pommpey
THE FUTURE ... AS IT USED TO BE
- Banned
- #1
Outdone by class tonight, and by an embattled Wilder trying to find some formula to win a match after taking the lead. We've done it a few times now this season - gone one up against a top side - and capitulated badly, failing to control the game. And that's it, isn't it? We fail to 'control' the opposition and spend huge amounts of the ninety minutes watching the more skilful opposition pass it round our thin midfield before deciding 'now' is the time to strike. Man U did that three times tonight and in fact did exactly the same last season. One lapse of concentration, one amount of watching the ball and they're in, and we're dead. In terms of last season too, it was a 'bathtub curve' of us threatening with the first and last ten seeing us looking purposeful, but again, we've done that too many times now and failed to sustain that because we give the ball away too easily and don't win it back and keep it. We had two 'scenes' in this play where we actually strung a few decent passes together, each time we found ourselves surprisingly poised to hit Manchester United hard and effectively. The rest of the time - seventy minutes in fact - we were holding on, bamboozled with 'class' from a team whom if it were ranged against Fergusons mid nineties side, would have been batted flat.
Did anyone honestly believe we'd finish the game 1-0 winners? My case is made then.
The formation was faffed about with - and it's plainly obvious to this fucking Playstation Manager that bringing Basham out of the back three makes every difference with opposition's attitudes to our style of play. He's unpredictable, he's dangerous and he's creative. He's everything Norwood isn't. Stick him back in the back three and we're flat footed again. Burke is a fucking physical nuisance. As Ally McCoist said eloquently, he has an impressive frame and you wouldn't want 90 minutes (or however many Wilder deems) having him closing you down and mixing it up with you. He also does it with a physicality which doesn't require the 'leave your mark on him' pub-football McBurnie demonstrates. Didsy may be on his last legs but he has masses of ability to contribute, including the poacher's eye to get the goals he deserved. We are much, much better packing the midfield and we have to now examine the change of traditional four at the back Basham sat in front, three, sometimes four across the middle and either two or one strikers ahead. Even with McBurnie's head as a target in a 4-1-4-1 there's more chance of his first ball touch finding a red and white shirt than having our three across the middle mired as first line defence, as they were v Southampton.
Their goals were predictable and avoidable. Two balls over the top and a counter attack aren't to me well-worked individual items like say Southampton's third. Our goals were chance and luck, which again still gives me the fear we are done for and won't win anything soon. Okay, we put the two quick boys up front, but they offered little in threat until we pushed on in the final ten and even then, the killer pass isn't there nor the killer finish, see Rashford's first for an example of that. Had that been played to Brewster, he'd have finished exactly the same.
Ramsdale 5.5/10: Thought he pulled off some panicky saves at times but still kept us in the game. However, he saves that Rashford second - and he should have - and we are on two points, maybe more. What that would have done for us going into Brighton soon would have been immeasurable.
Baldock 6.5/10: Usual committed showing from Furious George. Mixed it up well with Rashford (when he could get near him) and 'got stuck in', as usual
Basham 8/10: Love this bloke to bits. Again, deceptively skilful, left Matic catching flies and is the only player audacious enough to think, 'they're backing off' and drift past two or three players. In the back three he is ace, but struggling. In midfield, he is our regista
Egan 6/10: Always does his best but tonight he was covering left and right for Jags and Robinson
Robinson 4/10: Always a weak link on our defence and compounded by the presence of
Stevens 4/10: Another weak game from a bloke way below his best in our colours, Exposed against whoever chose to play out on that flank and in defence, carried out one decent, committed tackle but the rest of the time is simply a passenger. At one stage in our recent history, he was deemed a threat from out wide and scored goals from there. Now he is a prisoner of his confidence.
Berge -/10: Injured.
Ampadu 6/10: A better game from him however he is still too lightweight to go up against the likes of Pogba and Matic. He did okay tonight but is far below what we need in the pivot role
Fleck 4/10: Clumsy and wasteful. Another player from our rise up the leagues - like Stevens - who is now struggling to make the grade and if anything, his drop in output mirrors our situation. Roll a ball across the box to me on my left peg and I will hit it straight and low and on target with my 'supposed' weaker foot, not bring it onto my preferred foot and fuck up the glaring chance. Unforgivable.
McGoldrick 7/10: Great performance from an experienced head in the three roles he had tonight, midfield, No10 and just behind Burke up front. Typical poachers stuff for the first and just right-place-right-time for the second. Grafted hard all night and refused to give up
Burke 7/10: A pleasing shift from him. He made the Man U defence work hard and remain conscious that he was challenging and bearing down on them ALL the time. And as said, he does it without striping opposition players, or even diving on the deck and whining to the ref, which is an aspect of McBurnie's game I fucking HATE. Them there stud down his thigh will burn a bit tomorrow morning
Jagielka 4.5/10: He's got a good footballing head on him and can put in a tackle, but putting him up against Martial and Rashford was like pulling the legs off a spider. He's 38, and he's up against a strikeforce fifteen years his junior. Egan was basically a one man back three at times and it comes as no surprise the ball through the middle/over the top unlocked our shaky back three
Brewster 4.5/10: Be aware. I have marked him this because as ever, he got nowt. He put himself about but I saw Stevens play a ball down the flank that not even Usain Bolt would have got to. He needs chances this lad. Still feel somewhat sorry for him. With the right midfield and wingers, he's be scoring for fun
Moussett 5/10: Apart from a rather sweetly hit shot (which Henderson eats up every day) he was largely ineffective and again, looks rusty and unconditioned
Wilder 4/10: Great fighting spirit at either end and yes, they were parking the bus at the finish, but I don't ever think we'd have got that third. And as soon as Basham is reverted into the back three, our game goes dead and the opposition are smelling blood.
pommpey
Did anyone honestly believe we'd finish the game 1-0 winners? My case is made then.
The formation was faffed about with - and it's plainly obvious to this fucking Playstation Manager that bringing Basham out of the back three makes every difference with opposition's attitudes to our style of play. He's unpredictable, he's dangerous and he's creative. He's everything Norwood isn't. Stick him back in the back three and we're flat footed again. Burke is a fucking physical nuisance. As Ally McCoist said eloquently, he has an impressive frame and you wouldn't want 90 minutes (or however many Wilder deems) having him closing you down and mixing it up with you. He also does it with a physicality which doesn't require the 'leave your mark on him' pub-football McBurnie demonstrates. Didsy may be on his last legs but he has masses of ability to contribute, including the poacher's eye to get the goals he deserved. We are much, much better packing the midfield and we have to now examine the change of traditional four at the back Basham sat in front, three, sometimes four across the middle and either two or one strikers ahead. Even with McBurnie's head as a target in a 4-1-4-1 there's more chance of his first ball touch finding a red and white shirt than having our three across the middle mired as first line defence, as they were v Southampton.
Their goals were predictable and avoidable. Two balls over the top and a counter attack aren't to me well-worked individual items like say Southampton's third. Our goals were chance and luck, which again still gives me the fear we are done for and won't win anything soon. Okay, we put the two quick boys up front, but they offered little in threat until we pushed on in the final ten and even then, the killer pass isn't there nor the killer finish, see Rashford's first for an example of that. Had that been played to Brewster, he'd have finished exactly the same.
Ramsdale 5.5/10: Thought he pulled off some panicky saves at times but still kept us in the game. However, he saves that Rashford second - and he should have - and we are on two points, maybe more. What that would have done for us going into Brighton soon would have been immeasurable.
Baldock 6.5/10: Usual committed showing from Furious George. Mixed it up well with Rashford (when he could get near him) and 'got stuck in', as usual
Basham 8/10: Love this bloke to bits. Again, deceptively skilful, left Matic catching flies and is the only player audacious enough to think, 'they're backing off' and drift past two or three players. In the back three he is ace, but struggling. In midfield, he is our regista
Egan 6/10: Always does his best but tonight he was covering left and right for Jags and Robinson
Robinson 4/10: Always a weak link on our defence and compounded by the presence of
Stevens 4/10: Another weak game from a bloke way below his best in our colours, Exposed against whoever chose to play out on that flank and in defence, carried out one decent, committed tackle but the rest of the time is simply a passenger. At one stage in our recent history, he was deemed a threat from out wide and scored goals from there. Now he is a prisoner of his confidence.
Berge -/10: Injured.
Ampadu 6/10: A better game from him however he is still too lightweight to go up against the likes of Pogba and Matic. He did okay tonight but is far below what we need in the pivot role
Fleck 4/10: Clumsy and wasteful. Another player from our rise up the leagues - like Stevens - who is now struggling to make the grade and if anything, his drop in output mirrors our situation. Roll a ball across the box to me on my left peg and I will hit it straight and low and on target with my 'supposed' weaker foot, not bring it onto my preferred foot and fuck up the glaring chance. Unforgivable.
McGoldrick 7/10: Great performance from an experienced head in the three roles he had tonight, midfield, No10 and just behind Burke up front. Typical poachers stuff for the first and just right-place-right-time for the second. Grafted hard all night and refused to give up
Burke 7/10: A pleasing shift from him. He made the Man U defence work hard and remain conscious that he was challenging and bearing down on them ALL the time. And as said, he does it without striping opposition players, or even diving on the deck and whining to the ref, which is an aspect of McBurnie's game I fucking HATE. Them there stud down his thigh will burn a bit tomorrow morning
Jagielka 4.5/10: He's got a good footballing head on him and can put in a tackle, but putting him up against Martial and Rashford was like pulling the legs off a spider. He's 38, and he's up against a strikeforce fifteen years his junior. Egan was basically a one man back three at times and it comes as no surprise the ball through the middle/over the top unlocked our shaky back three
Brewster 4.5/10: Be aware. I have marked him this because as ever, he got nowt. He put himself about but I saw Stevens play a ball down the flank that not even Usain Bolt would have got to. He needs chances this lad. Still feel somewhat sorry for him. With the right midfield and wingers, he's be scoring for fun
Moussett 5/10: Apart from a rather sweetly hit shot (which Henderson eats up every day) he was largely ineffective and again, looks rusty and unconditioned
Wilder 4/10: Great fighting spirit at either end and yes, they were parking the bus at the finish, but I don't ever think we'd have got that third. And as soon as Basham is reverted into the back three, our game goes dead and the opposition are smelling blood.
pommpey
