Holmes_and_Watson

Early call for a Manning MOM performance. Without Smallbone, Charles as a more solidly based DM offering cover for a more aggressive attack. Typed hopefully...

Hieroglyph

Alien

The system we play has a bearing here too. Sulemana may be the faster of the two. But in a system that allows teams to reset, and get gradually pulled out of position (as our games often end up), that becomes less important. Like a number of our team, he's having to learn other skills, that may not have been his best attributes. As we saw at the start of the season, Tella offered a more direct attacking threat, and enough skill to carry it out. If anything, the extra attention that teams would have to pay Tella, would have allowed Sule to flourish more on the other flank. Clearly Martin is instructing Sule in all those other areas. Not surprisingly, it will be frustrating on both sides for some players. Sule may have the most potential, but the areas he has the most potential in may not be an easy fit just now, while other areas have to develop. No reason why Tella also couldn't have developed here, while already showing more effectiveness in outcome.

Puns 🙂

One of my favourite games was like that. Man City under Eriksson. Goalless at full time, but the tension! Can't wait for this one! 🙂 But I reckon it'll be a 2-0 win to us.

"pressers" instead of "press conference" 🙂

Repeat

A few more passes sideways? 🙂

Comedy

Skin

Personality

Baz's season so far:- Best striker. Best defender. Best passer. Jury out on the goalkeeping. 🙂

Oh no. I heard they'd won and clicked here looking forward to seeing that he'd got a winner. Can only hope it's not as bad as feared, and a speedy and fully recovery if it is. 😞

Martin's half time team talks must be rubbish. We are invariably much worse coming out for the second half. Perhaps that wonderful, supportive envoronment of development isn't what's required for a short, sharp assessment and series of demands at half time. Perhaps hiring in someone from the military to get them into shape for that second half? 🙂

We've managed to get late winners in other games that have had the same issue. Unrealistic to expect us to be able to do it all the time. We don;t have enough about us to control a game when we've taken the lead. Teams change their tactics when trying to get back into it. And we struggle to adapt ourselves. We wait to react. While that sounds like a plan for being able to take advantage, it actually results in us losing momentum, never being sure of when they will attack, and struggling to retain control of the game when they do. One misplaced Bednarek pass led to a spell of pressure. Sulemana trying to dribble out from the back jept it going. Our passing was out of habit when they didn;t immediately come up to attack. That lowered the tempo, and there press caught us and we lost control of the middle. We had more chances in the first half. But we have to keep creating them when we have the lead. If we're not, we should be adapting our game to make them. Not sitting back and hoping for something to break our way in the middle of their attacking flurry, but dominating the game. Baz will no doubt be looked at for doing a little jump, and by the time he dives it's past him. But if the rest of the team had got us an extra goal from all that possession it wouldn;t have mattered.

Ah shame. Good work form Edozie. Just couldn;t cut it back.

Hmmm. Out passing out from the back under some pressure, could have rebounded into our own net.

Not for the first time, when we need a goal, we can;t string anything together as the transition from vanilla MartinBall to anything more urgent is tough to do. Still we work to the last second, so fingers crossed.

It went in, so I was giving them the benefit. 🙂

Speedy Baz racing out. Wiht his striking prowess, a little disapointed he didn;t just run with it, and put it in their net.

I doubt he'll catch any flak. Mostly due to inability to catch 🙂 Thought, I'd start it off. 🙂 People with more 'keeper knowledge than me, can let me know about positioning for that shot.

Can;t say it hadn;t been coming.

And there it is.

Edozie quickly reacts to their free kick. Still another ball into our box. A lot of work needed from when we're actually in the lead to make them think we might get two, rather than sit back with one.