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Match Report: Wells untimely exit exposes familiar weaknesses at Millwall


Olé

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You’d think after his numerous chances O’Dowda would’ve done something by now; but no, in yet another chance against Millwall he displays his entire mediocre to poor Bristol City career to date. 

Apart from being beyond frustrated with him what really boils my piss is that his inclusion keeps one of our up and coming youngsters out of the team. 

Enough now. 

Edited by One Team
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Just been catching up with things.

I didn't realise Nhaki had pulled out because of his groin, that makes it harder to start with.

Baker playing with injections, seems odd when we had Vyner who did well at CB previously.

JD ankle injury & Williams cramp meant injuries dictated Subs rather than the coach, again making it hard.

While I agree COD didn't do much, he wasn't meant to even be on the bench. He gets stick that isn't always deserved. 

I don't think Bakinson can play against teams who press well and limit space. He gets caught on the ball and cost us last night again. 
Great ball through, but looking at it again Atkinson didn't need to make that challenge. If he just leans on Afobe a little with Bents' coming out ? Who knows.

One thing I'd ask the coach's , why don't we shoot ?
Weimann , although the ball was bouncing, had a chance with a decent angle but waits until the keepers' on top of him.
Martin went round in circles so much it won't be on a highlight reel as he didn't even get the shot away !

With Martin looking knackered, Weimann has been lost. We need a change up top. If Wells is fit , straight swap, if not ? Not many options.
Bakinson & Palmer were poor, so (depending on Williams) King has to be involved. 
I'd rather see a fully fit Vyner come in at RCB than risk Baker breaking down again. Or go to a genuine back 4 with Pring LMF.

The team needs a shake up, last night was very reminiscent of last year, and that's a worry.

Good write up as ever @Olé , I maybe thought you were hard on marks for DaSilva & Tanner , but hard to argue as , as an XI there were all pretty poor.

 

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Unlike our inconsistent and sometimes very disappointing performances your excellent reports are consistent and never disappoint, thank you. 

Many of us, including NP I suspect, have been concerned as to where the goals would come from this season, last night very much shone a light on that. One shot on target (which was barely a shot) and an inability to create any decent openings exposed one of our major challenges.

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14 minutes ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

As Nige would say ‘an impact’. 
 

Sorry, I still don’t know - 5 odd years into his contract - what his actual purpose is. Of the range of footballing attributes - shooting, dribbling, crossing, tackling, heading - which are his strengths? Once that’s established I’d be clearer in what to expect from him.

CoD - a hugely good human I’ve no doubt - sums up Mark Ashton’s contribution to the Club for me. 

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22 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

Just been catching up with things.

I didn't realise Nhaki had pulled out because of his groin, that makes it harder to start with.

Baker playing with injections, seems odd when we had Vyner who did well at CB previously.

JD ankle injury & Williams cramp meant injuries dictated Subs rather than the coach, again making it hard.

While I agree COD didn't do much, he wasn't meant to even be on the bench. He gets stick that isn't always deserved. 

I don't think Bakinson can play against teams who press well and limit space. He gets caught on the ball and cost us last night again. 
Great ball through, but looking at it again Atkinson didn't need to make that challenge. If he just leans on Afobe a little with Bents' coming out ? Who knows.

One thing I'd ask the coach's , why don't we shoot ?
Weimann , although the ball was bouncing, had a chance with a decent angle but waits until the keepers' on top of him.
Martin went round in circles so much it won't be on a highlight reel as he didn't even get the shot away !

With Martin looking knackered, Weimann has been lost. We need a change up top. If Wells is fit , straight swap, if not ? Not many options.
Bakinson & Palmer were poor, so (depending on Williams) King has to be involved. 
I'd rather see a fully fit Vyner come in at RCB than risk Baker breaking down again. Or go to a genuine back 4 with Pring LMF.

The team needs a shake up, last night was very reminiscent of last year, and that's a worry.

Good write up as ever @Olé , I maybe thought you were hard on marks for DaSilva & Tanner , but hard to argue as , as an XI there were all pretty poor.

 

Good summary.

Think Rob’s marks in an excellent report are very harsh on Pring, by the way.

Was amazed afterwards that Fleming said Baker had an injection (possibly 2?) to play but we still went with no CB on the bench, surely Vyner’s versatility there would have been ideal?

Also Wells’ last minute withdrawal meant with Semenyo also out the bench was a lot of midfielders. 

After seemingly doing well with injuries we have suddenly got a lot, it doesn’t sound like either Dasilva or Baker will be fit for Peterborough, nor HNM & Semenyo’s absence seems to have come out of the blue, who knows about Wells, either?

We do need to give Martin a rest on Saturday though, even if Wells is missing.

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16 minutes ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

More than he ever delivers.
 

I’m fed up waiting for him to impress. he so rarely makes an effective impact on a game. According to Google: 142 Championship matches, 7 goals, 10 assists. Hardly surprising, I guess, that he did absolutely nothing of note last night. 
 

He’s a waste of a shirt imo. Stealing a living. 

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16 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Good summary.

Think Rob’s marks in an excellent report are very harsh on Pring, by the way.

Was amazed afterwards that Fleming said Baker had an injection (possibly 2?) to play but we still went with no CB on the bench, surely Vyner’s versatility there would have been ideal?

Also Wells’ last minute withdrawal meant with Semenyo also out the bench was a lot of midfielders. 

After seemingly doing well with injuries we have suddenly got a lot, it doesn’t sound like either Dasilva or Baker will be fit for Peterborough, nor HNM & Semenyo’s absence seems to have come out of the blue, who knows about Wells, either?

We do need to give Martin a rest on Saturday though, even if Wells is missing.

I was going to add Pring. 
I think we worry more about injuries because of our recent record, but it doesn't look good.
Hopefully Semenyo and Wells were precautionary , Pring is a straight swap but the worry is strikers. 
Martin has surely got to be rested, and if Wells is a doubt I'd go Weimann CF and work the rest around him. Not many options from the U23's, Conway & Britton not 100% fit , so it limits what we can do.

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16 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

More than he ever delivers.
 

I’m fed up waiting for him to impress. he so rarely makes an effective impact on a game. According to Google: 142 Championship matches, 7 goals, 10 assists. Hardly surprising, I guess, that he did absolutely nothing of note last night. 
 

He’s a waste of a shirt imo. Stealing a living. 

Well Rudolf,,

He's either not up to the job (if you'll pardon the expression) - or his attitude/concentration is wide of the mark.

Possibly a touch of both?...

What's certain is that he won't last here under Nigel's tutelage if that's the case ..

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

More than he ever delivers.
 

I’m fed up waiting for him to impress. he so rarely makes an effective impact on a game. According to Google: 142 Championship matches, 7 goals, 10 assists. Hardly surprising, I guess, that he did absolutely nothing of note last night. 
 

He’s a waste of a shirt imo. Stealing a living. 

Couldn’t have said it better myself. He’s been here over 5 years and continued time after time and chance after chance to woefully under deliver. 

The only reason he’s still here is no one wanted to buy him and his contract is still in flight; otherwise I would think he would’ve gone with the rest of the LJ/Ashton deadwood in the summer. 

He’s got one year left of his contract so hopefully he’ll be gone for a small fee in January or his contract won’t be renewed next summer. 

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1 shot on target in 90 minutes of football tells you all you need to know about this team and our tactics.  I'm struggling to actually remember the shot TBH - can anyone remind me.

We didn't even look like we were trying to score even after we went one down and there was no urgency even in the last 10 minutes. Millwall clearly wanted the 3 points more than we did from the start and a togetherness and commitment we have seen recently had gone.

We have to get a target man in the January window.

Question - How is it that Millwall can afford Afobe and we can't? He did very well for us before his injury and seemed very happy in Bristol.

 

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In fairness to Martin, he looked knackered from 5 minutes in.  Not sure a 32 year old can do Sat, Tues 180 mins.

Agree with others strange decision to start Baker who needed injections, seems an unnecessary risk with 2 other defenders on the bench. 

To be fair to O'Dowda we're only 10 games in he doesn't want to have his 1 impactful game a season too early on, long way to go yet.

 

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20 minutes ago, wendyredredrobin said:

1 shot on target in 90 minutes of football tells you all you need to know about this team and our tactics.  I'm struggling to actually remember the shot TBH - can anyone remind me.

We didn't even look like we were trying to score even after we went one down and there was no urgency even in the last 10 minutes. Millwall clearly wanted the 3 points more than we did from the start and a togetherness and commitment we have seen recently had gone.

We have to get a target man in the January window.

Question - How is it that Millwall can afford Afobe and we can't? He did very well for us before his injury and seemed very happy in Bristol.

 

We could very easily have afforded Afobe but buying a 28 year old player who has had 2 similar season ending serious injuries would not be a wise move.

Great bloke but glad we didn't take the risk on him.

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26 minutes ago, wendyredredrobin said:

1 shot on target in 90 minutes of football tells you all you need to know about this team and our tactics.  I'm struggling to actually remember the shot TBH - can anyone remind me.

 

Think it was Weimann, in the last few mins, when we had a corner or long throw, flick on, and it fell nicely. Think a player blocked it?

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Always rated Ole’s reports but thought Bents was immense ( even coming -successfully - for crosses), and a bit harsh markings-wise on Kalas, Atkinson and Pring.

But - if the reports are true - that a Bristol City fan managed 3 cross bar hits in succession that is deserved of a 10/10 and ‘player of the season’ award. Sign him up!!! Are that any videos of that awesome performance circulating? 

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21 minutes ago, OneTeamInBristol said:

In fairness to Martin, he looked knackered from 5 minutes in.  Not sure a 32 year old can do Sat, Tues 180 mins.

Agree with others strange decision to start Baker who needed injections, seems an unnecessary risk with 2 other defenders on the bench. 

To be fair to O'Dowda we're only 10 games in he doesn't want to have his 1 impactful game a season too early on, long way to go yet.

 

Then Play Weimann up top and play Palmer off him. Anything would have been better than a knackered martin last night.

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Martin needs a rest. For one it's hindering our performances but also could see him getting injured if he's run into the ground as he was last season.

Bakinson also looks miles off the pace, was disappointed with him against Fulham. Think last night has been a good reminder of just how threadbare our squad is.

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2 hours ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

He's just as useless when he's playing regularly. Still dining out on that goal v Norwich, going to have to step up his game massively if he's going to offer us anything past this season.

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I’m not gonna blame Callum last night, first game back, wasn’t even named on the bench initially.

I’m not gonna blame him for a overhit cross on the run.  I thought he drifted in off the left ok, laid the ball off on the dribble, but essentially going slightly backwards, but kept the ball moving.  I do fear his marker nicking the ball off him when he does that, he allows his opponent to get a sniff of the ball as he doesn’t use his body, nor does he shift ball onto his right side to make a tackle on him impossible without a foul.

In the same respect as above about body position on dribbles, he does the same when he closes down / tackles. He gives away little unnecessary fouls on the touchline when his opponent is going nowhere or about to turn over possession.  It’s frustrating.  That happened a couple of times last night.  When your desperate to not let the opposition suck the life out of the game, giving away cheap fouls and throw-ins when an aimless punt forward from an under pressure wingback gets us the ball back does my head in.

He has to overcome this….we see it whether it’s a 36 minute sub appearance or a start.  He has ability, but this type of stuff overshadows it.

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2 hours ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

9 times out of 10 he is poor for us though, if last night was an isolated incident then it would be fair enough and we would all be happy to give him a free pass but it isn’t. It’s been going on for years ever since he has joined us, consistently ineffective.  As i said on here last night he isn’t good enough for where we want to be as club and needs shipping out at the earliest opportunity.

Edited by bris red
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1 minute ago, bris red said:

9 times out of 10 he is poor for us though, if last night was an isolated incident then it would be fair enough and we would all be happy to give him a free pass but it isn’t. It’s been going on for years ever since he has joined us, consistently ineffective.  As i said on here last night he is not good enough for this level and needs shipping out at the earliest opportunity.

I agree he has underperformed but to slate him for last night when he has barely played is harsh IMO

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Great report again Ole.

The old joke runs 'we were lucky to get nil...' but last night, as a statement of fact, I and those around me weren't laughing.

Two current and two ex City 'strikers' on the pitch and only the one with multiple ACL failures looked anywhere near deserving of such title. When 'The Wardrobe' covers marginally more turf and is a tad more threatening than Martin you know you've serious problems. The latter being devoid of pace, touch and an ability to hold the ball up, he also contrived to squander his only chance by again showing a reluctance to shoot, then easily losing the ball when struggling to tell left foot from right. Flappy again flapped, pointed, moaned and Martinesque wasted a decent chance by refusing to strike the ball early. His late blocked shot the only thing of note he delivered all night. Folks should also not downplay the impact of his petulant, misguided and constant griping to the officials (in short cheating.) No complaints about their penalty but we should have been awarded one late on for the blatant shirt pull on Atkinson. But why would officials listen to his late protestations when, like Corbyn's demented brother or Johnson and Starmer at conference, he's been making false and imbicilic claims all evening? For all his pointing, flapping and moaning he'd have been more effective glueing his arse to the centre spot whilst pointing at an old Poplar Insulation logo.

Albeit the strikers are useless they didn't get support from the supposed 'creative' side of midfield.

James was excellent doing what he does best in breaking up play and in equal measure poor by giving the ball away such he could once again compete to retrieve it. Williams, by far out best outfield player, struggled without support to influence the game our way, but without an ability to hold it upfront that's a Sisyphean task.

Like crane flies Bakinson comes into his own this time of year. All legs, uncoordinated, slow to react and easily squished. He was so far off the pace last night as to be untrue. Ball watching, adopting the Bryan school of standing-off (i.e. might as well not compete,) giving the ball away at will. Forget his error for their pen, his lack of competition first half leading to Afobe's gilt edged chance shows why he will never be one around which to build a team. Ditto KP. Interesting that which the generations have in common but with different interpretation. A younger friend, en route back to the Dark Continent such he won't be around for a few seasons, produced a theory that will live long in the memory. He opined that KP shows altruistic and generous leadership in abundance. 'I'll needlessly give the ball away such you don't have to;' not even such generosity saved Bakinson last night.

The Mock Mick's introduction served only to remind he still exists and once thought himself good enough for Leeds. I rather wish it hadn't.

Defence did OK against the tide of relentless ball coming their way. Bentley ever excellent at keeping us in it, his late save, deep down left the pick, but it's not difficult to keep giving performances of that quality when it's one way traffic. BOHICA.

Baker, ever the enigma. Does what he does well whilst delicate as a Bee's wing. I've never seen a player who, with such regularity, mid match sits down, reviews his socks, requires assistance and then goes off, never hobbling, never limping, never clutching his hamstring, never on a stretcher, but who's unable to continue yet who in all probability will be fit for the next game.

Nobody watching will fail to know what needs to happen to make this side competitive. We didn't so much lose, we handed it to them on a plate.

 

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