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Official retraction of Saturday's match report


Olé

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To whom it may concern.

On Saturday I became enthralled by the rapid and skilful passing and movement of Bristol City for 45 minutes against the second consecutive poor Championship team we had faced. During that time I became convinced that my football team had turned a corner and were exhibiting attributes that would serve us well for the season ahead.

Today I realise that while we have a more balanced and close knit team, we are no further forward in terms of ability or quality, and in fact the only consistent tactical development exhibited so far compared to the prior season,  is the attacking intent for the first ten minutes of every game. Other than that, it appears the manager is no more capable

It sounds amazing to say it, but today managed to not just invert the injustice at St. Andrews, but by far exceed it in the inappropriate results stakes. We were a non-factor for the vast majority of a one-sided game at Griffin Park, were stretched to the point of breaking, yet emerged with a point which was even less warranted than Birmingham's three. 

I should add that Frankie Fielding, derided so regularly by City fans as not up to our target standard (and on the evidence of another poor day of kicking, with some reason) was actually the difference between us and an absolute thrashing. Ignore Reid's equaliser as pivotal, I lost count of the number of saves Fielding made to keep us in it.

 

If the first few games of the season had showed progress in our passing and movement, today unfortunately pitted us with a team that is well drilled in those attributes and on a like for like basis, demonstrated that we are nowhere close. Besides our opening goal, we were continually on the back foot, and battered for the best part of 80 minutes.

What is least satisfactory is that the manager, who the club hoped was riding a mini-revival arising from an easy pre-season and weak early opponents, compounded his mishandling of the second half on Saturday, by standing idly by today while we were comprehensively and obviously beaten in central midfield for more than the best part of an hour.

The hallmark of the depths of last season was comically obvious weaknesses and I'm afraid we regressed close to that territory today. Where so far this season Smith and Pack have been the ignition switch for fast pass and move breaks out of midfield, today they were hounded backwards into a seemingly permanent second layer of our defence.

Despite convincingly losing that central midfield battle for most of the game, it took well over an hour for Johnson to do anything about it - even persisting with a formation that put Brownhill and Paterson out wide, regardless that no one was left to feed them. Surely at that point you ask Brownhill to help trying to win central midfield back? Nope.

And when we did change, it was to leave Reid up front on his own. Now if that was a surrender, it was far more appropriate than the inane attacking over-exuberance that followed the Harry Redknapp adjustments on Saturday, but regardless, with all the money we spend, to have got into a position with zero backup target man is more than concerning.

 

It all started so well. But then that's the only consistent so far this season, and perhaps it's provided more reassurance than was justified. We piled forward and following a mistake like Saturday, Diedhiou rolled his marker and broke in on goal before the ball found its way to Brownhill, who swept it into the far corner. City ahead early again and buzzing.

Sadly, it would be another 90 minutes before City would really stretch the opposition defence again. Far from being a platform to push on, we surrendered the initiative as Brentford poured forward with sharper passing and movement. The only consolation first half was we finally got to see our defence, which marshalled Vibe and Jota incredibly well.

In my mind the story would be the turn of the City defence to shine, but even with Smith and Pack dropping back to contribute, it would require a succession of saves from Fielding - and the woodwork - to keep City ahead at half time. The number of crosses arising from their left, where Pisano seemed largely off the pace, was a particular concern.

Given half time to do something about 30 minutes of one sided football, we changed nothing. Within 10 minutes of the restart, Brentford were level. By now Smith - who was literally everywhere - and Pack, were effectively an extra line of defence. No matter, because their first decent cross from their right, instead asked Pisano to win in the air. He failed.

I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Griffin Park and seen them get the ball out wide and cross in and beat our defenders, but yet again we stood off the opponent and allowed the cross, and then Pisano, a welcome mat for crosses in the first half, was instead asked to win in the air one on one at the far post, yet unfortunately came up short.

Fielding would go on to make another sensational save (from Jota), before Johnson belatedly reacted to the onslaught by withdrawing Diedhiou (who topped Saturday's anonymous after 60 minutes performance with today's anonymous after 15 minutes) and Brownhill, to leave Reid an unusual solo striker, and bring O'Neil into midfield and O'Dowda out wide.

I can't argue with adding O'Neil to the fray and we got a little more stability in the middle, but truthfully a) we were already completely overrun through the middle and b) leaving just Reid up front gave us even less outlet than we had had previously. So the effect was not significant and we certainly didn't turn the flow of what was already a one sided game.

Within five minutes Brentford deservedly went in front too. They knocked the ball around the edge of the box, no one got close enough to cut it out, and their man curled it into the corner. It had been coming and it has to be said that it was hard to argue with it. There was still time for them to force more saves from Fielding - we were slipping away grimly.

With no other options we added Hinds up front (for Pack) and tried largely unsuccessfully to bundle the ball upfield. Following a prolonged injury to a Brentford player,  the closest we'd come is a miscued clearance with the keeper off his line, whipped back in on goal from long distance by O'Dowda, but ultimately headed clear just in front of the line.

Then, at the death, a twist. As City piled forward, two clear shouts for a penalty for handling in the box by defenders clearing - the second resulting from a desperate Baker shot with the last kick of the game. It was a good shout but the referee (excellent throughout) kept the game going and in the extra seconds, the keeper raced out to claim and Reid tapped in.

Delirium in the away end. It was - after the long injury - literally the death: 8 minutes after the 90th, and in the context of the game, completely unwarranted and a total mugging. I did not speak to a single fan who felt we had done anything other than got out of jail: a scarcely deserved equaliser, in a match we only competed in the first and final 5 of 100 minutes.

For that to be the case only 3 league games in, albeit against a decent and specifically counter-acting footballing team (Brentford are masters of pass and move at speed) should be a concern, but even more than that, the manner of Johnson's inability to compete tactically is the real worry from the past two away games. Some of the failings are all still there.

On Saturday we quite obviously didn't have a Plan B, a criticism thrown at the manager a number of times last season. Today not only did we not have a Plan B, but our Plan A fell to pieces quickly too. In both cases we surrendered not just the lead, but the match and all visible momentum. The only shard of light was our five minute hustle for an equaliser.

The optimism from Saturday may have to be re-assessed. The glowing references in my prior report certainly warrant retraction!

 

Fielding 9 Kicking is still shocking, but without his saves we would have lost 5-1 or more. Kept us in the game - no other way to describe it.

Pisano 5 Has the engine to get up and down but positioning and ability to win the ball all suspect. Far too many crosses from his side first half, and beaten in the air for the equaliser.

Bryan 6 Regressing to the Bryan at Griffin Park last season. Moments in the first half where he totally abandoned the player he was marking allowing them a free shot on goal.

Wright 7 The best of a poor defence. Got stuck in wherever he could and won a number of balls when it felt like Sawyers, Jota and Vibe were slicing our defence open.

Baker 6 I thought Hegeler won a number of first balls on Saturday and was unlucky to be dropped. Don't think Baker did nearly enough to attack crosses into the box for us to celebrate his inclusion just yet.

Smith 8 Fielding was a clear MoM for us, but Smith was our best outfield player by some distance. Ran himself into the ground chasing everything. Sadly mostly defensively but right to the end he was trying to get himself forward, we don't have many players who give everything in spite of the challenge.

Pack 6 Forced into an almost entirely defensive role and didn't have the speed or engine to offer anything other than that. To compound that could have done better for their second goal.

Brownhill 6 Good finish for the goal, and not really his fault, but little point him being out on the wing when we're overrun in central midfield and not even close to being able to get the ball played forward and into him. More Johnson's fault than his, but hard to see his value when he's so outside of the action.

Paterson 5 The rub on this guy is that he is inconsistent and I'm afraid here we are again. After a couple of bright games, nowhere near the quality or strength needed and I would wager will lose his place to O'Dowda for Saturday who at least affects the game.

Reid 7 Still working his proverbials off, had little or no service and a virtually non-existent target man alongside him, but he chased causes to both flanks all game for 98 minutes, and was ready to claim that equaliser. Hard to argue that he is our best player this season by some distance. The guy is on fire.

Diedhiou 5 Worrying that he is not getting into games. Was always a project and going to be raw but for over £5m I would expect us to have got closer to a 90 minute player by now. Sharp from the start but too quickly played out of games and unable to effectively link up with anyone. Undoubtedly a workhorse but fizzles out very quickly.

 

Subs:

O'Dowda 7 More physical and animated than a below par Paterson, draws fouls and is exclusively forward thinking - his reaction with the keeper off his line, deserved better.

O'Neil 5 Added some shape to the huge gaps we were absent from in central midfield, and managed one shot at goal, although truthfully did not look up to speed yet.

Hinds 6 Not much sight of the ball but could see from his movement that he would have been welcome on Saturday, he gets into some positions.

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8 minutes ago, Olé said:

To whom it may concern.

On Saturday I became enthralled by the rapid and skilful passing and movement of Bristol City for 45 minutes against the second consecutive poor Championship team we had faced. During that time I became convinced that my football team had turned a corner and were exhibiting attributes that would serve us well for the season ahead.

Today I realise that while we have a more balanced and close knit team, we are no further forward in terms of ability or quality, and in fact the only consistent tactical development exhibited so far compared to the prior season,  is the attacking intent for the first ten minutes of every game. Other than that, it appears the manager is no more capable

It sounds amazing to say it, but today managed to not just invert the injustice at St. Andrews, but by far exceed it in the inappropriate results stakes. We were a non-factor for the vast majority of a one-sided game at Griffin Park, were stretched to the point of breaking, yet emerged with a point which was even less warranted than Birmingham's three. 

I should add that Frankie Fielding, derided so regularly by City fans as not up to our target standard (and on the evidence of another poor day of kicking, with some reason) was actually the difference between us and an absolute thrashing. Ignore Reid's equaliser as pivotal, I lost count of the number of saves Fielding made to keep us in it.

 

If the first few games of the season had showed progress in our passing and movement, today unfortunately pitted us with a team that is well drilled in those attributes and on a like for like basis, demonstrated that we are nowhere close. Besides our opening goal, we were continually on the back foot, and battered for the best part of 80 minutes.

What is least satisfactory is that the manager, who the club hoped was riding a mini-revival arising from an easy pre-season and weak early opponents, compounded his mishandling of the second half on Saturday, by standing idly by today while we were comprehensively and obviously beaten in central midfield for more than the best part of an hour.

The hallmark of the depths of last season was comically obvious weaknesses and I'm afraid we regressed close to that territory today. Where so far this season Smith and Pack have been the ignition switch for fast pass and move breaks out of midfield, today they were hounded backwards into a seemingly permanent second layer of our defence.

Despite convincingly losing that central midfield battle for most of the game, it took well over an hour for Johnson to do anything about it - even persisting with a formation that put Brownhill and Paterson out wide, regardless that no one was left to feed them. Surely at that point you ask Brownhill to help trying to win central midfield back? Nope.

And when we did change, it was to leave Reid up front on his own. Now if that was a surrender, it was far more appropriate than the inane attacking over-exuberance that followed the Harry Redknapp adjustments on Saturday, but regardless, with all the money we spend, to have got into a position with zero backup target man is more than concerning.

 

It all started so well. But then that's the only consistent so far this season, and perhaps it's provided more reassurance than was justified. We piled forward and following a mistake like Saturday, Diedhiou rolled his marker and broke in on goal before the ball found its way to Brownhill, who swept it into the far corner. City ahead early again and buzzing.

Sadly, it would be another 90 minutes before City would really stretch the opposition defence again. Far from being a platform to push on, we surrendered the initiative as Brentford poured forward with sharper passing and movement. The only consolation first half was we finally got to see our defence, which marshalled Vibe and Jota incredibly well.

In my mind the story would be the turn of the City defence to shine, but even with Smith and Pack dropping back to contribute, it would require a succession of saves from Fielding - and the woodwork - to keep City ahead at half time. The number of crosses arising from their left, where Pisano seemed largely off the pace, was a particular concern.

Given half time to do something about 30 minutes of one sided football, we changed nothing. Within 10 minutes of the restart, Brentford were level. By now Smith - who was literally everywhere - and Pack, were effectively an extra line of defence. No matter, because their first decent cross from their right, instead asked Pisano to win in the air. He failed.

I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Griffin Park and seen them get the ball out wide and cross in and beat our defenders, but yet again we stood off the opponent and allowed the cross, and then Pisano, a welcome mat for crosses in the first half, was instead asked to win in the air one on one at the far post, yet unfortunately came up short.

Fielding would go on to make another sensational save (from Jota), before Johnson belatedly reacted to the onslaught by withdrawing Diedhiou (who topped Saturday's anonymous after 60 minutes performance with today's anonymous after 15 minutes) and Brownhill, to leave Reid an unusual solo striker, and bring O'Neil into midfield and O'Dowda out wide.

I can't argue with adding O'Neil to the fray and we got a little more stability in the middle, but truthfully a) we were already completely overrun through the middle and b) leaving just Reid up front gave us even less outlet than we had had previously. So the effect was not significant and we certainly didn't turn the flow of what was already a one sided game.

Within five minutes Brentford deservedly went in front too. They knocked the ball around the edge of the box, no one got close enough to cut it out, and their man curled it into the corner. It had been coming and it has to be said that it was hard to argue with it. There was still time for them to force more saves from Fielding - we were slipping away grimly.

With no other options we added Hinds up front (for Pack) and tried largely unsuccessfully to bundle the ball upfield. Following a prolonged injury to a Brentford player,  the closest we'd come is a miscued clearance with the keeper off his line, whipped back in on goal from long distance by O'Dowda, but ultimately headed clear just in front of the line.

Then, at the death, a twist. As City piled forward, two clear shouts for a penalty for handling in the box by defenders clearing - the second resulting from a desperate Baker shot with the last kick of the game. It was a good shout but the referee (excellent throughout) kept the game going and in the extra seconds, the keeper raced out to claim and Reid tapped in.

Delirium in the away end. It was - after the long injury - literally the death: 8 minutes after the 90th, and in the context of the game, completely unwarranted and a total mugging. I did not speak to a single fan who felt we had done anything other than got out of jail: a scarcely deserved equaliser, in a match we only competed in the first and final 5 of 100 minutes.

For that to be the case only 3 league games in, albeit against a decent and specifically counter-acting footballing team (Brentford are masters of pass and move at speed) should be a concern, but even more than that, the manner of Johnson's inability to compete tactically is the real worry from the past two away games. Some of the failings are all still there.

On Saturday we quite obviously didn't have a Plan B, a criticism thrown at the manager a number of times last season. Today not only did we not have a Plan B, but our Plan A fell to pieces quickly too. In both cases we surrendered not just the lead, but the match and all visible momentum. The only shard of light was our five minute hustle for an equaliser.

The optimism from Saturday may have to be re-assessed. The glowing references in the report certainly warrant retraction!

 

Fielding 9 Kicking is still shocking, but without his saves we would have lost 5-1 or more. Kept us in the game - no other way to describe it.

Pisano 5 Has the engine to get up and down but positioning and ability to win the ball all suspect. Far too many crosses from his side first half, and beaten in the air for the equaliser.

Bryan 6 Regressing to the Bryan at Griffin Park last season. Moments in the first half where he totally abandoned the player he was marking allowing them a free shot on goal.

Wright 7 The best of a poor defence. Got stuck in wherever he could and won a number of balls when it felt like Sawyers, Jota and Vibe were slicing our defence open.

Baker 6 I thought Hegeler won a number of first balls on Saturday and was unlucky to be dropped. Don't think Baker did nearly enough to attack crosses into the box for us to celebrate his inclusion just yet.

Smith 8 Fielding was a clear MoM for us, but Smith was our best outfield player by some distance. Ran himself into the ground chasing everything. Sadly mostly defensively but right to the end he was trying to get himself forward, we don't have many players who give everything in spite of the challenge.

Pack 6 Forced into an almost entirely defensive role and didn't have the speed or engine to offer anything other than that. To compound that could have done better for their second goal.

Brownhill 6 Good finish for the goal, and not really his fault, but little point him being out on the wing when we're overrun in central midfield and not even close to being able to get the ball played forward and into him. More Johnson's fault than his, but hard to see his value when he's so outside of the action.

Paterson 5 The rub on this guy is that he is inconsistent and I'm afraid here we are again. After a couple of bright games, nowhere near the quality or strength needed and I would wager will lose his place to O'Dowda for Saturday who at least affects the game.

Reid 7 Still working his proverbials off, had little or no service and a virtually non-existent target man alongside him, but he chased causes to both flanks all game for 98 minutes, and was ready to claim that equaliser. Hard to argue that he is our best player this season by some distance. The guy is on fire.

Diedhiou 5 Worrying that he is not getting into games. Was always a project and going to be raw but for over £5m I would expect us to have got closer to a 90 minute player by now. Sharp from the start but too quickly played out of games and unable to effectively link up with anyone. Undoubtedly a workhorse but fizzles out very quickly.

 

Subs:

O'Dowda 7 More physical and animated than a below par Paterson, draws fouls and is exclusively forward thinking - his reaction with the keeper off his line, deserved better.

O'Neil 5 Added some shape to the huge gaps we were absent from in central midfield, and managed one shot at goal, although truthfully did not look up to speed yet.

Hinds 6 Not much sight of the ball but could see from his movement that he would have been welcome on Saturday, he gets into some positions.

A no stage during the 90 minutes did Pack or Smith control the midfield.... In fact we were overrun completely apart from maybe the last 8 minutes of injury time. And I was there. 

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2 minutes ago, Top Robin said:

A no stage during the 90 minutes did Pack or Smith control the midfield.... In fact we were overrun completely apart from maybe the last 8 minutes of injury time. And I was there. 

Not sure where I said they did. I made very clear we were overrun in midfield, I only commented that the two of them kept us ahead at half time, which they undoubtedly did as they were the ones who more than anyone were literally sitting in, in front of the defence, and cutting out Jota and Vibe first half - who otherwise, along with Sawyers and Watkins, were far too much for our centre backs to deal with. I agree entirely we didn't control midfield at any point in today's game.

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I really hoped adding O'Neill would have given some stability to the midfield. Sadly that was not the case. Not sure what he brings to be honest  

I agree generally with what you say but feel the first half at Birmingham was money in the bank for the rubbish served up tonight (frankie excepted). 

Dont give up. Early days and a win on Saturday - very possible - would be a reasonable return from two home and two away games. 

See you soon! 

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Excellent analysis - we were totally outplayed all game bar the first 2 and the last 2 minutes.

Found myself thinking, were we that bad, or do you have to give credit to the opposition who toyed with us and carved us apart on numerous occasions, with some excellent football. 

We have to hope Brentford are one of the better teams in this division this season, because if they aren't we will struggle again.

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Just a thought, but how about waiting till we've played a dozen games before we try and predict the unpredictable. Instead of thinking we're world beaters one minute, and panel beaters the next. You might get taken a bit more seriously, if you actually try and analyse the way the seasons heading  after a few more results! 

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57 minutes ago, Olé said:

To whom it may concern.

On Saturday I became enthralled by the rapid and skilful passing and movement of Bristol City for 45 minutes against the second consecutive poor Championship team we had faced. During that time I became convinced that my football team had turned a corner and were exhibiting attributes that would serve us well for the season ahead.

Today I realise that while we have a more balanced and close knit team, we are no further forward in terms of ability or quality, and in fact the only consistent tactical development exhibited so far compared to the prior season,  is the attacking intent for the first ten minutes of every game. Other than that, it appears the manager is no more capable

It sounds amazing to say it, but today managed to not just invert the injustice at St. Andrews, but by far exceed it in the inappropriate results stakes. We were a non-factor for the vast majority of a one-sided game at Griffin Park, were stretched to the point of breaking, yet emerged with a point which was even less warranted than Birmingham's three. 

I should add that Frankie Fielding, derided so regularly by City fans as not up to our target standard (and on the evidence of another poor day of kicking, with some reason) was actually the difference between us and an absolute thrashing. Ignore Reid's equaliser as pivotal, I lost count of the number of saves Fielding made to keep us in it.

 

If the first few games of the season had showed progress in our passing and movement, today unfortunately pitted us with a team that is well drilled in those attributes and on a like for like basis, demonstrated that we are nowhere close. Besides our opening goal, we were continually on the back foot, and battered for the best part of 80 minutes.

What is least satisfactory is that the manager, who the club hoped was riding a mini-revival arising from an easy pre-season and weak early opponents, compounded his mishandling of the second half on Saturday, by standing idly by today while we were comprehensively and obviously beaten in central midfield for more than the best part of an hour.

The hallmark of the depths of last season was comically obvious weaknesses and I'm afraid we regressed close to that territory today. Where so far this season Smith and Pack have been the ignition switch for fast pass and move breaks out of midfield, today they were hounded backwards into a seemingly permanent second layer of our defence.

Despite convincingly losing that central midfield battle for most of the game, it took well over an hour for Johnson to do anything about it - even persisting with a formation that put Brownhill and Paterson out wide, regardless that no one was left to feed them. Surely at that point you ask Brownhill to help trying to win central midfield back? Nope.

And when we did change, it was to leave Reid up front on his own. Now if that was a surrender, it was far more appropriate than the inane attacking over-exuberance that followed the Harry Redknapp adjustments on Saturday, but regardless, with all the money we spend, to have got into a position with zero backup target man is more than concerning.

 

It all started so well. But then that's the only consistent so far this season, and perhaps it's provided more reassurance than was justified. We piled forward and following a mistake like Saturday, Diedhiou rolled his marker and broke in on goal before the ball found its way to Brownhill, who swept it into the far corner. City ahead early again and buzzing.

Sadly, it would be another 90 minutes before City would really stretch the opposition defence again. Far from being a platform to push on, we surrendered the initiative as Brentford poured forward with sharper passing and movement. The only consolation first half was we finally got to see our defence, which marshalled Vibe and Jota incredibly well.

In my mind the story would be the turn of the City defence to shine, but even with Smith and Pack dropping back to contribute, it would require a succession of saves from Fielding - and the woodwork - to keep City ahead at half time. The number of crosses arising from their left, where Pisano seemed largely off the pace, was a particular concern.

Given half time to do something about 30 minutes of one sided football, we changed nothing. Within 10 minutes of the restart, Brentford were level. By now Smith - who was literally everywhere - and Pack, were effectively an extra line of defence. No matter, because their first decent cross from their right, instead asked Pisano to win in the air. He failed.

I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Griffin Park and seen them get the ball out wide and cross in and beat our defenders, but yet again we stood off the opponent and allowed the cross, and then Pisano, a welcome mat for crosses in the first half, was instead asked to win in the air one on one at the far post, yet unfortunately came up short.

Fielding would go on to make another sensational save (from Jota), before Johnson belatedly reacted to the onslaught by withdrawing Diedhiou (who topped Saturday's anonymous after 60 minutes performance with today's anonymous after 15 minutes) and Brownhill, to leave Reid an unusual solo striker, and bring O'Neil into midfield and O'Dowda out wide.

I can't argue with adding O'Neil to the fray and we got a little more stability in the middle, but truthfully a) we were already completely overrun through the middle and b) leaving just Reid up front gave us even less outlet than we had had previously. So the effect was not significant and we certainly didn't turn the flow of what was already a one sided game.

Within five minutes Brentford deservedly went in front too. They knocked the ball around the edge of the box, no one got close enough to cut it out, and their man curled it into the corner. It had been coming and it has to be said that it was hard to argue with it. There was still time for them to force more saves from Fielding - we were slipping away grimly.

With no other options we added Hinds up front (for Pack) and tried largely unsuccessfully to bundle the ball upfield. Following a prolonged injury to a Brentford player,  the closest we'd come is a miscued clearance with the keeper off his line, whipped back in on goal from long distance by O'Dowda, but ultimately headed clear just in front of the line.

Then, at the death, a twist. As City piled forward, two clear shouts for a penalty for handling in the box by defenders clearing - the second resulting from a desperate Baker shot with the last kick of the game. It was a good shout but the referee (excellent throughout) kept the game going and in the extra seconds, the keeper raced out to claim and Reid tapped in.

Delirium in the away end. It was - after the long injury - literally the death: 8 minutes after the 90th, and in the context of the game, completely unwarranted and a total mugging. I did not speak to a single fan who felt we had done anything other than got out of jail: a scarcely deserved equaliser, in a match we only competed in the first and final 5 of 100 minutes.

For that to be the case only 3 league games in, albeit against a decent and specifically counter-acting footballing team (Brentford are masters of pass and move at speed) should be a concern, but even more than that, the manner of Johnson's inability to compete tactically is the real worry from the past two away games. Some of the failings are all still there.

On Saturday we quite obviously didn't have a Plan B, a criticism thrown at the manager a number of times last season. Today not only did we not have a Plan B, but our Plan A fell to pieces quickly too. In both cases we surrendered not just the lead, but the match and all visible momentum. The only shard of light was our five minute hustle for an equaliser.

The optimism from Saturday may have to be re-assessed. The glowing references in my prior report certainly warrant retraction!

 

Fielding 9 Kicking is still shocking, but without his saves we would have lost 5-1 or more. Kept us in the game - no other way to describe it.

Pisano 5 Has the engine to get up and down but positioning and ability to win the ball all suspect. Far too many crosses from his side first half, and beaten in the air for the equaliser.

Bryan 6 Regressing to the Bryan at Griffin Park last season. Moments in the first half where he totally abandoned the player he was marking allowing them a free shot on goal.

Wright 7 The best of a poor defence. Got stuck in wherever he could and won a number of balls when it felt like Sawyers, Jota and Vibe were slicing our defence open.

Baker 6 I thought Hegeler won a number of first balls on Saturday and was unlucky to be dropped. Don't think Baker did nearly enough to attack crosses into the box for us to celebrate his inclusion just yet.

Smith 8 Fielding was a clear MoM for us, but Smith was our best outfield player by some distance. Ran himself into the ground chasing everything. Sadly mostly defensively but right to the end he was trying to get himself forward, we don't have many players who give everything in spite of the challenge.

Pack 6 Forced into an almost entirely defensive role and didn't have the speed or engine to offer anything other than that. To compound that could have done better for their second goal.

Brownhill 6 Good finish for the goal, and not really his fault, but little point him being out on the wing when we're overrun in central midfield and not even close to being able to get the ball played forward and into him. More Johnson's fault than his, but hard to see his value when he's so outside of the action.

Paterson 5 The rub on this guy is that he is inconsistent and I'm afraid here we are again. After a couple of bright games, nowhere near the quality or strength needed and I would wager will lose his place to O'Dowda for Saturday who at least affects the game.

Reid 7 Still working his proverbials off, had little or no service and a virtually non-existent target man alongside him, but he chased causes to both flanks all game for 98 minutes, and was ready to claim that equaliser. Hard to argue that he is our best player this season by some distance. The guy is on fire.

Diedhiou 5 Worrying that he is not getting into games. Was always a project and going to be raw but for over £5m I would expect us to have got closer to a 90 minute player by now. Sharp from the start but too quickly played out of games and unable to effectively link up with anyone. Undoubtedly a workhorse but fizzles out very quickly.

 

Subs:

O'Dowda 7 More physical and animated than a below par Paterson, draws fouls and is exclusively forward thinking - his reaction with the keeper off his line, deserved better.

O'Neil 5 Added some shape to the huge gaps we were absent from in central midfield, and managed one shot at goal, although truthfully did not look up to speed yet.

Hinds 6 Not much sight of the ball but could see from his movement that he would have been welcome on Saturday, he gets into some positions.

if you ever write a book, I will be buying that bitch

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Football is a funny game, should have got 3 points at Brum but came away with zero, should have got thrashed tonight but came away with a point..

I am disappointed we are throwing leads away once again rather than building upon them. 

Three games in and its W1, D1 L1. Consistency is my concern atm. 

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2 hours ago, allyolly said:

I really hoped adding O'Neill would have given some stability to the midfield. Sadly that was not the case. Not sure what he brings to be honest  

I agree generally with what you say but feel the first half at Birmingham was money in the bank for the rubbish served up tonight (frankie excepted). 

Dont give up. Early days and a win on Saturday - very possible - would be a reasonable return from two home and two away games. 

See you soon! 

You can't paper over the cracks-were a poor Championship side with the sole aim of just missing the drop.

With the backing given to Lee he is confirming with the passage of time he,as suspected,really ain't hacking it & is badly out of his depth..you can't stand still/keep scrabbling around blindly without reality catching up...its not enough.

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Three games into the season we have, unfortunately, proved that the problems exist in the mental strength of the players.

It's not possible to completely dominate a Barnsley side for 45 minutes and then disappear for 80 minutes against Brentford with the space of 8 days.  Bizarrely, Barnsley are above Brentford in the league table.

The weaknesses that led to last season's unprecedented losing run are still thinly hidden beneath a layer of new signings.

I'm not throwing the towel in just yet. As you said in your Birmingham report @Olé the performance was good and the result was bad - a reversal of last year's first away game.  There are clearly differences compared to the start of 16/17.

But, if we are to achieve anything this season then we must find an answer to this mental frailty. It might be a new player, a new coach or a psychologist. It might be a new head coach.

Credit to Brentford for assembling a team that can demonstrate what is possible on a restricted budget within the Championship. They do, however, only have one point to our four.

Fingers crossed tonight is the wake-up call.

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Great report and pretty much on the money. We were absolutely battered for all but about 15 minutes of a very one sided game and it's a minor miracle that we emerged with anything. Some of Brentford's quirk interplay was a joy to watch but we did very little to try and stop them for long periods. I was concerned that LJ came out and said we deserved a point too. It's no exaggeration to say that without an inspired Fielding we could easily have lost 6-1. 

I try not to get too involved in getting too high or too low after one performance, and given that was the first game I've seen this season I'll refrain from sweeping judgements. But I hope that display was a one off and that we get back to how I've been led to believe we've played at times in the first two games. If we can beat a very average Milwall team on Saturday we'll have had a strong and positive start to the season. 

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The difference for me is on Saturday Brum were being battered by us, managed to stay in the game, and Redknapp did something about it!! We were being battered last night, managed to stay in the game, and Johnson didn't sort it out meaning we got battered second half too. Johnson said the players need to learn after Saturday. He needs to learn quickly too. With Đurić out long term another forward is a must. We also need a keeper to challenge Frank, as brilliant as he was last night, and some steel. We are too lightweight and easy to dominate.

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3 hours ago, Robert the bruce said:

You can't paper over the cracks-were a poor Championship side with the sole aim of just missing the drop.

With the backing given to Lee he is confirming with the passage of time he,as suspected,really ain't hacking it & is badly out of his depth..you can't stand still/keep scrabbling around blindly without reality catching up...its not enough.

Sorry mate but that is a load of knee-jerk nonsense.  Three games in, two away from home, and a haul of four points and six goals, with the top scorer in the division, ain't bad at all.  You need to get those blinkers off and see that we are developing.  So we played poorly and got a point last night - that's often true of the best teams.  Or did you really expect us to win every match this season?

And as for this 'sole aim of just missing the drop', I'm afraid that everyone from the club who has given an interview this season has made it absolutely clear that that is not true.

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2 hours ago, Xiled said:

Three games into the season we have, unfortunately, proved that the problems exist in the mental strength of the players.

It's not possible to completely dominate a Barnsley side for 45 minutes and then disappear for 80 minutes against Brentford with the space of 8 days.  Bizarrely, Barnsley are above Brentford in the league table.

The weaknesses that led to last season's unprecedented losing run are still thinly hidden beneath a layer of new signings.

I'm not throwing the towel in just yet. As you said in your Birmingham report @Olé the performance was good and the result was bad - a reversal of last year's first away game.  There are clearly differences compared to the start of 16/17.

But, if we are to achieve anything this season then we must find an answer to this mental frailty. It might be a new player, a new coach or a psychologist. It might be a new head coach.

Credit to Brentford for assembling a team that can demonstrate what is possible on a restricted budget within the Championship. They do, however, only have one point to our four.

Fingers crossed tonight is the wake-up call.

Problems with the mental strength of the players?  Equalising in the 98th minute after playing poorly indicates problems with the mental strength of the players?  I can't think of anything that would better indicate the complete opposite.

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15 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

The difference for me is on Saturday Brum were being battered by us, managed to stay in the game, and Redknapp did something about it!! We were being battered last night, managed to stay in the game, and Johnson didn't sort it out meaning we got battered second half too. Johnson said the players need to learn after Saturday. He needs to learn quickly too. With Đurić out long term another forward is a must. We also need a keeper to challenge Frank, as brilliant as he was last night, and some steel. We are too lightweight and easy to dominate.

So what subs would you, with hindsight, have made last night?

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2 minutes ago, cheshire_red said:

Can anyone point to a game where LJ has turned it around by tactical changes or substitutions?

Was it Rotherham last season where Taylor and Đurić changed the game and broke down their defence?

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What worries me, other than the lack of quality/experience in the coaching staff, is that we are making the same mistake we seem always to make at this level - too many bang average players. Just compare, those of us who can remember, this team with our one promotion team since the war. OK, a different era, but where are the Gows, Whiteheads etc etc?

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5 minutes ago, Ivorguy said:

What worries me, other than the lack of quality/experience in the coaching staff, is that we are making the same mistake we seem always to make at this level - too many bang average players. Just compare, those of us who can remember, this team with our one promotion team since the war. OK, a different era, but where are the Gows, Whiteheads etc etc?

Yes we have a lot of average players and that is because we will/can only pay average wages. It relies on us spotting young players who will develop into above average players. Jury is definitely out on whether we have the ability to do that.

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I was there last night. 100% agree with ole's match report. Its not negative or passing judgement on our prospects this season. Its absolutely accurate on what happened last night. LJ doesn't help himself with " we deserved a point"

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33 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

So what subs would you, with hindsight, have made last night?

I'd have brought on the top scorer in Sweden but LJ clearly thinks he is better off helping someone else.

Genius when we have so many other striking options, eh?

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You wrote this:

"The only consolation first half was we finally got to see our defence, which marshalled Vibe and Jota incredibly well."

But in your ratings:

"Wright 7 The best of a poor defence. Got stuck in wherever he could and won a number of balls when it felt like Sawyers, Jota and Vibe were slicing our defence open.

Baker 6 I thought Hegeler won a number of first balls on Saturday and was unlucky to be dropped. Don't think Baker did nearly enough to attack crosses into the box for us to celebrate his inclusion just yet."

Are you praising the defence or saying they were poor!? I was there, and I have to say it was not the fault of the defence. What could they do? The ball came back and back and back. We withstood a barrage of pressure and held on long enough to give us a chance of nicking something, which luckily we did. I would say that the centre backs and Bryan did a good job defending, which is all they could do, Pisano was a little suspect, especially first half. The problem was that once we did make a tackle, we had no one holding the ball, no one keeping it and relieving the pressure. That's down to poor forward play and a poor midfield. We lacked anything further forward than defence. Smith and Pack are both decent players, but we were crying out for another man in there, someone who can put a foot on the ball and calm things down.

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