If we get this right.....

[Blade58]

Hamer was an absolute disgrace.

Clearly doesnt want to be playing in the new system and I'll be amazed if hes still at the club at the end of August.

But putting zero effort in is unforgivable.

I wouldn’t put it as strong as that.

He under performed but so did a number of players

First half we played quite well. Second half we were poor and that’s a number of players

Rumours he wants away. We’ll see

 

[bladesince64]

He put most effort in arguing with the ref

 

[Not_a_Cheat]

There was so much to like in the first half, but the signs of what was to come were also clear. We need some leaders and some physicality, we were bullied at times and nowhere near strong enough in the tackle. Bristol City played very well, struggling to think of many better performances from the away team the whole of last season, got the tactics right (which other teams will now copy) and they made their own luck - but did have the run of the ball. I honestly think 3-3 was more reflective of the game.
There were some worrying body language signs from our players in the second half though. If they don't all buy into the new system is will definitely fail. Selles calling the players over for a tactical chat, Hamer stood in the centre circle pretending not to notice, then jogging slowly over when asked again by Selles.
The next 2 games are huge, not for the points but for morale and confidence.
Likewise, off the pitch, the next 3 weeks will tell us where we are going to be as a club. Get the right players in and we'll be absolutely fine. If we have to make do and mend, and more players leave then it could become quite toxic very quickly.

We didn't allow away teams to look 'that' good last season. End of

 

[YabbaDabba]

Why does our opposing teams goalie always play a blinder

 

[VonBrysonsExpress]

Huge if but if blaster can come back at similar level then that makes the midfield a challenge, O'Hare must play due to the intensity he brings, Soumare may be a starter to break things up and blaster brings the transition selles was alluding to. I wonder if there will be a place for harmer unless as an impact sub? Just a thought.

 

[Uganda Blade]

I only got to see some of the first half, thanks to the stream buffering every few minutes then (perhaps thankfully!) the power went off just before half-time.
Looking at the substitutions, we didn't concede after JLT came on — was that a coincidence or was he instrumental in tightening things up?

 

[Grappler]

Huge if but if blaster can come back at similar level then that makes the midfield a challenge, O'Hare must play due to the intensity he brings, Soumare may be a starter to break things up and blaster brings the transition selles was alluding to. I wonder if there will be a place for harmer unless as an impact sub? Just a thought.

I think we are all praying that Blaster comes back close to his old best, not often such a young lad plays as if a much older, much more experienced player. He chipped in with a few goals as well.

 

[ATL Recs]

7 or 8?!! Give over, Cooper made one save.

Better final ball from them and it would have been 7

 

[YES Blade]

we conceded 4 which is humiliating and being on Sky as well

that could have easily been 7 or 8

what a fkin shambles that defence was - like watching kids in the playground

Given that Bristol City had 9 shots, it would take some going to score 7 or 8!

 

[Nick Jansky]

Better final ball from them and it would have been 7

Better finishing from us and we could have had 7. But neither happened. As is usually the case in any match.

 

[YES Blade]

Better finishing from us and we could have had 7. But neither happened. As is usually the case in any match.

No, we had 20 shots, so probably should be scoring something like 15 or 16

 

[drblade]

There was so much to like in the first half, but the signs of what was to come were also clear. We need some leaders and some physicality, we were bullied at times and nowhere near strong enough in the tackle. Bristol City played very well, struggling to think of many better performances from the away team the whole of last season, got the tactics right (which other teams will now copy) and they made their own luck - but did have the run of the ball. I honestly think 3-3 was more reflective of the game.
There were some worrying body language signs from our players in the second half though. If they don't all buy into the new system is will definitely fail. Selles calling the players over for a tactical chat, Hamer stood in the centre circle pretending not to notice, then jogging slowly over when asked again by Selles.
The next 2 games are huge, not for the points but for morale and confidence.
Likewise, off the pitch, the next 3 weeks will tell us where we are going to be as a club. Get the right players in and we'll be absolutely fine. If we have to make do and mend, and more players leave then it could become quite toxic very quickly.

Maybe Gus knows he’s leaving!

 

[Tezza1889]

anybody else have an incredible hangover..

 

[Jan Age]

Right now we need x 2 CB x 1 RB and a CDM.

If we get those we will be fine AND keep Hamer.

If we don’t and we go with what we have we will flirt with relegation

I think Selles can manage we are waiting to see if the owners can run a club

 

[richblade]

7 or 8?!! Give over, Cooper made one save.

Did you stay till the end ? or did you leave with half an hour left

One bloke lost it completely and took it out on Bettis

 

[Bobby b]

What my take is, after sleeping on it, is, and i know Robinson is the whipping boy around these parts now, but, if he started then that defence would've been more solid, yes he should be back up, but at the moment hes probably our best centre half, we obviously need soumare to play, but can we play both, ohare and hamer in this system, or do we need 2 dcm's in there. What concerned me yesterday, and i know when you've conceded 3 and 4 goals, your head goes down, but, in the 2nd half, as an attacking force we were pretty much done, if, like we all said if we're going to be keegans Newcastle, then we need to score more than them, which means plowing on, but the bright play and running off the ball in the first half just stopped

 

[Broomhall Blade]

You play Anel and Vini and Choudhury in that game we win it easily.
We desperately need reinforcements and quickly, get it right and it could be a great season and an entertaining one to watch.
Over to you Ten Bob Millionaires sorry COH.

 

[Servigliano]

If Selles gets the remaining players he needs, I'd agree.

We shall see if he gets them.

And keeps the ones he wants to keep.
After yesterday the price for any CB/Backs we're after will have gone up several notches..
Worryingly I think our new owners simply don't have the money.
Time will tell.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

It’s not just replacing the defenders it’s a system that leaves us very exposed. Very Keegan

I've said elsewhere. The system needs tweaks and bodies, not the self destruct button.

The stats yesterday were crackers. They only touched the ball 18 times in our area. Compared to our 48 in theres. We 'won' 3-1 on xG (Yes, I know).

I need to see our transfers and 5/6 more games before jumping in 2 feet either way.

 

[Karaoke Blade]

Did you stay till the end ? or did you leave with half an hour left

One bloke lost it completely and took it out on Bettis

Yes I stayed to the end. As I said, Cooper made one save.

 

[Northernsoulblade]

Was a harsh lesson and clearly showed what we need Seriki not good enough RND out of his depth felt sorry for him Burrows looked like he wasn’t interested played like he had flu Bindon reserve judgement but didn’t look up to much a shame to start the season off like that but only one game and plenty of time to put it right

 

[richblade]

Yes I stayed to the end. As I said, Cooper made one save.

yep - we said exactly the same about Cooper ..... but the worrying thing was they still looked dangerous every time they attacked without having a shot - too fast for us

 

[Maidenhead]

we conceded 4 which is humiliating and being on Sky as well

that could have easily been 7 or 8

what a fkin shambles that defence was - like watching kids in the playground

I'm not a fan of xg, but 7 or 8 against an xg of 1.35 is cloud cuckoo land.

The four they did get is outside of the normal.

Five shots on target and four ended up in the net.

 

[richblade]

I'm not a fan of xg, but 7 or 8 against an xg of 1.35 is cloud cuckoo land.

The four they did get is outside of the normal.

Five shots on target and four ended up in the net.

they had a great chance on 68 minutes to make it 5 -- but luckily he skied it does that count as xg ???

 

[Maidenhead]

they had a great chance on 68 minutes to make it 5 -- but luckily he skied it does that count as xg ???

Of course it does.

I think you're undermining your own argument here.

 

[richblade]

Of course it does.

I think you're undermining your own argument here.

I have a great view on the South Stand on the half way line and that is just what I was observing - not looking at some made up stats bollocks an xg of 1.35 wtf does that even mean ???

 

[wadblade]

Reminded me of the Hull game Everything they hit went in, on 47m you just knew it wasnt our day. But as i said before KO we are too soft and too open so not totally suprised at the loss only the score

We have needed at least x2 CBs since Xmas A lot has been said about the new owners but i honestly believe the Prince would have conjured someone from somewhere

Really looking forward to Birmingham -not, they look really hard working and could also steamroller us

 

[MartBlade]

We're going to have to expect to concede some goals this season. But we're hoping to win a lot of entertaining matches. Doesn't sound too bad does it?

I was hoping we might combine attacking football with some kind of thought about the importance of defending. Yesterday we appeared to think that we needn’t bother with any defensive shape, pressure on the ball or basic marking of attacking players. The midfield was utterly powder-puff and didn’t slow their transition in any way and our defenders were either too slow or too naive ( or both).
I really want to see the positives because our attacking play was good but the Championship is a relentless grind and (with very few exceptions) the best teams are always solid defensively first and foremost. I also cant remember many successful Championship teams that lacked experienced, on-field leadership…. we literally don’t have a single leader on the pitch.
The positive I’ll cling to is that we all saw what a huge difference a dominating leader like Souttar can make. Let’s hope we bring one in this week.

 

[wadblade]

I wouldn’t put it as strong as that.

He under performed but so did a number of players

First half we played quite well. Second half we were poor and that’s a number of players

Rumours he wants away. We’ll see

Def thought the free kick for their first goal was completely unnecessary and ill disciplined by Hamer, especially as everyone knows Twine is a freekick specialist

 

[FTPE]

Our expected goals will have been far higher than theirs. If we can tighten uo but keep the same creativity, we'll be ok