Bamba immense again - midfield struggled

Bamba had Hooper in his pocket; full backs effective (instead of venturing forward, tended to lump the ball forward). Lambert although showing his class was largely on his own. The midfield were largely overrun - especially in the second half. Amos made a wonderful, world-class save and was effective otherwise.

The main problem is keeping the ball when in possession. The defenders have clearly been told to get it upfield as quickly as possible, but playing 451 means that the target man needs support - and that rarely happened. Chamakh, when he came on, was everything I remembered about him - poor touch and petulant.

All-in-all a draw was a good result for City - thanks to a great, precise Whitts free kick. We were behind it and it was a goal from the moment he swung his foot. But Wednesday were by far the better footballing side.

And that's all I've got to say on that........

I thought Gunnarsson was outstanding, Whitts was just average and Ralls somewhat anonymous. He didn't do anything wrong but didn't really boss the midfield nor drive it forward.

I would like to see either O'Keffe or Huws in for Ralls and Whitts to be pushed higher up.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Bamba had Hooper in his pocket; full backs effective (instead of venturing forward, tended to lump the ball forward). Lambert although showing his class was largely on his own. The midfield were largely overrun - especially in the second half. Amos made a wonderful, world-class save and was effective otherwise.

The main problem is keeping the ball when in possession. The defenders have clearly been told to get it upfield as quickly as possible, but playing 451 means that the target man needs support - and that rarely happened. Chamakh, when he came on, was everything I remembered about him - poor touch and petulant.

All-in-all a draw was a good result for City - thanks to a great, precise Whitts free kick. We were behind it and it was a goal from the moment he swung his foot. But Wednesday were by far the better footballing side.

And that's all I've got to say on that........

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Agree with almost everything except Chamakh - I thought he was far better than Ricky and seemed to have the better of his marker the whole time he was on. I think he's going to be a very influential player for us...

A decent point tonight. Wednesday are one of the better teams we've played this season, they looked like a settled team, their passing and movement was much better than ours. As long as we continue to pick up points, hopefully our confidence will grow and we will start to climb away from the bottom.

Three weeks ago we would have been beaten out of sight tonight.Give Warnock a few weeks and we will be a lot further up the table. We have made huge progress in a short time.Keep the faith.

Wednesday did look decent but not amazing. In a matter of weeks we've become a lot better so hopefully once all the players Warnock bought are fit I think we'll be comfortable come the end of the season.

Looking forward to seeing that save again from Amos in the first half.

One area of worry was they seemed to go forward easily in the second half on our left. A few times they got to the byline into a great crossing position.

Agreed :thumbup:

For their goal, both Gunnar and Ralls had gone wide to help out Bennet, but this left loads of space in the middle of the penalty box and Pudil was completely unmarked.
It was a well worked goal though, the sort of goal I'd like to see us scoring.

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Originally Posted by Penarth Blues

Agree with almost everything except Chamakh - I thought he was far better than Ricky and seemed to have the better of his marker the whole time he was on. I think he's going to be a very influential player for us...

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I must say I have to disagree PB.
When we were under the cosh (basically the 2nd half apart from one or two small sustained bouts of pressure) the ball just did not stick to Chamakh.
Lambert looks a little laboured to me, up front on his own with little support could be accentuating this, but when he receives the ball he rarely loses it.
He takes the hit off his marker then his first touch is excellent.

I am not judging Chamakh as it is a bit early based on 30 minutes coming on a sub against a side with their tails up but if Lambert is unable to play against Forest on Saturday we are in trouble if NW thinks it's a straight swap.

As for tonight, played well 1st half and unlucky not to go in 2 up just before the break.
Their goal was on the cards from the off in the 2nd half and when it came there was only going to be one winner.
Happy with a point against a good in form side.

For me Lambert seems to win everything but often there's nobody around to pick up the balls he wins so I'd like to see what a match fit chamakh would be like alongside him.
I thought Morrison was a bit iffy at times.

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Originally Posted by MacAdder

I must say I have to disagree PB.
When we were under the cosh (basically the 2nd half apart from one or two small sustained bouts of pressure) the ball just did not stick to Chamakh.
Lambert looks a little laboured to me, up front on his own with little support could be accentuating this, but when he receives the ball he rarely loses it.
He takes the hit off his marker then his first touch is excellent.

I am not judging Chamakh as it is a bit early based on 30 minutes coming on a sub against a side with their tails up but if Lambert is unable to play against Forest on Saturday we are in trouble if NW thinks it's a straight swap.

As for tonight, played well 1st half and unlucky not to go in 2 up just before the break.
Their goal was on the cards from the off in the 2nd half and when it came there was only going to be one winner.
Happy with a point against a good in form side.

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No problem with disagreeing, we all look for different things in a player and I thought he looked far more of a threat than Lambert.

Ricky does have that ability to hold up play superbly but just doesn't seem to have the rest of the game needed any more. This may change if we do start to have two wingers getting more balls into space for him, but he's never anywhere to be seen when this happens at present.

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Originally Posted by WJ99mobile

I thought Gunnarsson was outstanding, Whitts was just average and Ralls somewhat anonymous. He didn't do anything wrong but didn't really boss the midfield nor drive it forward.

I would like to see either O'Keffe or Huws in for Ralls and Whitts to be pushed higher up.

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Gunnarsson wasn't marking anyone for most of the game and it made everyone else have to work twice as hard.

Can't Warnock magic up another out-of-contract player - a tiger of a midfielder who gets stuck in? Joey Barton? :hehe: He was Man of the Season for Burnley in 2015/16

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Originally Posted by Penarth Blues

No problem with disagreeing, we all look for different things in a player and I thought he looked far more of a threat than Lambert.

Ricky does have that ability to hold up play superbly but just doesn't seem to have the rest of the game needed any more. This may change if we do start to have two wingers getting more balls into space for him, but he's never anywhere to be seen when this happens at present.

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Yes. Lambert is a great outlet when we knock it up to him and provided he gets support, he brings people into the game. Problem is our midfield with Whitts and Ralls disappointing in supporting him.

It may be that Chamakh could play off Lambert if NW developed into a 442 but I can't see this in our upcoming away fixtures.
We rarely looked threatening 2nd half so it will be interesting to see how NW plays Forest.
Certainly we are looking lightweight up front but Junior Hoilett continues to impress (as does Bamba who looks solid).
I just wish we would play to Lambert's strengths more and hit the byline getting crosses in (you alluded to this)... I've said it before that if you play a single striker who is good in the air, get wide and stretch the defence but for some reason we persist in playing narrow making it so much easier for the defenders.

It's early days in Neil's reign though and I'm confident he will sort things out in time :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by ninianclark

Thought chamack looked unfit, not match fit and generally, sure he will get better though

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There was one lovely flick to O'Keefe that was wasted, but was an indicator of better things to come possibly, apart from that though, I agree with you - he looked in need of more match time. Playing the lone target man role for us is a thankless task and Chamack struggled just like the rest of those used in that role for us do - the easy solution is to play two up front, but Wednesday have been able to exploit the space that would create in our midfield? Based on what I saw last night, I think they would have been.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Bamba had Hooper in his pocket; full backs effective (instead of venturing forward, tended to lump the ball forward). Lambert although showing his class was largely on his own. The midfield were largely overrun - especially in the second half. Amos made a wonderful, world-class save and was effective otherwise.

The main problem is keeping the ball when in possession. The defenders have clearly been told to get it upfield as quickly as possible, but playing 451 means that the target man needs support - and that rarely happened. Chamakh, when he came on, was everything I remembered about him - poor touch and petulant.

All-in-all a draw was a good result for City - thanks to a great, precise Whitts free kick. We were behind it and it was a goal from the moment he swung his foot. But Wednesday were by far the better footballing side.

And that's all I've got to say on that........

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I went to the same game:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Bamba had Hooper in his pocket; full backs effective (instead of venturing forward, tended to lump the ball forward). Lambert although showing his class was largely on his own. The midfield were largely overrun - especially in the second half. Amos made a wonderful, world-class save and was effective otherwise.

The main problem is keeping the ball when in possession. The defenders have clearly been told to get it upfield as quickly as possible, but playing 451 means that the target man needs support - and that rarely happened. Chamakh, when he came on, was everything I remembered about him - poor touch and petulant.

All-in-all a draw was a good result for City - thanks to a great, precise Whitts free kick. We were behind it and it was a goal from the moment he swung his foot. But Wednesday were by far the better footballing side.

And that's all I've got to say on that........

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......Football is like a box of chocolates......

In comparison to Bamba, Morrison had a nightmare throughout the game

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Originally Posted by Llanedeyrnblue

......Football is like a box of chocolates......

In comparison to Bamba, Morrison had a nightmare throughout the game

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He panics under pressure - a poor game last night.

And we could also do with injecting more energy into our midfield earlier in the second half. We conk out after about an hour.

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Originally Posted by WJ99mobile

I thought Gunnarsson was outstanding, Whitts was just average and Ralls somewhat anonymous. He didn't do anything wrong but didn't really boss the midfield nor drive it forward.

I would like to see either O'Keffe or Huws in for Ralls and Whitts to be pushed higher up.

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O'Keefe should certainly be in there-gives a 'bite' to mid field and a better passer of the ball than either Ralls or Gunnarson.

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Originally Posted by ninianclark

I would expect a couple more players to come in over the next month or so, one of which maybe Joey Barton.

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I think we're pretty much done until January now - Barton couldn't join anyone until January anyway, as he would've been contracted to a club after 31st August.

Chamakh was poor, and looked shagged after only 10 minutes after coming on. Midfield over run again as I predicted. Central midfield (the engine of any team) has been poor for a few seasons. It needs to be sorted out. The Whitts, Gunners, Ralls trio needs breaking up. It is not working, although each player has their qualities, neither are brilliant. Oh for a midfield like Wednesday had last night. However, I am happy with a point and happy with the progress being made since Warnock come in.
Spedger

Kieran Lee was a class apart I thought.

A bit of a fancy dan...

He must have cost a decent amount I thought.

A free transfer from Bury in 2012.

I think Le Fondre would be good in this team. Lambert really does not run much. Especially when we are being defensive, he brings no pace on the counter.

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Originally Posted by LordKenwyne

Kieran Lee was a class apart I thought.

A bit of a fancy dan...

He must have cost a decent amount I thought.

A free transfer from Bury in 2012.

I think Le Fondre would be good in this team. Lambert really does not run much. Especially when we are being defensive, he brings no pace on the counter.

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He's not supposed to offer great pace , he is supposed to hold the ball ,give and go, and threaten the penalty area ,with others providing the support and pace . We new that when we signed a 34 year past his best forward, who never had great pave when he was younger .

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Originally Posted by GRUMPYS DEN

O'Keefe should certainly be in there-gives a 'bite' to mid field and a better passer of the ball than either Ralls or Gunnarson.

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Not sure about that, I think I'd perhaps bring Huws into the squad on the bench, and use O'Keefe again from the bench or perhaps start him away from home.

Ralls although he hasn't found his best form, is a talent ,and I think Colin will stay with him, Of the midfielders he harried the sheffield boys more than most,.I also hope we can find a place for Jazz I really think he can be a very good player for us.

Most of these boys will have a chance with the number of games and injuries its up to them to grab the chance when it comes.

:wave::wave::wave: