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pommpey

pommpey

THE FUTURE ... AS IT USED TO BE
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Just back from the gig. Was basically starting the van up as the final whistle went. Fucking stupid time for a kick off.

Overall we didn't crumble, capitulate or disgrace ourselves, our brilliant supporters, or the club. For large parts of that game one of the best sides in Europe or even the world, stuffed with really fucking great players struggled to break us down and the levels of concentration and commitment were possibly the best I have seen us have for some time. Whether it was Wembley itself, the occasion of the late stages of the FA Cup or just the will not to be bummed like Burnley (there you go Fallowfield, you can have that) or even all three in parts, I thing the players today did us proud. Sure, there were errors, but faced with players who will destroy you through those errors we have learned valuable lessons today and ones which spell out where a PL season is in terms of what we need and what system we need to play to survive.

From the off we could have shocked them. NDaiye with a sitter and later on we went close again and later still in the first half broke cleanly only for the usually magical NDaiye to lose control. But elsewhere the midfield held firm and the defence were pretty fucking excellent to be honest. Football Robot Haaland was pretty anonymous (Arsenal, take note) and Grealish was smudged out by the attentive Baldock. Okay, Citeh kept players like KDB benched because they'll need him on Wednesday but face it Blades, that aint much to carp about. We were eventually undone by naivety which was a shame. City are deserved winners - they are better than us and the scoreline proved it, but we didn't give in without characteristic battling.

Foderingham 7.5/10: Couple of good stops in the game but no chance with any of Mharez's hat-trick. Every goal was a lesson in finishing.
Baldock 8/10: Snuffed much of what Grealish and Palmer had to offer out completely. Stayed on his feet and didn't over commit and made both players look backwards rather than take him on
Anel 7.5/10: Stuck like glue to Haaland which is what his brief should have been
Egan 7/10: Not a bad game at all save for his daft hesitancy when Mharez ran through. With Robbo facing the other way and expecting the layoff, it was Egan's job to deck Mharez and buy the yellow card
JLT 7.5/10: Typical blood and guts performance with some errors but overall can't fault him after that
Lowe 5/10: Mharez was his man and in a game like this, Lowe needed to firstly not be so dumb as to give up possession to him but secondly not allow him so much room out wide or to score his third. Errors that cost us.
Berge 7.5/10: First half put himself about and got past players but less so in the second as we fell behind
Norwood 7.5/10: Not a bad game for him, save for some iffy headers and passes. Did his best with Gundughan, but clearly the City player was better. See also SIlva.
Fleck 7/10: Surprisingly good and energetic in the first half but faded in the second. The gulf in class became increasingly evident
NDaiye 7/10: They were 'aware' of him raher than feared him although massive chance early doors to make our mark was missed. No chances after that which said it all really.
Jebbison 5/10: Poor challenge in the box and really quite ineffective

McBurnie 5/10: Nothing to offer. Totally overshadowed
Sharp 5/10 Came on for Fleck as we switched to 3-4-3 and tried ... but poor old fella is slowing up
Basham 7/10: Another old feller but this bloke's footballing nous is second to none
Bogle 5/10: On to rest Baldock and just make up numbers
Coullibally 5/10 Ditto above but a bit weak and naïve at times

HJ&SMcC 10/10: For getting us this far and sticking out a team which did us proud. Now, let's got get the promotion we deserve.

pommpey
 

pommpey said:
Just back from the gig. Was basically starting the van up as the final whistle went. Fucking stupid time for a kick off.

Overall we didn't crumble, capitulate or disgrace ourselves, our brilliant supporters, or the club. For large parts of that game one of the best sides in Europe or even the world, stuffed with really fucking great players struggled to break us down and the levels of concentration and commitment were possibly the best I have seen us have for some time. Whether it was Wembley itself, the occasion of the late stages of the FA Cup or just the will not to be bummed like Burnley (there you go Fallowfield, you can have that) or even all three in parts, I thing the players today did us proud. Sure, there were errors, but faced with players who will destroy you through those errors we have learned valuable lessons today and ones which spell out where a PL season is in terms of what we need and what system we need to play to survive.

From the off we could have shocked them. NDaiye with a sitter and later on we went close again and later still in the first half broke cleanly only for the usually magical NDaiye to lose control. But elsewhere the midfield held firm and the defence were pretty fucking excellent to be honest. Football Robot Haaland was pretty anonymous (Arsenal, take note) and Grealish was smudged out by the attentive Baldock. Okay, Citeh kept players like KDB benched because they'll need him on Wednesday but face it Blades, that aint much to carp about. We were eventually undone by naivety which was a shame. City are deserved winners - they are better than us and the scoreline proved it, but we didn't give in without characteristic battling.

Foderingham 7.5/10: Couple of good stops in the game but no chance with any of Mharez's hat-trick. Every goal was a lesson in finishing.
Baldock 8/10: Snuffed much of what Grealish and Palmer had to offer out completely. Stayed on his feet and didn't over commit and made both players look backwards rather than take him on
Anel 7.5/10: Stuck like glue to Haaland which is what his brief should have been
Egan 7/10: Not a bad game at all save for his daft hesitancy when Mharez ran through. With Robbo facing the other way and expecting the layoff, it was Egan's job to deck Mharez and buy the yellow card
JLT 7.5/10: Typical blood and guts performance with some errors but overall can't fault him after that
Lowe 5/10: Mharez was his man and in a game like this, Lowe needed to firstly not be so dumb as to give up possession to him but secondly not allow him so much room out wide or to score his third. Errors that cost us.
Berge 7.5/10: First half put himself about and got past players but less so in the second as we fell behind
Norwood 7.5/10: Not a bad game for him, save for some iffy headers and passes. Did his best with Gundughan, but clearly the City player was better. See also SIlva.
Fleck 7/10: Surprisingly good and energetic in the first half but faded in the second. The gulf in class became increasingly evident
NDaiye 7/10: They were 'aware' of him raher than feared him although massive chance early doors to make our mark was missed. No chances after that which said it all really.
Jebbison 5/10: Poor challenge in the box and really quite ineffective

McBurnie 5/10: Nothing to offer. Totally overshadowed
Sharp 5/10 Came on for Fleck as we switched to 3-4-3 and tried ... but poor old fella is slowing up
Basham 7/10: Another old feller but this bloke's footballing nous is second to none
Bogle 5/10: On to rest Baldock and just make up numbers
Coullibally 5/10 Ditto above but a bit weak and naïve at times

HJ&SMcC 10/10: For getting us this far and sticking out a team which did us proud. Now, let's got get the promotion we deserve.

pommpey
Click to expand...

Can't be arsed with firsts

pommpey
 
pommpey said:
Just back from the gig. Was basically starting the van up as the final whistle went. Fucking stupid time for a kick off.

Overall we didn't crumble, capitulate or disgrace ourselves, our brilliant supporters, or the club. For large parts of that game one of the best sides in Europe or even the world, stuffed with really fucking great players struggled to break us down and the levels of concentration and commitment were possibly the best I have seen us have for some time. Whether it was Wembley itself, the occasion of the late stages of the FA Cup or just the will not to be bummed like Burnley (there you go Fallowfield, you can have that) or even all three in parts, I thing the players today did us proud. Sure, there were errors, but faced with players who will destroy you through those errors we have learned valuable lessons today and ones which spell out where a PL season is in terms of what we need and what system we need to play to survive.

From the off we could have shocked them. NDaiye with a sitter and later on we went close again and later still in the first half broke cleanly only for the usually magical NDaiye to lose control. But elsewhere the midfield held firm and the defence were pretty fucking excellent to be honest. Football Robot Haaland was pretty anonymous (Arsenal, take note) and Grealish was smudged out by the attentive Baldock. Okay, Citeh kept players like KDB benched because they'll need him on Wednesday but face it Blades, that aint much to carp about. We were eventually undone by naivety which was a shame. City are deserved winners - they are better than us and the scoreline proved it, but we didn't give in without characteristic battling.

Foderingham 7.5/10: Couple of good stops in the game but no chance with any of Mharez's hat-trick. Every goal was a lesson in finishing.
Baldock 8/10: Snuffed much of what Grealish and Palmer had to offer out completely. Stayed on his feet and didn't over commit and made both players look backwards rather than take him on
Anel 7.5/10: Stuck like glue to Haaland which is what his brief should have been
Egan 7/10: Not a bad game at all save for his daft hesitancy when Mharez ran through. With Robbo facing the other way and expecting the layoff, it was Egan's job to deck Mharez and buy the yellow card
JLT 7.5/10: Typical blood and guts performance with some errors but overall can't fault him after that
Lowe 5/10: Mharez was his man and in a game like this, Lowe needed to firstly not be so dumb as to give up possession to him but secondly not allow him so much room out wide or to score his third. Errors that cost us.
Berge 7.5/10: First half put himself about and got past players but less so in the second as we fell behind
Norwood 7.5/10: Not a bad game for him, save for some iffy headers and passes. Did his best with Gundughan, but clearly the City player was better. See also SIlva.
Fleck 7/10: Surprisingly good and energetic in the first half but faded in the second. The gulf in class became increasingly evident
NDaiye 7/10: They were 'aware' of him raher than feared him although massive chance early doors to make our mark was missed. No chances after that which said it all really.
Jebbison 5/10: Poor challenge in the box and really quite ineffective

McBurnie 5/10: Nothing to offer. Totally overshadowed
Sharp 5/10 Came on for Fleck as we switched to 3-4-3 and tried ... but poor old fella is slowing up
Basham 7/10: Another old feller but this bloke's footballing nous is second to none
Bogle 5/10: On to rest Baldock and just make up numbers
Coullibally 5/10 Ditto above but a bit weak and naïve at times

HJ&SMcC 10/10: For getting us this far and sticking out a team which did us proud. Now, let's got get the promotion we deserve.

pommpey
Click to expand...

Brilliant summary , though some of the individual markings are a bit surprising .

Fleck 7/10 - really ? and very harsh on Billy who I thought did well in the circumstances .

Much appreciated though . 👍
 
I thought McBurnie and Coulibaly did well when they came on. Unfortunately the Jebbison gamble didn’t work, he looked overwhelmed even before the penalty. I completely understood the logic about his pace, but there was no space in behind them and he was too careless with the ball when he had it. He’s only 19 though, he’ll be better for the experience.

This match was a fantastic barometer of where we need upgrades - across the middle of the park, goalkeeper and LWB/LB are a priority IMO.
 
Thanks, as ever Pomps. I thought we were terrific in the first half and agree with all of that bar Illy. At the risk of getting pelters, I thought he had, for him, a shocker. Maybe the miss and the chance to shine got to him, or maybe facing world class defenders showed that he might not be so effective in the PL. For me, I think he just had an off day and goodness knows he’s entitled to one after the (long) season he’s had but was expected to do too much on his own up top. I still prefer to see him playing in the hole behind a striker so lets hope we buy someone he can pair with because neither McB or Jebbo are it.
 
I enjoy your posts and agree usually with you. Glad you resisted the temptation to get stuck into a couple of them and took the opposition and event into account.

thanks again for the toilet humour and analysis over the year. Not quite Deadbat analysis but more entertaining. Keep it going.
 
A Storm of Blades said:
I thought McBurnie and Coulibaly did well when they came on. Unfortunately the Jebbison gamble didn’t work, he looked overwhelmed even before the penalty. I completely understood the logic about his pace, but there was no space in behind them and he was too careless with the ball when he had it. He’s only 19 though, he’ll be better for the experience.

This match was a fantastic barometer of where we need upgrades - across the middle of the park, goalkeeper and LWB/LB are a priority IMO.
Click to expand...
We need a couple of goalscorers urgently.
 
Not sure I agree with some of the ratings. Baldock and Berge stoodd about, backing off and off, no challenge on Grealish for the pass on third goal. Grealish actually managed to lay off the ball most of the time, as there was no challenge from Baldock often.
Jebbison was unlucky with the penalty. We have huge problems in front of goal if we don't get two goalscorers in.
Midfield is a real weak area, full upgrades needed on most of the staff there. Yesterday in the first half most of the service to Jebbison was a long ball miles away from him, as there was no running with the ball from the midfield, no trickery. Berge did not fulfil his ability by backing up the strikers there.
The defence were excellent aside from the goals.
 
I’m proud of em.

We were clearly well beaten, it felt like we had about 5% possession and were playing against 12 or 13 men at times, but we dug in and it might have been one of those random fluke days if Ndiaye scores and we don’t give the cheap pen - who knows!

Fair scores all round I think, definitely not the kind of game to be going in on the players given the context.
 
Good write up.

I would have given mcburnie 6 and coullibally 6 as I thought both made us more positive when they came on.

Is it just me or does mcburnie always look out of control of the ball but somehow holds it more than he should?

There were times yesterday, he got the ball looked lost on the ball but somehow squeezes though a defender.
 
United Aren't Back. said:
We need a couple of goalscorers urgently.
Click to expand...

We need to bring Jebbison through and stop messing about with his development (and he needs to stop getting injured!)

We have Brewster to return (and stop getting injured). Those two with Ndiaye is a pretty decent offering if we can keep them fit!!
 
Personally thought Ndiaye struggled.

Wasn't able to retain the ball or make it stick.

If we are marking on that game alone (ignoring our blade tinted spectacles) can't give him more than a 6 but closer to 5 in my honest opinion.

Hopefully scouts were watching that game for Ndiaye and will now look elsewhere lol 😂🙏

Did Fleck even touch the ball to get a 7? serious question? Can't remember him making a tackle or playing a pass... At least Norwood was noticeable sliding in all over the place even if meant giving away some free kicks.
 

Lowe, Bogle and McBurnie underperformed as to be expected but Baldock and Berge shone for me.
Great performance all round and, with key buys/loans in the summer, we should be 15+ in the Prem.
UTB
 
Some Citeh fans told us they'd smash us 7-0, only banter and I said to them, you'll most likely win, but it won't be 7. I love the fact this team does not capitulate. Sure, they were the better team by miles but by the end of the first half they'd had 2 shots on target and one of those was the penalty. Illy has to score that chance in the first minute. You've got to take your chances against teams like that. Not saying we'd have won and might have been a case of 'poking the bear' but how great would it have been to take the lead?
 
CornwallBlade said:
Thanks, as ever Pomps. I thought we were terrific in the first half and agree with all of that bar Illy. At the risk of getting pelters, I thought he had, for him, a shocker. Maybe the miss and the chance to shine got to him, or maybe facing world class defenders showed that he might not be so effective in the PL. For me, I think he just had an off day and goodness knows he’s entitled to one after the (long) season he’s had but was expected to do too much on his own up top. I still prefer to see him playing in the hole behind a striker so lets hope we buy someone he can pair with because neither McB or Jebbo are it.
Click to expand...
Agree. Think he was trying to hard on the limited opportunities that he got. He did make a lovely pass to Sharp and he must have run the most out of all the players on the pitch. His work rate was phenomenal. Hope that he has something left in the tank for Wednesday
 
United Aren't Back. said:
Not sure I agree with some of the ratings. Baldock and Berge stoodd about, backing off and off, no challenge on Grealish for the pass on third goal. Grealish actually managed to lay off the ball most of the time, as there was no challenge from Baldock often.
Jebbison was unlucky with the penalty. We have huge problems in front of goal if we don't get two goalscorers in.
Midfield is a real weak area, full upgrades needed on most of the staff there. Yesterday in the first half most of the service to Jebbison was a long ball miles away from him, as there was no running with the ball from the midfield, no trickery. Berge did not fulfil his ability by backing up the strikers there.
The defence were excellent aside from the goals.
Click to expand...
Jebbison unlucky with the penalty? That for me was the pivotal moment. Had we gone in 0-0 doubts would have started to set in for Man City. You don't swipe at a player who is moving the ball away from the goal whether backwards or sideways. Total naivety. From then on we have to try and get back in the game and that gave Man City confidence. Ian Wright said it, and I agree, the way the penalty was conceded and the timing of it undid all the hard work in the first half. That was by far the worst mistake of the match, much more costly than Lowe's mistake for their second goal.
 
CornwallBlade said:
Thanks, as ever Pomps. I thought we were terrific in the first half and agree with all of that bar Illy. At the risk of getting pelters, I thought he had, for him, a shocker. Maybe the miss and the chance to shine got to him, or maybe facing world class defenders showed that he might not be so effective in the PL. For me, I think he just had an off day and goodness knows he’s entitled to one after the (long) season he’s had but was expected to do too much on his own up top. I still prefer to see him playing in the hole behind a striker so lets hope we buy someone he can pair with because neither McB or Jebbo are it.
Click to expand...
Bearing in mind we were facing one of the best teams on the planet,the first half up to the naivety of the penalty was excellent.If you make mistakes against teams like these you WILL be punished and concede.Much to do if promotion is achieved.
 
Spot on, thanks Pommps, can't disagree with any of that.
I thought Baldock brilliant and was so focussed on keeping Grealish under control. He had him in his pocket most of the game. Only let down by midfield trackers not picking up backup runners. Grealish looked nervous tbh, I think he remembered previous encounters with Baldock. This was the most engaging individual battle imo, but typified the whole team performance.
The penalty changed the game. There heads were dropping a little, anxiety was creeping into their game. Had we gone in 0-0 at half-time the rest of the game may have been very different. Frustration, tiredness, weighted expectation on their shoulders would have all come forward as the game went on.
This team will punish even the slightest error. For the most part, the game plan worked, 10/10 Hecky.
One or two moments of lack of concentration and naivety were our downfall. Frailties for next season exposed.
Great support, at the end you would have thought we won it, not Citeh.
We weren't "bummed" and Furious showed all how to deal with the fancy Dan fuckface Grealish!
Very, very proud of club, team and supporters. All immense.
 
Yeah no complaints,I don't think anyone played particularly bad,but we just couldn't do enough with the ball...George and Berge stood out for me,and great reception at the end as more Blades stayed to applaud their team than City.
Illy should have buried the early chance,and without the avoidable penalty we could have gone in 1 up at half time...The 2nd goal did us completely, and although well beaten, just glad we didn't concede 4 or 5,as I think that would have been harsh.
 
Hard to judge fairly as the game was gone but I thought McBurnie and Sharp did very well, working with Ndiaye to close city down right to the final whistle.

Playing Jebbison made sense given Wembley and the need for an out ball but given how the penalty was given away perhaps and the sheer number of corners, McBurnie might have been a better start.

All in all fair report and city had to be on it to win it.
 
pommpey said:
Just back from the gig. Was basically starting the van up as the final whistle went. Fucking stupid time for a kick off.

Overall we didn't crumble, capitulate or disgrace ourselves, our brilliant supporters, or the club. For large parts of that game one of the best sides in Europe or even the world, stuffed with really fucking great players struggled to break us down and the levels of concentration and commitment were possibly the best I have seen us have for some time. Whether it was Wembley itself, the occasion of the late stages of the FA Cup or just the will not to be bummed like Burnley (there you go Fallowfield, you can have that) or even all three in parts, I thing the players today did us proud. Sure, there were errors, but faced with players who will destroy you through those errors we have learned valuable lessons today and ones which spell out where a PL season is in terms of what we need and what system we need to play to survive.

From the off we could have shocked them. NDaiye with a sitter and later on we went close again and later still in the first half broke cleanly only for the usually magical NDaiye to lose control. But elsewhere the midfield held firm and the defence were pretty fucking excellent to be honest. Football Robot Haaland was pretty anonymous (Arsenal, take note) and Grealish was smudged out by the attentive Baldock. Okay, Citeh kept players like KDB benched because they'll need him on Wednesday but face it Blades, that aint much to carp about. We were eventually undone by naivety which was a shame. City are deserved winners - they are better than us and the scoreline proved it, but we didn't give in without characteristic battling.

Foderingham 7.5/10: Couple of good stops in the game but no chance with any of Mharez's hat-trick. Every goal was a lesson in finishing.
Baldock 8/10: Snuffed much of what Grealish and Palmer had to offer out completely. Stayed on his feet and didn't over commit and made both players look backwards rather than take him on
Anel 7.5/10: Stuck like glue to Haaland which is what his brief should have been
Egan 7/10: Not a bad game at all save for his daft hesitancy when Mharez ran through. With Robbo facing the other way and expecting the layoff, it was Egan's job to deck Mharez and buy the yellow card
JLT 7.5/10: Typical blood and guts performance with some errors but overall can't fault him after that
Lowe 5/10: Mharez was his man and in a game like this, Lowe needed to firstly not be so dumb as to give up possession to him but secondly not allow him so much room out wide or to score his third. Errors that cost us.
Berge 7.5/10: First half put himself about and got past players but less so in the second as we fell behind
Norwood 7.5/10: Not a bad game for him, save for some iffy headers and passes. Did his best with Gundughan, but clearly the City player was better. See also SIlva.
Fleck 7/10: Surprisingly good and energetic in the first half but faded in the second. The gulf in class became increasingly evident
NDaiye 7/10: They were 'aware' of him raher than feared him although massive chance early doors to make our mark was missed. No chances after that which said it all really.
Jebbison 5/10: Poor challenge in the box and really quite ineffective

McBurnie 5/10: Nothing to offer. Totally overshadowed
Sharp 5/10 Came on for Fleck as we switched to 3-4-3 and tried ... but poor old fella is slowing up
Basham 7/10: Another old feller but this bloke's footballing nous is second to none
Bogle 5/10: On to rest Baldock and just make up numbers
Coullibally 5/10 Ditto above but a bit weak and naïve at times

HJ&SMcC 10/10: For getting us this far and sticking out a team which did us proud. Now, let's got get the promotion we deserve.

pommpey
Click to expand...
Great summary. A display that gives me some hope for next season (if/when we go up) provided that we have a half a dozen players to improve on yesterday’s match squad.
 
Good analysis and correct scores.

I'd add Blades support 10/10- after every City goal - we definitely tried to lift the Blades. In Wemberlee the noise evaporates it doesn't resound but the discent was minimal and the support was truly whole hearted after all 3 leaked goals- well done to everyone that SANG..
 
Sherwoodblade said:
Jebbison unlucky with the penalty? That for me was the pivotal moment. Had we gone in 0-0 doubts would have started to set in for Man City. You don't swipe at a player who is moving the ball away from the goal whether backwards or sideways. Total naivety. From then on we have to try and get back in the game and that gave Man City confidence. Ian Wright said it, and I agree, the way the penalty was conceded and the timing of it undid all the hard work in the first half. That was by far the worst mistake of the match, much more costly than Lowe's mistake for their second goal.
Click to expand...
I thought that Jebbisons 'naivety' was simply that he was trying to welly the ball into Row Z.
I don't think he was trying to tackle anyone, just had an "AVE IT!" moment at the wrong time
 
Cheers pommpey . Good review, fair scores for most, though I might give Jebbo another point...thought the penalty aside he did really well in the first half with very little genuine service, but it is, as they say, "all abart opinions."

We did alright. We didn't get embarassed, we held our own for a long time against a team who have resources, wealth and players that we can't even dream of. Genuinely think that if we'd been playing Man Utd or Brighton, and played like that, we might be going back to Wembley in June.

Berge, for once, looked like a premier league player. They were rightly scared of Illy, so they took steps to keep him quiet. He's good, but against that level of defence anyone would struggle.

Furious George....what a fucking player. Nullified Grealish completely.

Well played Blades. No shame in losing 0-3 to them. Bayern Munich lost by the same score the other week.

Oh, and Vincent Kompany's media darlings Burnley played them in the cup, and got done by 6.
 

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