by JedMaxwell »
11 Jan 2022 07:41
I went, I did not enjoy it in the slightest.
For me Pauno has let down those youngsters, who he dropped into an unfamiliar XI with an incredibly negative game plan. They will have seen the reaction of the supporters at the end and it will not be good experience for them.
I feel desperately sorry for Rafael. I thought he had a decent game until the first mistake, then he just fell apart. It's a shame because he's been so solid for us in general, and just looks like he has the yips now. Looks like he could be out as Andresson has been called back. What I will say, is I hope some fans have longer memories and realise he wasn't terrible for us overall, just bad at the end. He's also a good person by all accounts, which means a lot for a club like us.
I thought Holzman looked very assured and Tetek was OK, but he really needs to get time in midfield as he will be getting called upon there much more often as time goes on.
I'm glad Puscas scored but he just looks totally deflated and lacking in confidence, even after the goal. There's real ability there but we've never found a way to harness it properly, and now sadly he needs a move. Wouldn't be surprised if his career got re-ignited elsewhere and we'd have to mark him down as another expensive mistake.
Good to see Rinomhota back from injury, hopefully he can stay fit.
Lastly on the playing side, Araruna's injury was just horrible to see. Having had such a long lay-off and having to do the terrible, boring repetitive rehab work involved for over a year, to last barely two minutes before getting another injury really is heart-breaking. I'm not sure we'll ever see him play for us again, but I do hope he gets fit again and can play in the future.
I think we missed a chance to get a win and some more match fitness for the first-teamers. Regardless of whether it was a cup game, we should be getting a win against the lowest-ranked team. We also had five subs so could have got quite a few players some minutes. Instead we play a weird thrown-together XI and sit back, letting a team with nothing to lose go for it and get a deserved win. I know we're never gonna win the cup but a decent result here would've helped us in the league, no doubt.
I'm not one who wants managers out and I think they should be given time to get their ideas across and get players in. Last year we had an identity but we couldn't last the distance, but this year we are just devoid of quality, ideas and even worse, fight. If we had a backbone, we'd have got through Saturday but I don't think the manager can motivate the team anymore. Once that happens, I think it's time to get rid sadly.
On Warnock, he loves being a pantomime villain and for a long time we enjoyed booing and hissing at him. But to be perfectly honest, back then we were well-run and successful and he managed teams we were in direct competition with. Now we're desperate for some stability because relegation to League One could ruin us. He's had a long and successful managerial career, and he's proud of his record, so if we did turn to him he'd do his absolute best to keep us up. It wouldn't be great to watch and we'd never be far from turning on him, but we're in no position to be picky about that if we do sack Pauno.