Dr Balls

Thought all the on-field officials tonight were fine. Stroud booked a couple of theirs for time-wasting, plus both McClean and Sykes for their contretemps. Blame the 4th official for only 4 minutes of added time at the end and even then Stroud played 5+ minutes. If it was anyone else we would be saying how good the referee was compared to many we have seen this season.

Both really were instrumental in our improvement in the second half of last season with WSM banging in the goals up front and Klose proving a more than adequate and rather classy replacement for Kalas at the back. The benefit of their experience shone through and we should definitely be thankful for their efforts. However there often is a tipping point for professional footballers in their mid 30s when their pace goes a little and the speed of thought no longer quite makes up for that. Plus I do wonder if Klose was missing the family more than previously. Last time I saw him a couple of weeks ago in Clifton Down Shopping Centre he was very engrossed in a chat (in German) on his phone, presumably calling home. And it would seem that’s where he is now heading.

Do they still have the fan (female I think) with the bell to ring during the game?That’s my recollection from the 70s Division 1 days and I have never been sure if it was just for Colin Bell or a more general thing. Certainly it was unique to them. And yes they always supported in numbers even when their team was crap and down in the third tier. It’s not like we don’t know that feeling!

Atyeo looked pretty full of West Brom fans on Saturday. Can’t imagine you could fit many more in than they had. Must have been close to 3,000.

Also Chris Sutton singing Sam Bell’s praises this evening on 606. Listen in at 44 mins for more on that. Shame the MOTD producers didn’t ask him about our game! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001hmzs

Interesting that Jason Euell appeared in the technical area immediately after the pass from Max playing Atkinson into trouble, indicating about kicking it long. There is a time and a place to play out from the back, and it’s not when it’s to an isolated defender with an attacker immediately on him in front of your own goal. The risk of giving away a goal in those circumstances is high.

He actually predicted we would win 2-1 so perhaps a better pundit than many would like to admit!

Less than 60 seconds of highlights at the very end of a 100 minute MOTD, and Sam Bell’s 2nd goal, as good as any scored so far in this round, got no mention at all afterwards. Poor but at least they finally managed to show the right teams!!

I have suggested before that in a 4-4-2 the best option on the left might be Dasilva at left back and Pring at left midfield. However I don’t think Nige is going to play that formation and if Jay is only a back up left back then unless he is willing to take a considerable cut in wages, then I think we will be going our separate ways. I like him as a player and I think he is a more than capable left full back at this level, but his 2019 contract is just not affordable in 2023 unless you are a club with parachute payments. Agree that the way he went around the ground at the end suggests he knows that was his last game for us and he is on his way out.

The offside on Bell was one of the few things that linesman did get right. He got so many of the throw-in calls wrong. He just stood with his flag by his side and waited either for the referee to indicate or which ever team remonstrated more (usually Blackburn) that it was their throw-in. After a really effective and consistent linesman in front of the Lansdown last week against Birmingham, this one was stealing a living as an “assistant referee”.

There were 11 added minutes on Saturday: 4 first half and 7 second half, so we aren’t far off already!

Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday look like the best teams in League 1 and most likely to finish top 2. The playoffs could be really tasty if the positions are the same at the end of the season with Ipswich, Derby, Bolton and Barnsley all going for it.

Pring is a far better option as a wing back compared to Dasilva because he offers so much more going forward. From a defensive perspective, I think that there is a lot less to choose between them. So the suggestion was if Nige wanted to change formation, and needed a left side midfielder, Cam is possibly the best option that we have.

Much like Joe Bryan, who was often better going forward than defending, if we play 4-4-2, I would have Cam Pring as a left midfielder, with Dasilva behind him at left back, just as Bryan had Magnússon behind him during our best run under Johnson in 2017-18. Whether Nige would ever go 4-4-2 is another matter though.

Also allowed Sykes to play in his proper position for the first time, and get his first 2 goals with the club. Comes back to playing the best players for the position in that position and Tanner is clearly our best right back.

Thanks @Davefevs. Scott started the game well but became less and less effective as the first half continued, and having to compete with Bacuna, with there being far more threat down the right with Sykes and Tanner. And in the second half, Scott looked tired and at risk of getting yet another yellow card before he was subbed. So yes by his standards, not one of his best games, although at the risk of more brickbats I would also suggest that his form more generally has dipped a bit compared to earlier in the season. Not surprising in a young player, as his early season form was exceptional, but he is still a class act.

And he didn’t have a particularly great game either. Willians coming on in his place had a real impact.

Whereas once he was the weak link at the back, he has definitely stepped up and looks like a Championship level defender. Also happy to bring out from the back which was really good to see and makes me think we might be better going 4-4-2 with Atkinson and Vyner, plus pushing Pring into left midfield where he can do more damage going forward.

This vacant post has Colin written all over it. They are desperate, he has a reputation at this level of keeping clubs up and he’s a former manager.it’s a shoe-in!!

No. That was Lord Lucan (apparently)!

I could hardly believe it. Someone in the BBC must be having a laugh. Jonathan Pearce is it you? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62253649

And some of those games were terrible. Remember the one at the end of the season when we had the chance to relegate them to League 1 and we were just abject. It’s not a new phenomenon - it’s been pretty much the same since Cotts was sacked.

Yep. You could just about put together a half decent team if the best 11 of those were all fit, but then the quality falls off a cliff. You certainly wouldn’t be making any tactical substitutions based on that lot!

Links to the thread on our recent home form. Our fans are so pessimistic at the moment because we have seen so little in the way of performance that might give any hope that the players can stage a comeback. Even the singing section have gone very quiet recently, which says it all really.

We do seem to give away particularly soft/bad goals at home. The Sheffield United winner was soft, and both Stoke goals were poor ones to concede. Defensive frailty has been a real issue for many seasons and a persistent frustration that really needs to be sorted if we are to ever achieve anything other than struggling in the league.