Back home and still utterly vexed by that display, before the game I didn't see it coming in fact on the back of recent performances and with the new lads in there I expected to see a pretty free flowing game and if anything good attacking play from both teams.
They might have won comfortably but they were far from glowing and that pretty much sums up how we were. For all the huffing and puffing we did it was scrappy and aimless and dare I compare it to a very weir'esqe like performance. From front to back today we had off performances and people who just weren't on the game and who didn't want to get stuck in at all, whether it is because nobody wanted to pick up knocks before Fulham replay who knows but we were nesh and lacked the physical side in all areas of the pitch.
Attacking wise it wasn't an attractive game from either team. They probably made the best chances in a dire game and the few chances they made were put away that was pretty much the difference between two scrappy, nesh and nervous teams today. Our best spell in the game for me came after half time when we threw a few questions at them but again scrappy and impotent and never looked really like scoring. Particularly disappointed with Paynters contribution up front as well because dare I say it he didn't put himself around as well as Porter usually would and for as much as he is klnocked Porters work rate is exemplary in the final third of the pitch and brings other players into the game, but this can be said for most of the team as nobody for me really dug deep and tried overly too much to make things happen especially after the goals went in and heads dropped.
I am hoping this was just a very, very bad day at the office because it is a big step backwards for us after some of the football we have been playing. Nobody played well for me today, the keeper was nervous, the back four were scrappy and shakey, the midfield were nesh and won nothing really first or second balls and going forward created naff all and up front we had nothing really possibly due to no service from Midfield but also due to a lack of work rate and determination as well.
I just hope they all got a bollocking and sort it out after that. Again a big step backwards and one that needs sorting out quickly before this pattern of results starts putting pressure on us.