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Post by bluesandtwos on Jan 19, 2020 21:12:13 GMT 1
I think it is very hard to judge players individually in a game where we struggled to get possession. Brentford had their three attackers between our area and the half way line making playing out from the back very hard. They had quality all over the pitch and a lot of our work was containment, we played pretty deep most of the game. Katchunga helps Simpson with that down our right side, and they were good down both wings so we needed that. We played quite narrow probably because they are good at cutting through the middle so we squeezed their midfield, and ours. None of this makes for anyone but the defenders having a stand out game. Other than a couple of loose passes at the back nobody played badly. Grabara you gave a 6.5 but his positioning for all their shots was spot on. His catching was good and I remember one decent punch so he didn't do much wrong for me. Brentford have the best goal difference in the league, and you could see why from their quality. If Grant had put his chance away we could have come away with a win against a side who are top of the form charts for the last 10 games having won 6, drawn 2, and lost 2 with 22 goals for and 7 against. As a team performance, which is what I think it should be judged on, it was damn good. It's still a game of football - 11 v 11. We had a negative GD despite being the 3rd best team in the league in 16/17. What has the first part got to do with it being a team performance? If we were the 3rd best team in the league in 16/17 how did Fulham manage to smack us twice? We got through the playoffs on penalties scoring one goal. We had a problem scoring goals that year which we have still not rectified. We hung on in our first year in the PL by the skin of our teeth and were hopeless in the second. Of course goal difference matters. We are the only team, as far as I know, to get promoted with a negative one, and it showed.
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 21:28:15 GMT 1
BBC reporting that grant should've easily scored, but blazed it over. Reporting ? It was near on as bad as owt Kachungas missed
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Post by Headless Chicken on Jan 19, 2020 21:40:24 GMT 1
BBC reporting that grant should've easily scored, but blazed it over. Reporting ? It was near on as bad as owt Kachungas missed It was worse than most, if not all, of Kachunga's and far worse than some of Mounie's perceived 'gobbers'. Not on his own though, seen multimillion pound players miss as bad.
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 21:47:15 GMT 1
Chasing shadows first half. Pushed up and chased them for first 20 of the second half and had our best/ only attacking part of the 90. Dropped off to take the draw and almost lost the point. Defensively better but it's still hard to watch at times. Toffolo was solid and part of our best move of the game, ESR has no chance of we play in any sort of attacking system for just 20 minutes a game, Stearman defended, which is ok by me. We kept a clean sheet against a team that usually scores and scores more than one, that's good but the lack of attacking intent is annoying and worrying. You're not going to have much chance of looking threatening going forward when 50% of your attacking quartet is clearly not good enough. Grant and Kachunga ?
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 21:50:55 GMT 1
I'd rather have Jimmy Krankie in there tbh He’s too busy try to get Scottish independence The only party leader to come out of the election with any credit though
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 21:54:14 GMT 1
Missed Hogg who would have disrupted their flow in midfield. Agree re Kachunga- always be a hero to me, but enough is enough. We have no attacking threat down our right hand side because he’s lost the ability to take on and beat his man. Brentford are not a bad side and I thought we contained their forwards well, I didn’t even notice Ollie Watkins. Lack of creativity is still a major concern. He's never taken on and beaten his man, he didn't do that in the promotion year, he passed it back to Smith and found a pocket of space in the box, he doesn't do that now
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Post by impact on Jan 19, 2020 21:58:54 GMT 1
Missed Hogg who would have disrupted their flow in midfield. Agree re Kachunga- always be a hero to me, but enough is enough. We have no attacking threat down our right hand side because he’s lost the ability to take on and beat his man. Brentford are not a bad side and I thought we contained their forwards well, I didn’t even notice Ollie Watkins. Lack of creativity is still a major concern. He's never taken on and beaten his man, he didn't do that in the promotion year, he passed it back to Smith and found a pocket of space in the box, he doesn't do that now Wasn't really back, it was to an overlapping Smith who played on halfway. We don't do that now as Simpson doesn't get forward much. That's the difference. He was very much an inside forward under Wagner. Come inside and attack the near or far post when needed. Give the full back his room to swing a cross in. He's now being asked to play as an out and out winger and doesn't have the skillset for it.
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 22:04:22 GMT 1
1st half performance was dreadful and could only see a Brentford win coming. 2nd half - so much better. We competed and gave them something to think about. Draw was a fair result in the end. Grabara - He does some things comfortably/confidently but other things woefully - mainly with his feet. There are too many mistakes in him and there was another bad one today. 6/10 (boosted due to clean sheet). Expected better from a Liverpool GK. Simpson - Reasonably solid and the team has undoubtedly improved since he came in. Has the odd loose pass in him but he's the best we've got at RB at the moment. He worried me today by how much he backed off Benrahma... It's a good job he had an average day. 6.5/10. Stearman - I thought it was harsh on JGS to drop him but my oh my was I proved wrong. Stearman was absolutely fantastic today. Faultless. A proper CB performance with a few Cruyff Turns chucked in too 9/10. Schindler - Pretty solid from Schindy. Looked comfortable alongside Gerard Piqué Perhaps fortunate not to receive 2nd yellow card - 7/10Toffolo - Impressive debut. Was key to the change in momentum in 2nd half as got forward really well. Put in the best cross of the game that no Town player attacked/gambled on. I liked what I saw - 8/10 Chalobah - I've criticised this guy week after week (I still think he's crap), but today was easily his best performance in a Town Shirt. Deserves some praise today but I'm not convinced that we'll see it again too often - 7/10O'Brien - Our most consistent performer this season. Was solid again today. It's a bit depressing that a young lad fresh from the academy and playing in League 1 last year has been our best player when we are fresh out the PL but it's where we are at. Keep it up Lewis - 7/10Smith-Rowe - Not in the game first half so not even comment worthy. Had more space and touches of the ball in 2nd half and got better as the game went on. Could see his confidence growing too. Will watch with interest over coming weeks - 6/10Kachunga - Sorry if this seems harsh but he's chuffing garbage. It's sad really as he looks nothing like the EK of 16/17. Plays the entire game with his back to goal and its like we are playing with 10.5 players with him on the field. 3/10Grant - Not looking anywhere near as sharp in the last few weeks. Hope it's just a blip in form and not linked to a January transfer. Playing out of position again but we are limited on options. Missed an absolute gobber - 5/10Campbell - Always gives his all and there were some neat touches as usual. Not suited to playing up top on his own but we literally have no wingers so Grant plays left - 6/10SUBS: Hadergjonaj - Offered more than Kachunga but that was not difficult. Would start Flo over Kachunga @ Hull if we haven't managed to bring in a winger - 6/10Bacuna - Didn't particularly influence the game once introduced - 5/10King - Same as Bacuna - 5/10The Cowley Brothers - They know what they are working with and it's limitations. They knew if they got into an open game against Brentford - it would likely end badly. People sat near me were critising him for not bringing on Mounié instead of King and accused him of negative tactics. Not me - 8/10Fans - Atmosphere shit again. I know we are not watching the best but come on guys - 4/10I don't understand how you can give Campbell twice the mark you give Kachunga when the latter worked way harder than the former, and was just as ineffective. The other difference being Kachunga isn't constantly offside and doesn't give away stupid free kicks all the time. As for playing the entire game with his back to goal well that's just not true is it? He made plenty of forward runs, more often than not coming to nothing, but equally not helped by Grant and Campbell taking forever to get anywhere near the box. The epitome of why he gets treat differently to the other players just cos he had a decent 4 months 4 years ago 🤔
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 22:06:26 GMT 1
Who was the weakest player out there today? Seriously. IMO for a 2nd game running, Campbell. I don't see what he adds at all. Never gets himself in goalscoring positions, hands possession over with numerous offsides and free kicks given away, doesn't really combine with anyone and is useless in the air. And Grant had a pretty poor game as well. Messed up 1 on a plate some other players would be slaughtered for, and messed up 2 men clean through on goal by not looking up. Aside from that, didn't offer much. Are you watching when Kachunga, on the odd occasion he actually makes a challenge, just pushes over his opponent 🤔
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Post by Million Dollar Babies on Jan 19, 2020 22:06:38 GMT 1
You're not going to have much chance of looking threatening going forward when 50% of your attacking quartet is clearly not good enough. Grant and Kachunga ? Kachunga and Campbell Both run around a lot but about as ineffective as you will find in any starting 11 in this division.
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 22:08:10 GMT 1
1st half performance was dreadful and could only see a Brentford win coming. 2nd half - so much better. We competed and gave them something to think about. Draw was a fair result in the end. Grabara - He does some things comfortably/confidently but other things woefully - mainly with his feet. There are too many mistakes in him and there was another bad one today. 6/10 (boosted due to clean sheet). Expected better from a Liverpool GK. Simpson - Reasonably solid and the team has undoubtedly improved since he came in. Has the odd loose pass in him but he's the best we've got at RB at the moment. He worried me today by how much he backed off Benrahma... It's a good job he had an average day. 6.5/10. Stearman - I thought it was harsh on JGS to drop him but my oh my was I proved wrong. Stearman was absolutely fantastic today. Faultless. A proper CB performance with a few Cruyff Turns chucked in too 9/10. Schindler - Pretty solid from Schindy. Looked comfortable alongside Gerard Piqué Perhaps fortunate not to receive 2nd yellow card - 7/10Toffolo - Impressive debut. Was key to the change in momentum in 2nd half as got forward really well. Put in the best cross of the game that no Town player attacked/gambled on. I liked what I saw - 8/10 Chalobah - I've criticised this guy week after week (I still think he's crap), but today was easily his best performance in a Town Shirt. Deserves some praise today but I'm not convinced that we'll see it again too often - 7/10O'Brien - Our most consistent performer this season. Was solid again today. It's a bit depressing that a young lad fresh from the academy and playing in League 1 last year has been our best player when we are fresh out the PL but it's where we are at. Keep it up Lewis - 7/10Smith-Rowe - Not in the game first half so not even comment worthy. Had more space and touches of the ball in 2nd half and got better as the game went on. Could see his confidence growing too. Will watch with interest over coming weeks - 6/10Kachunga - Sorry if this seems harsh but he's chuffing garbage. It's sad really as he looks nothing like the EK of 16/17. Plays the entire game with his back to goal and its like we are playing with 10.5 players with him on the field. 3/10Grant - Not looking anywhere near as sharp in the last few weeks. Hope it's just a blip in form and not linked to a January transfer. Playing out of position again but we are limited on options. Missed an absolute gobber - 5/10Campbell - Always gives his all and there were some neat touches as usual. Not suited to playing up top on his own but we literally have no wingers so Grant plays left - 6/10SUBS: Hadergjonaj - Offered more than Kachunga but that was not difficult. Would start Flo over Kachunga @ Hull if we haven't managed to bring in a winger - 6/10Bacuna - Didn't particularly influence the game once introduced - 5/10King - Same as Bacuna - 5/10The Cowley Brothers - They know what they are working with and it's limitations. They knew if they got into an open game against Brentford - it would likely end badly. People sat near me were critising him for not bringing on Mounié instead of King and accused him of negative tactics. Not me - 8/10Fans - Atmosphere shit again. I know we are not watching the best but come on guys - 4/10I agree with much of this but you have muddled Kachunga and Grant. I’ve still never seen a decent performance from Grant and he was absolutely woeful today. No pace, lost every header, couldn’t make the ball stick and consistently chose the wrong moment to release the ball to team-mates. Would much rather have Mounié playing (and I can hardly believe I’m saying that. Not so much muddled them, your description makes them clones
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 22:09:46 GMT 1
I spent the first half wondering how Brentford can have a side with so many players with technical ability far superior to many of our players when we've just spent two years in the Premier League I thought Brentford were really poor today they just looked extremely average, I assume they were having an off day or they are seriously over hyped. They seemed intent on walking the ball in the net. Far and away the best side to visit us this season
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Post by ACW on Jan 19, 2020 22:12:42 GMT 1
He's never taken on and beaten his man, he didn't do that in the promotion year, he passed it back to Smith and found a pocket of space in the box, he doesn't do that now Wasn't really back, it was to an overlapping Smith who played on halfway. We don't do that now as Simpson doesn't get forward much. That's the difference. He was very much an inside forward under Wagner. Come inside and attack the near or far post when needed. Give the full back his room to swing a cross in. He's now being asked to play as an out and out winger and doesn't have the skillset for it. To say Kachunga doesn't have the skillset to be an out and out winger is the understatement of the century. Will always be well thought of for his contribution in 16-17 and his workrate, but he's not been contributing enough for far too long I'm afraid. He's kept his place simply because we have no one better in the squad. That says alot about the quality of our squad, particularly in wide areas. Nothing against him personally, but Kachunga really should be nowhere near a starting place in our team anymore.
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 22:27:39 GMT 1
Steersman is my favourite Stearman spelling so far At least nobody called him Sheerman yet. Hope they do, another reason to piss Davy off 🤣
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Post by Porrohman on Jan 19, 2020 22:28:45 GMT 1
It's still a game of football - 11 v 11. We had a negative GD despite being the 3rd best team in the league in 16/17. What has the first part got to do with it being a team performance? If we were the 3rd best team in the league in 16/17 how did Fulham manage to smack us twice? We got through the playoffs on penalties scoring one goal. We had a problem scoring goals that year which we have still not rectified. We hung on in our first year in the PL by the skin of our teeth and were hopeless in the second. Of course goal difference matters. We are the only team, as far as I know, to get promoted with a negative one, and it showed. We finished the season as the 5th best 😉
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Post by shawsie on Jan 19, 2020 22:43:31 GMT 1
Wasn't really back, it was to an overlapping Smith who played on halfway. We don't do that now as Simpson doesn't get forward much. That's the difference. He was very much an inside forward under Wagner. Come inside and attack the near or far post when needed. Give the full back his room to swing a cross in. He's now being asked to play as an out and out winger and doesn't have the skillset for it. To say Kachunga doesn't have the skillset to be an out and out winger is the understatement of the century. Will always be well thought of for his contribution in 16-17 and his workrate, but he's not been contributing enough for far too long I'm afraid. He's kept his place simply because we have no one better in the squad. That says alot about the quality of our squad, particularly in wide areas. Nothing against him personally, but Kachunga really should be nowhere near a starting place in our team anymore. It's a strange one for me. We clearly knew simpson wasnt going to raid fwd with gusto yet unless he has that option kachungas contributions are limited. As such our right side offensive options are very poor......that's what makes the sprint twins situation so irritating. Both of them had the chance to really thrive thus season but have chosen to act like tossers.....we do however need a winger who can stretch a team......albeit when he does we have to have players wanting to get in the box. It's been too long since we had that
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Post by impact on Jan 20, 2020 1:45:38 GMT 1
I don't understand how you can give Campbell twice the mark you give Kachunga when the latter worked way harder than the former, and was just as ineffective. The other difference being Kachunga isn't constantly offside and doesn't give away stupid free kicks all the time. As for playing the entire game with his back to goal well that's just not true is it? He made plenty of forward runs, more often than not coming to nothing, but equally not helped by Grant and Campbell taking forever to get anywhere near the box. The epitome of why he gets treat differently to the other players just cos he had a decent 4 months 4 years ago 🤔 What? Campbell was useless. The poster essentially said he got a 6 for working hard. Kachunga worked harder without a doubt, so it doesn't make sense why he got half the mark. I'd love to know what Campbell does that is better than Kachunga, that isn't being offside or giving away free kicks.
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Post by overtonterrierspirit on Jan 20, 2020 18:59:32 GMT 1
Have to say, brilliant assessment of the game on Examiner Live App by Stephen Chicken. Worth a read.
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