[peiowl]

get on another thread you moaning old git !!

I'm headed your way soon imre.i'll be there before you know it. I'm not fussy on mexican beer so will you get some newcastle browns in? 

[madsteve]

Momentum Still Forward

There are mixed views on whether this is a point gained or two lost. In my opinion, this is a better point than the one at Reading.

CC went back to his most successful formation with Hooper & FF behind Nuhiu. Unfortunately we gave away an early goal. Loovens tried to nick the ball off Voakes from a throw but got turned, leaving him the simple task of squaring to the perfectly positioned Gray, five yards out. The other thing that seemed to hamstring us for the opening half hour was that FF seemed to sit out on the left and didn't get involved from an attacking perspective. About 30 minutes in, FF moved to a more free role, which gave us some domination.

When we play the 4321, teams don't know how to defend. The CBs have to stay to mark Nuhiu & don't know how to cover FF & Hooper who will drop deep, play the channels, spin off defenders and run at them. Wallace got increasing space on the right and Bannan & Lee got a grip on midfield.

We equalised quickly in the second half. Bannan floated the ball perfectly to Nuhiu, who had a free header & guided it beautifully into the path of Lee, who poked it cleverly home from ten yards.

After that, we were the better team, dominating the play & creating more chances although Burnley were always dangerous on the break. As we increased the intensity of our play, Burnley started to tire and CC's choice to rest players at the weekend appeared to be vindicated. Unfortunately, a winner didn't come & we had to settle for a point. Joao & McGeady came on but not in enough time to win it.

Westwood - 7 - couple of smart saves
Hunt - 7 - solid, couple of runs
Loovens - 7 - early slip but a rock after that
Hutchinson - 8 - outstanding against tricky opponent
Pudil - 7 - bright, couple of runs
Wallace - 7 - lively & inventive
Lee - 7 - linked play well, good finish
Bannan - 7 - great intensity
FF - 6 - quiet until he moved more central
Hooper - 6 - lacked the spark, a bit jaded
Nuhiu - 7 - good second half, looked great in 4321 formation
......................................................
Joao - 5 - off the pace
McGeady - hardly involved

Stat Attack:

Goals: 1 - Lee

Assists: 1 - Nuhiu

Tackles: 3 - Hunt, Bannan, Nuhiu, 2 - Hutchinson, Loovens, Pudil, 1 - Wallace, Lee, Hooper, McGeady

Interceptions: 8 - Loovens, 7 - Hutchinson, 3 - Pudil, 2 - Hunt, Bannan, Lee, 1 - Wallace, FF

Clearances: 7 - Hutchinson, 6 - Loovens, 4 - Pudil, 2 - Westwood, 1 - Hunt, Bannan

Attempts: 4 - FF, 3 - Wallace, Nuhiu, 2 - Bannan, 1 - Lee, Hooper

Attempts On Target: 2 - Wallace, FF, 1 - Lee

Key Passes: 3 - Wallace, 2 - Hooper, 1 - Hunt, Lee, FF, Nuhiu

Dribbles: None

Dispossessed: 3 - Nuhiu, 2 - FF, Hooper, 1 - Pudil, Bannan, Lee

Bad Control: 4 - FF, 1 - Hunt, Pudil, Lee, Hooper

Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 13 - Wallace (3), 3 - Hunt (0), 1 - Pudil (0), Bannan (0), Lee (0)

Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):

Loovens - 87% (37)
Hooper - 86% (42)
Pudil - 82% (34)
Lee - 79% (61)
Hutchinson - 78% (37)
FF - 76% (38)
Bannan - 76% (84)
Hunt - 75% (60)
Nuhiu - 67% (36)
Wallace - 65% (34)
Westwood - 55% (38)
Joao - 0% (1)

If you take out the opening five minutes, we played a pretty much perfect game. Unfortunately we started slowly again. CC picked the correct starting eleven but he needs to get FF playing a freer role from the get go rather than sitting too wide. Burnley are definitely one of the top three sides and we won't face tougher opponents again at S6 this season.

There was nothing to get depressed about here. We outplayed a team that will probably be back in the PL next season and had them more than happy to hang on for a point. Hutchinson was outstanding again and CC has big decisions on how best to use him with Loovens solid after his early error.

The stats show that we completed more passes than normal with Lee getting his highest total of the season, although still well behind Bannan.

The key to our success this season is the 4321 formation which should be our default formation for just about every match. CC's decision to rest players was vindicated as we grew stronger & Burnley tired in the second half. Maybe making substitutions earlier might have accentuated this edge. Hooper (who played Saturday) was the player who lacked the spark compared to normal so maybe if he had been rested.........

We are still on a great run of results in the league and although it is largely about wins, I think this is maybe a good draw in the big picture. Saturday will be tough as Brum are on top form at the moment but if CC goes with the same eleven (plus Lees if fit) then we can get a win.

[Statesideowl]

Always appreciate the Summaries, MS.

We'd all have snatched hands for a point before the game. As it went on some of us felt a bit greedy and thought we were good for the 3pts. But 1pt at home to a team like Burnley is nothing to be discouraged about, as you said.

It's Brum, if we can't churn out a performance against them, then the good performance against Burnley was pretty pointless. I am happy to see we have stayed up at the top over the festive period, it's usually a battle of whom chokes first. Let it not be us.

[madsteve]

Always appreciate the Summaries, MS.

We'd all have snatched hands for a point before the game. As it went on some of us felt a bit greedy and thought we were good for the 3pts. But 1pt at home to a team like Burnley is nothing to be discouraged about, as you said.

It's Brum, if we can't churn out a performance against them, then the good performance against Burnley was pretty pointless. I am happy to see we have stayed up at the top over the festive period, it's usually a battle of whom chokes first. Let it not be us.

We won't choke the season. We are tougher than that now & have winners throughout our squad.

We could have won on Tuesday but a draw is still a decent result. Birmingham are not as good as Burnley but they are the form team in the division & they have won their last four home matches. Depends on each team's attitude to the match. Both teams might be happy with a draw but I think we can win it if we go 4321 & attack them.

[Statesideowl]

That's true you can see the confidence in our players this season. Lee is a completely different player under CC than SG, he isn't the only one either.

Our problem seems to be consistency. We seem to start games half asleep. It's generally around the 40 min mark in the first half and 70th min in the second half that we wake up and really play some football. Only then the game has often passed us by and we find ourselves battling out a point.
I suppose I should appreciate each baby step the club is making. To stand now and look at the mirror image of ourselves a little over a year ago is almost night and day.
It's just incredibly difficult to remain patient as an Owl

[madsteve]

I can't wait!

I can only be impatient for myself!

It's promotion this season or probably never for me.

[Statesideowl]

I hope we can at the least, work a trip to Wembley in there for you, MS!

[madsteve]

I hope we can at the least, work a trip to Wembley in there for you, MS!

That is what I am hoping for.

Just received an invite to Buckingham Palace for the same week so quite an incentive to stay alive although according to the NHS I will die in the first half of June so if they are correct, I might be in a bad way by then.

The cancer can F%@k off. I have renewed my ST for next season.

[St Charles Owl]

I have to ask but what does the Queen want to see you for??  Is she still a closet Owl??   I remember being there when she opened the new Kop and still have the programme for the "match" somewhere, I think that is still the only time she has ever performed a ceremony like this at a football ground and to this day I have no idea how the club managed to get her to come for it!!

As for you Steve, you hang in there, like you say we are far more resilient these days and looking at the quality of the clubs around us we should have nothing to fear!!  The playoffs will present a very good stride forward but they also may still present us with that golden egg as well!!!

[peiowl]

Yes, hang in there MS. Show the sodding NHS you can beat the odds. That fckg cancer! Don't want to see any more of my friends pass on with it. Off to a funeral wake this afternoon for a good friend of mine who lost his battle earlier this week. But, he was 80. You're a good bit younger for sure. Fight and hang in there. We're all pulling for you.