19-09-2018, 01:17
(This post was last modified: 19-09-2018, 01:18 by Slick_Footwork.)
Just back from tonight's game.
Some very good football going forward, with Barnes being the obvious standout player. Rodriguez played as good as I've seen him and Gayle was also excellent. Phillips was fantastic first half but too deep second, just like against Stoke.
The big problem remains the 3 at the back. Partly due to the personnel just not being good enough and partly due to the formation not suiting the players. The central defenders got their distances and line all wrong first half and it seemed any old hike forward would result in a chance for Bristol City. Being totally honest, we were lucky not to be behind before our goal spell.
Second half we were just as dodgy, failing to do fundamental defending and struggling with any ball coming into the box. It's early days for Bartley, but I simply can't see anything in him. He's slow, cumbersome and looks like giving away penalties every time balls come into the box. As for Hegazi, he remains a liability.
And when they try to play out, it's heart in the mouth stuff. I've always been a fan of pure football, but you can't coach that. A player can either play or he can't and these guys can't. The centre backs and goalkeeper need to know when to put their foot through the ball.
And much like against Blues and Stoke, second half we dropped deep and had little attacking threat. The worst thing about this is, it doesn't make us defend any better. It was simply a case of inviting 1 way traffic.
There was one occasion where Phillips was near our corner flag and just punted the ball forwards, real backs to the wall stuff. I looked at the clock and it was only 75 minutes. Seeing one off the best wingers in the league doing this so deep should happen in the 95th minute when you're hanging on for dear life against superior opposition, not when you're 4-2 up at home to Bristol City. Clearly something went wrong 2nd period.
Overall, we saw the power of our attack and saw that if teams come at us at home, we are capable of outscoring them. But we also saw some vital flaws that need addressing. The formation needs to be more flexible and we need to be able to pack the midfield when we're winning.
Good cameo from Hoolahan when he came on. Still looks very lean and showed some nice touches and composure when we needed it. I do think the signing was rather 'desperate' but he showed his worth in helping to settle the game tonight.
Some very good football going forward, with Barnes being the obvious standout player. Rodriguez played as good as I've seen him and Gayle was also excellent. Phillips was fantastic first half but too deep second, just like against Stoke.
The big problem remains the 3 at the back. Partly due to the personnel just not being good enough and partly due to the formation not suiting the players. The central defenders got their distances and line all wrong first half and it seemed any old hike forward would result in a chance for Bristol City. Being totally honest, we were lucky not to be behind before our goal spell.
Second half we were just as dodgy, failing to do fundamental defending and struggling with any ball coming into the box. It's early days for Bartley, but I simply can't see anything in him. He's slow, cumbersome and looks like giving away penalties every time balls come into the box. As for Hegazi, he remains a liability.
And when they try to play out, it's heart in the mouth stuff. I've always been a fan of pure football, but you can't coach that. A player can either play or he can't and these guys can't. The centre backs and goalkeeper need to know when to put their foot through the ball.
And much like against Blues and Stoke, second half we dropped deep and had little attacking threat. The worst thing about this is, it doesn't make us defend any better. It was simply a case of inviting 1 way traffic.
There was one occasion where Phillips was near our corner flag and just punted the ball forwards, real backs to the wall stuff. I looked at the clock and it was only 75 minutes. Seeing one off the best wingers in the league doing this so deep should happen in the 95th minute when you're hanging on for dear life against superior opposition, not when you're 4-2 up at home to Bristol City. Clearly something went wrong 2nd period.
Overall, we saw the power of our attack and saw that if teams come at us at home, we are capable of outscoring them. But we also saw some vital flaws that need addressing. The formation needs to be more flexible and we need to be able to pack the midfield when we're winning.
Good cameo from Hoolahan when he came on. Still looks very lean and showed some nice touches and composure when we needed it. I do think the signing was rather 'desperate' but he showed his worth in helping to settle the game tonight.