pommpey
THE FUTURE ... AS IT USED TO BE
- Banned
- #1
Three points is three points again, so who are we to moan? We're maintaining the gap from the unpredictable sides beneath us and securing our bid to be automatically promoted or even champions if Burnleh shit the bed. But tonight's performance shows we equally have inconsistency built into our DNA. It's that which people will be discussing in their cars coming back across the Pennines or sat in the Dog and Tennis Racquet over a pint of gassy lager tonight.
Decent starting eleven and yeah, it's still giving us 5-3-2 but we could see where the squeaky parts of the machinery were. Wigan were all over the fucking place in the first half hour and yeah, a great Wolves-a-few-seasons-ago Norwood/Egan goal but really ... honestly, the previous ten and next five were stuffed full of sitters which meant we should have been going in four up. Billy, N'Diaye, Berge and others made Wigan's heads spin with 'how did they fucking miss that?' looks on their faces. We could have done better. Another goal, and another one and it would have had us not going in at half time thinking 'we can still fuck this up'.
Second half and of course, Toure has made changes and asked his players to start playing football with the opposition rather that being a practice side out in a friendly. They pushed down our weaker left hand flank and actually made us sweat a bit to defend our by now slender lead but typically couldn't do anything when there. Elsewhere on the park they looked industrial against the bits of class in our side with both N'Diaye and to a lesser amount Sharp making their backline be busy at times. Then Billy ... so much everyone's commented 'past it' player pops up and scores a strikers goal and we're all thinking 'great, let's kill these cunts off, eh?' But we don't. We sit back, Berge has his typical game of substandard ineffectiveness and we end up defending deep and shipping a ridiculously cheap (if offside) goal just after not giving away a stonewall penner and then for the remainder of the game forgetting we can actually play up the pitch in their half to prevent handing Blackburn two points. Why do we make such hard fucking work of such an easy task? We thump the league leaders at home comprehensively, lose to fucking Rotherham and later on win-but-only-just against pretty vanilla, never near the top sides like Huddersfield and Wigan. I just don't get United. It's a fucking joy to see us where we need to be and should be, but think about the games we should win by right and the points we have dropped, think about how we've only just sneaked it and where we should be actually, at least six points clear of Burnleh.
Foderingham 4/10: Fucking nightmare tonight. Fumbled shot in first half, uncharacteristic flaps and a dreadful push out for their goal. Hopefully his only stinker of the season
Baldock 6.5/10: Standard stuff from George. Most of the attacks tonight were up the other flank (for all the right reasons) so he wasn't massively troubled and didn't get much up the pitch either
Anel 6/10: He was 'okay' tonight. Some decent interceptions and a telling block, but elsewhere he was a bit over ambitious and clumsy and his heading out left a bit to be desired
Egan 7.5/10: Slow to react for their goal but a cracking headed goal and some worthy interceptions and defensive spadework for us
Clark 8/10: Our best defender tonight, with his shirt on or off. Grafted hard and put in a huge shift
Stevens 3/10: Lacks the pace and sharpness these days. Great player in his day but so exposed tonight despite trying his best
McAtee 7/10: Showed some lovely touches and runs in the first half. Less affective in the second
Norwood 8.5/10: Great performance from him. Zero Wilderball moments of silliness, just solid midfield graft and creativity, positional sense and unlucky with the free kick
Berge 4.5/10: Disappointing match for him. Brief flurries of what he can do but nesh heading, lacklustre attitude and nothing special to show. Second half really ineffective
N'Diaye 8/10: What a great player. Not everything comes off for him but he never, ever gives up. He's come back better than he left us - a true international. Please don't sell him.
Sharp 5/10: These days not the battle tank he was but capable of digging out a typical striker's goal out of nowt
Doyle 6/10: Workmanlike and containing better midfield ingredients than McAtee. Unlucky with his brilliant sprint from nowhere
Khadra 5/10: Sprints forward ... gooo-on-son! People off their seats ... gooo-on, Khadz! Then turns into a Lebanese Oliver fucking Burke
McBurnie 5/10: Should have been on at 60 to get stuck into the menstrual accident that was Tilt. By the time he came on we were in full defensive mode
HJ&SMcC 7/10: They can't do owt about our doddy footed first half finishing but these lot aren't half slow in changing the game aren't they? Between 60 and 70 the game screamed for not only Doyle, Khadra and McBurnie, but either Lowe or Bogle to lift the pressure off that left hand side which Berge didn't seem interested in covering once Doyle came on. We needed to come away from that game 0-3 winners rather than be grateful that Wigan were so shit at punishing our inefficiency with chances.
And Jack Whatmough. Gosport lad (like Richie) but an unsurprising wave off on thirty. He was a bright young thing in Pompey's side a few seasons ago with PL teams looking at him but suffered the Terry Kennedy syndrome of recurring injuries and long recoveries. No surprise he was hooked tonight
pommpey
Decent starting eleven and yeah, it's still giving us 5-3-2 but we could see where the squeaky parts of the machinery were. Wigan were all over the fucking place in the first half hour and yeah, a great Wolves-a-few-seasons-ago Norwood/Egan goal but really ... honestly, the previous ten and next five were stuffed full of sitters which meant we should have been going in four up. Billy, N'Diaye, Berge and others made Wigan's heads spin with 'how did they fucking miss that?' looks on their faces. We could have done better. Another goal, and another one and it would have had us not going in at half time thinking 'we can still fuck this up'.
Second half and of course, Toure has made changes and asked his players to start playing football with the opposition rather that being a practice side out in a friendly. They pushed down our weaker left hand flank and actually made us sweat a bit to defend our by now slender lead but typically couldn't do anything when there. Elsewhere on the park they looked industrial against the bits of class in our side with both N'Diaye and to a lesser amount Sharp making their backline be busy at times. Then Billy ... so much everyone's commented 'past it' player pops up and scores a strikers goal and we're all thinking 'great, let's kill these cunts off, eh?' But we don't. We sit back, Berge has his typical game of substandard ineffectiveness and we end up defending deep and shipping a ridiculously cheap (if offside) goal just after not giving away a stonewall penner and then for the remainder of the game forgetting we can actually play up the pitch in their half to prevent handing Blackburn two points. Why do we make such hard fucking work of such an easy task? We thump the league leaders at home comprehensively, lose to fucking Rotherham and later on win-but-only-just against pretty vanilla, never near the top sides like Huddersfield and Wigan. I just don't get United. It's a fucking joy to see us where we need to be and should be, but think about the games we should win by right and the points we have dropped, think about how we've only just sneaked it and where we should be actually, at least six points clear of Burnleh.
Foderingham 4/10: Fucking nightmare tonight. Fumbled shot in first half, uncharacteristic flaps and a dreadful push out for their goal. Hopefully his only stinker of the season
Baldock 6.5/10: Standard stuff from George. Most of the attacks tonight were up the other flank (for all the right reasons) so he wasn't massively troubled and didn't get much up the pitch either
Anel 6/10: He was 'okay' tonight. Some decent interceptions and a telling block, but elsewhere he was a bit over ambitious and clumsy and his heading out left a bit to be desired
Egan 7.5/10: Slow to react for their goal but a cracking headed goal and some worthy interceptions and defensive spadework for us
Clark 8/10: Our best defender tonight, with his shirt on or off. Grafted hard and put in a huge shift
Stevens 3/10: Lacks the pace and sharpness these days. Great player in his day but so exposed tonight despite trying his best
McAtee 7/10: Showed some lovely touches and runs in the first half. Less affective in the second
Norwood 8.5/10: Great performance from him. Zero Wilderball moments of silliness, just solid midfield graft and creativity, positional sense and unlucky with the free kick
Berge 4.5/10: Disappointing match for him. Brief flurries of what he can do but nesh heading, lacklustre attitude and nothing special to show. Second half really ineffective
N'Diaye 8/10: What a great player. Not everything comes off for him but he never, ever gives up. He's come back better than he left us - a true international. Please don't sell him.
Sharp 5/10: These days not the battle tank he was but capable of digging out a typical striker's goal out of nowt
Doyle 6/10: Workmanlike and containing better midfield ingredients than McAtee. Unlucky with his brilliant sprint from nowhere
Khadra 5/10: Sprints forward ... gooo-on-son! People off their seats ... gooo-on, Khadz! Then turns into a Lebanese Oliver fucking Burke
McBurnie 5/10: Should have been on at 60 to get stuck into the menstrual accident that was Tilt. By the time he came on we were in full defensive mode
HJ&SMcC 7/10: They can't do owt about our doddy footed first half finishing but these lot aren't half slow in changing the game aren't they? Between 60 and 70 the game screamed for not only Doyle, Khadra and McBurnie, but either Lowe or Bogle to lift the pressure off that left hand side which Berge didn't seem interested in covering once Doyle came on. We needed to come away from that game 0-3 winners rather than be grateful that Wigan were so shit at punishing our inefficiency with chances.
And Jack Whatmough. Gosport lad (like Richie) but an unsurprising wave off on thirty. He was a bright young thing in Pompey's side a few seasons ago with PL teams looking at him but suffered the Terry Kennedy syndrome of recurring injuries and long recoveries. No surprise he was hooked tonight
pommpey
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. My only defence for Hecky is that he wants to get game fitness into some players.....Berge for one. But really? we should have won that by 3 or 4 at a canter. 3 points, can't complain too much, just terrified if we reach EPL with this attitude and managerial nous. Can't see too many new faces to bolster this team if we do make it. This Championship is gash. We may be living in a false land at the moment. Cheers Pommps.
. Hecky has to rotate a lot in the next few games. Lowe has to play two of the next four as does Doyle, Berge, Oli, Basham. Bogle (if fit).
