2 Games

[Carl Dale's Mole]

Re: 2 Games

Oh by the way there were no drums on Saturday

I know. That's why I blame them. For not being there.

No drums = shit atmosphere = a team that isn't up for it = a team that doesn't close down the opposition effectively.

I rest my case and I win the blame game.

[A Quiet Monkfish]

Re: 2 Games

I reckon Bulut would have been really shocked by that performance and I’m not blaming him much for it, but I challenge any City fan who has watched us play at home over the past three seasons to say it came as a total shock to them. Blue Matt says he thought the first thirty minutes were pretty even, I didn’t- I’m not claiming any special expertise, but I had a good idea about what was going to happen after ten minutes as QPR, just like virtually every side that comes here were given plenty of opportunity to knock the ball around under minimum pressure by a City side that always forgoes the advantages that playing at home should give you.

We’ve been starting our home games like an away team for far longer than the last three seasons - you would have thought by now that the penny would have dropped that it doesn’t work, but I’m starting to believe the players can’t help themselves. I’m deadly serious when I talk about the need to consult a sports psychologist about our home performances. We’re not talking about seven home league games here, we’re talking about seventy of them in which we’ve been beaten thirty four times, while winning twenty two, this is a long term problem, not a panic reaction after two matches!

I think QPR knocked the ball around because we can't. It goes back nearly two seasons, but it's the same - we play 'table football', where the players are all in fixed positions and just pass it to each other. People have to grasp that our players in the main, are league 1 and could probably pass it around a bit against league 1 mid table teams. Yesterday QPR sat back [or were forced to sit back], and we had a bit of room that we couldn't make previously. But as your report says, that 'last 10-15 minute' charge' we've been accustomed to in recent seasons rarely produces anything positive.

[Harry Lime]

Re: 2 Games

I expected us to start fast and on the front foot and take the game to a team who lost 4-0 last week, have been in freefall for some time and must have been low on confidence. If we got caught on the break so be it but at least have a go at them in the first home game of the season.

I expected to see the ball got forward to Grant and Bowler quickly, for them to take on their man and get dangerous crosses in.

Instead we started so slowly and played so negatively that we allowed QPR to grow and then dominate that first half .

I know it takes some time to gel as a team but surely it’s not asking too much to start the first home game of the season at a much higher tempo .

We got better when Adams went off injured and Robinson came on and suddenly Ramsey had someone who was on the same wavelength as him. Thing is , that substitution wasn’t planned but hopefully Bulut and the coaching team have learnt something and will build on it for future games.

To be honest I’m getting very fed up of the away teams fans, players and managers celebrating wildly in that corner of the stadium at the end of games, it’s becoming a very regular occurrence in recent years!

Yes I agree it was poor, really poor. I was referring to people practically writing off the season already. I expected some inconsistencies early season but let's see where we are at the end of September. I'm guessing somewhere between Saturday and the first 45 minutes six days earlier.

[ToTaL ITK]

Re: 2 Games

To all you positive Percy's we didn't get shite overnight, this has been gradually getting worse since our last jaunt in the Prem. The club doesn't seem to able to learn how to successfully run a football club and doesn't seem willing to either.

[Bobby Dandruff]

Re: 2 Games

Better. That’s what I expected.

With a number of new players in attacking positions, I didn’t expect the first home game of the season to be a carbon copy of the rubbish that was served up last season. But unfortunately that’s precisely what we got.

Of course we should.

After a summer of signing players that people have actually heard of, versus the supermarket sweep of last summer, it is understandable that we might expect better.

It will be interesting to see what happens at Leicester now - were the 2 scrappy goals at Leeds and the inevitable capitulation part of a tactical master plan that nearly came off or just really lucky and more typical of how the team will perform this season?

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Re: 2 Games

Nothing to do with the bookies. QPR are the worst form team in the division is 2023, having only won 3 out of 21 games.

One of which was a 2-1 win at champions Burnley, who had won 16 times in a 21 game unbeaten run.

QPR themselves had won a feeble 14 points in 27 Championship games before going to Turf Moor. They would then win at Stoke to ensure survival.

While it's easy to say they were dog shit for a long time, they found a way to get two good away wins to stay up, in fact found a way to remain unbeaten for their last 3 away games. The result at Burnley was totally unexpected, but by Championship standards, nobody should have been surprised.

Thoughts that we would steam roller QPR were maybe a bit misplaced. I expected us to beat them but in a close game.

[Bobby Dandruff]

Re: 2 Games

One of which was a 2-1 win at champions Burnley, who had won 16 times in a 21 game unbeaten run.

QPR themselves had won a feeble 14 points in 27 Championship games before going to Turf Moor. They would then win at Stoke to ensure survival.

While it's easy to say they were dog shit for a long time, they found a way to get two good away wins to stay up, in fact found a way to remain unbeaten for their last 3 away games. The result at Burnley was totally unexpected, but by Championship standards, nobody should have been surprised.

Thoughts that we would steam roller QPR were maybe a bit misplaced. I expected us to beat them but in a close game.

I listened to a few reports of their game on the first weekend and every pundit had already condemned them saying that they had serious problems.

[dandywarhol]

Re: 2 Games

I thought we looked better when Adams went off. Robinson, Collins and Tanner made a difference. We did hit the woodwork twice.Argee the play was poor before that.

[blue matt]

Re: 2 Games

Blue Matt says he thought the first thirty minutes were pretty even,

Just as a note, I said

1st 30 mins were we not great, but neither were QPR

At no point did I say it was pretty even, We could all see they had the upper hand in the 1st 30 mins, But I stand by what I said, We were not great, but neither were QPR, we hardly made them look like world beaters, they were 1st to most balls and probed down our wings ( especially our right , where I guess they thought we had a weakness ) but it was far from a massacre people are making out

on the flip side, the last 20 ( maybe 25 ) we looked much better than them, almost a constant attack

[the other bob wilson]

Re: 2 Games

Just as a note, I said




At no point did I say it was pretty even, We could all see they had the upper hand in the 1st 30 mins, But I stand by what I said, We were not great, but neither were QPR, we hardly made them look like world beaters, they were 1st to most balls and probed down our wings ( especially our right , where I guess they thought we had a weakness ) but it was far from a massacre people are making out

on the flip side, the last 20 ( maybe 25 ) we looked much better than them, almost a constant attack

I think most people would have jumped to the same conclusion I did when they read what you said when, in actual fact, you thought they were the better side. I agree it wasn’t a massacre, don’t think it was ever going to be that for either side, but, as Eric said, I think it was realistic to expect a narrow City win beforehand. Instead, what we got is what we have got for three seasons now, nothing for about 85 per cent of the game, then a mad last fifteen minutes or so in which we hurl everything bar the kitchen sink at the opposition because we’re losing in an almost always vain attempt to salvage a point.

[North Cardiff Blue]

Re: 2 Games

Frankly astonished by the overwhelming negative reaction here, even from seasoned fans and messageboard doyerns. What on earth did you expect?

No I'm not astonished really. We'll sign a few players this week and next stop who knows.

Let's judge it after a dozen games. We could be this season's Coventry or we can carry on wetting the bed after 2 ****ing games, up to you.

I don't expect us to gift teams two goals a game in three competitive games in a row and in most of the friendlies, we can't score three so will lose almost every game this season unless Bulut can sort it out, which reading his comments I don't think he can.

We've just played the weakest team in the League who will almost certainly go down at home and were two nil down with twenty-five minutes to go, I wasn't expecting that either.

[North Cardiff Blue]

Re: 2 Games

Nothing to do with the bookies. QPR are the worst form team in the division is 2023, having only won 3 out of 21 games. They got thrashed by Watford in their first game and their own fans expect them to be relegated. It was a game where City could & should have gone for the throat, instead of being passive. Of all of the home games this season, it should have been a priority to bag the win.

The friendly before Watford they lost five nil to Oxford, they are absolutely rubbish, and so were we.

[North Cardiff Blue]

Re: 2 Games

I reckon Bulut would have been really shocked by that performance and I’m not blaming him much for it, but I challenge any City fan who has watched us play at home over the past three seasons to say it came as a total shock to them. Blue Matt says he thought the first thirty minutes were pretty even, I didn’t- I’m not claiming any special expertise, but I had a good idea about what was going to happen after ten minutes as QPR, just like virtually every side that comes here were given plenty of opportunity to knock the ball around under minimum pressure by a City side that always forgoes the advantages that playing at home should give you.

We’ve been starting our home games like an away team for far longer than the last three seasons - you would have thought by now that the penny would have dropped that it doesn’t work, but I’m starting to believe the players can’t help themselves. I’m deadly serious when I talk about the need to consult a sports psychologist about our home performances. We’re not talking about seven home league games here, we’re talking about seventy of them in which we’ve been beaten thirty four times, while winning twenty two, this is a long term problem, not a panic reaction after two matches!

The first thing every single team we play will do, is press high up the pitch when they try to play the ball out, and pick up an easy goal from a miss pass, if he tries that again at Leicester we will concede four or more.

[jon1959]

Re: 2 Games

I reckon Bulut would have been really shocked by that performance and I’m not blaming him much for it, but I challenge any City fan who has watched us play at home over the past three seasons to say it came as a total shock to them. Blue Matt says he thought the first thirty minutes were pretty even, I didn’t- I’m not claiming any special expertise, but I had a good idea about what was going to happen after ten minutes as QPR, just like virtually every side that comes here were given plenty of opportunity to knock the ball around under minimum pressure by a City side that always forgoes the advantages that playing at home should give you.

We’ve been starting our home games like an away team for far longer than the last three seasons - you would have thought by now that the penny would have dropped that it doesn’t work, but I’m starting to believe the players can’t help themselves. I’m deadly serious when I talk about the need to consult a sports psychologist about our home performances. We’re not talking about seven home league games here, we’re talking about seventy of them in which we’ve been beaten thirty four times, while winning twenty two, this is a long term problem, not a panic reaction after two matches!

I agree with most of that but at the same time we started with 6 players who had never experienced a home game at the CCS before (5 new signings plus Adams) and an almost totally new managerial/coaching team. Not sure how often Alnwick played at the CCS last season either. So why does the experience and attitude of previous seasons carry over? It can't all be down to Tom Ramasut!

[the other bob wilson]

Re: 2 Games

I agree with most of that but at the same time we started with 6 players who had never experienced a home game at the CCS before (5 new signings plus Adams) and an almost totally new managerial/coaching team. Not sure how often Alnwick played at the CCS last season either. So why does the experience and attitude of previous seasons carry over? It can't all be down to Tom Ramasut!

Players like Ng, Wintle and McGuinness have all been here for a few years or so now, yet they’ve never known a time when we’ve had what could be called a normal home record whereby more home games are won than lost, as has been the case in the sixty seasons I’ve been supporting the club. The stats say that in the time they’ve been at Cardiff, a home game is more likely to be lost than won - the same applies with someone like Rubin Colwill. You’ve also got the players who came in last summer - we’ve only won a quarter of our home games since they’ve arrived. We had more than half of the starting eleven who’ve been here long enough to have experienced much more failure at Cardiff City Stadium than success and they wouldn’t be human if a thought of “here we go again” hadn’t crossed their mind at some time as we struggled to impose ourselves on the game in the early minutes on Saturday- that’s exactly what I was thinking as I watched it.