Another poor performance from what appears to be a makeshift team and we leave the potteries three points shy and questioning if we have the stamina and ability to fuck this league and be promoted by Christmas. Certainly seemed that way before the international break and now, the other side, we are one point from nine with two games of that being at Bramall Lane. Sure, we are still top but that's more by the actions of others than ourselves. With a rapidly decreasing points and goal difference tally, now four teams are well within reach of us cascading into the playoffs if we don't bolt it on on Saturday and batter Blackpool at the Lane. Our initial impetus and drive is clearly lost and it was demonstrated today how incapable we are all over the park. I barely saw one redeeming factor aside from the goal and N'Daiye's post hit that showed me we were still worthy of occupying the top slot in the Championship. And no, I don't accept the 'injuries' excuse 100%. Out there today we had eight Premier League or ex-Premier League players starting for us. We brought three more on as substitutes and still we couldn't even dent their paintwork. It was a pissy, typically United match where as usual, we have our momentum disrupted by an event like and international break and we come back as the lumpen, sclerotic Mr Hyde as opposed to the streamlined, capable Dr Jekyll four weeks ago.
Okay, we are forced into our unfamiliar 4-3-1-2 bit with a midfield of Norwood and two Man City capables you'd imagine our workrate and desire to get the ball forward would be priority. A minute in and McAtee is found by a brahma of a move and fires wide and counter to popular need of us going at them again, 40 year old Philip Jagielka chips a hopeful one to the far post where everyone is fucking fast asleep and they open the scoring. Instead of being pissed off and determined to get stuff back however we just fucking go soft again and allow Stoke, again, no massively adept team that is going anywhere this season and very susceptible to the old one-two knockout blow, to deal with us, contain us and simply play football against us. Doyle has a decent shot palmed out and N'Daiye hits the post and yes, we drive forward in a massively disjointed manner and grab a shinned in goal through Brewster but Jags outjumps Egan, basically himself twenty years ago and nods in a soft header from an unchallenged corner, sending us in with it all to claw back again at HT. Sure, offered a draw now most of us would have taken it because having watched the disjointed, pondering and frankly unrecognisable display in the first half, salvaging a point from this against a pretty shit Stoke with only a couple of threatening players seemed impossible.
Second half we finally hooked the abject Khadra and tried to mix shit up even bringing a host of subs on, hoping on hope that knocks like Egan had in the first half wouldn't need him going off. The more we tried the less we achieved and after finally going back to a semblance of 3-4-1-2 we made a vestigial amount of headway only to be thwarted with shit corners and endless faffing rather than running at Stoke's fragile backline. Only N'Daiye looked willing to do anything, and even that was easily mopped up. Finally we capitulated and allowed them forward and they showed us how it should be done and delivered the coup de grace. A Blackburn last season style spanking and richly deserved. Hecky needs to give then the day off and haul the fuckers in for training and bollockings and start asking questions about the injury list and if it is causing us as much problems more than attitudes and application. If everyone worked their tits off against Stoke I'd accept it, but they did not and it simply isn't good enough. We demand better.
Foderingham 6.5/10: Possibly could have done better with Jags's goal but at reach/unsighted for the others. Some decent stops elsewhere however
Gordon 4/10: Still a raw player and not really in this game as a RB
Egan 4/10: Some okay stops but elsewhere he was badly exposed and loses a whole point for his pathetic jump versus Jags
Basham 5/10: Just above average but only just
RND 6.5/10: Under the cosh a bit from Gayle and tried his best to deal with their linked play out wide. But he was exposed a few times and despite his endeavour, this wasn't his best game in black and gold
McAtee 5/10: Not entirely a bad game, but on balance, not a good one either. Some rare flashes of capability
Norwood 6/10: Some decent defensive work but horrendously bypassed in the middle and his corners/dead ball crosses were fucking bobbar
Doyle 5/10: Again, left to do a lot of spadework on his own
N'Daiye 6/10: Only player looking worthy and capable of threatening and even then, totally isolated
Khadra 2/10: Hopelessly and completely all at sea. Deservedly subbed
Brewster 5/10: Gets a point for a shinned goal in a match where he was largely a bystander
Sharp 3/10: I think even he will admit this was a poor match for him. Tries hard but the capability and energy is slowly sapping from him
Arblaster 6/10: Impressed with him in the time he was on. Runs and gets himself involved. But no amount of this is impressive when everyone else around him have simply chucked their hands in
Sachdev 5.5/10: First time I have seen him. Looks tricky and willing.
Osborn 6/10: Looked glad to be back in the mix of it and at least tried to get it forward and into the danger areas, if somewhat clumsily at times
Jebbison 3/10: On for fifteen minutes, Can't think he did anything worthy of comment
Next game is shit or bust. We need a settled side and a settled formation and stop letting excuses get the better of us. We have a fantastic opportunity to stay in the top three and keep our campaign to win this league alive. A surrender to Blackpool like last season with a worryingly whimpering performance will have a damaging effect on the club and it's support. It is put simply a 'must win' and HJ&SMcC need to get back inside the players heads and get us back to what we were and can be.
pommpey
