Dr Who?

I’m afraid I can see this as being another home defeat. Middlesborough are looking very good, and playing some great football. They look like a team and they are high on confidence, where we are not. It seems we are playing these teams at the wrong time at the moment, as I do not expect Boro to stay up there, likewise an another confident side that came to SMS, Stoke City. You can put the other team we have played at home thus far Wrexham, again high on confidence and on another day could have easily left with all 3 points, if not at least a draw. I am hoping that we can start to get things on track at Bramble Apple Pie Lane, even though I expect a completely different Sheffield United side (again bad timing for us) or Derby next weekend, before a home win against Swansea. One thing I will say these fixtures do not look as easy as they did on paper when they first came out. Hopefully this will all change soon! But not this weekend.

Can we skip a player?

Did the same thing happen for Newcastles goal on the opening day of the season. Was. It not the same 2 players as well? Nope it was Joelinton.

Blimey I’m surprised it’s only 1-0. Just tuned in.

Yes and I have questioned why 2 of our promotion rivals let players leave to come to us, and at this stage it has not had an impact on their start to the season.

Yes a sentence you should not be saying, as we should have bought a replacement 1st choice keeper.

I might just avoid this one and watch the Carlisle game instead. We are going out, just hope we keep it respectable.

Take 2-3 weeks. Got both my sons tops from here, home & away, and would recommend.

Cannot trust our board to replace, as they have a terrible record. I just would like our club to be taken over from these cowboys!

The core of the team. And a ball winning strong leader in the midfield.

Are we counting that?

At times. Overall yes, but at times it got boring just knocking the ball around for the sake of it. We did play some great football though.

No we are not, just making a comparison.

No doubt we did. We do not seem to have any style or way of playing. I’m not sure I know what we are trying to do. We seem badly managed if this is a case. I know there is a long way to go in this game and the season, but I’m very alarmed, and I like to think I am a positive person.

Laboured and no zip to our passing!

Downs is not to bright. Saved us having to screw up another corner!

Archer on for Downs. Good good.

Not a natural finisher then.

That was my point!

So our main striker is Damion Downs? Really?

Terrible defending (2 of them on one) terrible goalkeeping. The 2 of the 4 areas not addressed in the transfer window. Still no shot on target. Laboured and clueless!

I said this in the Watford game, oh and last week, so this time it really will. 😉

Seemed alright hoofing it aimlessly up to Archer in the first half last week! That worked well.

Another personal observation of the game, I think we were more worried about not losing the game than winning. I think this steams from last season as a club and how damaged we are. This is not all the players as quite a few were not here, but as a club, last season is still hanging in the air. There are still aspects in our play. We are still laboured, and shackled. I think players need the freedom to express themselves and see what comes of it. We are far too ridged and look scared. I think losing to that lot down the road would have damaged us further, and that was definitely in the minds of players, but if we had gone at them from the off and won the game the confidence that would have given them would be huge. Don’t get me wrong during the second half I think Pomp#y had the same problem, and lets not lose attitude, so we ended up with 2 teams and stand off for the last 20 minutes. So we go into the Hull game and again I have not seen anything in that performance that says we are going to win. We look bang average at the moment.

I have said this in many posts and been shouted down. We have to many ‘fancy’ ‘creative’ players and we are missing the key fundamentals of any team, the core. A good strong keeper, that we have not had for years. A reliable strong centre back, and great communication between the 2 mentioned. I do not think either have confidence in each other back there, and this lack of communication nearly led to the skates taking the lead on Sunday, but hitting the bar instead. Forster always had great communication with his back 4. You do not hear a pip out of Gavin. We also do not have a strong ball winner and have never replaced Romeu, and it is that sort of player we miss, a case, Hurlock kind of player, nothing fancy, but someone who is going to win you the ball, or stop the opposition attack so you can regroup. We get cut through the middle often. Then another position we have failed to fill is a great striker that does not mean great in the number of them we have. We need a player who can pop the ball in the net, we have players we think should be able to, but they are never going to get you the number of goal we as a club are looking for, with our expectations. When the majority of the fan base are getting all excited about our fancy wingers and creative players we were signing at the end of the window, for me this was not the positions we desperately needed, but the club just pleasing the fans with flashy signings all nice and glittery. Something also did not sit right with me, that they would leave promotion rivals to come to Saints or more to the point why their clubs let them leave so easily? We need to address the core of the team, and we did not. We are not a ‘team’ and not playing like one. We do not have a proper team leader that I have confidence in. Someone who has the balls to call someone out, or to pick us up and drag us to 3 points and be respected. I don’t see it, and this worries me, and this is why I think we will miss out on promotion and at this rate outside of the playoffs. We are just not that great all over!