Millsy 4 - Aluko - again don't get people knocking him, he did very well I thought, tracked back and worked his socks off and got probably our best cross in despite being on for only a short time. I never thought I'd witness anyone say this let alone me but next game I think I'd prefer Aluko to start than Ejaria
NewCorkSethHoundSouth Coast Royal Although Hound will not agree-we desperately need the speedy winger option as sub to get behind an organised and packed defence.
I'm not saying it is a starting strategy but a different option when needed.
I could have seen the use of a quick forward of some sort yesterday certainly to get behind their high line. But the balls through still needed to be there.
Thing is we actually got behind them a few times on the left anyway. Joao had a shocker but put two nice balls in behind for the goal and penalty. We needed more of that.
I just think the speedy winger goes a bit into cliche land again. There just isn't many about, I dont think its a big part of the game anymore. I'm not sure a) there are that many available and b) you'd get much more from one that you don't get from pushing up Richards or Esteves (though he needs to get his confidence back to take people on on the outside)
You just need quality out on the flanks as you do anywhere else. The quality to get a decent ball in or time the run to get in behind. I can't think off to many times I've seen a winger run past a FB regularly this year - that chap at Bournemouth yes - but he is just a good all round player.
Fully accept others will see it differently mind you.
I stand with hound.
Lower WestMillsy 4 - Aluko - again don't get people knocking him, he did very well I thought, tracked back and worked his socks off and got probably our best cross in despite being on for only a short time. I never thought I'd witness anyone say this let alone me but next game I think I'd prefer Aluko to start than Ejaria
You've obviously never seen him play enough in the past. Good reason all the managers after Stam tried him then relegated him.
sCrowbar6753NewCorkSethHound
I could have seen the use of a quick forward of some sort yesterday certainly to get behind their high line. But the balls through still needed to be there.
Thing is we actually got behind them a few times on the left anyway. Joao had a shocker but put two nice balls in behind for the goal and penalty. We needed more of that.
I just think the speedy winger goes a bit into cliche land again. There just isn't many about, I dont think its a big part of the game anymore. I'm not sure a) there are that many available and b) you'd get much more from one that you don't get from pushing up Richards or Esteves (though he needs to get his confidence back to take people on on the outside)
You just need quality out on the flanks as you do anywhere else. The quality to get a decent ball in or time the run to get in behind. I can't think off to many times I've seen a winger run past a FB regularly this year - that chap at Bournemouth yes - but he is just a good all round player.
Fully accept others will see it differently mind you.
I stand with hound.
Speed is a bonus regarding good wing play, however, you guys are right, skill is also needed to take on and have the confidence to beat your defender.
Take our "106" team, we had Little, Convey, Oster and Hunt, not all blessed with pace but the skill level was immense and the ability to get past the defence and quickly get the ball in to Long and Doyle was a joy to watch.
Now if you had the option of replacing Meite and Ejaria with either of those four!! thats a game changer for me, and thats what we are missing in my opinion.
Regarding Little, Convey, Hunt and Oster i'm pretty sure they were all fairly cheap and just great scouting. Convey from the MLS for a million i think, Hunt from Ireland for pennies, and i've drawn a blank on where we got Oster and Blakey from. Just goes to show, these players are out there.
Mid Sussex Royal I never post soon after the game as am often too upset/annoyed but now its a day on generally I'd say defeats like this are going to come along and are happening to all the top sides due to the way this season is....that is why the table is so compressed in the top half. Fatigue is going to be a massive factor until the cup game for all sides.
Seasoned championship sides like Brum will do jobs on sides like us now and again but will never long term be higher than around mid table as stifling/stopping tactics only get you so far, you need flair and ability to win regularly and stay in the top six
More worried re Joao & Meite injuries than the result last night
ZipMid Sussex Royal I never post soon after the game as am often too upset/annoyed but now its a day on generally I'd say defeats like this are going to come along and are happening to all the top sides due to the way this season is....that is why the table is so compressed in the top half. Fatigue is going to be a massive factor until the cup game for all sides.
Seasoned championship sides like Brum will do jobs on sides like us now and again but will never long term be higher than around mid table as stifling/stopping tactics only get you so far, you need flair and ability to win regularly and stay in the top six
More worried re Joao & Meite injuries than the result last night
Would hope one of them is fit for Saturday otherwise we will have no presence up top.
Crowbar6753 ... Just goes to show, these players are out there.
Zip I thought Aluko was fine when he came on. One good cross. One very poor pass but some excellent tracking back.
Norfolk Royal Thought that was a classic championship away performance by Birmingham really which we were unable to combat.
Dump our most dangerous player, Olise, on his arse early on, tactics correct in hassling Ejaria to make mistakes, score two good goals then spend the rest of the game frustrating our somewhat ponderous attempts to get back into the game.
Tactical fouls, stand on the free kick to prevent it being taken quickly upsetting any rhythm or flow we might have (refs really must crack down on that practice.) I don't criticise Birmingham for doing it, most teams do it, including us in a similar position, but it must be a level playing field with bookings handed out.
Goalie taking an age to take spot kicks calculating that by the time the ref gets round to booking him the advantage will have been gained, again not criticising Birmingham for that as we do it as well in a similar position, it's up to refs to handle it better. I have seen refs booking goalies when it is first done, that must be the benchmark.
Other points: Although Olise was bullied out of that game a bit, is there actually any point taking him off at that stage, irrespective of Semedo doing quite well. Olise takes nearly all our set pieces and I find it disturbing that we don't have any other players who we can rely on to take an accurate set piece. That may change with the return of Swift of course and that can't come quickly enough.
At least Liam Moore was taken off free kick duties last night. I went to the Wigan away game last season when Swift was injured and they had Liam pass two free kicks into the wall from promising positions. He did exactly the same with a free kick he took against Forest. That must stop, just stop it, it's such a waste..
Obvious that Jaoa was going to miss that penalty, his set up was all wrong and the keeper was virtually on the penalty spot by the time he took it. Why not hit the corners with a low shot, at least it's got a chance of going in? I don't know why.
Finally, must praise that Birmingham left back, Christiansen? I think, a Danish international. He was brilliant and set the tone for the game very early on with his aggression. Omar would do well to look at a video of his performance and reflect on it.
The most disappointing aspect of last night was that our players were unable to match Birmingham's obvious determination and fight. I know games sometimes turn out like that and you can't put your finger on the reason but matching the other team's fight should really be the minimum requirement.
No doubt as the season pans out we will do the same to some teams as Birmingham did tonight and the championship has a habit of throwing up surprises and good unexpected excellent performances from lower to mid table teams. We've done it and will do it again but pretty deflated as a fan after that.
bcubedNorfolk Royal Thought that was a classic championship away performance by Birmingham really which we were unable to combat.
Dump our most dangerous player, Olise, on his arse early on, tactics correct in hassling Ejaria to make mistakes, score two good goals then spend the rest of the game frustrating our somewhat ponderous attempts to get back into the game.
Tactical fouls, stand on the free kick to prevent it being taken quickly upsetting any rhythm or flow we might have (refs really must crack down on that practice.) I don't criticise Birmingham for doing it, most teams do it, including us in a similar position, but it must be a level playing field with bookings handed out.
Goalie taking an age to take spot kicks calculating that by the time the ref gets round to booking him the advantage will have been gained, again not criticising Birmingham for that as we do it as well in a similar position, it's up to refs to handle it better. I have seen refs booking goalies when it is first done, that must be the benchmark.
Other points: Although Olise was bullied out of that game a bit, is there actually any point taking him off at that stage, irrespective of Semedo doing quite well. Olise takes nearly all our set pieces and I find it disturbing that we don't have any other players who we can rely on to take an accurate set piece. That may change with the return of Swift of course and that can't come quickly enough.
At least Liam Moore was taken off free kick duties last night. I went to the Wigan away game last season when Swift was injured and they had Liam pass two free kicks into the wall from promising positions. He did exactly the same with a free kick he took against Forest. That must stop, just stop it, it's such a waste..
Obvious that Jaoa was going to miss that penalty, his set up was all wrong and the keeper was virtually on the penalty spot by the time he took it. Why not hit the corners with a low shot, at least it's got a chance of going in? I don't know why.
Finally, must praise that Birmingham left back, Christiansen? I think, a Danish international. He was brilliant and set the tone for the game very early on with his aggression. Omar would do well to look at a video of his performance and reflect on it.
The most disappointing aspect of last night was that our players were unable to match Birmingham's obvious determination and fight. I know games sometimes turn out like that and you can't put your finger on the reason but matching the other team's fight should really be the minimum requirement.
No doubt as the season pans out we will do the same to some teams as Birmingham did tonight and the championship has a habit of throwing up surprises and good unexpected excellent performances from lower to mid table teams. We've done it and will do it again but pretty deflated as a fan after that.
Good post
(In other words it aligns with my view!)
Only thing I'm not sure about is your suggestion we could do this to other teams. I don't think we have the personnel for that type of performance.
Despite a strengthened midfield we are still not a tough side to play. Birmingham out muscled us from the word go and kept that tempo all game. Can't see us doing that at all.
We have a decent passing team, ideal for away games but not happy against a high press and being roughed up. And certainly not able to hand it out.
Pretty depressed now, still. It's the injury situation which caps it off.
Before this game I realised I was actually looking forward to the game. Now I'm back to thinking this won't be a special season and we could end up mid table.
Zip I thought Aluko was fine when he came on. One good cross. One very poor pass but some excellent tracking back.
bcubedNorfolk Royal Thought that was a classic championship away performance by Birmingham really which we were unable to combat.
Dump our most dangerous player, Olise, on his arse early on, tactics correct in hassling Ejaria to make mistakes, score two good goals then spend the rest of the game frustrating our somewhat ponderous attempts to get back into the game.
Tactical fouls, stand on the free kick to prevent it being taken quickly upsetting any rhythm or flow we might have (refs really must crack down on that practice.) I don't criticise Birmingham for doing it, most teams do it, including us in a similar position, but it must be a level playing field with bookings handed out.
Goalie taking an age to take spot kicks calculating that by the time the ref gets round to booking him the advantage will have been gained, again not criticising Birmingham for that as we do it as well in a similar position, it's up to refs to handle it better. I have seen refs booking goalies when it is first done, that must be the benchmark.
Other points: Although Olise was bullied out of that game a bit, is there actually any point taking him off at that stage, irrespective of Semedo doing quite well. Olise takes nearly all our set pieces and I find it disturbing that we don't have any other players who we can rely on to take an accurate set piece. That may change with the return of Swift of course and that can't come quickly enough.
At least Liam Moore was taken off free kick duties last night. I went to the Wigan away game last season when Swift was injured and they had Liam pass two free kicks into the wall from promising positions. He did exactly the same with a free kick he took against Forest. That must stop, just stop it, it's such a waste..
Obvious that Jaoa was going to miss that penalty, his set up was all wrong and the keeper was virtually on the penalty spot by the time he took it. Why not hit the corners with a low shot, at least it's got a chance of going in? I don't know why.
Finally, must praise that Birmingham left back, Christiansen? I think, a Danish international. He was brilliant and set the tone for the game very early on with his aggression. Omar would do well to look at a video of his performance and reflect on it.
The most disappointing aspect of last night was that our players were unable to match Birmingham's obvious determination and fight. I know games sometimes turn out like that and you can't put your finger on the reason but matching the other team's fight should really be the minimum requirement.
No doubt as the season pans out we will do the same to some teams as Birmingham did tonight and the championship has a habit of throwing up surprises and good unexpected excellent performances from lower to mid table teams. We've done it and will do it again but pretty deflated as a fan after that.
Good post
(In other words it aligns with my view!)
Only thing I'm not sure about is your suggestion we could do this to other teams. I don't think we have the personnel for that type of performance.
Despite a strengthened midfield we are still not a tough side to play. Birmingham out muscled us from the word go and kept that tempo all game. Can't see us doing that at all.
We have a decent passing team, ideal for away games but not happy against a high press and being roughed up. And certainly not able to hand it out.
Pretty depressed now, still. It's the injury situation which caps it off.
Before this game I realised I was actually looking forward to the game. Now I'm back to thinking this won't be a special season and we could end up mid table.
Mid Sussex Royal I never post soon after the game as am often too upset/annoyed but now its a day on generally I'd say defeats like this are going to come along and are happening to all the top sides due to the way this season is....that is why the table is so compressed in the top half. Fatigue is going to be a massive factor until the cup game for all sides.
Seasoned championship sides like Brum will do jobs on sides like us now and again but will never long term be higher than around mid table as stifling/stopping tactics only get you so far, you need flair and ability to win regularly and stay in the top six
More worried re Joao & Meite injuries than the result last night
Crowbar6753NewCorkSethHound
I could have seen the use of a quick forward of some sort yesterday certainly to get behind their high line. But the balls through still needed to be there.
Thing is we actually got behind them a few times on the left anyway. Joao had a shocker but put two nice balls in behind for the goal and penalty. We needed more of that.
I just think the speedy winger goes a bit into cliche land again. There just isn't many about, I dont think its a big part of the game anymore. I'm not sure a) there are that many available and b) you'd get much more from one that you don't get from pushing up Richards or Esteves (though he needs to get his confidence back to take people on on the outside)
You just need quality out on the flanks as you do anywhere else. The quality to get a decent ball in or time the run to get in behind. I can't think off to many times I've seen a winger run past a FB regularly this year - that chap at Bournemouth yes - but he is just a good all round player.
Fully accept others will see it differently mind you.
I stand with hound.
Speed is a bonus regarding good wing play, however, you guys are right, skill is also needed to take on and have the confidence to beat your defender.
Take our "106" team, we had Little, Convey, Oster and Hunt, not all blessed with pace but the skill level was immense and the ability to get past the defence and quickly get the ball in to Long and Doyle was a joy to watch.
Now if you had the option of replacing Meite and Ejaria with either of those four!! thats a game changer for me, and thats what we are missing in my opinion.
Regarding Little, Convey, Hunt and Oster i'm pretty sure they were all fairly cheap and just great scouting. Convey from the MLS for a million i think, Hunt from Ireland for pennies, and i've drawn a blank on where we got Oster and Blakey from. Just goes to show, these players are out there.
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