You are all loco.
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Unpopular opinion.
We are knackered.
Mentally as much as physically.
The impact of the injuries & inability to rotate compounded by the Covid rules that stop us using proper recovery tech, ice baths, massage etc.
Mental tiredness is clear in JWP & Ings playing at 100% not the 120% last season.
We are not alone in that, results across the league are strange.
There is no solution, they go again mid week. Forster will start and while he may not leave a pass short in the mud he is more likely to not attack the ball outside his 6 yard box.
Our system needs 120% effort. It needs 2 mobile ball playing fullback.
It doesn’t work if we are fvcked.
Of if Redmond is playing
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Fair assessment. The high energy game has taken its toll and we don’t have the strength in depth to rotate effectively. It’s such a shame about Che. His work outside the box is outstanding but he has been blessed with the late period Shlong finishing ability. Minamino took his goal well and looks like he will be an asset and we will be better with Stu and KWP in the ranks but I don’t think we have got enough in the tank to repeat our form from earlier in the season.
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I don’t know where to start, really. I suppose with why we lost. That was because we let in three goals in the first half, (and that puts the blame squarely on the defence): the first because we didn’t have a proper right back. Bednarek dived in for an interception he didn’t make and gave St Maximan a free run instead of shepherding him outside. Doesn’t happen with KWP.
The second was some of the same, plus Bednarek not getting his feet sorted out. A bit unlucky.
And the third was a McCarthy clusterfuck. Poor pass out underhit on a sodden surface when it needed hitting. Especially one minute from HT. Then Bertrand was slow to react and recover the situation. He had just been crocked, but poor. Then McCarthy gets his position totally wrong fir the shot, leaving near post wide open with JWP covering across the goal.
So, although I’m disappointed (euphamism) that we didn’t get anything at the end, we did score two good goals away from home and shouldn’t have needed more to get even a draw.
There were factors that worked against us. I’m not calling them excuses because you have to deal with what you get, but these made a difference.
Most of the team were either weary after a gruelling and exhausting experience on Tues, or were returning and not quite on the pace. They will have been nervous of another disaster.
Both Tues, and more so today, the conditions were draining, worked against playing decent football, and must have been exhausting. Yes, it’s the same for both teams, but the pitch was so bad in the last 30 minsit was hard to play sharp passes. But we did make sone chances and Danny was unlucky hitting the post. Just not happening for him.
But some things I thought were poor, strange or just wrong. Ralph may be trying to play Redmond back into form, but he contributed little, even wasting half out previous stoppage time with a stupid foul. Didn’t take on his man. Didn’t shoot. Lost momentum again and again. And with Djenepo on the bench, why didn’t we see him? Surely a better option than N’Lundulu especially when Vestergaard had been thrown into attack. And why, given the attack we had at the end, didn’t we throw more crosses in? In those conditions the hard-hit low cross can skim anywhere.
But at least it was a “normal” scoreline. Trying to look for positives, I’d suggest:
In less atrocious conditions, we’ll play well again. When we get KWP back, it’ll make a huge difference. Ings needs a bit of luck: his general play contributed a lot. I thought Adams, Romeu, Minamino, JWP had good games. But trying to play a high-tempo game on that surface was near impossible, particularly with tired players.
This incessant two games a week, especially with injuries and a small squad with no chance to rotate, is killing us (and really favouring the big clubs. With the injuries today, Newcastle will now struggle.) When Europe restarts, the boot will be on the other foot, we’ll get decent recovery periods and hopeful turn results around.
I’ve got no great expectations for this season now, just mid-table. Ralph has a very delicate and difficult job to do retaining the integrity of our playing style, rebuilding confidence but kicking a few arses where required to sharpen things up. We just can’t afford sloppy defence. Our game is built on risk-taking, pressing, high-intensity and quick forward passing. For that to work, we have to be confident that the defence will recover if we lose the ball. The danger is, if we get nervous about defending, we’ll lose the willingness to take risks in attack.
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Not playing a right back did not help our cause at all. The best non fullback we have for emergencies is JWP, but of course we need him in midfield.
Slightly surprised Ramsey was on the bench, as he did pretty well midweek. That said, he might be being saved for Tuesday, with KWP not risked until next weekend.
The fact is we lost to a shit team with 9 men.
When we had 9 men we lost 9-0.
I don’t know whether its a riddle but its a shit one at our expense.
It’s certainly the sort of simple correlation you enjoy but has no significance.
Just revel in the luxury of not having Mike Dean involved in our game…he was busy making life a misery for another team today.
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I think it does, lets see what the professionals and press say about it shall we?
Yep…like you they only deal in football headlines.
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Indeed. It was a pleasure having a ref who just quietly did his job.
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When was the last time you posted a match report? You just fucking love it when we lose. Sad.
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I’m watching MU Everton and can’t help wondering what the game would have been like played on a pitch as waterlogged as ours was. It really made fluent football impossible and took skill out of the equation.
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Your opinion has no authority here.
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Again. Ramsay cannot play that role in our system. He simply doesn’t have the skill going forwards to beat players.
We needed JWP there today but with Diallo AND Armstrong out, no way was Ralph starting Watts or Shauke.
In his defence, it would have been to good to see him from the start - such as the other night - and then judge him in 2021 - but not against Utd, or not when we are a man down after 72 seconds.
Both sfc commentators made the point at Old Trafford that Ralph must rate Ramsey ahead of Valery, hence the latter going out on loan.
We may see him on Thursday and get a proper chance to judge. He is young and still learning.
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What’s happening on Tuesday??
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I’ll be getting pissed.
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Wolves FA cup. Edit - Thursday!
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