09-01-2021, 20:06
(This post was last modified: 09-01-2021, 20:12 by Slick_Footwork.)
To be honest, when it got to penalties I wasn't really bothered if we won or lost, after all it's not like we're going to win the cup if we can't even beat Blackpool over 120 minutes. I actually expected us to lose anyway as we're a team full of bottlers.
Although we did learn a few things today, if we didn't know already...
- We don't have a single leader or winner at the club. Livermore and Sawyers simply plodded around the midfield showing no desire to step up and drive us forward. There was nothing that triggered in their mind to say we're playing against lower league here so we should boss the game and play with urgency. They simply continued with the same, slow tempo, dilly dally football we would see against anyone. While I've stuck up for Sawyers in the past (never rated Livermore) I'd be happy to see them disappear from the team forever. Given their lack of mobility, I'm not sure they will even offer much in the Championship next season.
- The fringe players are not good enough. After being the subject of my onslaught for his first half performance, Kamil Grosicki was actually the only one who looked likely to open Blackpool up with a 'reasonable' performance post half time. Peltier tries but is an aging standard lower division full back. Ivanovic tries but is well past his best, physically. Bartley is lower league fodder who doesn't break sweat. Krovinovic was simply dreadful, yet another stark reminder of why I was so critical of Bilic for making him the top transfer target. I must not be the only one who thinks he is slow and useless, surely...
- We are desperate for a forward. I think with a forward we would've scraped through, but there was simply no focal point in that team which resulted in a none existent pattern of play. I realise we have injuries and Austin is off, but surely we shouldn't let him go until we fill the avoid.
The selection from Big Sam was poor, as I think we probably should've gone with Phillips up top as he was worth the risk. At the same time, this set of players really are dreadful. The lack of effort is embarrassing. Even when we were first promoted under Megson 20 years ago with a very limited budget, we at least had a set of lads who cared. The likes of Pereira, Krovi, Sawyers simply don't have a second gear. When you combine a lack of quality with a lack of character, fight and spirit, you really don't have a formula capable of winning football matches. With Austin on the move, it looks like even our last smidgens of 'guts' are being taken out of us. It really is a huge job now. I said earlier in the season that my big worry is that relegation could lead to the dark times coming back and what we saw today seemed like a look into the future.
Although we did learn a few things today, if we didn't know already...
- We don't have a single leader or winner at the club. Livermore and Sawyers simply plodded around the midfield showing no desire to step up and drive us forward. There was nothing that triggered in their mind to say we're playing against lower league here so we should boss the game and play with urgency. They simply continued with the same, slow tempo, dilly dally football we would see against anyone. While I've stuck up for Sawyers in the past (never rated Livermore) I'd be happy to see them disappear from the team forever. Given their lack of mobility, I'm not sure they will even offer much in the Championship next season.
- The fringe players are not good enough. After being the subject of my onslaught for his first half performance, Kamil Grosicki was actually the only one who looked likely to open Blackpool up with a 'reasonable' performance post half time. Peltier tries but is an aging standard lower division full back. Ivanovic tries but is well past his best, physically. Bartley is lower league fodder who doesn't break sweat. Krovinovic was simply dreadful, yet another stark reminder of why I was so critical of Bilic for making him the top transfer target. I must not be the only one who thinks he is slow and useless, surely...
- We are desperate for a forward. I think with a forward we would've scraped through, but there was simply no focal point in that team which resulted in a none existent pattern of play. I realise we have injuries and Austin is off, but surely we shouldn't let him go until we fill the avoid.
The selection from Big Sam was poor, as I think we probably should've gone with Phillips up top as he was worth the risk. At the same time, this set of players really are dreadful. The lack of effort is embarrassing. Even when we were first promoted under Megson 20 years ago with a very limited budget, we at least had a set of lads who cared. The likes of Pereira, Krovi, Sawyers simply don't have a second gear. When you combine a lack of quality with a lack of character, fight and spirit, you really don't have a formula capable of winning football matches. With Austin on the move, it looks like even our last smidgens of 'guts' are being taken out of us. It really is a huge job now. I said earlier in the season that my big worry is that relegation could lead to the dark times coming back and what we saw today seemed like a look into the future.