BFTG Huddersfield (H)

[genome]

Down it rapidly and take the brain freeze like a man

[SCIAG]

And when was the last time we had a centre back as weak in the air as McShane - maybe early Sonko? Else Khumalo or Sodje (neither of whom started more than a few matches)?

I thought mcshane was dominant in the air and has been all season

So was early Sonko. The problem with them both is that they can't direct their headers. McShane was winning them, but then they'd go flying off almost at random.

[Sutekh]

Weak and lacking effort. The Lucas Piazon of BFTG threads.

Like the team we really have been struggling with a lot of poor nobbing recently, remember the rotherham match thread debacle for one

[CountryRoyal]

And when was the last time we had a centre back as weak in the air as McShane - maybe early Sonko? Else Khumalo or Sodje (neither of whom started more than a few matches)?

I thought mcshane was dominant in the air and has been all season

So was early Sonko. The problem with them both is that they can't direct their headers. McShane was winning them, but then they'd go flying off almost at random.

You mean they can't direct their headers to a fellow player with pin point accuracy when challenging someone else climbing all over each other trying to battle to win the ball?

Damn he must be awful..

[Lower West]

The squad is lacking a left sided player that can tackle. The combination of injuries has restricted the options.

Blackman is not a no 9. First half last night was anywhere but. Either we had no one or Piazon was filling in.

Yvdra and Blackman don't combine well on last nights showing.

To get the best out of Sa , Vydra needs to play a deeper no 10 role.

Fernadez is not a great tackler on last nights showing. So shouldn't be risked in a midfield two.

Appears as if SC is still trying to perm the best team from the players available. Constant chopping and changing isn't helping. Back to basics I hope. Too many poor goals conceded in past 4 games.

[2.8 lita injection]

We need to get back to 3 central midfielders or with wingers that can defend, at the moment our front 4 leave the central midfielders and defence exposed in this league. Also the front 4 are unbalanced.

[Nameless]

Given the investment this summer a top 6 finish must be the minimum requirement

The praise doesn't need to come with a caveat though. I get that you're dealing in realism but sometimes it's nice to just praise the team and be done with it without setting them a minimum requirement. Like your Brentford comments

I agree that a top six finish should be expected, but my main point is that after drawing and losing two, there's no need to say the wheels are coming off and that we might end up mid-table, and then criticise others for jumping the gun.

Harsh on Sa by the way, who I think has been excellent so far.

Like the Thais but what investment?? £1m for Sa £2.5 for Vydra less £4m for Hector. Saved on some big wages also so wages for new players probably balances out. Would have thought net investment below £1m

We brought in 11 (?) players last summer. That would is investment. Unless you take a hugely simplistic view of football finances.

[Ian Royal]

Seeing a lot of people put forward Fernandez as a potential midfield fix. I was under the impression he was more of an attacking player. What did I miss?

Seeing any of his appearances and reading anything about him?

So I'm like you only without all the phoney and overplayed "from where I was sat", "brr it was chilly wasn't it?", exposition.

Apologies I'm being bitchy because we were so shit first half and then I had two trains cancelled on my way back to Cambridge, making me late for work. Been a crap day or so.

[Ian Royal]

Apologies for the thread steal Lux. I'd have copied and pasted then deleted mine, but it's a ball ache on my phone.

[koranuk]

Yes we were very poor first half. Huddersfield played a high line, harried us giving us no time on the ball and they won nearly all the 50-50 challenges. In contrast we were pedestrian, laborious and predictable. The ball went from Ferdinand to McShane to Gunter, who was harried so passed back to McShane. And it happened time and time again! There was little movement up front to give our mid-fielders chance to make that killer pass. And when they did make a decisive move it was not seen by the mid-fielders. What has gone wrong? Where was the crisp passing and one-touch football that delighted us earlier in the season (ie before the last international break)? Where was our 'rock-solid defence for their comedy goals? Huddersfield were good value for their half-time lead.

The second half looked better but mainly because Huddersfield played more defensively. If Al Habsi's howler had been put in the back of the net, as it surely should have been, it would have been 1-3 and 'game over' and he would have been vilified on this forum. But he makes the howler and the opposition player somehow blasts it over the bar and AAH is given marks of 6 and 7 out of 10. Why?

Blackman did his best but he was often crowded out by at least 2 defenders; I really don't see what Piazon contributes; I like Williams but this was not one of his good days; McCleary was not as bad as some have suggested on here but he was not great. Vydra was full of energy but signifying nothing, to misquote the Bard! John scored and did well but, until then (and after then) we really did not look like scoring! Until we get Quinn and HRK (I can't believe I am writing this) back I am not optimistic about a top 6 placing which surely has to be the minimum expectation with the players we have got.

[Four Of Clubs]

If Al Habsi's howler had been put in the back of the net, as it surely should have been, it would have been 1-3 and 'game over' and he would have been vilified on this forum. But he makes the howler and the opposition player somehow blasts it over the bar and AAH is given marks of 6 and 7 out of 10. Why?

...from where I sat in my comfy warm seat way up the back of the North Stand, the flag had gone up an instant before the blaze over the bar anyway, so the double-howler may have counted for nothing - sorry to break the Agenda ...

tbf I thought 2nd half we eventually started to get the tactics right, which we were struggling with 1st half without a focal point - i.e. the short-stuff around their area PLUS Sa bullying and blustering around in the background, totally distracted their screen of two banks of four and half .

They fell further and further back got cramped up in both senses - and started to give more silly free-kicks away. The cover evaporated when John tricked about in the area ..... whilst too many of them were desperately trying to work out what Orlando was doing, Ola drove it in on the angle.

(sneaks back to GF)

[Ouroboros]

So I'm like you only without all the phoney and overplayed "from where I was sat", "brr it was chilly wasn't it?", exposition.

Apologies I'm being bitchy because we were so shit first half and then I had two trains cancelled on my way back to Cambridge, making me late for work. Been a crap day or so.

No radio at home?

e
t
c

[floyd__streete]

I agree that a top six finish should be expected, but my main point is that after drawing and losing two, there's no need to say the wheels are coming off and that we might end up mid-table

Fair enough, Genome. The recent burst of positive results did not realistically indicate we were bound to be challenging for top the 2, so equally the more recent run of poor results and performances doesn't (at this time) equate to us definitely missing out on the top 6.

i'm not altogether sure why a Top 6 finish should be seen as a minimum anyway.

Because of the short-termist nature of the investment. We must get promotion this season, I am sure that the Thais would agree. Might they pull the plug and leave us in all sorts of bother if we fail? Royal Elm Park suggests probably not, but we should be concerned that a similar level of investment might not be forthcoming next season if Clarke fails.

Interesting also to see Floyd getting a lot of stick. His so- so record on AE and his mediocre record here suggests that he is not a top poster by any stretch of imagination.

Ah look, here comes both Bird and Fortune himself. Sadly it is Dickie and Quinton rather than John and John

[Vision]

i'm not altogether sure why a Top 6 finish should be seen as a minimum anyway.

Because of the short-termist nature of the investment. We must get promotion this season, I am sure that the Thais would agree. Might they pull the plug and leave us in all sorts of bother if we fail? Royal Elm Park suggests probably not, but we should be concerned that a similar level of investment might not be forthcoming next season if Clarke fails.

My counter to that was the part of my post you chose not to quote

We don't work in a bubble. Sides that finished above us last season have also improved and spent money. The 3 relegated clubs all carry players more than good enough for this division and far more proven at this level than most of our "short term signings", the majority of whom were brought in to sort out the lack of creativity of last season.

Vydra is certainly a "statement of Intent" signing but I'm not sure how him and 4 other yet to be proven at this level players, makes us a guaranteed Top 6 team.

We've no idea what the Thai owners' philosophy is on managers, whether they're trigger happy or loyal, but given how monumentally shite we were then I'd suggest that to have improved enough to be challenging in and around the play offs should be seen as a vast improvement and earn Clarke another shot at it.

It might be seen as a disappointment but there's a fair gap between that and absolute failure.

Of course if they push the boat out again in January, that view might change.

[tidus_mi2]

I would hope as long as Clarke gets a top half finish that he'll have nothing to worry about, clubs who regularly change managers rarely succeed, Watford last season was a weird exception.

[melonhead]

Appears as if SC is still trying to perm the best team from the players available. Constant chopping and changing isn't helping. Back to basics I hope. Too many poor goals conceded in past 4 games.

before last night id have disagreed.
horses for courses and all that. obita for his more attacking ability vs a more defensive team
anton in on the basis that when fit, hes one of our two best CBs
Sa looked like he needed a rest, vydra and blackman to get in behind the shit defence of Huddersfield.

with hindsight, im going to agree and say keep your best 11 on the field for as much of the season as possible. rotate when injury/loss of form dictates.

[West Stand Man]

Obita 6 looked involved in their first but attacked well
Ferdinand 4 looked to be at some degree of fault for both goals. Missed Hector

I would say Obita was at fault for both. Sloppy touch completley wrong footing ferdinand and he was 2 yards behind ferdinand and kept Wells onside

Spot on. Obita has to take the hit for both goals, sadly. His misplaced pass wrong footed both McShane and Ferdinand for the first. Then, for the second, he hung back and played Wells onside when he sneaked in behind Ferdinand and McShane.

However, he was the best player we had out wide and up front. Due to Piazon's inadequacy Obita was covering left midfield as well as left back so it isn't a surprise he was caught out. It soon got sorted when Piazon went off.

[Ian Royal]

Yeah, on second viewing, Obita clearly at fault with both, though I'm sticking with Ferdinand contributing with both as well.

[SCIAG]

We brought in 11 (?) players last summer. That would is investment. Unless you take a hugely simplistic view of football finances.

Thirteen or fourteen. Bond, Al-Habsi, McShane, Taylor, Quinn, Alex, Hurtado, Semedo, Piazon, John, Sa, Liburd, Vydra, and Hector.

[Nameless]

Yeah, on second viewing, Obita clearly at fault with both, though I'm sticking with Ferdinand contributing with both as well.

Eat your heart out Snowball, Ian has invented the negative half assist !