20-09-2015, 10:11
S6 Is Buzzing Again!!!
One win, one draw & one defeat at home before yesterday but I was looking forward to the game like the PL days again. Something has changed. Actually a lot has changed. A year ago, we were playing the most boring football at home since the 70s and going to matches was a chore. Now we are playing bright, exciting & inventive football and I am loving it again.
While there is still the moaning minority, there is a groundswell of fans that can see the progress being made and are starting to give the team their backing. If you take out the loan spells of Ross Barkley & Connor Wickham, there has been little to get the fans on their feet since promotion but now the feel good factor is back. Since the International Break, we have stepped it up a level & while the results at Burnley & Bolton were disappointing, all the signs were there that The Times Are A Changin'." A shame that crowds are so low but they will increase if the quality & excitement remains high.
Let me be quite clear. We are not the best team in this division. If fact we are not even close. However, last season, we were close to the worst and only beat two sides outside the bottom eight all season. We also played the most boring football I have seen in years. The transformation is remarkable. We pass with purpose, we attack with pace and the players seem to have a greater belief.
Something happened yesterday (maybe two things) that I cannot remember happening at home last season. One was the team being applauded off at half time. The other (I might be wrong) was us actually leading by two goals at home. Ok, it didn't last long but it is a start.
We won 3-2 and to anyone not there, that looks like a narrow victory. It wasn't, the scoreline flatters Fulham. They may have had plenty of the ball but until the final ten minutes, it was all in their own half. In fact Fulham scored with their only two meaningful attempts on goal and one of them only went in courtesy of a deflection.
One interesting statistic from yesterday's match is not just that all three of our goals came from headers but that all five of our attempts on target came from headers with the keeper making saves from headers by Bannan & Lopez in addition to the goals by Forestieri, Lees & Turner.
Westwood - 6 - didn't have a save to make & couldn't do anything about goals
Hunt - 6 - Better than Tuesday, attacked with verve
Lees - 7 - solid & secure
Turner - 7 - calm & assured
Pudil - 6 - kept it tight
Lee - 7 - kept the ball moving
Lopez - 7 - real quality passing
Bannan - 7 - never stopped & quality through balls
Wallace - 8 - killer crosses for all three goals
Nuhiu - 6 - better than Tuesday
Forestieri - 7 - live wire
...................................................................................
Joao - 6 - raw, needs more game time but will get there
Helan - 6 - tidy but hardly involved
Stat Attack
Goals:
Forestieri 1
Lees 1
Turner 1
Assists:
Wallace 3
Tackles:
Bannan 4
Lee 4
Turner 2
Hunt 2
Interceptions:
Lopez 2
Bannan 2
Clearances:
Turner 5
Lees 5
Joao 2
Attempts:
Bannan 3
Pudil 2
Lees 1
Turner 1
Lopez 1
Forestieri 1
Nuhiu 1
Attempts On Target:
Bannan 1
Lees 1
Lopez 1
Forestieri 1
Turner 1
Key Passes:
Wallace 6
Bannan 1
Lee 1
Joao 1
Dribbles:
Hunt 2
Lopez 2
Nuhiu 2
Dispossessed:
Nuhiu 2
Lee 2
Bad Control:
Nuhiu 3
Hunt 1
Turner 1
Wallace 1
Lee 1
Crosses:
Wallace 10 (Accurate 7)
Hunt 4 (Accurate 0)
Bannan 2 (Accurate 2)
Passing Accuracy (Number of Passes in Brackets)
Joao 100% (9)
Forestieri 83% (18)
Wallace 81% (31)
Lopez 80% (44)
Lee 77% (39)
Bannan 74% (39)
Pudil 65% (20)
Hunt 64% (33)
Lees 61% (31)
Nuhiu 61% (31)
Turner 48% (21)
Westwood 36% (31)
Helan 25% (4)
Total Touches:
Bannan 53
Lee 50
Lopez 49
Hunt 48
Wallace 47
Nuhiu 44
Westwood 39
Lees 38
Turner 32
Pudil 25
Forestieri 19
Joao 14
Helan 6
The stats show the all round contribution of Wallace, Bannan, Lopez & Lee. We missed Hutchinson's interceptions but the team functioned effectively and we used our set pieces well.
We have two wins, three draws & three defeats from eight matches but those three defeats (and one draw) were against sides currently in the top six so I expect results to slowly improve as the season progresses.
Sure, we have plenty of rough edges. We lack a 20 goals per season goal scorer. We concede goals too easily at times. We are vulnerable to the sucker punch. We still have a long way to go and it may take more than one season to achieve it but the giant is awakening and I can see us turning into an irresistible force before long.
Enjoy The Ride!
One win, one draw & one defeat at home before yesterday but I was looking forward to the game like the PL days again. Something has changed. Actually a lot has changed. A year ago, we were playing the most boring football at home since the 70s and going to matches was a chore. Now we are playing bright, exciting & inventive football and I am loving it again.
While there is still the moaning minority, there is a groundswell of fans that can see the progress being made and are starting to give the team their backing. If you take out the loan spells of Ross Barkley & Connor Wickham, there has been little to get the fans on their feet since promotion but now the feel good factor is back. Since the International Break, we have stepped it up a level & while the results at Burnley & Bolton were disappointing, all the signs were there that The Times Are A Changin'." A shame that crowds are so low but they will increase if the quality & excitement remains high.
Let me be quite clear. We are not the best team in this division. If fact we are not even close. However, last season, we were close to the worst and only beat two sides outside the bottom eight all season. We also played the most boring football I have seen in years. The transformation is remarkable. We pass with purpose, we attack with pace and the players seem to have a greater belief.
Something happened yesterday (maybe two things) that I cannot remember happening at home last season. One was the team being applauded off at half time. The other (I might be wrong) was us actually leading by two goals at home. Ok, it didn't last long but it is a start.
We won 3-2 and to anyone not there, that looks like a narrow victory. It wasn't, the scoreline flatters Fulham. They may have had plenty of the ball but until the final ten minutes, it was all in their own half. In fact Fulham scored with their only two meaningful attempts on goal and one of them only went in courtesy of a deflection.
One interesting statistic from yesterday's match is not just that all three of our goals came from headers but that all five of our attempts on target came from headers with the keeper making saves from headers by Bannan & Lopez in addition to the goals by Forestieri, Lees & Turner.
Westwood - 6 - didn't have a save to make & couldn't do anything about goals
Hunt - 6 - Better than Tuesday, attacked with verve
Lees - 7 - solid & secure
Turner - 7 - calm & assured
Pudil - 6 - kept it tight
Lee - 7 - kept the ball moving
Lopez - 7 - real quality passing
Bannan - 7 - never stopped & quality through balls
Wallace - 8 - killer crosses for all three goals
Nuhiu - 6 - better than Tuesday
Forestieri - 7 - live wire
...................................................................................
Joao - 6 - raw, needs more game time but will get there
Helan - 6 - tidy but hardly involved
Stat Attack
Goals:
Forestieri 1
Lees 1
Turner 1
Assists:
Wallace 3
Tackles:
Bannan 4
Lee 4
Turner 2
Hunt 2
Interceptions:
Lopez 2
Bannan 2
Clearances:
Turner 5
Lees 5
Joao 2
Attempts:
Bannan 3
Pudil 2
Lees 1
Turner 1
Lopez 1
Forestieri 1
Nuhiu 1
Attempts On Target:
Bannan 1
Lees 1
Lopez 1
Forestieri 1
Turner 1
Key Passes:
Wallace 6
Bannan 1
Lee 1
Joao 1
Dribbles:
Hunt 2
Lopez 2
Nuhiu 2
Dispossessed:
Nuhiu 2
Lee 2
Bad Control:
Nuhiu 3
Hunt 1
Turner 1
Wallace 1
Lee 1
Crosses:
Wallace 10 (Accurate 7)
Hunt 4 (Accurate 0)
Bannan 2 (Accurate 2)
Passing Accuracy (Number of Passes in Brackets)
Joao 100% (9)
Forestieri 83% (18)
Wallace 81% (31)
Lopez 80% (44)
Lee 77% (39)
Bannan 74% (39)
Pudil 65% (20)
Hunt 64% (33)
Lees 61% (31)
Nuhiu 61% (31)
Turner 48% (21)
Westwood 36% (31)
Helan 25% (4)
Total Touches:
Bannan 53
Lee 50
Lopez 49
Hunt 48
Wallace 47
Nuhiu 44
Westwood 39
Lees 38
Turner 32
Pudil 25
Forestieri 19
Joao 14
Helan 6
The stats show the all round contribution of Wallace, Bannan, Lopez & Lee. We missed Hutchinson's interceptions but the team functioned effectively and we used our set pieces well.
We have two wins, three draws & three defeats from eight matches but those three defeats (and one draw) were against sides currently in the top six so I expect results to slowly improve as the season progresses.
Sure, we have plenty of rough edges. We lack a 20 goals per season goal scorer. We concede goals too easily at times. We are vulnerable to the sucker punch. We still have a long way to go and it may take more than one season to achieve it but the giant is awakening and I can see us turning into an irresistible force before long.
Enjoy The Ride!
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.