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Match Report: In need of a performance, Johnson re-lives Deepdale humiliation


Olé

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The Lee Johnson form roller coaster crashed through the barriers and smashed into a wall at Huddersfield. Having lost to the two stand out sides in the league in the past fortnight, City now simply didn't turn up at the division's worst rated side at home, and were easily beaten, the only injustice that it was not by more.

Johnson divides opinion at Ashton Gate, and while there is no doubt he has cultivated competitive teams, and survived the sale of better players, he has also amassed a small army of signings, enough talent to not fall to pieces and succumb to this third straight defeat, incredibly this the most one sided of the lot.

Yet at a bitterly John Smith's stadium, that was City's fate, a match which most resembled Johnson's fractious and nearly fatal 5-0 collapse at Preston, starkly repeated, the most clueless and gutless performance of his tenure, and but for a succession of misses, the closest to that Deepdale catastrophe. 

Coming as it did, as City's latest playoff challenge continued to falter, the few fans who braved the bitterly cold Kirklees venue could only grow increasingly angry with their team as the so-called play off contenders cheaply surrendered to their relegation battling Yorkshire rivals - who dominated the fixture.

A one sided first half saw City never cross the half way line for the first quarter hour, hosts Huddersfield camped in the visitors half, albeit yet to find the killer finish, Smith Rowe, Willock, Simpson and Grant all having chances to open an advantage for the hosts, with their opponents very much on the defensive.

But inside 20 minutes recent signing Wells ran onto a channel ball on the left and turned and laid it back for DaSilva, whose dangerous cross with defence back tracking, resulted in a short spell of pressure for the visitors, who belatedly provided a brief foothold in a fixture they had offered little to.

Yet after a half hour it was all Huddersfield again, and on 34 they intercepted a sweeping City break, Smith Rowe fed Willock whose shot was saved down low by Bentley, but City were overrun, no answer to clear their lines as the Terriers worked the ball back, Grant denied, and Campbell tapping in - but offside.

A let off perhaps, so it was no surprise when the hosts roared in front almost immediately. Chalobah was on for the injured Hogg - who twice went down for treatment - and he'd tee up Smith Rowe to win a corner, again City could not clear and Willock swept back from the right, slamming in a shot far corner.

Abject City had barely crossed the halfway line let alone offered any response, yet remarkably deep into injury time - 8 minutes of which were added on for Hogg's collapses - they almost leveled, a first real break seeing Henriksen combine with Rowe, who centred for Diedhiou, who fired low onto the post.

After the interval and stung by a terrible first half, City were out early and warming up in front of their fans - and with two changes, Eliasson for Benkovic and Nagy for Henriksen, as they switched from three at the back - but as icy rain started to fall, the chastened away side fashioned only the briefest response. 

Within a minute of the restart Dasilva found space to run on the left, feeding in Paterson, whose quick cross was met by Diedhiou but headed wide. It would be ten minutes before the away side went close again, Hunt's deep through ball collected by Wells right of goal, laid back for Rowe, whose shot was blocked.

But while for City stringing three passes together was a miracle, Huddersfield were able to probe at will, and so it was no real shock when just after the hour they pulled away. Dasilva found no one moving, surrendering the ball, Smith Rowe dancing past half-hearted tackles, finally up-ended by Baker in the box. 

It was yet another driving inside run at the visitors that proved a stark reminder that only one side had a plan to attack with conviction, and as had been the case all night, City simply could not clear their lines. Grant took the penalty and while struck poorly to Bentley's right, he could not claw it out - deservedly 2-0.

From then on Johnson's men fell to pieces, already unable to pass the ball and overrun and largely resigned to their fate whenever the hosts attacked, it is no exaggeration to say this performance had only the humiliating 5-0 defeat at Preston as it's parallel, and a similar scoreline seemed quickly inevitable.

On 70 it should have been 3-0, City utterly chaotic as Huddersfield broke down the right, Grant in ridiculous amounts of space unmarked to the left, picked out with time to cut inside to lash a fierce volley at goal, blocked by Bentley's dive, Smith-Rowe somehow heading over from the rebound with the goal gaping.

Just over five minutes later Grant waltzed through a crowded but hopeless City back line, amazingly skipping clear of defenders into room to test the keeper, only to rifle inches wide of goal having done the hard work. The away side had clearly given up and it was no longer a matter of losing, but only by how many.

With ten minutes left the increasingly hapless Dasilva gave it away cheaply on the break, the Terriers responded two on three, midfielder O'Brien raced back upfield, before threading Smith-Rowe clear on goal, Bentley able to parry his shot but the goal gaping as O'Brien followed into the box but could not turn in.  

More humiliation was to come with five remaining - and by now 5-0 easily the correct outcome - as substitute Eliasson got the ball out of his feet for a run through the middle but was cheaply robbed, O'Brien again racing back at City and teeing up final sub Mounie, who blazed way over with only keeper to beat.

For practically the most one sided performance of Lee Johnson's long City tenure, the visitors actually pulled a goal back. With a few minutes left Wells laid the ball off to Weimann on the right, whose cross was met by a diving far post header from Dasilva that the keeper couldn't hold, Diedhiou tapping in.

City rallied heading into injury time but it would have been for a ridiculous and improbable point, and in truth they offered little hope of adding another, twice flagged for attacking fouls against hosts who like Leeds before them two weeks ago, were happy to tumble cheaply, knowing the hard work had been done. 

Instead the match rightly ended in defeat, the only fluke that it wasn't by more: a collapsing play off push and anonymous, one sided battering, yet Johnson did not face the few hundred fans that made a long trip to the freezing rain of the Penines, perhaps proof he has no good answers for their palpable derision.

 

Bentley 6 Possibly out of form but some of his saves kept it from being embarrassing for the rest of them

Benkovic 4 Ball watching too often, far to easy to play through him

Baker 5 The most desire to weigh in with a tackle, horrific penalty but to be fair the only person who looked interested in stopping their man

Kalas 4 Our record signing and devoid of leadership at the back and just going through the motions and exposed too easily, simply not good enough

Hunt 4 Gave it away cheaply a couple of times, once when someone passed out of defence into the back of his stride - not always his fault and does have a dangerous early forward ball in his game, but out attacking is so non existent he has to be measured on his defensive game, which like most, was poor

Dasilva 4 Tries hard and kept going more than most to get the goal, but was among the worst for passing to the opposition

Henriksen 4 Offered nothing for 45 minutes, could not put his foot on the ball or pass it, part of a 45 minute midfield display I hope never to see again

Rowe 4 It says a lot about how little LJ has recruited the leadership we so obviously need, but I, perhaps stereotypically, was looking to Rowe to knock a few heads together and say enough is enough - it didn't come, he was just another rabbit in the headlights

Paterson 4 Probably the worst for simply giving the ball away, part of the most lightweight City midfield ever assembled, second half was just he and an out of form Nagy, 

Wells 5 Will regret this transfer. Makes some good channel runs but this is not the team for him, we do not produce a high number of chances, our method of attacking is occasional direct balls over the top, the service is appalling, and while he had one or two good breaks to the byline to cutback, he so far offers nothing we didn't have before in Johnson's impotent attacking strategy

Diedhiou 6 The one passable outfield effort, he tries hard and the only one to really get into dangerous positions or look like he is making an effort - wasted on us as it was on Saturday

 

Eliasson 4 One or two hints of causing a problem, one cross from deep, but this was fodder for his detractors, lightweight and gave it away cheaply

Nagy 6 After a really poor Saturday it was only a measure of how hopeless we were that he was an improvement - at least showed some composure passing

Weimann 5 Had a hand in the goal but on too late to be relevant and managed to foul his opposite number with our only other attack after that

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Coming as it did, as City's latest playoff challenge continued to falter, the few fans who braved the bitterly cold Kirklees venue could only grow increasingly angry with their team as the so-called play off contenders cheaply surrendered to their relegation battling Yorkshire rivals - who dominated the fixture
 

summation right there. The rest is just window dressing.  

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Yes, this was more than bad. Dont know how we can Millwall saturday. We looked like we were one division below Hudds. Never seen City so bad as in the first half. When they got the second I stop watching. Defence no midfield no attack no. Really dont know how we could be so bad. Other results went our way but its hard to believe that we could win any more game this season according to yesterdays not performing. Hope is the last thing we have but this dont look good at all.

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I’m not sure if it was the distance from the far end of the pitch but it felt to me that there was just such a feeling of indifference when we scored last night.  
 

It meant nothing. Everyone knew there’d be no concentrated spell of pressure to force a late and undeserved equaliser & responded appropriately.

Our goal just extended the ordeal as the ref had to add a little more time on and then couldn’t be seen to blow up for full time if we were attacking (as during a 2-0 it would’ve irrelevant).

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4 hours ago, Olé said:

The Lee Johnson form roller coaster crashed through the barriers and smashed into a wall at Huddersfield. Having lost to the two stand out sides in the league in the past fortnight, City now simply didn't turn up at the division's worst rated side at home, and were easily beaten, the only injustice that it was not by more.

Johnson divides opinion at Ashton Gate, and while there is no doubt he has cultivated competitive teams, and survived the sale of better players, he has also amassed a small army of signings, enough talent to not fall to pieces and succumb to this third straight defeat, incredibly this the most one sided of the lot.

Yet at a bitterly John Smith's stadium, that was City's fate, a match which most resembled Johnson's fractious and nearly fatal 5-0 collapse at Preston, starkly repeated, the most clueless and gutless performance of his tenure, and but for a succession of misses, the closest to that Deepdale catastrophe. 

Coming as it did, as City's latest playoff challenge continued to falter, the few fans who braved the bitterly cold Kirklees venue could only grow increasingly angry with their team as the so-called play off contenders cheaply surrendered to their relegation battling Yorkshire rivals - who dominated the fixture.

A one sided first half saw City never cross the half way line for the first quarter hour, hosts Huddersfield camped in the visitors half, albeit yet to find the killer finish, Smith Rowe, Willock, Simpson and Grant all having chances to open an advantage for the hosts, with their opponents very much on the defensive.

But inside 20 minutes recent signing Wells ran onto a channel ball on the left and turned and laid it back for DaSilva, whose dangerous cross with defence back tracking, resulted in a short spell of pressure for the visitors, who belatedly provided a brief foothold in a fixture they had offered little to.

Yet after a half hour it was all Huddersfield again, and on 34 they intercepted a sweeping City break, Smith Rowe fed Willock whose shot was saved down low by Bentley, but City were overrun, no answer to clear their lines as the Terriers worked the ball back, Grant denied, and Campbell tapping in - but offside.

A let off perhaps, so it was no surprise when the hosts roared in front almost immediately. Chalobah was on for the injured Hogg - who twice went down for treatment - and he'd tee up Smith Rowe to win a corner, again City could not clear and Willock swept back from the right, slamming in a shot far corner.

Abject City had barely crossed the halfway line let alone offered any response, yet remarkably deep into injury time - 8 minutes of which were added on for Hogg's collapses - they almost leveled, a first real break seeing Henriksen combine with Rowe, who centred for Diedhiou, who fired low onto the post.

After the interval and stung by a terrible first half, City were out early and warming up in front of their fans - and with two changes, Eliasson for Benkovic and Nagy for Henriksen, as they switched from three at the back - but as icy rain started to fall, the chastened away side fashioned only the briefest response. 

Within a minute of the restart Dasilva found space to run on the left, feeding in Paterson, whose quick cross was met by Diedhiou but headed wide. It would be ten minutes before the away side went close again, Hunt's deep through ball collected by Wells right of goal, laid back for Rowe, whose shot was blocked.

But while for City stringing three passes together was a miracle, Huddersfield were able to probe at will, and so it was no real shock when just after the hour they pulled away. Dasilva found no one moving, surrendering the ball, Smith Rowe dancing past half-hearted tackles, finally up-ended by Baker in the box. 

It was yet another driving inside run at the visitors that proved a stark reminder that only one side had a plan to attack with conviction, and as had been the case all night, City simply could not clear their lines. Grant took the penalty and while struck poorly to Bentley's right, he could not claw it out - deservedly 2-0.

From then on Johnson's men fell to pieces, already unable to pass the ball and overrun and largely resigned to their fate whenever the hosts attacked, it is no exaggeration to say this performance had only the humiliating 5-0 defeat at Preston as it's parallel, and a similar scoreline seemed quickly inevitable.

On 70 it should have been 3-0, City utterly chaotic as Huddersfield broke down the right, Grant in ridiculous amounts of space unmarked to the left, picked out with time to cut inside to lash a fierce volley at goal, blocked by Bentley's dive, Smith-Rowe somehow heading over from the rebound with the goal gaping.

Just over five minutes later Grant waltzed through a crowded but hopeless City back line, amazingly skipping clear of defenders into room to test the keeper, only to rifle inches wide of goal having done the hard work. The away side had clearly given up and it was no longer a matter of losing, but only by how many.

With ten minutes left the increasingly hapless Dasilva gave it away cheaply on the break, the Terriers responded two on three, midfielder O'Brien raced back upfield, before threading Smith-Rowe clear on goal, Bentley able to parry his shot but the goal gaping as O'Brien followed into the box but could not turn in.  

More humiliation was to come with five remaining - and by now 5-0 easily the correct outcome - as substitute Eliasson got the ball out of his feet for a run through the middle but was cheaply robbed, O'Brien again racing back at City and teeing up final sub Mounie, who blazed way over with only keeper to beat.

For practically the most one sided performance of Lee Johnson's long City tenure, the visitors actually pulled a goal back. With a few minutes left Wells laid the ball off to Weimann on the right, whose cross was met by a diving far post header from Dasilva that the keeper couldn't hold, Diedhiou tapping in.

City rallied heading into injury time but it would have been for a ridiculous and improbable point, and in truth they offered little hope of adding another, twice flagged for attacking fouls against hosts who like Leeds before them two weeks ago, were happy to tumble cheaply, knowing the hard work had been done. 

Instead the match rightly ended in defeat, the only fluke that it wasn't by more: a collapsing play off push and anonymous, one sided battering, yet Johnson did not face the few hundred fans that made a long trip to the freezing rain of the Penines, perhaps proof he has no good answers for their palpable derision.

 

Bentley 6 Possibly out of form but some of his saves kept it from being embarrassing for the rest of them

Benkovic 4 Ball watching too often, far to easy to play through him

Baker 5 The most desire to weigh in with a tackle, horrific penalty but to be fair the only person who looked interested in stopping their man

Kalas 4 Our record signing and devoid of leadership at the back and just going through the motions and exposed too easily, simply not good enough

Hunt 4 Gave it away cheaply a couple of times, once when someone passed out of defence into the back of his stride - not always his fault and does have a dangerous early forward ball in his game, but out attacking is so non existent he has to be measured on his defensive game, which like most, was poor

Dasilva 4 Tries hard and kept going more than most to get the goal, but was among the worst for passing to the opposition

Henriksen 4 Offered nothing for 45 minutes, could not put his foot on the ball or pass it, part of a 45 minute midfield display I hope never to see again

Rowe 4 It says a lot about how little LJ has recruited the leadership we so obviously need, but I, perhaps stereotypically, was looking to Rowe to knock a few heads together and say enough is enough - it didn't come, he was just another rabbit in the headlights

Paterson 4 Probably the worst for simply giving the ball away, part of the most lightweight City midfield ever assembled, second half was just he and an out of form Nagy, 

Wells 5 Will regret this transfer. Makes some good channel runs but this is not the team for him, we do not produce a high number of chances, our method of attacking is occasional direct balls over the top, the service is appalling, and while he had one or two good breaks to the byline to cutback, he so far offers nothing we didn't have before in Johnson's impotent attacking strategy

Diedhiou 6 The one passable outfield effort, he tries hard and the only one to really get into dangerous positions or look like he is making an effort - wasted on us as it was on Saturday

 

Eliasson 4 One or two hints of causing a problem, one cross from deep, but this was fodder for his detractors, lightweight and gave it away cheaply

Nagy 6 After a really poor Saturday it was only a measure of how hopeless we were that he was an improvement - at least showed some composure passing

Weimann 5 Had a hand in the goal but on too late to be relevant and managed to foul his opposite number with our only other attack after that

You’re right about the Preston comparison. I thought exactly the same thing at half time.

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4 hours ago, Olé said:

 

Wells 5 Will regret this transfer. Makes some good channel runs but this is not the team for him, we do not produce a high number of chances, our method of attacking is occasional direct balls over the top, the service is appalling, and while he had one or two good breaks to the byline to cutback, he so far offers nothing we didn't have before in Johnson's impotent attacking strategy

 

I'm glad others are starting to realise he isn't what we needed. All season our issues have been progressing the ball and creating chances rather than scoring them. Couldn't understand everyone calling for us to sign a striker like Wells/ Nketiah if we can't do anything in possession. 

Wells and QPR suited each other and we don't need Wells. QPR lose their top goal scorer, Wells is no longer at a team who can progress the ball and create chances for him and we've signed Wells to not give him any service with the expectation he'll be the solution to a problem he isn't suited to fix. 

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22 minutes ago, CheddarReds said:

I'm glad others are starting to realise he isn't what we needed. All season our issues have been progressing the ball and creating chances rather than scoring them. Couldn't understand everyone calling for us to sign a striker like Wells/ Nketiah if we can't do anything in possession. 

Wells and QPR suited each other and we don't need Wells. QPR lose their top goal scorer, Wells is no longer at a team who can progress the ball and create chances for him and we've signed Wells to not give him any service with the expectation he'll be the solution to a problem he isn't suited to fix. 

Agree, although I think Wells will be a huge asset to us in the coming season/s he won't be while we play the ponderous deliberate football of Lee Johnson. 

Our problem lies not in the strikers but the instructions given to the team, Wells and Fam could be an absolutely devastating front line, add Afobe to that and you are for me struggling to find a better set of 3 strikers in the league, however all of them rely on us being quick in transition, in different ways. 

Wells and Afobe, want quick switches of play and movement of the ball to drag the full backs wide leaving space either in between the centre backs or between centre back and full back for them to run into. Famara wants the ball quickly into feet with back to goal and the runners breaking off him so he can then pop the ball off into the space that the breaking runners are moving into and then he can move into the space created by their runs. 

With us slowly and deliberately patting the ball around at the back, and I can only assume being told not to attack the space in behind, we suck teams into a high press even if they don't want to, WBA are not a big high pressing side, yet the 2 times we have played them by nicking the ball around at the back we have drawn them onto us and turned them into a high press side, had this been a deliberate ploy to draw them out an exploit the space left in behind then that's great, but it wasn't it was just Johnsons shit tactics and not being able to see what happens in front of him. 

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5 hours ago, Olé said:

The Lee Johnson form roller coaster crashed through the barriers and smashed into a wall at Huddersfield. Having lost to the two stand out sides in the league in the past fortnight, City now simply didn't turn up at the division's worst rated side at home, and were easily beaten, the only injustice that it was not by more.

Johnson divides opinion at Ashton Gate, and while there is no doubt he has cultivated competitive teams, and survived the sale of better players, he has also amassed a small army of signings, enough talent to not fall to pieces and succumb to this third straight defeat, incredibly this the most one sided of the lot.

Yet at a bitterly John Smith's stadium, that was City's fate, a match which most resembled Johnson's fractious and nearly fatal 5-0 collapse at Preston, starkly repeated, the most clueless and gutless performance of his tenure, and but for a succession of misses, the closest to that Deepdale catastrophe. 

Coming as it did, as City's latest playoff challenge continued to falter, the few fans who braved the bitterly cold Kirklees venue could only grow increasingly angry with their team as the so-called play off contenders cheaply surrendered to their relegation battling Yorkshire rivals - who dominated the fixture.

A one sided first half saw City never cross the half way line for the first quarter hour, hosts Huddersfield camped in the visitors half, albeit yet to find the killer finish, Smith Rowe, Willock, Simpson and Grant all having chances to open an advantage for the hosts, with their opponents very much on the defensive.

But inside 20 minutes recent signing Wells ran onto a channel ball on the left and turned and laid it back for DaSilva, whose dangerous cross with defence back tracking, resulted in a short spell of pressure for the visitors, who belatedly provided a brief foothold in a fixture they had offered little to.

Yet after a half hour it was all Huddersfield again, and on 34 they intercepted a sweeping City break, Smith Rowe fed Willock whose shot was saved down low by Bentley, but City were overrun, no answer to clear their lines as the Terriers worked the ball back, Grant denied, and Campbell tapping in - but offside.

A let off perhaps, so it was no surprise when the hosts roared in front almost immediately. Chalobah was on for the injured Hogg - who twice went down for treatment - and he'd tee up Smith Rowe to win a corner, again City could not clear and Willock swept back from the right, slamming in a shot far corner.

Abject City had barely crossed the halfway line let alone offered any response, yet remarkably deep into injury time - 8 minutes of which were added on for Hogg's collapses - they almost leveled, a first real break seeing Henriksen combine with Rowe, who centred for Diedhiou, who fired low onto the post.

After the interval and stung by a terrible first half, City were out early and warming up in front of their fans - and with two changes, Eliasson for Benkovic and Nagy for Henriksen, as they switched from three at the back - but as icy rain started to fall, the chastened away side fashioned only the briefest response. 

Within a minute of the restart Dasilva found space to run on the left, feeding in Paterson, whose quick cross was met by Diedhiou but headed wide. It would be ten minutes before the away side went close again, Hunt's deep through ball collected by Wells right of goal, laid back for Rowe, whose shot was blocked.

But while for City stringing three passes together was a miracle, Huddersfield were able to probe at will, and so it was no real shock when just after the hour they pulled away. Dasilva found no one moving, surrendering the ball, Smith Rowe dancing past half-hearted tackles, finally up-ended by Baker in the box. 

It was yet another driving inside run at the visitors that proved a stark reminder that only one side had a plan to attack with conviction, and as had been the case all night, City simply could not clear their lines. Grant took the penalty and while struck poorly to Bentley's right, he could not claw it out - deservedly 2-0.

From then on Johnson's men fell to pieces, already unable to pass the ball and overrun and largely resigned to their fate whenever the hosts attacked, it is no exaggeration to say this performance had only the humiliating 5-0 defeat at Preston as it's parallel, and a similar scoreline seemed quickly inevitable.

On 70 it should have been 3-0, City utterly chaotic as Huddersfield broke down the right, Grant in ridiculous amounts of space unmarked to the left, picked out with time to cut inside to lash a fierce volley at goal, blocked by Bentley's dive, Smith-Rowe somehow heading over from the rebound with the goal gaping.

Just over five minutes later Grant waltzed through a crowded but hopeless City back line, amazingly skipping clear of defenders into room to test the keeper, only to rifle inches wide of goal having done the hard work. The away side had clearly given up and it was no longer a matter of losing, but only by how many.

With ten minutes left the increasingly hapless Dasilva gave it away cheaply on the break, the Terriers responded two on three, midfielder O'Brien raced back upfield, before threading Smith-Rowe clear on goal, Bentley able to parry his shot but the goal gaping as O'Brien followed into the box but could not turn in.  

More humiliation was to come with five remaining - and by now 5-0 easily the correct outcome - as substitute Eliasson got the ball out of his feet for a run through the middle but was cheaply robbed, O'Brien again racing back at City and teeing up final sub Mounie, who blazed way over with only keeper to beat.

For practically the most one sided performance of Lee Johnson's long City tenure, the visitors actually pulled a goal back. With a few minutes left Wells laid the ball off to Weimann on the right, whose cross was met by a diving far post header from Dasilva that the keeper couldn't hold, Diedhiou tapping in.

City rallied heading into injury time but it would have been for a ridiculous and improbable point, and in truth they offered little hope of adding another, twice flagged for attacking fouls against hosts who like Leeds before them two weeks ago, were happy to tumble cheaply, knowing the hard work had been done. 

Instead the match rightly ended in defeat, the only fluke that it wasn't by more: a collapsing play off push and anonymous, one sided battering, yet Johnson did not face the few hundred fans that made a long trip to the freezing rain of the Penines, perhaps proof he has no good answers for their palpable derision.

 

Bentley 6 Possibly out of form but some of his saves kept it from being embarrassing for the rest of them

Benkovic 4 Ball watching too often, far to easy to play through him

Baker 5 The most desire to weigh in with a tackle, horrific penalty but to be fair the only person who looked interested in stopping their man

Kalas 4 Our record signing and devoid of leadership at the back and just going through the motions and exposed too easily, simply not good enough

Hunt 4 Gave it away cheaply a couple of times, once when someone passed out of defence into the back of his stride - not always his fault and does have a dangerous early forward ball in his game, but out attacking is so non existent he has to be measured on his defensive game, which like most, was poor

Dasilva 4 Tries hard and kept going more than most to get the goal, but was among the worst for passing to the opposition

Henriksen 4 Offered nothing for 45 minutes, could not put his foot on the ball or pass it, part of a 45 minute midfield display I hope never to see again

Rowe 4 It says a lot about how little LJ has recruited the leadership we so obviously need, but I, perhaps stereotypically, was looking to Rowe to knock a few heads together and say enough is enough - it didn't come, he was just another rabbit in the headlights

Paterson 4 Probably the worst for simply giving the ball away, part of the most lightweight City midfield ever assembled, second half was just he and an out of form Nagy, 

Wells 5 Will regret this transfer. Makes some good channel runs but this is not the team for him, we do not produce a high number of chances, our method of attacking is occasional direct balls over the top, the service is appalling, and while he had one or two good breaks to the byline to cutback, he so far offers nothing we didn't have before in Johnson's impotent attacking strategy

Diedhiou 6 The one passable outfield effort, he tries hard and the only one to really get into dangerous positions or look like he is making an effort - wasted on us as it was on Saturday

 

Eliasson 4 One or two hints of causing a problem, one cross from deep, but this was fodder for his detractors, lightweight and gave it away cheaply

Nagy 6 After a really poor Saturday it was only a measure of how hopeless we were that he was an improvement - at least showed some composure passing

Weimann 5 Had a hand in the goal but on too late to be relevant and managed to foul his opposite number with our only other attack after that

Yep, not much more to say Ole. It was hopeless.Personally I'd give Rowe, Paterson and Henriksen no more than 3s for probably the worst midfield performance I've ever seen in the first half We weren't just over-run, we were non-existent.

And I though Nagy was genuinely better than Saturday - not just in comparison with those around him. He did at least offer some composure as you've said, but also movement and some intelligent running.

I think Johnson pretty much has a clean piece of paper for Saturday's team selection - no-one deserves a place on that showing.

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"Bristol City, who suffered a third successive defeat, were woeful during the first 45 minutes but did briefly improve following the half-time introduction of Niclas Eliasson and Adam Nagy."

Taken from the BBC match report ,says a lot when an impartial journalist describes a display as woeful,often seen poor but never woeful.

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7 hours ago, Olé said:

part of a 45 minute midfield display I hope never to see again

I can offer little optimism here - I initially thought Nagy was an upgrade on Pack and how we were all cooing about stealing Henriksen just a few weeks ago.

It seems clear why he couldn't get into a poor Hull team - he doesn't seem able to cope with the pace and strength of the league.

This midfield is here until May - I'm worried.

Surely we must give Kasey a run - it cannot be any worse.

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2 hours ago, Abraham Romanovich said:

"Bristol City, who suffered a third successive defeat, were woeful during the first 45 minutes but did briefly improve following the half-time introduction of Niclas Eliasson and Adam Nagy."

Taken from the BBC match report ,says a lot when an impartial journalist describes a display as woeful,often seen poor but never woeful.

Not entirely impartial, to be fair... ?

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50 minutes ago, cider-manc said:

Comparing last night to the Preston 5-0 is harsh.

We played alright for the opening 40 mins at Deepdale.....

We didnt play at all for 90 minutes last night.

I agree, I have too written in another post that the performance was so much worse than at Deepdale, even if not reflected in the very flattering ( to us) scoreline last evening.

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