6 - struggled first half

Hutchinson - 6 - struggled first half but better in 433

Helan - 6 - poor first half, good second half

May - 6 - hit post, created two chances, just needs a break

Keane - 8 - great first touch, linked play well & had the balls to take the penalty
..................................................................

Semedo - 7 - solid battling performance
Bus - 6 - showed promise, won penalty
McGugan - 8 - stood out like a beacon of quality

SG surely has now learned that we do better when he drops the rigid 442 as this was a real game of two halves. Also, can he get the team firing from the start and not just in the second half. Is there something wrong with our pre match warm up or motivation?

I thought the substitutions were excellent, each one improving the team. I was going to give SG great credit for this until he spoiled it by saying that he only took Maguire off because he feared him getting a red card. The change to 4132 at half time meant we got a grip on midfield. Semedo was immense in the role in front of the CBs and it gave the full backs licence to bomb down the flanks. This worked better when Helan was moved to LB as we had several players in the box as targets.

One other subtle difference I noticed in this match was that we seemed to hit our crosses into the box lower. Not sure if this was because we thought defenders might make mistakes with the bad pitch but it certainly created a lot more goal mouth action.

Vermijl looked bright & got forward well. He did better in the second half when he didn't have Maguire stealing his space. Bus looked lively, controlled the ball well, turned quickly & had an eye for goal. If things go well, the new Hirsty. If things go badly, the new De Bilde. McGugan exuded class. When he is fully fit, he will add a new dimension to our attacking play.

At half time, I was despondent after another dire 45 minutes of mind numbing football. The second half was completely different. In fact, I think I will go as far as saying that the second half was the most enjoyable 45 minutes I have had at S6 this season. We had more possession, more shots, more territorial advantage and had Cardiff pinned in their penalty area for long periods.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

[peiowl]

We don't need Pearson for manager. He's already screwing things up where he is. What we need is a manager who has the balls to give players a good piece of his mind and the astuteness to take the club into the Premier League.

And the name of that manager is:

COLIN!!!

Hopefully, the new owners won't listen to all that stupid tribal mentality that comes from a juvenile section of the fans.

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

cant disagree MS

I don't normally stay to the end because you can tell we aren't going to score/improve but yesterday we were the only ones who were going to win the game by the end, maybe if McGugan had been brought on 10 minutes earlier it would have happened as I thought that was his best performance for us (what a change it makes having someone take a proper corner as well).

Hutch should have scored, I think even Nuhiu would have hit the target from there

Lee looked better RM (I apologise to charlie when I said he shouldn't go there) and he was better at corners than Maguire as well

Dielna started shaky but got better as the game went on, as did Lees who gave Doyle very little after the first 10/15 mins.

Bus looked lively but needs to learn the English game, noticed this when he came on he tried to win a foul for a FK. I laughed it was so soft, wouldn't even be given in the Prem

Think Maguire is suspended now so no shitty corners for TWO WHOLE GAMES


Against Ipswich I'd go:

Westwood
Vermijl Lees Dielna Matock
Lee McGugan Semedo Helan
May Keane

So it's changing 2 players from yesterdays XI BUT bringing in the 2 players who made the biggest difference into 4132.

What needs to happen now is someone tell Helan he can run down the touchline and is probably more dangerous doing so as he has no right foot, turning inside slows our attack and narrows us down. He also needs to be told that when Mattock/Semedo/McGugan has the ball on the left they need someone to provide an option so he needs to run down the wing rather then stand 2 feet away from them

---

COLIN!!!

No, nope, never, non, nein, ne, nei, Mị̀

Washed up manager who's living off a couple of good seasons 10 years ago and has done feck all since

[madsteve]

The last thing we want is a blade to spend the millions and destroy the dream before its started    your mad peiowl   go and sit in the naughty corner  

Agree, but didn't someone suggest Nigel Pearson? That would be even worse.

Neither will happen.

[Statesideowl]

Am I right in hearing that the Cardiff fans were booing during Mandaric's speech?

If so that's pretty low class stuff by the Taffs

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

yep horrible fans cardiff. The sort where if you're by yourself 10 of them would kick the shit out of you just for a laugh

[madsteve]

Just watched the goal and ive come to the conclusion that i dont want Mattock anymore    sell him  Helan wouldnt have let jones jump on his back like that    mattock is a bad crosser !! and has no positional sense which i allready knew !! and now hes weak ? terrible goal to give away that !! and strangely enough if you open your eyes !! it was fault of Keane because instead of passing it to the side where all the cardiff defenders and midfielders where boxing in maguire    he should have ran at goal May would have in this position he had 15 yards infront of him to do so    he also should have used more power for a cross that went in 3 minutes before that and he got bullied off the ball  hes young its not his fault    but im just saying he has faults in his game and is way of being a finished article  

So id pick May and bus for the next game because i doubt we will get a penalty  

---

Back to pearson and hes clearly smileing when he has his hands around the throat of the palace player    dont let everything you read in the papers and by biggobshites in sheffield cloud your mind or use it as aminition against a manager that you dont like ms    Pearson for me knows how to get out off this league and i dont for one minute think that former heros cant do well when they are back home ? wilson fcuked up bigtime with just about everything   turner also fcuked up , but wasnt helped by thats gangster bulshiting strattford twat    megson did with little help form mandy cash wise    so if ive not missed anyone else thats  2 to 1 hardly an arguement there then as the next one could make it 2-2 and  im concentrating on getting out of this knightmare league    first before we are actualy in the premier   because thats another debate  

Maguire had a clear pass to Vermijl (who had made a good run) when he gave the ball away that lead to their goal. To say he was played into trouble is plain wrong. Also, you are barking up the wrong tree in looking for a scapegoat. Keane was our best player yesterday & he got better as the game progressed. While I have been critical of him in his previous matches, he played very well yesterday.

I hate to say it because Pearson is one of my all time heroes but that "smile" you talk about was a sneer and what followed was almost scary. I hope Leicester get him some help otherwise he will be finished in football.