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Looking forward to the playoff. We come up against a manager with slight tactical skills and we're ****ed.
Was awful and has been terrible recently apart from the Turkey performance.
We basicslly wasted the first half practicing our passing and keeping possesion against a team who are happy to give it up. I know there were injuries but its not good enough.
This passing philosophy isnt going to get us anywhere as any decent team we are coming up against are going to do it better, plus Allen and Morrell arent good enough. We have good ball carriers in the forward positions and shpuld be utilising that. The passing was so slow that by the time the ball got to anyone decent they were covered.
We should have won the game but its been poor under Page for long enough.
I think his stubborn attitude towards older players left is massively short for options in this squad. I said it before but dont tell me that Vokes or Evans wouldnt have offered more than Colwill or Roberts playing out of position.
Sam Vokes wouldn't, he wasn't particularly impressive when he was in his 20s nevermind now. I assume you're on about Ched? He's not worth the hassle and at 32 (33 in December) isn't a realistic long term option anyway
Harris should have started both games, he's the only recognised striker in the squad.
Its not a long term option of course not but they are more like for like with moore. These games are now. Especially when teams are going to flood the middle and you have to try and get something in the box to work a chance. Yes we did manage to get through the middle a couple of times but we didnt create enough. Page saying had enough chances to win 2 games is trying to cover his own tracks.
Last night's result really heaps pressure on the net round of fixtures. There's no room for more slip ups now if we want a decent draw in the playoffs. We could have gone into that 2 points clear of the Czechs with a game in hand, now we have to get something away in Prague and go and beat Estonia away in the space of 3 days
Very true, a win yesterday would have meant a point away in the Czech Republic and we wouldn’t need to worry about getting anything from the Belgium game to come 2nd, now there is pressure on to come away with a min 4 points from those 2 games. Estonia were not very good, we should beat them at home even if it’s only by one goal
obviously meant LB(?)beat an average Estonian RB(?)
I disagree about Vaulks; we have a way of playing that he wouldn't manage. I'm not enamoured with Morrell either but he's been brought through the system and can trap a ball most of the time.
The players who should be taking his place in the long run are Levitt and Smith (it looks like Ampadu will become a centre half) but are probably deemed to be too inexperienced at present. It's not ideal but there it is. Our conveyor belt runs a little slower most of the time.
Bale's fitness has been discussed for a while. He's been burning those hamstrings off for 16 years but still managed to burst through to hit the post near the end. This was the rusty international break too.
Edit: It's not often you see a sub subbed but Williams should've been taken off; he was being bullied out of everything.
Even Roberts was making runs early on and I thought looked lively until 15 minutes when a hologram took his place. It didn't come off but they completely stopped trying after rattling the Estonian CBs. There were acres of space early on and they were there for the taking. We had plenty of subs to play and fresh legs to start the match against a side like Estonia at Cardiff.
I can't help feeling we could have rested an aging Bale and Allen until the second half (if needed), started with Harris, and rotated a rested midfield who are quick and lively. Page had so many better options and a more than adequate bench after a long trip and tough win a few days earlier. We were playing the minnows at home and bottled it.
I agree with Bluebirdman that he should have subbed the sub, probably at 50 mins when we really needed a goal. Some managers are indecisive. He was found wanting against Denmark so shouldn't have been allowed to manage vital WCQs after that match.
Agree apart from Williams who I never want to see in a Wales squad again. He just doesn't need to be there and in my view, doesn't deserve to be anymore. I'm so not a sentimentalist and Gunter should have been hooked to give us some attacking options on the right (yes I know he put Wilson through early on but was poor after that. Estonia weren't a threat on either flank - we could have played a completely different formation halfway through the first half when they'd been worked out.
I dont understand this blooding of youth in qualifying matches. We need to have players who have scored at international level available from the bench.
Surely Chester, Vaulks, Andy King, Tom Laurence, Vokes, Robson-Kanu and Ched Evan's would be better options?
King should be starting instead of Morrell.
Vaulks can't control or pass the ball, Lawrence was injured, Vokes was never particularly impressive when he was in his prime, never mind now, Robson-Kanu doesn't have a club, Evans isn't worth the trouble picking him would bring. King I think should be in there though, Chester I suppose can't be relied upon fitness wise
We had the players in the squad to win, they weren't properly utilised by Page
For much of that game it was almost as if we'd convinced ourselves we'd need to be patient to the extent we just waited for things to happen, rather than imposing ourselves but staying calm if they proved resilient.
It's kind of weird because I know what you mean but we certainly didn't seem calm and did everything at 100mph except have a plan to impose ourselves. A lot of throw-ins, free-kicks, were rushed and there didn't seem to be any training-ground moves on show.
I was going to ask a general question about Sheehan and found this piece in The Bolton News.