Apologies for the lateness. Gigging tonight and I also missed the Brizzle game as I was watching Jazzie B and the Funki Dredz giving their all in the Albert Hall in That London. Happy to report Soul II Soul were fucking amazing and if I may say HARDDRIVE similarly but with a slightly smaller audience.
Today's game was an unconvincing victory against a pretty poor Cardiff City side. Three points is three points innit, but I am not filled with optimism for the final two games nor the playoffs if we scrape them. Let's not even mention the Premier League either. On today's display, none of them deserve that badge on their kit next season, either with us or without us.
I have no idea why we make such fucking hard work of gaining the upper hand these days. Since the home match v Boro, we seem to have completely forgotten what home advantage means and Cardiff could have done what many teams have done this season and stolen points - all of them - from us, had they been more clinical and merciless. We also made them look far more purposeful in the first half with some frankly horrendous defending across the back, especially from what is the most effective back three at the club on paper. With Osborn playing out of position and Stevens still continuing his hit-miss output, we looked fucking fragile at times and I think Cardiff were a but taken aback as to how easily they carved through us or made us make unforced errors, if you see what I mean. Although we had a few chances up front it was clear the MGW/Ndaiye nexus needs more work because they simply weren't connecting, reading or gambling. I counted six crosses today - three from Basham - which went unpunished into 'the zone' and when Ndaiye finally did gamble, it was on an arrowed centre right on his nugget from MGW for the goal. It was a day of wasted potential, fluffed chances and that fucking godawful tippy tappy shit out wide. I don't know why we do that either. It hardly leads to much and usually the protagonists - Stevens, Berge and Basham on one side with Osborn, Fleck and less so Robinson on the other end up coughing up possession because none of them have the finesse to complete a clever set of one twos which move forward, rather than play possession-ball. Then there's Norwood who to some 'makes the team tick' but to me is a Swatch with a flat battery.
In truth, we should be home and hosed now - in and alongside Forest and Huddersfield and threatening Bournemouth's undeserved automatic spot. But we're not are we? We're not because we have the propensity to fart higher than our own arseholes, to flatter to deceive we are actually worthy contenders. The aim was to get straight back up into the PL, no questions asked. Get Slav in, purge the Wilder demons, get this lot playing in a formation which wasn't redolent of Wilderball and his now fractured and flaccid 3-5-2 with its overlapping centrebacks and get real about what we have in the team to optimise them accordingly. But that failed, because try as you might, this lot can only play one way - having Norwood spray balls out to the wings where technically inept try-hards attempt to beat knowledgeable defences who know we can only play one way. And they either beat us or choke us to death in that kill zone out wide. And it will happen next Friday and in the Fulham game and we may as well just admit that the side needs a serious transplant not just in players, not just in capability and attitude by in style and performance. Three points gained today was ground out and could have easily turned into one ... or zero.
And we need to fucking get our heads back in the fucking game. We still have business to finish here.
Foderingham 5/10: Shaky at times. Poor clearance could have led to us going behind
Stevens 5.5/10: Didn'r reckon much to him today. Some okayish tackles and clearances, but he misses O'Connell as much as Egan does
Basham 6.5/10: Some glorious Bashamisms in the first half where he sells people skint with dummies and dodges and he does gratefully appear up with the attack. But in other areas he still looks a bit 'injury jaded'.
Egan 5/10: Heading for a '4' because of his dodgy first half but redeemed himself with some passable defending in the second
Robinson 6/10: Moderate showing from him, keeping the C3PO ghost off his back, but he is still shit-yer-pants material, isn't he?
Osborn 6/10: His usual, trademark fuss and bluster but without and real guile or cleverness to beat players. Dreadfully one footed. Good crack on goal however
Berge 6.5/10: The enigma. Collects the ball and fends off opposition players, goes past some and round others ... and then ... nowt. It's like having Tony Currie but he's not allowed to score or set goals up, just on the pitch as a ball-carrier. Was unlucky with the return pass over the top and maybe - just maybe should have scored with the post hit but the key to unlocking games like this is in his pocket. And then he's knackered on seventy minutes, just when the likes of TC used to come alive and drop his shoulder and leave players standing as he heads on at goal. There's a player in Berge, no doubt, But not one in red and white stripes
Norwood 5/10: Usual fourth centre back showing from him. Moderate levels of passing just for the showreel but ineffective in others.
Fleck 4.5/10: To be honest, it was well into the second half when I cottoned on he was on the pitch.
MGW 7/10: Yeah. Seven out of ten. MGW is a player of detectable talent in a team of grifters. That's why people are so bone hard about him. At times, he is fucking amazingly good, but at others, so easily dispossessed or stopped in his tracks. We used to have another player like him in Peter Ndlovu, who could go past players, past more and then disappear down blind alleys. He did however assist with the goal so, y'know ... small mercies. We still need to buy him mind
Ndaiye 6.5/10: Still can't finish a game. Great header for the goal and some really pleasing battling and harassing of lost causes. But he is still at 75% of the performance levels we have seen this season from him
Sharp 6/10: Brought some mettle up top for us and was denied a fucking stonewall penalty. But was guilty as most of faffing about in front of goal a few times when by nature, he is usually far more deadly
HJ&SM 6/10: A win is a win, but fuck me we have a mountain to climb
pommpey
Sixth
pommpey
