20/21 Matchday Thread

[That Fat Centre Half]

About what I expected today, Brentford simply better than us and able to create things which we are simply not capable of.

Actually started reasonably solidly but gone done on a counter, counter attack (if thats makes sense), gave them too much space on the edge of the area. 1-0 and that essentially ended the game as we never looked liked creating anything of note.

I am not sure that we are necessarily "playing" for 1-0 victories, its more that we are just not that good going forward. Without Cornick there is simply no pace in the side, no real penetrative movement of note and are easy to defend. And to be honest if we played open today it could have been a lot worse than 3-0.

 

[Kenneth E End]

And we've now lost our 3rd and last left back to a hamstring injury... we are starting to get a couple of these workload related injuries now. He has been played into the ground in the last 6-7 weeks, because we have no other choice.

I'm thinking we have to play Avan Jones at LB on Wednesday v Rotherham.

Crainie was hauled back to RB towards the end because he hasn't got a left foot. Lockyer was useless today. Rea was no where near it again. Pelly had no affect on the game at all and looked totally lost in a position that he shouldn't be playing in.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

You could see RND getting a hamstring or similar issue from a mile away. Been overplayed massively. Im sure he wont agree, and nor should he, but really could have done without the Wales call up and playing for them.

Big problem for Rotherham now which is a big game given they are likely to be down the bottom end with us.

 

[Atavistic]

I missed it because I had to go out but I've just seen that Nahki Wells penalty for Bristol City in our game and it's hilariously bad. What on earth was he thinking to try that at all, let alone against the penalty expert that is Tim Krul?

Beyond that, probably our best performance of the season and a real positive sign of things to come. Other than lapsing after our second to let them get back into it, we defended fairly well and mostly kept control despite Bristol City upping the intensity in the first half and changing shape in the second. Of course, this also serves as a reminder to other teams in this league that you cannot be open like that against us, as we have the attacking prowess to capitalise.

That was also Stiepermann's best performance in a yellow shirt in quite some time. His instinctive ability to link up with Pukki is unreal and looks likely to be a crucial cog in the team once again, especially with Dowell's absence for the foreseeable future.

Four wins in five now, but onto another interesting one at home against Millwall on Tuesday night. They're another team to have made a good start to the season, but they got tonked 3-0 today by Huddersfield so I'm not really sure what to expect. Hopefully something less nerve-wracking than the 4-3 victory around this time two years ago, at least.

 

[Craig]

We’re looking shit, as per.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Rotherham away for us Wednesday night. I’ve definitely got a feeling of diminishing returns about football right now.

Love watching us, although it’s not the same as actually going obviously, but having a game every 3 days is definitely leaving me feeling like it’s a little too often!

 

[Super_horns]

This must be the most open Championship ever?

2nd to 14th separated by 6 points.

 

[Atavistic]

Goalless draw with Millwall last night. Didn't watch it, but it sounds like we wasted a lot of chances and they packed men behind the ball in search of a draw. We'll take the clean sheet at least, but need to be more able to break teams down when they do pack men behind the ball.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Potential for tonight to be one of the aforementioned NJ tactical nightmares tonight. 6 changes from previous weeks and no recognised left back at all. Cant work out what the formation will be but got a nasty feeling its 442 diamond with Cranie at left back and Pearson playing right back, which if so, would leave us struggling massively with the ball. We are in a tough spot as we seem to be struggling for fitness in a number of areas to be fair.

Looks like we are banking on Cornick pulling something out on a counter but it doesnt look great to me on paper.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Came on here to write the exact same thing as above.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

We have been very poor in the last 2 games really and it’s replicating itself again tonight. Just don’t look after the ball well enough, and Sluga is keeping us in it so far.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Good win in the end. Upped our tempo from the first half where we were dreadfully poor and started finding our passes in the final third and probably deserved it in the end. Cornick and Collins missed decent chances to make it comfortable.

 

[Super_horns]

Not quite sure how we are 4th!

Take it though.

Stoke will rightly be annoyed about our first which should have been a foul on the goalie after he'd saved an original shot from Cleverly which hit the bar and bounded down before our striker knocked the ball and goalie into the net.

So the ref gave the goal.



Due some after the other week though when even Bournemouth fans who hate us admitted they should have been down to 9 men.

 

[SF_]

We’re looking shit, as per.

Don't worry. Rotherham, Coventry and Wycombe will finish below you.

 

[Kenneth E End]

So despite our obvious flaws, we're only 3 points off the autos!

But we're at a big disadvantage in comparison to the rest above us, so that is a great return for the first 10 games. We only need 11 wins (or equivalent in draws) in the remaining 36 games to stay up.

Only Reading have won more games than us so far this year!

 

[thewwfc]

Well, 7 points out of 9, things are looking slightly more positive. We’re seeing the beginnings of a first choice XI taking shape. We started getting points just in time though now that Wednesday had their deduction cut.

 

[CFC91]

This must be the most open Championship ever?

2nd to 14th separated by 6 points.

It's like this every year. Crazy league

 

[BelizeHatter]

So despite our obvious flaws, we're only 3 points off the autos!

But we're at a big disadvantage in comparison to the rest above us, so that is a great return for the first 10 games. We only need 11 wins (or equivalent in draws) in the remaining 36 games to stay up.

Only Reading have won more games than us so far this year!

It is a great start. However, putting it into perspective, we should maybe still be looking down rather than up. The five wins have come versus clubs in the bottom seven and two of the promoted clubs. Yes we can only beat who or what is in front of us but they were some of the more winable games of the season, but we have won them all which is great and a definitive improvement.

We do have a tough set of fixtures coming up. But we are definitely stronger and more experienced than last season so should cope better. Midtable consolidation is the immediate goal for me.

 

[Atavistic]

Swansea at home tomorrow in what is to be a battle between 2nd and 3rd in the table. Going to need to be at our best again here, but hopefully Swansea come at us and give us space to play in as that's what we like the most.

Heart says we'll win, but head says a draw. It'll probably be another tight one either way.

 

[Atavistic]

Another hard-fought win today, Tim Krul bailing us out several times in the second half as Swansea pushed and pushed. Very, very impressed with Mumba coming on from the bench and helping us get the win; would expect him to start at left-back going forward in Quintilla's absence through injury, which will hopefully also allow Sorensen to move into his proper position in midfield. Another clean sheet as well, which is another sign of improvement from our previous promotion campaign.

Only criticism you could even vaguely level at the team is a need to be more clinical, as we had 21 shots today and a similar amount in midweek and only have 1 goal to show for it. However, it's perhaps a bit churlish to complain about that while we're getting points for it.

 

[Craig]

Just can’t see how we’re surviving this season.

 

[Millerbri]

Nice to hang on for a win rather than conceding yet another late goal.
Surprised how direct Preston were, I was expecting us to be chasing shadows in midfield.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Another hard-fought win today, Tim Krul bailing us out several times in the second half as Swansea pushed and pushed. Very, very impressed with Mumba coming on from the bench and helping us get the win; would expect him to start at left-back going forward in Quintilla's absence through injury, which will hopefully also allow Sorensen to move into his proper position in midfield. Another clean sheet as well, which is another sign of improvement from our previous promotion campaign.

Only criticism you could even vaguely level at the team is a need to be more clinical, as we had 21 shots today and a similar amount in midweek and only have 1 goal to show for it. However, it's perhaps a bit churlish to complain about that while we're getting points for it.

Not sure what happened today obviously but I saw some analysis by a Norwich data type of the midweek game and basically the conclusion was whilst you had a lot of shots vast majority were of low odds of scoring and did not represent good opportunities. So whilst the volume of shots is good, it merely represented taking pretty poor options in the final third overall.

I guess the view is if you take enough shots, one is bound to go in at some point.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Couldnt watch today but would have been more than happy with a point from the game, especially given the win in midweek against Rotherham so very happy with that.

Good to see Bree getting some minutes today as well, hopefully after the break he is fit and ready to go. Really think him and Norrington-Davies on the opposite flank will help us be a bit better going forward and introduce a different complexion on our play after the break.

Looking nicely boring and mid table so far which is great progress for us. Hopefully no injuries to those going away for the internationals as the fixture list looks even more crazy up until Christmas. Going to need everyone.

 

[Atavistic]

Not sure what happened today obviously but I saw some analysis by a Norwich data type of the midweek game and basically the conclusion was whilst you had a lot of shots vast majority were of low odds of scoring and did not represent good opportunities. So whilst the volume of shots is good, it merely represented taking pretty poor options in the final third overall.

Sounds about right, really. Our decision-making in the final third can be very iffy and we often have a tendency to try and almost pass it in rather than shooting in decent positions. Bristol City last weekend was a notable exception to that by virtue of all three of our goals being from quick shots after through balls (either aerial or grounded).

As I say, though, won't complain too much about it as long as we're getting points on the board and keeping up the good form we've found again.

 

[Super_horns]

Another from behind win - good to see we have the fighting spirit to do that although probably could brush up on the defending.

Nice to see Gray score and with Deeney back more options up front.

Scored more goals in the last 2 games than in the previous ones put together but let in as many.

Classic!

 

[oakroader]

Mediocrity....love it

 

[Kenneth E End]

We are struggling to put a 90 minute performance together at the moment. The first half today was decent and far more fluid than recent times and got a deserved half time lead. But we then get a bit leggy and can’t maintain the pace. The run of games recently really caught up with us. An equaliser was inevitable and really Huddersfield will be regretting not getting a winner. That said, they were dogshit relative to the resources at their disposal.

Can’t complain at all. 10th place and 17 points. And really we could’ve been in the play offs based on positions in recent games

 

[CCFC_Charlie]

We've conceded 23 goals in 11 games. That alone should tell you how well we've adjusted to the step up.

Played alright today in fairness, but our defense is an absolute shambles. Guaranteed two goals for any side coming up against us at the moment as we'll simply put them on a plate for you. International break is the perfect time to work on stuff, and with the run of the fixtures we've got coming up we really need to get things sorted.

Special shout-out to Gus Hamer scored a header from 25 yards, that was very funny.

 

[Kenneth E End]

We've conceded 23 goals in 11 games. That alone should tell you how well we've adjusted to the step up.

Played alright today in fairness, but our defense is an absolute shambles. Guaranteed two goals for any side coming up against us at the moment as we'll simply put them on a plate for you. International break is the perfect time to work on stuff, and with the run of the fixtures we've got coming up we really need to get things sorted.

Special shout-out to Gus Hamer scored a header from 25 yards, that was very funny.

You are us before we signed Carter-Vickers. It is very tough to go from a level where mistakes are not necessarily punished to a level where virtually every mistake is.