pommpey
THE FUTURE ... AS IT USED TO BE
- Banned
- #1
Business as usual then for us up at Ayesome Park tonight. Can't remember us being lucky at that ground recently anyway (remember that 'offside goal' that never was?) and Warnock marshalled his big old fellers well and simply pushed us aside. Frankly, if we can't put a dent in Warnock and Blackwell's outfit with what is still essentially our Premier League arrangement, we have big fucking problems. This wasn't West Brom buttfucking us four nowt like a few weeks ago. It was us just doing what we have done so well since the lockdown ended and that is deflating like a sad party balloon.
We started okay I thought. First five with what looked like a slightly more robust left side and Enda/Fleck/Osborn playing neat triangles maybe we'd take something out of the game then we let them attack, lost marking and concentration and Watmore curls one over Olsen completely unchallenged. So. Fucking. Easy. After that we just looked clumsy and desperate. Boro even let us have the ball, so confident were they we'd do nowt with it, and we didn't, save for one lovely ball from Baldock right into the inside channel for Ndaiye to run onto and hit the upright with. He deserved more, and did not deserved to be substituted, in fact as he was out greatest threat.
Elsewhere we just looked increasingly pointless and clueless. Sloppy passing, players sitting beside or behind their markers and no one looking up and moving and we got trapped in that crossing zone swamp too many times, fucking about passing, passing, passing trying to find something worthy to get an eventual poor cross in with their defence just drinking it up and asking for more.
I have taken a shitload of flak on 'My take ... ' for my criticisms of various players, particularly Norwood. I say this again. Unless we bleach Chris Wilder out of this side - and that means many of his disciples and signings as well as his style of play which still manifests itself even though we play 4-2-3-1 now - we are stuck in this division, maybe even humiliatingly fighting for a credible place above half way. Tonight showed us all we need to know about the fight that is going on in SJs head. He has a shitload of expensive duds in the side alongside players whose best days are well over and a thin smear of talent in the shape of some loanees. And they are all mostly pre-programmed to do one thing, play Wilderball. He is trying his best to stop them doing it but they still sometimes lose their direction and start playing it again. It's negative, backwards facing, ponderous, easy to overcome and above all else, beatable. As Roy has now declared, all teams have to do is allow us the ball and press us and we cough it up or even when we look brave enough to venture up toward their goal, can't fucking score for toffee. I don't actually count the Peterborough game now because to me, we may as well have played Oldham that day. We scored six against a really shit side and even let two past us. The writing was on the wall for me on Saturday when we struggled like fuck to break down ten man Derby who defended well, but given what we have in playing staff, we still had to rely on a mistake and a converted penalty to get the win.
We have Bournemouth on Saturday. My chance of a ticket for the Vitality has unfortunately fallen through, and there's something inside which makes me unregretful about that, because if we play like we did tonight, we are gonna get sodomised with a four step run up and bone dry, with a cry of 'Geronimo!'
Olsen 5/10: Maybe should have done better for the second. Dived a bit Ramsdale. I am not happy with our 'play it out from the goalkick schtick either
Baldock 5.5/10: Moderate game for him. I think he is still adapting to the role of RB and the different task he has
Davies 5/10: Sixes and sevens for their first goal and a horrifically underhit pass which he managed to rescue. I'm still unconvinced he is the answer
Egan 4.5/10: I still think he struggles in a back four without players he 'knows' alongside him. Tonight he looked ragged and at times, all over the shop in the box
Stevens 5/10: A bit more robust going forward in the first half. Second half was under quite a bit of pressure and is still nowhere near what he used to be
Fleck 2/10: Jimmy's back. He was pretty abject all game to be honest. First five was 'okay' but as the game went on, error prone and dispossessed easily and not progressive enough for anything good to happen
Norwood 2/10: One decent ping which found Osborn in the first half and a few interceptions in the box but was characteristically nowhere when Watmore collected the ball, three steps behind him and watching him do exactly what Norwood himself should be fucking doing
Osborn 5.5/10: He still runs, he still grafts, he still works hard and he still achieves fuck all
Ndaiye 7/10: Our only threat. He works fucking hard and bustles through challenges and runs that inside channel well. Evident by his excellent run across the park to get onto Baldock's pass and hit the post. Bafflingly substituted, unless it was because of his recurring inability to complete ninety, which needs working on
Gibbs-White 4.5/10: Undoubted skill and foresight but tonight wasn't his game and he was outfought on too many occasions
Sharp 3/10: Low mark, because as much as his aged legs tried and his Bladey Heart beat hard, he got fuck all service
McGoldrick 6/10: Showed his undoubted class when he came on, in positioning, passing and power with the half volley. We need more of him.
RND 4/10: Not much of an improvement to be honest and a substitute in an area that wasn't needed at the time
Hourihane 4/10: I am wondering why we signed him now. He's not much of a threat for our midfield and seems a bit lightweight and exposed
Slav 4/10: Warnocked.
pommpey
We started okay I thought. First five with what looked like a slightly more robust left side and Enda/Fleck/Osborn playing neat triangles maybe we'd take something out of the game then we let them attack, lost marking and concentration and Watmore curls one over Olsen completely unchallenged. So. Fucking. Easy. After that we just looked clumsy and desperate. Boro even let us have the ball, so confident were they we'd do nowt with it, and we didn't, save for one lovely ball from Baldock right into the inside channel for Ndaiye to run onto and hit the upright with. He deserved more, and did not deserved to be substituted, in fact as he was out greatest threat.
Elsewhere we just looked increasingly pointless and clueless. Sloppy passing, players sitting beside or behind their markers and no one looking up and moving and we got trapped in that crossing zone swamp too many times, fucking about passing, passing, passing trying to find something worthy to get an eventual poor cross in with their defence just drinking it up and asking for more.
I have taken a shitload of flak on 'My take ... ' for my criticisms of various players, particularly Norwood. I say this again. Unless we bleach Chris Wilder out of this side - and that means many of his disciples and signings as well as his style of play which still manifests itself even though we play 4-2-3-1 now - we are stuck in this division, maybe even humiliatingly fighting for a credible place above half way. Tonight showed us all we need to know about the fight that is going on in SJs head. He has a shitload of expensive duds in the side alongside players whose best days are well over and a thin smear of talent in the shape of some loanees. And they are all mostly pre-programmed to do one thing, play Wilderball. He is trying his best to stop them doing it but they still sometimes lose their direction and start playing it again. It's negative, backwards facing, ponderous, easy to overcome and above all else, beatable. As Roy has now declared, all teams have to do is allow us the ball and press us and we cough it up or even when we look brave enough to venture up toward their goal, can't fucking score for toffee. I don't actually count the Peterborough game now because to me, we may as well have played Oldham that day. We scored six against a really shit side and even let two past us. The writing was on the wall for me on Saturday when we struggled like fuck to break down ten man Derby who defended well, but given what we have in playing staff, we still had to rely on a mistake and a converted penalty to get the win.
We have Bournemouth on Saturday. My chance of a ticket for the Vitality has unfortunately fallen through, and there's something inside which makes me unregretful about that, because if we play like we did tonight, we are gonna get sodomised with a four step run up and bone dry, with a cry of 'Geronimo!'
Olsen 5/10: Maybe should have done better for the second. Dived a bit Ramsdale. I am not happy with our 'play it out from the goalkick schtick either
Baldock 5.5/10: Moderate game for him. I think he is still adapting to the role of RB and the different task he has
Davies 5/10: Sixes and sevens for their first goal and a horrifically underhit pass which he managed to rescue. I'm still unconvinced he is the answer
Egan 4.5/10: I still think he struggles in a back four without players he 'knows' alongside him. Tonight he looked ragged and at times, all over the shop in the box
Stevens 5/10: A bit more robust going forward in the first half. Second half was under quite a bit of pressure and is still nowhere near what he used to be
Fleck 2/10: Jimmy's back. He was pretty abject all game to be honest. First five was 'okay' but as the game went on, error prone and dispossessed easily and not progressive enough for anything good to happen
Norwood 2/10: One decent ping which found Osborn in the first half and a few interceptions in the box but was characteristically nowhere when Watmore collected the ball, three steps behind him and watching him do exactly what Norwood himself should be fucking doing
Osborn 5.5/10: He still runs, he still grafts, he still works hard and he still achieves fuck all
Ndaiye 7/10: Our only threat. He works fucking hard and bustles through challenges and runs that inside channel well. Evident by his excellent run across the park to get onto Baldock's pass and hit the post. Bafflingly substituted, unless it was because of his recurring inability to complete ninety, which needs working on
Gibbs-White 4.5/10: Undoubted skill and foresight but tonight wasn't his game and he was outfought on too many occasions
Sharp 3/10: Low mark, because as much as his aged legs tried and his Bladey Heart beat hard, he got fuck all service
McGoldrick 6/10: Showed his undoubted class when he came on, in positioning, passing and power with the half volley. We need more of him.
RND 4/10: Not much of an improvement to be honest and a substitute in an area that wasn't needed at the time
Hourihane 4/10: I am wondering why we signed him now. He's not much of a threat for our midfield and seems a bit lightweight and exposed
Slav 4/10: Warnocked.
pommpey