BFTG - 'uddersfield

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Well that was a breathless last 30 min!

Looked like nailed on 0-0 bore brawn until their moronic sending off (Well's response was )

The slight formation change went a bit wrong for me. Harriott was wasted as the right of a front 3 and the massive gap to the front line meant we were going long more than Stam would have been happy with.

2nd half Huddersfield realised if they put us under pressure we'd crack and if they attacked we'd be there for the taking..... bet they're a bit irked they didn't try in the first half

Still, very enjoyable. Kermogant works like a demon. Williams wasteful again (repeatedly)

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Oh and shout out to McShane's super silky winger skillz with comedy end product

[Linden Jones' Tash]

Was it just me, or did we suddenly lose the ability to hold the ball when JVDB and Swift were subbed?

They were ripping us apart after that...

Good 3 pts, we need the balanced midfield to work better.

Oh for a goalscoring forward...

[Winston Smith]

Lol @ their number 44. Looked some some lumbering special fan had won a competition to get a 10 minute run out for his local team.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Yeah those subs made us worse imo.

But then on another day they'd have been fine. Fair play to Huddersfield really

[oh_ROAR]

Williams needs to look up and pass more, got lucky in the second half as he was persistently fouled so his runs weren't a complete waste

[royalp-we]

A massive win. Extremely lucky. The crosses at the end almost ended in heartbreak.

But that is what this league is, a lucky break, a stern back line & a goal from nothing.

If we can keep up those effort levels then we'll be fighting with the rest of them.

A nod to the team, most notably, Moore, Roy Beerens & John Swift; super acquisitions this summer who play the way Stam sets us up.

Makes this season far more exciting; even if it is momentary.

[blueroyals]

Great performance 1st half but can't rely on goals from midfield all season. I'd still take mid-table.

[NewCorkSeth]

Great performance 1st half but can't rely on goals from midfield all season. I'd still take mid-table.

Same! Happy to see us getting the results and sharing the goals but I won't be too disappointed if we can't keep this up! The dressing room seems to be confident and we have a few players that seem to be real performers. I'm just happy we are giving it a go!

[K.URZ13]

What was the average age of that team? Kermit,the oldest outfield player, but you wouldn't have guessed it from his work rate today.
Fantastic win, not getting carried away, but very very pleasing atm.

[Saaaaaaaammmmmm]

One of the weirdest games I've seen in a long time. We were absolutely coasting, then VdB came off for seemingly no reason and we went into total meltdown

I'm a big Gunter fan and have spent many years defending him, but after his mistake that led to his yellow, he was completely and utterly all over the place, with their No.9 beating him every time either in the air or on the floor. You could argue it's because he isn't a LB, but I've seen him play there a few times and look completely comfortable, it's almost like he panicked after almost getting sent off and that state of panic lasted 30 minutes.

Gunter isn't usually my scapegoat, that's Williams, so I'll go back to slagging off Danny. How on earth does he get picked every single week without fail? Quinn and Kelly were brilliant whilst he was suspended, so why is one of them stuck on the bench and the other not even in the 18? Yes, they're different players to Williams, but what sort of player is he? What does he offer? He kept losing the ball, he missed opportunities to play players in, and once again he wasn't good enough. I say it every week yet he appears to be the first name on the team sheet.

People are complaining that we don't have a striker, but I'm not sure that's a huge deal. Our midfield with players like Swift, Beerens and I suppose today Harriott can create goals out of nothing. Kermorgant brings you something completely different, just an absolutely phenomenal player in the air, and he's pretty creative as well even if sometimes you wish he was more selfish.

I mention Harriott as it was his brilliant wing-play that created the goal, although he was a bit like how the Charlton fans described him, apart from that flash of magic, he went a bit missing and didn't really offer anything. A shame after two great performances in the cup as this was his chance to nail down a league spot but I imagine McCleary will be straight back in post-suspension.

Watson was superb again, not sure what he's going to have to do to force his way in. I was reluctant to join in with the hype given he was seemingly only in the team as we had no other options, but every time I've seen him he's been excellent. Haven't seen a full-back go past players with the ease he does, although on the edge of our penalty area I'd rather he didn't.

Highlight of the game from our side was definitely McShane skipping down the wing and nutmegging their LB, although their red card was just - how utterly brainless can you get?

Subs were very strange, like I said we fell apart when VdB but on top of that Evans dropped far too deep and invited them on to us. Suddenly we were outnumbered in midfield because Evans, McShane and Moore were dropping back further and further every time Huddersfield had the ball. Also taking off Swift, what purpose? Meant we had to play 20 minutes without any subs which almost backfired when Williams got injured and hobbled around the pitch for the rest of the game.

In the play-offs and unbeaten since Wolves, but the second half performance was a bit scary. Huddersfield missed some genuine sitters in the last 10 minutes, but to be fair to them they seem a decent team

[ILoveMoonPig]

Good game against good opposition. they looked good in the second half but that was more because we went ultra defensive.

Opposition seemed fairly good. They relied very heavily on the right winger and the guy in the middle with the shaved head. Can't remember a single opportunity of theirs coming from the left, though admittedly, when you're a man down, one position will always be lacking.

They could be in trouble after January, when the struggling premier league clubs come looking for in-form championship players. You don't want to go drawing attention to your players this side of Christmas.

Going defensive with 30 minutes left was always going to invite pressure. How Wells didn't score at the back post is beyond me.

[Oilroyal]

Keep playing like we have been these last 3 or 4 games until January, we'll be up and around the top 6, then bring in a quality striker. We'll be there or there about come the end of the season. Great 3 points

[Oilroyal]

Keep playing like we have been these last 3 or 4 games until January, we'll be up and around the top 6, then bring in a quality striker. We'll be there or there about come the end of the season. Great 3 points

[PieEater]

First of all, oxf*rd off with Sweet Caroline, it really ruins it for me.

We looked ok and probably on top up to the sending off. Parra was a complete idiot giving lip to the ref after feigning injury to try to avoid his first yellow card, what an idiot. Second half Jaap rightly subbed Obita and Joey who looked like they'd never make 90mins, it looked like a good call as HT feigned injury and exaggerated contact at every opportunity after the break.

We should have won it comfortably but somehow didn't get the second and ended up hanging on for the win.

[George_]

Great win today.

Weren't at our best 2nd half but dug in again at the back & held on.

Huddersfield will be right up there this season. They're massively improved from last season just as we are.

We've played 6 of the top 8 so far, Norwich are the only team in the 8 we haven't played and for us to be in 5th with that start with a new manager & new team really is phenomenal.

Roll on Brentford.

[TheLawnMowerMan]

Lacked composure and confidence for the last 25 mins. Hopefully this will develop quickly.

6 of our games have been against teams in the top 8 and the next is against the team in 9th. To have 17 points from 9 games at the start of the season must be a dream for Stam. No need to get carried away but things are beginning to look promising for Stam and the team.
If we can stay near the top by Christmas we may even get a boost in half-season tickets and add to the atmosphere.

And I nearly forgot - we desperately need to sign a pacey striker (or give Samuel a decent opportunity).

[TheLawnMowerMan]

Looks like George is on the same wavelength as me tonight!

[sandman]

Decent performance in the first half but we were an absolute shambles in the second. The subs didn't help but we were so slow in our build up that they weren't stretched at all and their high pressing wasn't exploited as it could have been because, as we do so often against 10 men, we didn't adapt our game to having the extra man.

Al Habsi - 7

Gunter - 5
McShane - 7
Moore - 6
Obita - 6

Williams - 6
Van Den Berg - 7 Motm
Swift 6

Harriott - 6
Kermorgant - 7
Beerens - 7

Subs:
Watson - 7
Evans - 6
Quinn 6

[ayjaydee]

Decent performance in the first half but we were an absolute shambles in the second. The subs didn't help but we were so slow in our build up that they weren't stretched at all and their high pressing wasn't exploited as it could have been because, as we do so often against 10 men, we didn't adapt our game to having the extra man.

Al Habsi - 7

Gunter - 5
McShane - 7
Moore - 6
Obita - 6

Williams - 6
Van Den Berg - 7 Motm
Swift 6

Harriott - 6
Kermorgant - 7
Beerens - 7

Subs:
Watson - 7
Evans - 6
Quinn 6

How on earth did VDB get your MoM? Don't get me wrong I love him as a player but he got subbed today for not playing well enough not for fitness or tactical reasons, Stam said as much post match. Would also question your marking Williams and Swift the same, Swift was excellent in the first half, unlucky not to score while Williams had yet more head down or headless moments.