United 0 Palace 1 - report

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Tell it like it is Deadbat. For once I have no problems with anything you say. Completely fair and accurate re the play and players. Athletes against kids and championship triers. Hecky let down by board, but equally fans let down by Hecky and his usual negativity and indecision.
 

Too many back up players starting in one match. The selection of starters for midfield was very disappointing.
When we have 6 or 7 back up players starting, it doesn’t inspire confidence. One or even two, is to be expected at times, but it does need them to step up. For 6 or 7 starters to line up and all of them struggle, is probably indicative of how poorly prepared the squad is.

Will 3 or 4 new arrivals make such a big difference? Initially, most new arrivals will need time to settle into the system. That puts us and them, under more pressure. Starting the players who have been bought as development players might be pleasing for the individuals, but it puts the team under undue pressure to perform at this level.

I class Traore, Slimane and especially Larouchi, as development players. Vini and Trusty should be a level above, but still require integration.
I’m alarmed by the Deadbat match report being so brutally honest, but I only have his word to go on! It puts added pressure on Hamer. I can only hope reports suggesting that he will be. PL ready are true.
We are carrying too many for this level. Well done to those who did turn out, but it just proves that 100% effort is not enough, when time catches up with declining skills.
 
Keen Blade said:
Absolutely accurate , we were promoted 4 months ago but have completely wasted that time and now we are miles behind.
It's not just 4 games - the players who've come in are foreign and naturally need more time to settle.
Then the ones who will arrive at the end of the month will need time to adjust.
How can a manager blend his team under those circs ? Ludicrous.
We will not be optimal until the 8th game or later - does the club not understand that takes us from relegation candidates with a fighting chance to a situation where survival depends on 30 games in the toughest league versus rivals with 38 ?
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Our owner loves his fantasy football. His naivety in how he expects to run a real professional football team is telling. You just can’t swap in a player here and there without consequences. I don’t mind losing but I do mind losing due to stupidity.
 
One of the many annoying things with the referee was him letting Eze off without even a warning for a blatant dive first half, then booking Osula minutes later for kicking the ball away, per the new directive. Every year we hear them talk about punishing divers, every year they do fuck all about it.

Exactly as expected really, and the game at this level leaves me cold. It's pure pantomime, nowt like the sport that I was brought up on.
 
Deadbat said:
Ratings:



Foderingham 7/10 – Our best player. He made a mess of one punch out on the offside goal first half but then he had no chance on the goal and made 2 or 3 good saves to keep the score down after this. The one from Anderson at the end was superb.



Baldock 6/10 – Tried hard but did not get forward much. He did ok defensively and we were certainly better on this side. Seemed to pull up late on so hope it is cramp as Hecky said rather than anything more serious.



Lowe 4/10 – He started ok first half – no real issues with his defending and he got stuck in but started to unravel just before the break when he let his man get past him and then second half miles off it on the goal – others were at fault too. He got involved in a daft scuffle with Hodgson too. He then gave it away two or three times after and the occasion the lad completely skinned him showed his limitations. The new lad cannot be great if Lowe has been preferred as he is nowhere near good enough at this level.



Robinson 5.5/10 – Did ok I felt at times but then he was ball watching once when they nearly got in and I felt the ball down the channel of the left second half showed why him and Lowe are just not at the level we need sadly. He tried hard and got stuck in but showed today athletes and pace will cause him problems.



Ahmedhodzic 4/10 – Thought he, along with Lowe, was the worst of the backline and the whole game seemed to be at full stretch. Thought he would show his quality on the ball and his composure but got caught a few times and was careless with the ball to start. This carried on all game. Never really got in their half and then defensively he was too slow to react. The goal he has not gone with his man and as poor as the build up is, he does nothing to stop the finish. Must be a lot better- being one of our so-called key men.



Egan 5.5/10 – He was ok I felt and at least was one of the few who won a few headers. He did head one over when well placed and then got turned once but not sure he made any glaring errors. It did worry me that we should be strong on set plays and they won a lot of headers from these?



Norwood 3/10 – Thought he was woeful and comfortably our worst player. Never kept the ball all game and just tossed it away. Did not put his foot on it and then lost the battles second half as they dominated this area. We needed him to be a calming influence but he was anonymous for the most part and showed why he struggles at this level due to the size/running of opponents. However, he did have opportunities in set play and general play but wasted them all.



Basham 4/10 – Ran around and at least put his foot in a few times but he looked out of his depth at a position he has barely played at for a season or so, never mind the top level. His game used to be based on his running power/fitness and ability to get around the field. These days he does not really do that looks like a holding midfielder but one who cannot press much nor offer much on the ball. Love the guy but he should only be really used as a back-up – as a defender,



Osborn 4/10 – As above, ran around and tried but woefully lacking in the ability to impose himself with or without the ball. As the game went on he regressed more and more. The goal Lowe is out of position, he goes across but then lets the cross come in easily. Nice lad and a trier but barely a starter in the league below.



Traore 6/10 – Worked hard and despite giving away several fouls (some were cheap I felt and harsh) he at least tried to put them under pressure. Made the chance for Osula but then messed up another chance to feed him. He did at least cover some ground but was barely given a pass to his feet all game. He is very slight though and you worry how much ball he will see – he hardly saw any today against one of the poorer sides. He at least showed a few moments.



Osula 6/10 – Same as Traore -for a 20-year-old kid making his debut he did not disgrace himself. Had our two best efforts and he showed a few nice touches. Lacks awareness of where to run and his hold up needs work but his power and pace was shown a few times. He is raw and clearly needs games – probably at League One (remember he could not get in a side at this level last time out) but for now we have no choice and he has to start.





Subs –



Souza – Won a header and a loose ball but not long enough to make an impact. He looks a real unit though.



Slimani – I thought he looked unfit and off the pace last week and was not picked today – so maybe Hecky feels the same if he prefers the midfield above. Got a booking for a poor challenge but again limited time to make an impact.



Larouci – One mistimed header nearly put them in and not sure he is much of an upgrade on Lowe from what I have seen pre-season – so with RND nowhere near – we still need a left wing back. Personally, I would play JLT and Trusty in some combination down there at least short term.



Brooks – Gave it away once but I liked the fact he tried to get on the ball and had a few runs forward with it - which none of the three that started here could or would do. To me I would have started him over one of the three that did. He at least would have given us some energy and running.



Hackford – Not sure he kicked it. After barely being even involved with the u21’s – the fact he is now in the first team squad and being used is remarkable but shows the state of our squad rather than a criticism of him.



Manager: Heckingbottom 5/10 – Not sure I can give him any lower due to the fact his hands are seriously tired but tactically I was unsure of the set up today. We did not particularly play on the break nor did we have a way of trying to create? His selection of the three in midfield was forced to some degree but also does not say much about the youngsters/Slimane. However, it is his not his fault he has effectively been forced to play a side that is simply sub-standard for this level.



Palace – It was a stroll really. Thought they were weak too with players missing/moved on and looked at their line up and it was far worse than the one that started versus us a few years ago – on our opening home game. It was a team that I felt looked beatable – till I saw out team! In the end the game began evenly for about 5 minutes but they were much better than us for the rest of the game. They did not have loads of chances but the 3 or 4 good ones after the Osula one – came from them. They started to dominate midfield with runners coming from deep too and they sensed once the initial momentum of the opening minutes and crowd noise wore off, they could just show they were better players and they did. They could have been in front before half time but we stayed in it but then the goal came soon after. Once an away team scores, you expect a reaction from the home side and fans but it was very quiet and the team could not lift themselves. Palace came back on the attack and really could have had a few more. Eze caused problems but with Ayew and Schlup running the channels they had pace to burn. Johnstone did not have a save to make all game – maybe the one weak Norwood shot but that is clutching a bit! The defence was comfortable and the midfield controlled things with Edouard a threat, scoring one and nearly getting another couple. The time ticked by but with us having little in the way of creativity, Palace managed their way to an easy win and only Wes keeps the score down. They are a side that I am not sure finished much higher than 12th or 13th and could be even lower as lack real quality against the better sides but today showed that even sides like them will be too strong for us unless we hugely improve as at times it was quite one sided in terms of possession, physicality and overall ability.



Opponent Man of the Match –The lad Anderson looked class at the back and Guehi is strong. The rest of the defence were assured with the full backs never ran at all game. Edouard scored and others flitted in between but the two lads in midfield dominated. I thought Lerma was by far the best player on the park and watching the likes of mini men like Osborn and Norwood try to get it off him was a hard watch.



Opponent Weak link – Not sure anyone was poor. They were better man for man in every area.



Referee/Officials – John Brooks. Frustrating. Felt he gave us little really despite them being physically stronger and quicker which meant we did commit more fouls and got bullied at times due to their superior size/power. However, he was quite fussy on some of ours but less so on some of their fouls. Also, we saw the irritation of players going down way too easily and getting fouls – at least now they have to get up and cannot stay down for treatment (as have to go off) but the ref bought a number. Traore was penalised for barely touching Palace players a few times yet when the same happened the other way he played on. The officials did save us two goals on offsides and were at no way a contributory factor to the defeat but Brooks was inconsistent all game with his calls. I get the Osula one as been told to book them but then Johnstone took an age and he does nothing? The Slimani yellow was harsh but Ahmedhodzic was right to be carded for a cynical foul – another worry as he continues to show ill-discipline.





Matchday/Crowd/Coverage – A sell-out. Started loud and the Kop/ground got behind the side and knew the over matched side would need us. Felt the fans stayed with the team despite little to shout about but after the goal went in, the energy sort of drained and it was quieter after this. The fans did not get on the teams back at all and knew that they were doing their best but just were not good enough. Palace fans filled the away end and made more noise than they normally do down here – helped by a win of course.
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You often comment correctly that opponents are taller stronger & fitter - why do we not find & sign such athletes ? Why for example do we have tiny tots such as Osborn , Traore & Larouci trying to compete with superior men ? Have we not recognised that you need athletes the PL ?
How can professional sportsmen arrive at a new club and not be at full fitness ? Strikes me that they lack professional pride or , if at their personal limit , we have chosen badly.
Why Trusty has not played is a mystery to me , with JLT at LWB - our 2 LWBs seem worryingly poor.
The midfield today was an utter embarrassment - I do not expect to see any of those 3 starting in the PL.
They have only been extended by one year as a panic measure and only ever expected to be used in emergency , same goes for Fleck & Coulibaly.
Our midfield should consist of 3 from Hamer , Souza , Slimane & a new high quality L-footed MF to give balance.
Any others are just poor seconds except perhaps Brooks.
And so to strikers - well , we need 2 of starting quality and they better be athletes able to make some impression on PL defences - maybe one loan & one permanent - we all know McBurnie injury prone and anyway questionable at PL level and he's only been extended for one year. Brewster is something of a lost cause and hasn't played for so long I don't see how he can help us until most of the season is gone. The two lads Jebbo & Osula are great prospects but we need to sign them on longer contracts and loan them out or sell them coz they are not ready for the PL so don't really have a role to play.
In my mind we do not possess one single fit PL striker.
I suggest we need to get a pair pdq and have Traore as backup , with the faint hope of McBurnie and/or Brewster being fit enough as second backup.
Some might say play Jebbo/Osula alongside a PL quality recruit - if we do so without signing them on a longer contract , and against the odds they succeed in the PL , we'll lose them for nowt next summer.
The striker position is harder to resolve than midfield.
We've signed a £15m MF , a £10m MF and a £2m MF - we just need a quality L-footed MF and the jobs done and with luck we never see anyone else starting in midfield.
With strikers , the only fit ones are a youngster and a £5m tiny tot , both of whom are development prospects and not PL starting quality so we need to recruit fast.
Then we have a mixture of injured ones two if whom are injury prone and the other is a youngster.
Get moving Blades and get some players in - make sure they're athletes.
 
SUFCinks said:
agree with most of that especially this

“if your players cannot keep the ball or carry it (midfield) you will create nothing.“

I disagree with a couple of the ratings

Norwood was one of a few who actually kept composure and tried to keep the ball on the deck playing to feet. 5/10

Egan was bad and almost gifted them a goal but robbo saved him. Partly responsible for the goal. Also kept smashing it long or out of play regardless of pressure needlessly wasting possession. 3/10

Ousala (6) comfortably better than benie (4) who ran around a bit but i felt didnt offer anything. Partly due to his service.
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Egan worries me - he is not performing as well as in previous seasons and yet he's been made captain so a nailed on starter - he doesn't even have any competition to keep him on his toes - we badly need another R-footed CB to compete with Anel & Egan because in Bash they know their place is not under threat.
However , our budget does not run to a CB when there are bigger holes in the squad
 
Geordie Blade said:
Fair enough. Our only decent chance came from his lovely pass through to Traore (who then set up Osula). Nobody else created anything even vaguely close to getting behind Palace. He didn’t defend well, I’ll definitely grant that.

I reckon we both agree that today’s midfield was probably as poor a midfield as any Premier League team has put out for 15 years.
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None of that midfield is here for more than 12 months , I don't care what division we're in - fortunately we can say bye bye next summer to them & Fleck - they are only here coz no one had any idea of our finances or player budget in June so Hecky clung on.
There is a contracts cliff edge coming next summer and there are a number of players who will fall off it without any discernable damage to the squad.
 
Sheffsteel said:
So pleased this match wasn't on Sky.
We would have received so many negative comments about being the worse team ever to play in the PL etc.

We've lost all our 4 creative players from last season N'Diaye, Berge, McAtee, Doyle.
So it was no surprise really that at no time did we seriously threaten to score, no pressure, no nothing really

Reminded me of when a PL teams draws a league 1 team in the FA cup.
Yes we were that bad, non even mid Championship standard and today is probably one of the worse teams we've put out for several years.

Praise to the players for at least trying and keeping the scoreline respectable.
They were probably 3 goals better than us.....so felt quite pleased we only lost 0-1.

Todays team is nailed on to finish bottom but I'm still reasonably confident we'll stay up
because I believe we'll bring in a few more signings as good as the Hamer signing.
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As you say we have lost our four best & creative players - even if we replace them all that only brings us up to last season quality and we need more.
Let's say we've replaced Doyle with Souza and Berge with Hamer.
We now need to replace McAtee with a quality L-footed MF.
And Ndiaye with a quality striker.
That gets us to last season level.
But we've gone up a league so we need even more.
Ok , Trusty is our new LCB upgrade on JLT (who we should move to LWB as neither of our LWBs is much use).
But we have a clutch of injured strikers so we definitely need a second new striker (Traore is a development prospect).
So as a bare minimum we need 3 more creative players for the starting eleven.
2 loans and one permanent - get it sorted pdq
 
Looked like an Under 14s v Under 18s game at times.

They were bigger, stronger and faster, almost throughout the side. We are so puny.

Most of the players are not up to standard.

Long, hard season in prospect.

Was disappointed by Anel. Thought he’d be better.

Traore was everything I thought he would be. Still, he’s better than Brewster.

I watched the Arsenal - Forest game. We are going to get humped next Friday.

Wes MoM.
 
Given promotion was secured back end of April & we fielded that starting 11, bit of of an embarrassment all round.

Come on United & Princey get it sorted are we / you serious about this??
 
I love reading the reports that you do Deadbat
You always offer a balanced viewpoint although, as it should be, there are sometimes a differing of opinions. Some people see the games differently to others.
In general, I agree with your views on yesterday.
I thought that Wes was our best player and he definitely kept it interesting with some very good saves. This allowed for the possibility of us sneaking an (admittedly unlikely) equalizer.
Anel was reasonably steady but not at the levels of last season. He did get some good tackles in but at the same time made some questionable decisions. Was definitely at fault for the goal by getting totally on the wrong side if the attacker.
Egan and JLT looked wobbly but again made some good challenges. the forward line of palace did move them around a lot though with some positional play. One thing I noticed was that there was a lot of clearances made as opposed to winning the ball and trying to build an attack. it was very much safety first. I think Trusty will replace JLT in the next couple of games and from what i saw last season, will be an improvement (not being negative to JLT, just think that trusty is more agile/athletic).
Baldock was fairly strong defensively but didnt have much opportunity to get forward.
Lowe was mediocre. he is limited in defence and seems to have little confidence going forward. I'm not convinced that Larouci is the answer (happy to be proven wrong) so we really need RND to come back with the form he was in prior to injury.
Of the midfield 3, I have to disagree on your view of Norwood. Whilst not as influential as we would like, he was IMHO the calm head that was needed. He tried to get involved and put a foot on it and did try to start plays with some good passes. I agree that he was outmuscled at times and his set pieces left a lot to be desired.
Osborn did, as he always does, give 100% and tried to be involved at all times. His downfall is his size and ability to play attacking balls. Most of the time he chooses the safe option.
Bash, sadly looked lost on the pitch and was a passenger/spectator throughout. I love Bash, but he is not a Central Midfielder. He could play there as cover (and you would assume this is all that today was as we would hope that the likes of Hamer, Souza, Slimani, Norwood, any new signing (Doyle🤞would be my choice) would be picked in front of him for a starting midfield place with Bash being used as cover at CB.
Traore was busy all game without really being effective. He will improve with time playing with his new teammates. He kept their defence honest and chased a lot. Sadly he didnt receive anything like enough service and was isolated without any real attacking midfielders to offer support. His size will go against him but his pace will be an asset.
Osula for me was a close second to Wes for being our best player. He was constantly at their defence, didnt let them have too much time and was up for the physical battle. he looks strong and willing to mix it with defenders but has good speed and technical ability to run with the ball. He was unlucky a couple of times with chances going marginally wide. As said, he is still raw but given the right support, will be some player in a year or so. We definitely need to get him on a long contract to safeguard what I think will be a future star for us. If we can (and we definitely should be) add reinforcements to our Strikeforce (Archer🤞)and a return to fitness of McBurnie and Brewster (we can but dream) then I would think Osula would be good enough to move to the Championship to aid his development.

It is a sorry state of affairs that we are still developing what will be our strongest 11 on the first weekend of the new season after having months to plan. Ndiaye and Berge leaving at the last minute havent helped but we should have planned for this eventuality. We will get there, and hopefully sooner rather than later as we have shown with the Hamer deal that when we want to, we can make things happen quickly.
 
Deadbat said:
Yes, I wasn't really there. I just made it all up.

Can you give me your report and ratings from the real game please?
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Could you make sure you’re inside the ground next time. Please
 
Deaneandagana said:
Given promotion was secured back end of April & we fielded that starting 11, bit of of an embarrassment all round.

Come on United & Princey get it sorted are we / you serious about this??
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To me thats the key. Prince is in pre-retiremant mode.
 

Deadbat said:
I thought Traore at least harried and pressed. He had 2 or 3 ok runs too. As you say no service at all due to our dreadful midfield
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For me apart from that lay off for ousala. His impact on the game was non-existent. He ran around a lot like you say but his impact on the game was tiny. Apart from chasing that ball for a 10yrd pass (for ousalas shot) he didn't do much. Not sure how that warrants a 6.

Even though ozzy wasn’t the best and had many headless chicken moments he had a lot more positive contributions and impact on the game than benie. So that’s my thinking. Benie didn’t do too much wrong (considering his service) but he wasn’t ever in the game.

The fact that most players struggled to get a 5 or more though i definately agree with. Overal was a poor team display for the prem.
 
Starting with bash os and Norwood wouldn't work in division below so wouldn't work in PL. We have a worse side that finished last season and it's criminal that the board have written August off, even then we aren't guaranteed to get signings we want and then will need to get up to speed,

We will get a good hiding on Friday and against City.

Feel sorry for Hecky he's been shit on big time, the fans deserve better.
 
Keen Blade said:
You often comment correctly that opponents are taller stronger & fitter - why do we not find & sign such athletes ? Why for example do we have tiny tots such as Osborn , Traore & Larouci trying to compete with superior men ? Have we not recognised that you need athletes the PL ?
How can professional sportsmen arrive at a new club and not be at full fitness ? Strikes me that they lack professional pride or , if at their personal limit , we have chosen badly.
Why Trusty has not played is a mystery to me , with JLT at LWB - our 2 LWBs seem worryingly poor.
The midfield today was an utter embarrassment - I do not expect to see any of those 3 starting in the PL.
They have only been extended by one year as a panic measure and only ever expected to be used in emergency , same goes for Fleck & Coulibaly.
Our midfield should consist of 3 from Hamer , Souza , Slimane & a new high quality L-footed MF to give balance.
Any others are just poor seconds except perhaps Brooks.
And so to strikers - well , we need 2 of starting quality and they better be athletes able to make some impression on PL defences - maybe one loan & one permanent - we all know McBurnie injury prone and anyway questionable at PL level and he's only been extended for one year. Brewster is something of a lost cause and hasn't played for so long I don't see how he can help us until most of the season is gone. The two lads Jebbo & Osula are great prospects but we need to sign them on longer contracts and loan them out or sell them coz they are not ready for the PL so don't really have a role to play.
In my mind we do not possess one single fit PL striker.
I suggest we need to get a pair pdq and have Traore as backup , with the faint hope of McBurnie and/or Brewster being fit enough as second backup.
Some might say play Jebbo/Osula alongside a PL quality recruit - if we do so without signing them on a longer contract , and against the odds they succeed in the PL , we'll lose them for nowt next summer.
The striker position is harder to resolve than midfield.
We've signed a £15m MF , a £10m MF and a £2m MF - we just need a quality L-footed MF and the jobs done and with luck we never see anyone else starting in midfield.
With strikers , the only fit ones are a youngster and a £5m tiny tot , both of whom are development prospects and not PL starting quality so we need to recruit fast.
Then we have a mixture of injured ones two if whom are injury prone and the other is a youngster.
Get moving Blades and get some players in - make sure they're athletes.
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There is literally no correlation between height and being a good footballer/athlete. Its an absolute myth and old school thinking that players have to be 6ft+ and imposing to be successful. Hamer is 5”7’ and will be more impossing than Berge. A lot of the best players who ever played/playing are 5ft 6/7.

Other quality teams have the ball more so have to do way less running. We need to change our mentality and value keeping it more. Signing more athletes is fine but first and foremost they must be good players.

totally agree that traore is definately a back up player and long term development instead of a starter right now.
 
Agree on the whole, thought when the lineup came out at least we would be organised and shit but we were just shit. Needed better management to get the best out of that shite today
 
ChrisDysonHT said:
??? He gets off his arse and he does this week in and week out and people like me love him for doing it......... its a game where we all have opinions - Oli Norwood is my favourite player and I always defend him in my area of the Kop ... he got a '3' today .......... but its not me giving the ratings and I love his detailed reports
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I thought Deadbat 's 3/10 for Norwood was way off.

He wasn't great. but still kept showing for the ball and trying to get things moving forward. His set pieces and shooting were poor though. I'd have given him 5 or 6.

I thought Anel or Lowe were our worst players. Both got caught out of position regularly, made clumsy challenges and kept losing their man.

I'm also a bit surprised that Wes is MoM on the S24SU ratings. I thought his handling was poor (eg offside goal) and twice he should have come off his line to take balls. He needs to improve fast, or preferably we get a proper Prem keeper, but I can't see our limited resources stretching to that.

Furious was MoM for me. Defended well, aggressive but controlled and really tried to get forward. Probably our only player who looked PL standard.

All about opinions, innit?
 
Good report Deadbat I can't argue with much of that. Like the Stuttgart game we were chasing shadows and Palace are by tradition a lower half Premier League outfit, makes grim reading and tells us it could be a long and embarrassing season. It is hard to moan at the front two who had absolutely no service from midfield or out wide. Really that midfield passed it's sell by date two years ago all of them were utter garbage the new guys need to get up to speed fast imagine Osborn, Norwood and Bash running out to face Citeh in a game that means something or rather don't, terrifying prospect eh!.
I'm not sure on the defence either JLT and Egan were at best average and once again the goal came down our left hand side but Anel let the attacker get in front of him. Anels standards have dropped from what they were in the first half of last season leaving a question mark over whether he can make the step up only Baldock looked to be at it today.
We might be a different team with new faces in midfield Hamer Souza and possibly Slimane have to be better than today's midfield even young Brooks looks to have more about him than the old guard.
 
moody1889 said:
Bang on especially about Norwood I thought we would have targeted Palace with set pieces today and tried to make them count.

But Norwood was absolutely abysmal at set pieces, we need to bring someone in now that can take his place because he is not good enough at this level.
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He wasn't in our last year of premiership football, yet here is (still) 4 years later🙄
 
john Mathison said:
Hecky's attitude post match surprised me. It was , so what, played with what I had, what did you expect?????? Deffo a very unsubtly dig at the board. Nine subs, did not change anyone till 80th minute. Sadly , he picked that midfield, has to take responsibility for it.
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I’m glad he said what he said, it proves he feels screwed over by the lack of transfer activity prior to the season starting, therefore putting us weeks behind where we need to be.

Slimane was the only viable option who could have started over Basham or Osborn.

The rest were either unfit or u23’s.
 

Good report. I think I'd have rated Norwood 4/10 with Bash possibly as low as 2/10, Ozzy 3/10 despite his efforts.

That midfield gave us no chance. Bash couldn't even win a tackle and bizarrely was almost pulling out of them as well.

Thought pretty much everything was wrong (though decent spirit to try and equalise despite the low quality) yesterday, but the only way is up. I don't think we're going to play like that all season and I'm not going to panic even if we have handicapped ourselves for the first chunk of matches.
 
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