Incredibly though we could, and should, have won 1-0!
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Incredibly though we could, and should, have won 1-0!
https://mauveandyellowarmy.net/
Last night was the first time I’ve regretted the ability to watch the City on the red button function and now wish it sometimes isn’t available.
I switched off after the game to discover there were some top quality games in the champions league which were light years in quality away from the 90 minutes I’d just watched.
I’d always prioritise the city over any other game but sometimes I wish I didn’t have the choice!
Your right on that one.
I had such a busy evening yesterday, had the City game on 3 different TV’s around the house so I didn’t miss anything.
Ended up doing a poor job of whatever ever it was I was meant to be doing.
Should have just put the wireless on like the good old days and listened to Rob Phillips.
Well done. A good summary.Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
As you wrote, it was obvious from the kick off that Coventry we’re going to be a difficult team to play against as they like to keep the ball . Yet, we kept giving it back to them via sloppy awful passing, poor control and hoofing it aimlessly in the air. Their goal from start to finish was a classic example of everything we do wrong and also the right way to play football.
I can forgive the players for the tactics, even their lack of pace but not their individual sloppiness when not under pressure.
The wrong tactics and poor technique.
What always annoys me is the lack of basic footballing skills from our players. Them making an effort is fine and I am not doubting that but when I see professional footballers paid several thousands of pounds a week having to stand still
to receive a pass and even then trapping it further than most people could kick it it is unacceptable in my view. What basic skill training do they do in the week because it is not evident in games?
There also appears to be little or no option in reserve to change it. A number of our promising young players seem to have far better basic skills than their more senior colleagues but should really only be playing a few games at a time until they build up to Championship level. MM talks about Joe Ralls being a great player at this level but , to my mind , he is so one footed he could probably have gone away to the Paralympics. Therefore when he receives the ball it usually takes him so long to control it and put it on to his left foot that the opposition just take the ball off him and launch an attack.
I know what both of you mean. When I write blog pieces on matches where I've only listened to the game on the radio, I'm concerned that I'm getting the wrong end of the stick with some of my conclusions, but the coverage was so poor last night that it didn't offer much of an improvement on listening to Rob Phillips (whose opinions I respect and trust) and co.
I've sometimes watched other games on the TV with the sound turned down while listening to City playing on the radio and have found that I don't really pay much attention to the televised football because I'm concentrating so much on what I'm listening to.
TV or radio, I don't think there would have been anyway to draw any other conclusion than we were crap.
City have been in a dilemma for a few seasons. You start to tinker with a machine that had brought moderate Championship success over the past 3 seasons and you risk the wheels coming off. It's been made harder with the departure of Mendez-Laing, Hoillet, Murphy, Wilson, the absence of Tomlin. With a remaining established squad strong on, strength, commitment, fitness, but not very quick by Championship standards, and certainly lacking the speed and control on the ball to cause sides problems, it's not wonder we often look like Desperate Dans versus the Road Runner.
Sadly, I think they hype surrounding our younger, newer players is a bit over-played. It's giving the impression the club is 'investing in youth', but honestly, they all look like a slower, less sharp, less skillful, to make a long term impact at this level.
For me I think it is time for a change, I cannot watch this dire football any more!
We have proved we can pass the ball but with the emphasis on long balls to win a set piece we are going backwards.
Yes we are winning games and will not get relegated with this style but it is crap, predictable and boring.
With a younger progressive manager I think it would not take too long to TWEEK the style of play.
The youngsters at U23 level are playing possession based fooball and the cameos we have seen so far indicate
they are comfortable on the ball, it is the senior players who are so used to getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible in an 'anywhere up front will do' mentality that has been coached into them over the last three managers.
As fans we want to be entertained, we would be mauled to death if we ever got back in the premiership and played this way again.
Other clubs have reset quite effectively and for those who say it will take 2-3 transfer windows just look at Derby, as much as we all hate them, they play much better football than us with a weaker squad and restrictions
We could go down the road of sacking Mick and replacing him with Steve Morison from the U23's
Or take a punt on one of these leaving Morison to bring through more talent.
Matt Taylor Exeter P168 W71 D51 L46 WIN PERCENTAGE 42.3
Rob Edwards Forest Green P59 W24 D9 L26 WIN PERCENTAGE 40.68
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Burton Albion P210 W84 D 62 L64 WIN PERCENTAGE 40.0
Simon Weaver Harrowgate Town P574 W236 D 133 L205 WIN PERCENTAGE 41.11 (Mostly Non league)
I can remember the pre season friendlies with Exeter and Forest Green where they both played more football than us and there was a Harrogate game on Sky last season, at Bradford I think, I watched where they were very impressive. Trouble is, having gambled to some extent by appointing Trollope, appointing a young, up and coming manager whose side play attractive football seems too big a leap for Vincent Tan to make to me.
That's one of the things that gets me thinking, do we continue to appoint "pragmatic", old school managers with reputations for playing, to be charitable, functional football because that's the way the people in charge of the club like their football to be played, do they do it because they think the fanbase likes the way we've been playing for most of the past decade, do they think the players we have can only play one way, so they pick their managers accordingly (that one seems very unlikely to me) or are they always looking for "a safe pair of hands"?
I've struggled for years to see some logic in our policies for recruitment, youth development and style of play and have now given up. Hopefully, this is changing now, but we haven't been producing our own players so the Academy has, essentially, been a black hole we have ploughed millions into for very, very little return and our recruitment has seen us consistently signing players of an age which means they have little resale value. Is it any wonder we are forever being told that Vincent Tan is having to put in seven figures sums every month to make ends meet?
Furthermore we play in a manner that surely makes some clubs reluctant to loan their good young prospects to us and, if and when we do get someone in like a fit and firing Tomlin, a Harry Wilson or a Tom Lawrence even, we don't play in a manner designed to get the best out of them - if there has been a plan in place since Russell Slade was appointed, it's too cunning for me to figure out what it is.
I'm so bored of the "style of football" and "longer term planning" conversations where I think the same points are being made - I am one of the worst offenders.
At this point the thing that is far more concerning and needs to be discussed is that:
1. Has there been a first half where we've played well this season? Didn't see Blackpool away but this is potentially the only game in seven.
2. Mick's comments about Colwill this morning (him being exhausted from emotion on weekend but would have been judged as mad not to start him) - what was that about? Is that a) Mick giving young players a hard lesson so they know they can't go into the red emotionally and perform next game which will benefit us/them longer term? Or is it b) really poor management and someone not thinking enough about how to win the next game?
Is Mick a reactive manager who does his best work at half-time? Can that fit into previous concerns about his game management and when he brings subs on - was that fair concern to begin with?
I remember when he was appointed Ipswich fans mentioned Mick could be very stubborn and do a kind of "I told you so" routine to fans if players they wanted to see didn't play particularly well in a game. That's what that comment suggests to me.
Withdrawing those two struck me a poor management and a friend said Mick's basically "thrown them under the bus" and scapegoated them. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but they certainly weren't the problem in the first half
I've thought about that comment again and it really has baffled me because looking at last night's squad who starts over him, Collins? He's a completely different player and position. Bowen? Completely different player and position. Evans is the one closest to him I'd guess but I'd be surprised if Mick was thinking of starting him
Less skilful than who, the rest of our squad?
Of course they aren't as sharp, they've barely played senior football, never mind at this level and are still getting used to it. Did you really expect a teenager to come in and look like a seasoned Championship campaigner straight away?
Just saying the hype has been over-played. They may come good, but at the moment I'd say Bagan is the only one who looks easy at this level. Recently we've had 5 'raw' players on the pitch at the same time. That's desperation.
I agree to a point, I do think the likes of Evans & Bowen being in squads is out of necessity rather than some grand plan, but I do take issue with the "less skilful" point. From what I've seen of them Colwill, Bowen & Evans certainly aren't less skilful than the likes of Vaulks & Ralls, never mind the players at the back like Nelson & Flint. I can't see Vaulks scoring in the manner Colwill did at Forest
Bagan has been around the squad a fair bit longer than Colwill, Bowen etc. Bagan was involved back in Harris' first season in charge which is a help for him. I'm not sure I completely agree that he's the only one who looks easy at this level, Bagan's had a few poor games this season much like Colwill & Harris, Harris for instance looks far more like a Championship footballer than James Collins has this season. I'd also say those two definitely don't look out of place at this level and are often let down by the service to them, there's only so much they can do with the poor service provided to them.
I think the only player with substantial "hype" is Colwill, which has come mainly from being in the Wales squad. There's obviously talent in there, the goal at Forest showed that, so I think it's harsh to say he isn't going to make a long term impact so soon in his career
it's not desparation, it's something you have to go through if you want to bring players through regularly.
it's not a novel experience for a lot of other clubs in this division, it just seems bizarre to us because it has been so long.
You bring a young inexperienced player into a Championship side. He looks around and there's Nelson, Flint, Morrison, Pack, Bacuna, Collins, Vaulks, Ralls. He's probably - in the case of Colwill for example - the only who could be classed as someone who's comfortable on the ball. Then on comes Bowen, etc. That's pretty desperate, for a young inexperienced player to develop into something better.
Luckily I switched to the Stoke v Barnsley game, which had an entertaining last 5 minutes to say the least
Need to be careful what we wish for lads.
Some real big clubs are in trouble.
Sheff Wed Down.
Derby will no doubt be down after the points deduction.
Now Forest have just sacked Chris Hughton who has always done well at championship level.
Middlesbrough may have even been relegated had Warnock not stepped in.
Look at Sunderland too and the struggles they are having in getting back to the championship alone.
Even Ipswich when Mick got relegated the season after which shows the job he was doing to keep them afloat.
I disagree about Middlesbrough.
they had a bad season, but they had a lot of talented youngsters coming through, there were matches they played 7 academy products and competed well. I think they were already turning the corner before Warnock came on board.
we might have to go through a season or two of pain before we come out the other side also.
The 'little old Cardiff, it could be worse' mentality rears its head once more.....
Relegation would undoubtedly be horrible but that might help clear the decks, press reset and start afresh with a different manager, different playing style etc. Things are so stale at present. I've never been a MM fan, even though I accept he did a decent job when he first came in. Giving him the new contract filled me with dread.
I remember looking at one of the Ipswich forums a few years ago, after we'd beaten them comfortably in a midweek match. It was towards the end of MM's reign at Portman Road and the natives were restless, yet still brought a decent number for what isn't a short trip. Bar one or two, the forum contributors all said similar things that are regularly posted on here......that the football is dire, there is no creativity and that MM is predictable and has his favourites (I seem to recall the midfielder Cole Skuse was the main culprit). On this last point, I'm not convinced MM and Kieffer always see eye-to-eye, even before the Wolves thing. My gut feeling is that MM likes under-the-radar grafters, not supposed superstars, hence the likes of Collins would be more his type of player, a lower league journeyman (City being his tenth different club) who has arrived in the Championship the hard way, plus got some ROI caps.
I'll never miss a home game but am bored of this dirge. As another thread notes, we've now had three managers who play ugly football. We all want to see our team win but for me at least, I also want to be entertained with easy-on-the-eye football that makes me get out of my seat. Skills, creativity and vision that I've paid money to see specialists perform. We're a million miles away from that at present.
The problem is that whatever manager we bring in - they will be expected to achieve a certain level by the board - and making "us hard to beat" is a way of achieving that and covering their own ass. We need some understanding and commitment from the board that we need to reshape things and that might me going backwards before we go forwards.
Agree with both your posts
Always?
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