MATCHWATCH : Blackpool (h)

[Snowflake Royal]

Awful game. Yet again we started both halves slowly, and would have been punished if it were not for Blackpool being terrible.

Meite MotM. Someone said this week on here that he is a shadow of his previous season's, but I don't agree, he's just been played in the wrong position by Ince. Today he proved that if you put him in his proper position on the wing that he will flourish.

Hound, disagreeing with me saying if you play him on the right he'll do fine.

[Royal_jimmy]

That was our 10th home win of the season. First time we've done that since Stam season 1. Hopefully we'll see some of the 15k crowds return more often if we keep winning at home.

[leon]

If Blackpool had forwards that could kick a ball we would have had difficulties today.

Also there was seating chaos in the ED stand today. Fcuking idiots sitting in the wrong seats.

[Hound]

Awful game. Yet again we started both halves slowly, and would have been punished if it were not for Blackpool being terrible.

Meite MotM. Someone said this week on here that he is a shadow of his previous season's, but I don't agree, he's just been played in the wrong position by Ince. Today he proved that if you put him in his proper position on the wing that he will flourish.

Hound, disagreeing with me saying if you play him on the right he'll do fine.

Yeah still think he’s a pale shadow. He did have a good game but against an awful side who played like they’d never watched him play

If he can produce consistently then all good but I suspect it’s a flash in the pan, and he’ll be gone in a few months time

[RoyalBlue]

I feared the worst today but we did what we’ve been doing all season and dug out a win in a poor game of football. If Blackpool had more composure in front of goal it could’ve been a different result.

I thought Casadei was tidy today and Meite had his best game in a long time. I remember his first game back against Coventry last season and he looked a beast but we haven’t seen that again until today. Mbengue is fast becoming one of my favourite players. He’s still learning the game but has the potential to become a Rolls Royce of a player.

Agree with all of this. And if there's any way to get EFL to agree to it, the club should be offering Mbengue an extended contract now before someone else tempts him away at the end of the season (although they'll probably tap him up on the quiet before then).

[AthleticoSpizz]

If Blackpool had forwards that could kick a ball we would have had difficulties today.

Also there was seating chaos in the ED stand today. Fcuking idiots sitting in the wrong seats.

that’s a nice problem, given the empty ED stand of late

[RoyalBlue]

Not sure he would take the risk with fans like ours. Lose 3 games in a row and they'll be calling for your head.

Lose one and they’ll be calling for him to be sacked…

Some of our fans woukd have been demanding Coppell got the sack after we lost on Day 1. It’s just knee jerk stupidity most of the time,like booing at any game where we go in behind at half time.
No long term perspective.

IMO Ince is no long term solution and the fans have recognised how things were stacked against him (particularly in the early days, far less so now) & made allowances for that.

I reckon there's very good reasons why the other clubs that employed him decided that he wasn't a long term solution.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Easy to say, now we are are but safe.

“Thanx Paul…nowfukk off”

Don’t jump the gun

[Nameless]

Lose one and they’ll be calling for him to be sacked…

Some of our fans woukd have been demanding Coppell got the sack after we lost on Day 1. It’s just knee jerk stupidity most of the time,like booing at any game where we go in behind at half time.
No long term perspective.

IMO Ince is no long term solution and the fans have recognised how things were stacked against him (particularly in the early days, far less so now) & made allowances for that.

I reckon there's very good reasons why the other clubs that employed him decided that he wasn't a long term solution.

Is it because virtually no clubs employ long term managers ?

[Stranded]

Lose one and they’ll be calling for him to be sacked…

Some of our fans woukd have been demanding Coppell got the sack after we lost on Day 1. It’s just knee jerk stupidity most of the time,like booing at any game where we go in behind at half time.
No long term perspective.

IMO Ince is no long term solution and the fans have recognised how things were stacked against him (particularly in the early days, far less so now) & made allowances for that.

I reckon there's very good reasons why the other clubs that employed him decided that he wasn't a long term solution.

If Ince does leave this summer, there is a more than 80% chance that his replacement is replaced before the start of the following campaign.

[paultheroyal]

We were very poor for the first half hour…. We got away with a lot of balls played across our 18 yard line but Blackpool seemed scared to shoot. We grew into the game from 30 mins onwards and a decent display. Well done.

Mbengue and Sarr yet again excellent and decent from linoleum again with a sharp save and good presence. Casadei with a better performance and hopefully grow into the team.

Mom can be shared between ince and meite who both had excellent games.

Great to look around to see a decent size crowd in there. Hope a few return.

Edging closer to safety which is a fab achievement.

With good recruitment and investment look forward to seeing what ince can do with his team next season.

[Jackson Corner]

If we had been playing the top two would have been 5 or 6 nil not to us! Are inability to keep the ball is embarrassing. 5 at the back against Blackpool. A much needed win but I fear it is just postponing relegation to next season.

[Stranded]

If we had been playing the top two would have been 5 or 6 nil not to us! Are inability to keep the ball is embarrassing. 5 at the back against Blackpool. A much needed win but I fear it is just postponing relegation to next season.

Err, we played 433.

[Snowflake Royal]

If we had been playing the top two would have been 5 or 6 nil not to us! Are inability to keep the ball is embarrassing. 5 at the back against Blackpool. A much needed win but I fear it is just postponing relegation to next season.

Err, we played 433.

I've seen a few people say this, but we certainly started set up with 5 at the back.

It was back to a start of season 5 where it was more flexible and attacking with Hoilett spending more time forward and McIntyre venturing up as well. But it only became a definite 4 once Azeez came on for Hoilett. Imo.

[Stranded]

If we had been playing the top two would have been 5 or 6 nil not to us! Are inability to keep the ball is embarrassing. 5 at the back against Blackpool. A much needed win but I fear it is just postponing relegation to next season.

Err, we played 433.

I've seen a few people say this, but we certainly started set up with 5 at the back.

It was back to a start of season 5 where it was more flexible and attacking with Hoilett spending more time forward and McIntyre venturing up as well. But it only became a definite 4 once Azeez came on for Hoilett. Imo.

Well, it definitely looked 433 to me and the manager said we played 433 so I'll go with we played 433 but appreciate others may see it differently.

[windermereROYAL]

If we had been playing the top two would have been 5 or 6 nil not to us! Are inability to keep the ball is embarrassing. 5 at the back against Blackpool. A much needed win but I fear it is just postponing relegation to next season.

Err, we played 433.

I see Jacko is his normal positive self, there`s no helping some people, we are having a very good home season and we`ve only been hammered once.
And if he thinks we will have the same squad post embargo he`s very much disillusioned.

[Snowflake Royal]

Err, we played 433.

I've seen a few people say this, but we certainly started set up with 5 at the back.

It was back to a start of season 5 where it was more flexible and attacking with Hoilett spending more time forward and McIntyre venturing up as well. But it only became a definite 4 once Azeez came on for Hoilett. Imo.

Well, it definitely looked 433 to me and the manager said we played 433 so I'll go with we played 433 but appreciate others may see it differently.

Checked some heat maps and it's all a bit lopsided.

McIntyre's does look more like Mbengue's than anyone else, but then he was definitely playing full back once Azeez came on.

Hoilett's is much more defensive than Meite's but more patchy than Mbengue's.

It certainly wasn't the style of 5 we've had recently. But Tim and Mick were also calling it 5 until the Azeez sub.

I did spend quite a lot of the game thinking we didn’t have a lot of consistent shape.

[South Coast Royal]

Casadei was pretty good. Useful game

Yes, did you notice that rarity in football , he is two-footed?
Don't agree with Ian that Meite had some kind of fantastic performance-he was just ok IMHO.
Also re-Mbengue at times he looked all at sea playing right-back but at times he looks all at sea wherever he plays.
There is some talent there which hopefully we will benefit from when he finds and settles into his right position.

A great sense of relief that we are now safe-if Blackpool could shoot we might still be a bit worried but they can't and look very likely to go down.

Tom Ince-you get the feeling that if we hadn't had him this season we could well have been much closer to relegation and if ever a player were way ahead as player of the season it is him.

[Snowflake Royal]

Casadei was pretty good. Useful game

Yes, did you notice that rarity in football , he is two-footed?
Don't agree with Ian that Meite had some kind of fantastic performance-he was just ok IMHO.
Also re-Mbengue at times he looked all at sea playing right-back but at times he looks all at sea wherever he plays.
There is some talent there which hopefully we will benefit from when he finds and settles into his right position.

A great sense of relief that we are now safe-if Blackpool could shoot we might still be a bit worried but they can't and look very likely to go down.

Tom Ince-you get the feeling that if we hadn't had him this season we could well have been much closer to relegation and if ever a player were way ahead as player of the season it is him.

Had Husband on toast all game, beating him with ease repeatedly

Set up Ince for goal 1
Won the penalty for goal 2 and probably would have scored if not fouled
Beat his man and played the ball across the goal that was cleared to Ince to score goal 3

Bullet header in the first half, just wide I think.

[bcubed]

Casadei was pretty good. Useful game

Yes, did you notice that rarity in football , he is two-footed?
Don't agree with Ian that Meite had some kind of fantastic performance-he was just ok IMHO.
Also re-Mbengue at times he looked all at sea playing right-back but at times he looks all at sea wherever he plays.
There is some talent there which hopefully we will benefit from when he finds and settles into his right position.

A great sense of relief that we are now safe-if Blackpool could shoot we might still be a bit worried but they can't and look very likely to go down.

Tom Ince-you get the feeling that if we hadn't had him this season we could well have been much closer to relegation and if ever a player were way ahead as player of the season it is him.

This always puzzles me. Why aren't all professional footballers two footed? You'll always have a natural preference to one foot over the other but surely you just practice using the non preferred foot and get better at it? It's so much of an advantage to be able to switch from one side to the other. Just saying..