We will not end up in a relegation battle, but sadly any more of these sort of turgid, unimaginative, dare I say lethargic performances means we definitely wont be entering the top 6 at any stage of the season.
I do not buy into the talk that losing the "generals" per se is resulting in under par performances, but I do feel a lack of onfield leadership is hurting us. Frankly without Scowen we appear rudderless at times.
I have mentioned on previous threads my concerns over the numbe rof injuries we seem to pick up & this has to have something to do with the approach to training or the quality of pitches at Marlow Road. This spate of injuries has clearly led to players coming back too quickly (e.g. Vokes) & them then being off the pace.
Perhaps we should have ignored the PR puff from our chair & accepted that in order for us to be sustainable & have a long term future as an EFL team, with an average gate in the 5-6,000 range then we are at best a top half L1 club. There is nothing wrong with that & it doesn't mean we shouldn't aspire to get into the play-offs every so often & perhaps even flirt with promotion, but it does mean we are never going to splash the cash & risk the very survival of the club. I am happy as a L1 club and want to still be able to watch my club in 20 years time when I am in my 80's.
Taking into account the injuries, then we really did have a lot of the play, especially first half. They had one clear scoring chance (a penalty), whilst we had to very good efforts saved by their excellent keeper.
Agreed second half we dropped off a bit but I was much more positive about that display than the Derby and Sheff Wed outings.
It was a classic fairly even game, both teams had a very similar chance that should have been scored. We probably just scraped the better of the other chances, and had more corners etc.
They of course had the penalty from a poor challenge, and didn't look anything even remotely special.
One bizarre moment was when the ref appeared to give a free kick for offside, and then let them take it 5 yards into our half!
I can only imagine the ref had actually given a foul not offside, but didn't look like one. Looked like goonish reffing.
Unlucky not to get at least a point today, much better performance than of late. 2nd half was frustrating, as we got into some excellent positions only fail with the final ball.
The terrace which can be such a help, were more of a hindrance today. There were some poor final passes for sure, but the abuse Horgan and Vokes got was uncalled for. Mehmeti was hugely frustrating. Anywhere near his best and we'd have got something.
We did show signs @ReturnToSenda and their keeper made two excellent saves. The injuries have really mounted up for us and maybe I bought a pair of rose coloured glasses on the way to the game but for me, we were a lot better today.
We obviously missed Josh and the others but they certainly did not outplay us at all.
The overall performance wasn’t bad and we probably deserved at least a draw
no doubt about the penalty especially as none of our players really disputed it. It was I think unnecessary to give it away though
combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping stopped us in the first half ,second half they seem to have us in their pockets to a certain extent but one or two of our final balls were atrocious
there does seem to be a bit of a spark missing from the team. We seem to have a good spell in the first half of games and not played particularly well in the second
injuries have not helped when you think we are without Scowen gape and Thompson and probably will be for sometime it’s worrying
@Malone I suggest you brush up on the offside rule, the free kick is taken (in some instances) where the offending player touched the ball, not where he was standing when given offside.
It's amazing how many would-be refs there are in crowd that don't actually know the rules. (This particular rule was changed about 5 years ago)
If a player is in an offside position when the ball is played but recieves the ball in his own half, then play is restarted from where he touched the ball
What a thoroughly depressing second half, felt like such a shame as actually the first half we played well and really didn’t deserve to be losing.
But after 4pm I think it was just an utter shit show tbh, constantly banging it long and I think we should be trying to play a bit more adventurously than Mawson taking long throw ins too.
A plus was Freeman who I thought was ok and Leathers did not put a foot wrong.
Its going to take a hell of a January transfer window combined with all our players coming back fully fit and not getting injured again until the end of the season to get near the top 8 in my opinion.
However, if the second half showings keep on like that with zero return then I can’t see Gaz lasting beyond the farce that is Qatar.
It seems as though there is currently a BIG change going on in the team atm. Losing Stewart, Bayo, Blooms & Stockdale has ripped the spine out of this squad and the invaluable experience that they had. On top of this, the experienced members of the squad (Vokes, JJ & GMc) haven't stepped up on or off the pitch and we might have a few difficult seasons until this leadership returns to the dressing room.
Things to consider: Does GA need to start looking elsewhere as GMc and JJ haven't turned up this season? Both have been in decline for a while and is it time to get rid of the 'deadwood'?
Should some of the Development players be moved on, either on loan or cancelling their contracts so that we have a bit more room in the squad?
I hope that Rob is able to see the bigger picture and know that we are going through a transitional season? He has always spoken about promotion and could Gareth be in trouble if he doesn't achieve that?
Not surprised where we are in the league. Lack lustre pre season. Transfer business that was late. Find it incredible we didn’t know how long Hanlan was out for and did not find another first team forward. The development forwards are a mile away from making any impact. Who is going to score the goals?The lack of pace across the team is also frightening. Clearly injuries have hit us hard but the question is why are we getting so many.
I think if we are near the bottom playing arse football for 45 minutes a week by the end of the World Cup he will be sacked. Your not naive enough to think he is untouchable are you @Malone ?
Comments
I have it on good authority that he was interviewed for the QPR job.
Two of the Gasroom’s favourites @Malone .
And probably well beyond. They are not hoofballers.
So, he didn't get the job. What's the point you're trying to make?
Are you suggesting any of our current problems are because he was interviewed by QPR?
It could be one factor of many, yes. Let's face it, we weren't prepared for the start of the season.
We will not end up in a relegation battle, but sadly any more of these sort of turgid, unimaginative, dare I say lethargic performances means we definitely wont be entering the top 6 at any stage of the season.
I do not buy into the talk that losing the "generals" per se is resulting in under par performances, but I do feel a lack of onfield leadership is hurting us. Frankly without Scowen we appear rudderless at times.
I have mentioned on previous threads my concerns over the numbe rof injuries we seem to pick up & this has to have something to do with the approach to training or the quality of pitches at Marlow Road. This spate of injuries has clearly led to players coming back too quickly (e.g. Vokes) & them then being off the pace.
Perhaps we should have ignored the PR puff from our chair & accepted that in order for us to be sustainable & have a long term future as an EFL team, with an average gate in the 5-6,000 range then we are at best a top half L1 club. There is nothing wrong with that & it doesn't mean we shouldn't aspire to get into the play-offs every so often & perhaps even flirt with promotion, but it does mean we are never going to splash the cash & risk the very survival of the club. I am happy as a L1 club and want to still be able to watch my club in 20 years time when I am in my 80's.
Taking into account the injuries, then we really did have a lot of the play, especially first half. They had one clear scoring chance (a penalty), whilst we had to very good efforts saved by their excellent keeper.
Agreed second half we dropped off a bit but I was much more positive about that display than the Derby and Sheff Wed outings.
Yep. he must script his interviews
Sounds like we at least showed signs of getting back to our best but that our finishing was particularly wasteful?
It doesn't seem a maniac aim to go up automatically when you've lost in the play off final does it?
And I don't think it was maniac to not bring in a raft of new players, looking at the squad we have.
However, everyone knows the keeper/Mawson wait was a bit of a mess, and the staff knew Thompson/Hanlan and maybe others would be missing day 1.
The stack of injuries and McCleary red card on top of the above have all conspired to almost a worst case scenario.
Gape being out today was like the icing on the cake, leaving is bereft of anyone who can do a quality job in that position,
It was a classic fairly even game, both teams had a very similar chance that should have been scored. We probably just scraped the better of the other chances, and had more corners etc.
They of course had the penalty from a poor challenge, and didn't look anything even remotely special.
One bizarre moment was when the ref appeared to give a free kick for offside, and then let them take it 5 yards into our half!
I can only imagine the ref had actually given a foul not offside, but didn't look like one. Looked like goonish reffing.
Mate seriously......fuck off
Mawson taking throw ins. Thoughts?
I don't think we have enough aerial ability for him to be wasted taking those?
Unlucky not to get at least a point today, much better performance than of late. 2nd half was frustrating, as we got into some excellent positions only fail with the final ball.
The terrace which can be such a help, were more of a hindrance today. There were some poor final passes for sure, but the abuse Horgan and Vokes got was uncalled for. Mehmeti was hugely frustrating. Anywhere near his best and we'd have got something.
We did show signs @ReturnToSenda and their keeper made two excellent saves. The injuries have really mounted up for us and maybe I bought a pair of rose coloured glasses on the way to the game but for me, we were a lot better today.
We obviously missed Josh and the others but they certainly did not outplay us at all.
A full squad and we would have beaten them today.
Saw Jordon Ibe at the game with his wife .
Had to google Ibe to see what his situation is.
3 1/2 year deal signed in Jan 2022 for a Turkish team. That's a hell of a length deal that is!
Assume it's still in tact?
The overall performance wasn’t bad and we probably deserved at least a draw
no doubt about the penalty especially as none of our players really disputed it. It was I think unnecessary to give it away though
combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping stopped us in the first half ,second half they seem to have us in their pockets to a certain extent but one or two of our final balls were atrocious
there does seem to be a bit of a spark missing from the team. We seem to have a good spell in the first half of games and not played particularly well in the second
injuries have not helped when you think we are without Scowen gape and Thompson and probably will be for sometime it’s worrying
@oilysailor messaged @bluntphil during the game to confirm that the rules were changed a few years back on this, and that it was fine.
That performance from Daryl Horgan today was absolutely atrocious. What on earth as happened to him.
@Malone I suggest you brush up on the offside rule, the free kick is taken (in some instances) where the offending player touched the ball, not where he was standing when given offside.
It's amazing how many would-be refs there are in crowd that don't actually know the rules. (This particular rule was changed about 5 years ago)
The rule that you can only be offside in the opponent's half?
Or that you can take a free kick 5 yards away from where it happened?
@Doob if that is true, than I will obviously admit to now knowing that.
In good company amongst 100s in the Frank Adams.
I hope you were in there correcting everyone?
I’m totally confused if you touch the ball in your own half how can you be offside ? Can someone help me here
If a player is in an offside position when the ball is played but recieves the ball in his own half, then play is restarted from where he touched the ball
What a thoroughly depressing second half, felt like such a shame as actually the first half we played well and really didn’t deserve to be losing.
But after 4pm I think it was just an utter shit show tbh, constantly banging it long and I think we should be trying to play a bit more adventurously than Mawson taking long throw ins too.
A plus was Freeman who I thought was ok and Leathers did not put a foot wrong.
Its going to take a hell of a January transfer window combined with all our players coming back fully fit and not getting injured again until the end of the season to get near the top 8 in my opinion.
However, if the second half showings keep on like that with zero return then I can’t see Gaz lasting beyond the farce that is Qatar.
They seem to be suggesting you can still only be offside in the other half, but it's where you end up touching the ball.
Which sounds like a stupid rule change, but such is life.
Where do you think Gaz would be off to in the next few months then? Walking out?
It seems as though there is currently a BIG change going on in the team atm. Losing Stewart, Bayo, Blooms & Stockdale has ripped the spine out of this squad and the invaluable experience that they had. On top of this, the experienced members of the squad (Vokes, JJ & GMc) haven't stepped up on or off the pitch and we might have a few difficult seasons until this leadership returns to the dressing room.
Things to consider: Does GA need to start looking elsewhere as GMc and JJ haven't turned up this season? Both have been in decline for a while and is it time to get rid of the 'deadwood'?
Should some of the Development players be moved on, either on loan or cancelling their contracts so that we have a bit more room in the squad?
I hope that Rob is able to see the bigger picture and know that we are going through a transitional season? He has always spoken about promotion and could Gareth be in trouble if he doesn't achieve that?
Not surprised where we are in the league. Lack lustre pre season. Transfer business that was late. Find it incredible we didn’t know how long Hanlan was out for and did not find another first team forward. The development forwards are a mile away from making any impact. Who is going to score the goals?The lack of pace across the team is also frightening. Clearly injuries have hit us hard but the question is why are we getting so many.
We are half the team We were last season. So annoyed about today better off not saying. Good night
I think if we are near the bottom playing arse football for 45 minutes a week by the end of the World Cup he will be sacked. Your not naive enough to think he is untouchable are you @Malone ?