I ENJOYED that.

[papereyes]

then tabb had to go, as there was a player unmarked to deal with

then surely there's another man free somewhere else?

It's just organisation and communicatio. If Tabb's job is to stay on the post, then he should damn well stay on the post and shout at one of his teammates to cover the extra man.

[SWLR]

I Sig (first time I had seen him for 90 mins)..

Hate to shatter the illusion but he was subbed after 64 !

Was it McAnuff you were watching ?

You know what I mean.. it is different starting a game, than coming on as sub.

[Sun Tzu]

Not sure that's actually true though. Luck comes with confidence and belief in your preparation.

... and just preparation, fitness and conditioning.

Resorting to an appeal to 'bad luck' has got to be one of the last arguments in the locker.

Can't see it happening though, it's never the whole arguement.

It's undeniable that we were repeatedly inches away from scoring last night. Lots of things could have changed that, but at the same time a deflection going our way would be nice !

I'd agree that luck and confidence are two sides of the coin. A player low on confidence holds their run to try and be sure of being in the right place rather than gambling and gaining half a yard. They take an extra touch or an extra glance. A stroke of luck can change that, but you can;t base your game plan on luck !!

[papereyes]

Can't see it happening though, it's never the whole arguement.

No, merely the most desperate.

[Sun Tzu]

Can't see it happening though, it's never the whole arguement.

No, merely the most desperate.

No, merely a pretty reasonable observation !

You are arguing that either the players deliberately missed by inches several times ?

Some games those shots creep in, last night none of them did. There's a massive % of football that is down to luck, although it's undeniable that as the great Arnold Palmer (or was it Gary Player ?) said the harder you work the luckier you get !

[Bucks Dave]

The one moment I knew it wasn't going to be our night was when McAnuff hit the post, the ball came straight back at him and he hit a sweet return shot which hit a defender's disappearing leg and deflected just outside the post, at which the ref awarded a goal kick.

Do you really think this was good? It was far better than the last three matches and it wasn't bad. But I still remember good from the old times and this wasn't actually it. It was more like a better match under Branfoot.

[papereyes]

You are arguing that either the players deliberately missed by inches several times ?

No I'm not.
I'm suggesting they were a lot more responsible for not hitting the target than being merely unlucky, however.

There's a massive % of football that is down to luck

While there's a large number of seemingly random occurances, I don't for one second believe you can't weigh the odds on each 'bounce' in your favour though.

Take the two shot/crosses across the face of the goal. It was not luck that had our two midfielders 20 yards behind play and barely entering the penalty box - let alone the 6 yard box - when the ball went across an utterly unguarded net.

'Bad luck' is something that a well-prepared, fit, well-conditioned team can mostly avoid or, at the very least, minimise.
Resorting to saying 'it was bad luck' is merely short-hand for refusing to accept that it was a failure somewhere else.

[BR2]

As ever there are many similar topics on the day after a game but as Dave has just said (and there is also another topic based on how far we have fallen) it wasn't that good.
I did enjoy the effort put in by everybody but having made 6 changes it's no wonder players don't know what their jobs are especially if you are a left-sided midfielder playing at right-back.
I watched the game on TV where even if you miss some of the movement of players and other aspects of the game that the cameras might miss you can be a bit more dispassionate sat in the living room and seeing replays.

The goal really sums us up at the moment.
A load of players not used to playing regularly and not taking responsibility at set pieces-as Coleman said in the studio clubs spend ages working on set plays both defensively and offensively.
When you see the goal our left-footed right-back has come away from the post because guess what? Nobody is marking the hottest striker in the division,Fryatt.
How can that be?
So I don't blame Tabb completely because he saw a greater danger potentially from Fryatt than staying on the post.

As Sun Tzu says we were unlucky.
Unfortunately you hear that time and again from teams near the bottom-Southampton last season and Ipswich this season-and so often those "unlucky" teams end up getting relegated.

Last night-plenty of effort but frankly I do feel that these players aren't good enough and we don't know if that is a greater reason for our demise than the lack of organisation installed by the manager and his coaches.
Don't forget the number of saves Fed made and efforts by Gallagher and Howard inches over and inches wide.
For a neutral it mught have been enjoyable for for anybody else it was a further sign that we have a real relegation fight on our hands.
Incidentally expect to see Coventry playing the ball in the air on Saturday to our right-back area-a tactic so obvious but Leicester didn't make the most of it.

You get the feeling that even though we lost last night Rodgers position has strengthened slightly because of the effort and commitment but regretably that effort may not be enough for us to stay up or for Rodgers to keep his job.
Bournemouth and Southampton fixtures next season do feel that bit more likely as we ended up with no points again last night.

[loyalroyal4life]

seriously dont understand why we dont enquire about a loan move for marcus bent

[Sun Tzu]

You are arguing that either the players deliberately missed by inches several times ?

No I'm not.
I'm suggesting they were a lot more responsible for not hitting the target than being merely unlucky, however.

Of course, at this level you'd hope that players have a pretty high degree of control over their actions, but at the same time even at the very highest level luck is a huge factor. It is undeniable that last night we had little of none of it at a time when just a small amount would have been very handy.

Resorting to saying 'it was bad luck' is merely short-hand for refusing to accept that it was a failure somewhere else.

Rubbish !

Observing that with a little luck we could have scored several goals isn't short hand for anything, or refusing anything !
In one of the incidents you mention we actually had two players right on the edge of the 6 yard box, sadly they were both on the ground having been felled in the earlier part of the same move and not been able to get up quickly enough. Bad play or bad luck ?

It seems perverse to simply rule out luck as a major component of football. It's a constant factor which clearly the best teams turn in their favour by their ability to react more quickly to unexpected events. It doesn't alter the fact that if you have a number of shots shave the outside of the post witht he keeper beaten you can reasonably claim that you didn;t get much luck.

I suspect most of us are intelligent enough to realise that luck isn;t the sole factor in deciding a result but sometimes it is a fairly relevant one !!

[Sun Tzu]

seriously dont understand why we dont enquire about a loan move for marcus bent

1. We may have done
2. He may not be available
3. He may want too much money
4. His club may want too much money
5. He may be very picky about where he goes, if available
6. We may not consider he is a player who would be of use to us


Um, probably loads of reasons but I'd be pretty certain we're well aware of who is out there.

[Royal_Belly]

seriously dont understand why we dont enquire about a loan move for marcus bent

oh god... please no!! I know we're desperate but have we really sunk that low??!!! i'd like to see Simon Cox back - I think he'd do well under Brendan!!

[No Fixed Abode]

seriously dont understand why we dont enquire about a loan move for marcus bent

oh god... please no!! I know we're desperate but have we really sunk that low??!!! i'd like to see Simon Cox back - I think he'd do well under Brendan!!

too many cox at the madstad as it is.

[Royal_Belly]

ha ha... I just Wiki'd Marcus Bent as I was unsure wh he plays for at the mo and came across this:

Bent has been relegated with four different clubs (with Crystal Palace, Ipswich, Leicester and Charlton).

He's cursed!!

[RoyalBlue]

I know this won't be popular but I HONESTLY really enjoyed the first half.

So you can flame Rodgers as much as you like for claiming his team is enjoyable but tonight, IT WAS.

We were BLOODY GOOD and it was shocking defending that let us down.

And we REALLY need a striker.

I really wonder if all of Rodgers' problems stem from not getting the striker he wanted?

I'm confused.

A QPR supporting mate of mine watched the game and reckoned we 'had every opportunity to win that one'.

Stats say it all. 11 shots off target. Hit the target and we are going to start to score. We are in the shyte because our strike 'force' (and I use that latter term is the loosest possible term) should never have been left looking so weak. Perceived wisdom within the game is that you need 3-4 quality strikers experienced at the level at which the team is trying to compete. We just haven't got that.

The problem needs fixing now - but recognise that is a lot easier to say than do. However, money must not be allowed to be one of the factors preventing it from happening.

[loyalroyal4life]

seriously dont understand why we dont enquire about a loan move for marcus bent

oh god... please no!! I know we're desperate but have we really sunk that low??!!! i'd like to see Simon Cox back - I think he'd do well under Brendan!!

what are you on about???

M Bent >>>> Cox

[Mad Dog's Ghost]

However this is SJM we're talking about. He won't sack BR because it'll cost money. And he won't back him because he's wasted £3.5m already.

[Royal_Belly]

seriously dont understand why we dont enquire about a loan move for marcus bent

oh god... please no!! I know we're desperate but have we really sunk that low??!!! i'd like to see Simon Cox back - I think he'd do well under Brendan!!

what are you on about???

M Bent >>>> Cox

He's that goodand prolific i had to look up at what club he's at now!!! He just doesn't settle or make any real impact at any club.

[rob the royal]

M Bent >>>> Cox

If we got them both we could have a forward line of bent cox...

[papereyes]

A QPR supporting mate of mine watched the game and reckoned we 'had every opportunity to win that one'.

I had similar.

The players weren't quite good enough to be precise when it mattered.
The midfield completely ran out of steam and two good chances failed to be converted due to that

Oh, who was it that airkicked down by the left touchline when trying to clear? That must have been bad luck.