Not Good Enough

[Hamburg Blade]

I thought we did alright. On paper this should have been a 4 or 5 nil drubbing. We held our own for periods and caused difficulties from time to time. A lot of established Championship clubs won't manage that at their place. I was frustrated occasionally by inaccurate passing after over-elaborate triangles, which I thought was the main difference between the sides, but the overall picture was that there is no gulf between us and the Championship and if we play like that every match we will be comfortable - if not champion contenders.

 

[Newbury Blade]

The point is how it exposed our weak areas, You can tell Wilder was onto this after even the 1st game- midfield is a problem and centre back, also left back might not have been recruited as good as we thought although more game time might be an issue, we could have a hussey situation.

The second part of the first half would have benn a huge wake up call.

And I'll say it again, as good as Bash was last season he isn't good enough for this league and was terribly exposed yesterday.

Stevens was our biggest attacking threat yesterday and apart from one or two lapses, against a very good player in Christie, he did OK defensively. But even if he didn't, we have Lafferty, who was signed explicitly to replace Hussey, so how we can have a "Hussey situation" is beyond me.

 

[Reynoldo]

I'm also somewhat exasperated by a lot of the views on here following the game. We only just lost 1-0 to a massive spending ex-premier league club. At their ground, and they are favourites for promotion. Apart from 30 minutes, out of 90 minutes, we more than held our own. We've had dominant spells like that at times when everything seems to click. We held them to one goal won by a hopeful punt into the box and a moments indecision between new keeper and CB. Otherwise Blackman was hardly troubled. We deserved the draw we were robbed of, yet some people on here are in meltdown and calling for heads???? Get real, we're going to lose a few, the above loss is not bad by any standard.

We did look well short at times, but that is to be expected in a game like this against a team that has spent over £40m this season alone - we had some good spells and arguably created as many chances - I also believe CW and the team will learn from that. It will be a tough and interesting season and we need stick with them - I'm sure we will have worse days than yesterday this season.
UTB's

 

[JJBlade]

At the end of the day, the difference between the two sides was one defensive howler and even then we would have drawn the game had it not been for an incorrect offside call.

It wasn't though was it
Boro were quicker, stronger, fitter and better at reading the game

Almost every loose ball was picked up by one of their players because of their speed of thought

Our team worked hard, and any team that works hard deserves praise. But we were slow and League One and League Two players will struggle more often than not against the better teams in this Division

We can only hope to accumulate enough points to stay up against the other also rans this season because sufficient investment is not there

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Now - here's a question for some of you.

HOW MANY GAMES DID HUDDERSFIELD LOSE LAST SEASON?............................and get promotion, admittedly through the play offs.








15......yes 15 !

We take our attacking game to the opposition and we WILL LOSE games of football - just like we did last night v Boro.

I believe we will grow into the season, just like we did last season once the players realise themselves that Championship players are not all prima donnas and stop being an awe of them.

UTB

 

[Fanny magnet]

Now - here's a question for some of you.

HOW MANY GAMES DID HUDDERSFIELD LOSE LAST SEASON?............................and get promotion, admittedly through the play offs.








15......yes 15 !

We take our attacking game to the opposition and we WILL LOSE games of football - just like we did last night v Boro.

I believe we will grow into the season, just like we did last season once the players realise themselves that Championship players are not all prima donnas and stop being an awe of them.

UTB

Exactly and how many points did we pick up in our first four games last season ?

Trust in wilder

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Exactly and how many points did we pick up in our first four games last season ?

Trust in wilder

Indeed, although last season changed with an influx of different players and formation change, created the solution. Not quite so easy this season.

The players will wake up soon enough - Wilder and Knill won't settle for anything else.

UTB

 

[super_pig]

The point is how it exposed our weak areas, You can tell Wilder was onto this after even the 1st game- midfield is a problem and centre back, also left back might not have been recruited as good as we thought although more game time might be an issue, we could have a hussey situation.

The second part of the first half would have benn a huge wake up call.

And I'll say it again, as good as Bash was last season he isn't good enough for this league and was terribly exposed yesterday.

possibly because jake wasn't there to guide him?
i don't want to prejudge stearman but he is much less vocal than Wright and was often the source of wasteful long balls .. as the centre of the 3 it should have been his header not bashams?

 

[Grappler]

Let's all be honest, we gifted them the goal and were denied the equaliser. A better header from Bash and the keeper staying on his line and that ball doesn't go in. As for Gestede second header that hit the woodwork, he didn't know where it was going, it accidentally cannons off the back of his head.

Don't get me wrong, they had some good players and were half a yard quicker and faster reaction time than us, but at the end of the day, the game should have finished 1-1, and we were robbed of the draw. I would not call that £45 million well spent by them.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Just did a bit of "statto" research -

Norwich were the equivalent of Middlesbro last season (i.e. they'd been relegated from the Premier League the previous season in 19th). They won all three of their home games against the promoted sides.

In fact, last season, the three sides who'd been relegated from the Premier League won 8 out of 9 of their home games v. sides promoted from Division Three (the exception being woeful Villa losing at home to Barnsley).

And in Bournemouth's first season up in the Championship, in 13/14, they twice lost 3-0 away to sides who'd been relegated from the Premier League the season before (although they did win 2-1 at Reading as well).

Bristol City lost all three (two of them 4-0) against relegated prem sides in 15/16.

We'll be fine.

 

[Th!stledo]

We have three points and should have four after two matches against two of the contenders for promotion. Give them time to settle and grow FFS.

 

[PokerBlade]

No doubt we'll see some players in our squad, and probably starting eleven, get found out this season. That's to be expected for a newly promoted side on a budget. And it'd be just as naive to look at the last two performances and not see a difference in the quality in a few key positions (can you imagine what Wilder could do for us with Jota and Gestede?).

What's weird is I feel oddly comfortable going back to being the plucky underdogs again instead of that intense pressure that we ought to be rolling over shit teams in League One.

Cardiff away is going to be a very difficult game for us. It's the home game on Saturday that worries me though. Nothing will trouble me too much this early but it's one of the games on the fixture list where you think we could do with a win.

 

[pommpey]

I think perspective is needed here.

People are absolutely correct in saying (as I have done and firmly believe) that yesterdays performance wasn't anything to be broken hearted about. We made them look like they have wasted a lot of money, and some Boro fans I have communicated with feel the same. They also think we are a lot stronger than people give us credit for. As said, one opportunist capitalisation on a misplaced header, one decent cross and a post-hit and a short range crack on goal is all they managed. We had a similar amount of opportunities one of which resulted in a genuine goal struck off because of shit officialdom.

But we have known for years the limits and shortcomings of Basham, and although sometimes he can look like Beckenbaur, I ask all Blades fans if he doesn't slightly give you the shits when he is defending. I am not confident of him in the back three. He came here as a midfielder (and in honesty, he's never ripped up trees doing that either) and ended up playing in the back four by default thanks to Clough's inability to recruit playing staff. Compare him to O'Connell who looks and acts like a central defender and his judgement seems sound. Basham remains a liability and although yesterday's team outing was satisfactory as a whole, opposition will be very aware of him and his lack of ability.

Carruthers doesn't seem to have an idea of what Wilder wants him to do. AFAIAA, he was brought to us as some sort of flair attacking midfielder, with a bit of 'bad boy' kudos. I have seen nowt of this. Some have reported he does have some sort of mercurial talent but yesterday he looked bereft of inventiveness and vision. Given he had the football league's top scorer ahead of him partnered by a big old unit put there to mix it up with two pretty decent midfielders flanking him I was extremely disappointed in him.

Both players in my opinion (at the moment anyway) wouldn't be in my first team on Tuesday.

pommpey

 

[Trueblade]

I've struggled to even look at the forum since last night.

One loss has lead to another rant at the owners, questioning of Fleck and Coutts and Ched allegedly impersonating a headless chicken (no doubt countless others).

I was proud of yesterday's performance. A group of honest footballers working hard for the team, the most important thing for me. we were never going to have a season like last year and in the end got mugged of a point.

I am dreading the threads that may pop up after Cardiff should we not in (again little shame there given there tipped to do well and smashed Villa) and suspect at some point I'll see people questioning Wilder and no doubt calling for his head.

 

[Houso]

But we have known for years the limits and shortcomings of Basham, and although sometimes he can look like Beckenbaur, I ask all Blades fans if he doesn't slightly give you the shits when he is defending. I am not confident of him in the back three. He came here as a midfielder (and in honesty, he's never ripped up trees doing that either) and ended up playing in the back four by default thanks to Clough's inability to recruit playing staff. Compare him to O'Connell who looks and acts like a central defender and his judgement seems sound. Basham remains a liability and although yesterday's team outing was satisfactory as a whole, opposition will be very aware of him and his lack of ability.

Carruthers doesn't seem to have an idea of what Wilder wants him to do. AFAIAA, he was brought to us as some sort of flair attacking midfielder, with a bit of 'bad boy' kudos. I have seen nowt of this. Some have reported he does have some sort of mercurial talent but yesterday he looked bereft of inventiveness and vision. Given he had the football league's top scorer ahead of him partnered by a big old unit put there to mix it up with two pretty decent midfielders flanking him I was extremely disappointed in him.

Both players in my opinion (at the moment anyway) wouldn't be in my first team on Tuesday.

pommpey

Basham's shortcomings were evident in a side bereft of confidence and playing awful awful football. Last season under a new boss in a new system he was in our top three or four players, rarely put a foot wrong and was many people's POTS. Against Brentford, a level up and against a playoff contender, he was many people's MOTM. On Saturday against a strikeforce worth 20m+ he made one error, but looked generally capable.

I am all for opinions and don't think posters should ever be told to keep theirs to themselves. But, writing Bash off based on yesterday screams of someone who never rated him and even if he had a great season this time round, he'd be branded as NGE at the start of next.

As for Carruthers, I thought he too had a good game yesterday. There were certainly three or four players who were poorer than either him or Bash, so it baffles me that they're written off as a result of a match against the favourites for promotion.

 

[JohnDenver]

It's going to be interesting to see which of our players step up and which fall by the wayside. Anyone claiming they know who it'll be after two games is a bit of a chump.

Carruthers has a really difficult role to play in linking up with the strikers. He looked good first half versus Brentford, but couldn't make a dent against Boro. Nothing too surprising in that, and no conclusions to be drawn yet.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

We have to accept this season we will lose lots of games, may even take the odd thumping, main aim is to finish mid table then look to build again and improve next summer

Main aim is to end 21st at at worst.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

The biggest thing for me is that we've only bought one player in Stearman who has Championship experience.

The board have got off the hook because "spunking money" is somehow a bad thing because Wednesday are doing it? Well Boro have shown us what spending £45m can get you.

We need to spend a relatively big amount of money to make us more competitive, cheap buys from League One and Two isn't going to improve us by much. A couple of players for £2m-£3m with Championship experience will make a big difference to this team.

Boro looked a really ordinary team to me.
Otherwise I do agree.

 

[GrayBlade]

Are there really people declaring certain players as "not good enough for this level" after one fucking loss?

After one of the longest winning runs in our history?

After one of the longest unbeaten league runs in our history?

After a title, the absolute domination of a league and 100 points?

And after they no doubt wrote these players off previously only to be proven wrong?

Maybe it's the same people who said that we weren't good enough this time last season? Everything seems to be compacted into one or two games for some, and only new players or a manager can change this. Players don't click and teams never gel after a while in their world.

Some even seem to get off after a loss, they come alive and up their post count, even if it's the first defeat in months. Mark my words, if we lose to Cardiff, Brian the Blade willl want Wilder out and Lendegoey will return from his year in self imposed exile.

 

[Bladesway]

If any of us are offended by opposing views after a defeat what the fuck are any of us doing here?

FWIW we are fine and will end mid table from what I have currently seen. Wilder will strengthen and isn't sentimental enough to hang onto last seasons players if they aren't up to it. I trust him to do the right things. I don't care which division these players come from because Wilder will have done his homework.

For those who want to say we lost the ball apparently we had more possession and more shots on target. Against a team tipped for promotion and massive spenders I think that's not a bad showing. Could we have done better? Yes. Did we deserve a point? I don't think so but had we not had that last minute goal chalked off we wouldn't be panicking or saying players were not good enough.

Problem is some people were waiting for the defeat because they already think we have signed too many lower league players. Of course yesterday was the chance to pounce on any mistake and lay waste to whoever it is you don't like.

Nothing like a pre laid out agenda to make a forum interesting is there.

 

[oldblade]

It wasn't though was it
Boro were quicker, stronger, fitter and better at reading the game

Almost every loose ball was picked up by one of their players because of their speed of thought

Our team worked hard, and any team that works hard deserves praise. But we were slow and League One and League Two players will struggle more often than not against the better teams in this Division

We can only hope to accumulate enough points to stay up against the other also rans this season because sufficient investment is not there

There are no goals awarded for speed of thought etc. The score was 1-0. I make that a difference of one goal. And that goal came about because of one moment of calamitous defending.

In the second half Middlesbrough did very little of note, and however fast they looked we got the ball in the net as many times as they did. The only difference being that for some reason that shall forever remain a mystery, our goal was disallowed and theirs wasn't.

 

[oldblade]

Now - here's a question for some of you.

HOW MANY GAMES DID HUDDERSFIELD LOSE LAST SEASON?............................and get promotion, admittedly through the play offs.








15......yes 15 !

We take our attacking game to the opposition and we WILL LOSE games of football - just like we did last night v Boro.

I believe we will grow into the season, just like we did last season once the players realise themselves that Championship players are not all prima donnas and stop being an awe of them.

UTB

Not only did they get promotion after losing 15 games, they didn't actually win any of their play off games.

Pretty much the polar opposite of us in 2011-12 when we failed to get promoted and yet did not lose or concede a goal in any of our play off games.

 

[GrayBlade]

There are no goals awarded for speed of thought etc. The score was 1-0. I make that a difference of one goal. And that goal came about because of one moment of calamitous defending.

In the second half Middlesbrough did very little of note, and however fast they looked we got the ball in the net as many times as they did. The only difference being that for some reason that shall forever remain a mystery, our goal was disallowed and theirs wasn't.

Spot on OB! There certainly wasn't 43 million quids worth of close-season transfer difference when it came down to chances, more like 43 quid for all their speed of though etc. We were robbed of a deserved point by a shocking decision.

 

[metalblade]

We have to remember we have taken a step up (not as big as the pigs would have us believe) and are up against better players. We are not up to speed yet players in this division at the moment are quicker thinkers than our lot and they are fitter and close teams down quicker than your average League one sides. We are on a steep learning curve just now but we are not doing bad, we will get better and up to speed after a few more games. One or two players might not make the step up but those who have come in have potential to add to the mix of players such as Sharpe, Carruthers, Coutts, Stearman, Basham Baldock etc who have played at this level. We won't get hammered every game like the pigs say and we will not win every game at this level I think we can finish mid table but yes we still need a few more players in, no need to panic over a narrow defeat to a side just down from the Premiership.

 

[oldblade]

Spot on OB! There certainly wasn't 43 million quids worth of close-season transfer difference when it came down to chances, more like 43 quid for all their speed of though etc. We were robbed of a deserved point by a shocking decision.

Although they had more attempts on goal than us (which you would expect from the home side), we actually had more shots on target.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

The point is how it exposed our weak areas, You can tell Wilder was onto this after even the 1st game- midfield is a problem and centre back, also left back might not have been recruited as good as we thought although more game time might be an issue, we could have a hussey situation.

The second part of the first half would have benn a huge wake up call.

And I'll say it again, as good as Bash was last season he isn't good enough for this league and was terribly exposed yesterday.

I think that a bit harsh on Stevens who I think is a good full back, but we're asking him to play like a winger in that formation and a winger he isn't. Get a Jamie Murphy type ahead of him and problem solved on the left.

 

[elgoog44]

There will be times this year we will when CW and AK will learn more in defeat than in victory, 1 - 0 against Middlesbrough is not that bad, now there dust off and great ready to go again.