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Thanks Bob enjoyed reading that and at last the season is up and running in what seems like the longest pre season ever!
Articulate as always not much to add other than my renewed optimism is up a notch and Villa next week can't come quick enough..... how on earth are they favourites for this league !
As usual a good read and some interesting comparisons .
Burton are well organised , as they were when we played them their place last season .
What were the differences ?
Last season they tore us a new one by charging down the wings and both goals came from crosses whilst our defence was in disarray
This season , that option was limited but they did have the best chance in the first half , in fact it was a school boy chance
A one nil in the bag chance , the winger cut in , passed it to the player charging forward who only had to pick his spot instead he got his feet tangled up and fired wide . Last season they scored from that position .
Burton gave us respect without sitting off us , every corner we had saw all 22 players in their box , that is defending in numbers .
Zohore , Gunnerson , MD and the wee French guy were the difference , they had that something that raises them above the
opposition . If MD performance is indicative of things to come we have a star on our hands .
Last season the teams that had one or two special players were in general the ones who made the play offs or got promoted .
It was only the first game but we may have the on e or two special players already . When Tomlin settles in I expect more from him as well .
There was a great vibe at Burton yesterday , could have been the start of a new season , I was counting the sleeps , strangers were commenting on how much they had looked forward to getting to the game whilst waiting to get served in the Cardiff pub.
It was one game let's not get carried away , but why not enjoy it and dream of a great season ahead .
See you all on Tuesday ..
Good write up as always, thank you.
It did look as if we were going to have to settle for a point yesterday but a great team effort & a moment of brilliance from Zohore got us over the line.
I think the 3 centre half option will work when Paterson is fit as the attacking side of his game is strong. With Peltier on the right though it was a pretty negative set up in my view as getting forward is not the strongest part of the game. If Warnock persists with a back 3 then I think that Jazz Richards will be the better option while we wait for Paterson's return to fitness.
I thought that Joe Ralls was ineffective yesterday & Gunnarsson had to put in additional effort to make up for this. Talking of Gunnarsson I thought that he played well & hopefully contract talks are progressing noting that he is in the final year of his current deal.
I totally agree with your comments about Mendez-Laing as I think that he added a real spark when he come on. He did not always make the right decisions but I liked his directness & willingness to have a go. After a settling down period & an opportunity to get used to the step up to the championship, I think that he could have a very good season for us.
There is definitely room for improvement but a well earned 3 points in my view, onwards & upwards! I also think that there are more signings being lined up although maybe the issue is that we have to move a few on (like Noone) first.
I made the same comparisons between Fred at Birmingham and Zohore at Burton yesterday Bob.
I think yesterday's result has taken a lot of pressure away from us for the Villa game that already looks like a game where Steve Bruce must get something!
I’ve believed all summer that who other people sign is not too important, rather keeping team spirit and that resilience to keep going is every bit a successful formula in this league.
I'm buzzing that we have already got an away win under our belts and the comments many of our fans have made about Burton will be made about us by Villa fans next week.
I take nothing for granted in this league and I'm surprised that some of our fans think we should steam roll anyone.
There is definitely a renewed optimism about the club at the moment. I know a lot of fans who haven't been much since the rebrand who are excited to return and there is a general good feel about the club for the first time in years.Originally Posted by Jimmy the Jock
Burton will be a tough place to go to and nobody will get 3 points without winning the battle first.
I would just emphasize that we lost 2-0 at Burton last season. Yesterday's result shows how far we've come from those dismal Trollope days - a better defence, Zohore's dramatic improvement and an improved game plan being the obvious reasons.
If we are to achieve promotion this season, we need to improve on last season's results - and we did this at the first time of asking. The Villa game (which we won last season) is the next hurdle - and we need a win, with Zohore tearing Terry a new one....
Blimey - I knew our keeper was tall, but that's taking an awful risk...
Well spotted .
Yes it's always a great read and soooooo much better than the pathetic media, the club should add his blog to their site as they too lack anything of depth if reporting.
I do wonder how Patterson will fit in, and how we appease tgd bif three ( Morrison , Manga and Bamba ).
The keeper slot has doubt and unknowns around it and we will soon find out against Villa, that could be Etheridge 's moment to cement his role or lose it.
We must not sell Zohore at any price this season if we are a club with intentions to go up .
Really feel we are going to have a good season, all fans want is effort and commitment ,everything after that is a plus.
Good points all round.
Just to add.. I think having the physical strength of Zohore, NML, and Damour on the pitch to hold the ball in the corner helped us kill the game yesterday- also the extra pace meant hoofed clearances often turned into throw ins to us.
Also the defence were largely untroubled apart from one superb first time through ball and yes Burton were limited but the fact they couldn't produce one shot on target from over 50% possession reflects well, Bamba looked out of sorts and I think he may struggle on the left of the 3, but the rest, particularly the faultless Morrison were excellent.
On the negative side I think we were outnumbered and outfought in centre mid, which is why it took so long for us to gain a grip on the game. Which is why maybe Ralls looked quiet as he and Gunnar were dragged into a scrap, which suited Gunnar more than him.
The substitutions sorted that imbalance.
Great to have subs on the bench who offer something different and I really think we've got some bargains in NML ( is this the guy Jimmy is calling MD ? ) and Damour.
I'd also consider starting Ward over Hoillet as I thought Hoillet was a bit wasteful yesterday and against Livingston and Ward looks more composed and more likely to make things happen, a better link player and better finisher ( although Eddie Johnson was a better finisher than Junior has been for us).
Don't get me wrong, Hoillet has a part to play, he's got great skills and decent pace, but we now have options and I'd like to see what Ward can do over 90 in this side.
Finally what a contrast to last year when the side were hopeless and 'flightless' and booed off .
Zohore came over and threw his shirt into the crowd and unfairly IMHO as he'd only been on the pitch a short time and had no service was told to take it back ( and worse), to this year having his name sung and clapped every step off the pitch.
Just shows how things can change, which is why I'm glad his first half miss will be quickly forgotten and that we have the hard earned 3 points in the bag this morning. As Bob rightly said, football is a fickle business and pressure can quickly mount after a poor start.
No easy games in this league and some even tougher ones to come in the next few weeks.
Although it wasn't a must win yesterday I'm a hell of a lot more relaxed with a 1-0 scraped win than a loss or a draw.
Pressures on Villa
Listening to Football On 5 last night, we've already been elevated to Dark 'orses after yesterdays performance.
I'm away in Spain at the moment so i couldn't make it yesterday but i can't wait til Villa next week.
Though you've probably seen more of him than me, I'd love to see Damour start.
Of course, we have improved since Trollope's days. But, Burton were not as good as last season and were missing some players including their record signing. We were at full strength. Warnock talks about options from the bench, but some of those bench players will be first team players in a few weeks.
We were average against a below average team yesterday. Promotion is not on the cards. I am expecting a silly offer for Zohore in a few weeks that the club cannot refuse. He took his goal so well, and is one of the best finishers I have seen in this division.
Positive and optimistic article tempered with realism.
Thanks.
A decent start. Much to look forward to!
I'd love to be in the trenches with you
If the trenches are in Burton then you won't be there.
Many thanks.
Will you be posting in such depth for the rest of the season?
Tim picked up another gaff , got Mendez initials wrong .Many thanks.
Will you be posting in such depth for the rest of the season?
Yeah , if I feel enthusiastic about the goods served up I don't mind sharing my thoughts . Are you looking forward to ?my contributions
Only if they are totally accurate and you learn how to space sentences and paragraphs.Tim picked up another gaff , got Mendez initials wrong .
Yeah , if I feel enthusiastic about the goods served up I don't mind sharing my thoughts . Are you looking forward to ?my contributions
With this sort of negative comment and critiscism, what the hell are you doing supporting City in the first place. You are obviously not capable of recognising a good away performance when you see it and presumably were praying for a Burton win before the game started. Do us all a favour and go and 'support' someone else.
It was a good performance. It wasn't a promotion type performance. That's what people here are talking about, I saw nothing in the game yesterday that said promotion. Did you?
Remember that first game we played in red back in 2012 when we scraped a 1-0 win over a Huddersfield side that had come up through the Play Offs thanks to a very late Mark Hudson goal? We were poor that night and could,and maybe should, have lost the game, yet we ended up winning the league that year.
I'm not saying we're going to win the Championship this year (in fact, I don't feel we've got enough at the moment to finish in the top six), but I'd be interested to know how you define a "promotion type performance"? Is it one where the opposition are buried under wave after wave of silky and spectacular attacking play or is it a hard fought and dour beating of a highly rated rival? If it it's the first, then no one in the league has managed a performance like that so far and if it's the second we haven't had the chance to win a game like that yet - we got the job done yesterday against limited, but awkward, opponents, that will do me fine for starters.
Is there a thread left on here that you haven't moaned in yet?
Nobody is catagorically suggesting based on one slim victory that we are going up as champions.
If you open dialogue with him Bob he will dilute a good thread.
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