Johnny Musicworks

Arguably the biggest difference is confidence and that has come with games. He was always said by staff to be a good finisher but confidence can take a long time to build. Hammering young players for mistakes only knocks their confidence. As others have said patience is key

So compare him to Brereton Diaz who managed 10 in his first 90 appearances it’s not so different. Some young players just need time and patience.

3-2 Defeat !

Surprisingly in his post match comments Nigel didn’t mention that the likes of Benarous, Towler, Pring, Vyner and even Semenyo are not up to Championship standard despite various OTIB experts clearly stating that to be the case of late. Can it be that he realises with young players there is more inconsistency to be expected and negotiated. As has also happened with Scott, Tanner, Bakinson and Atkinson there will be days when one or another needs to be subbed early because of their lack of experience rather than any harshly judged lack of ability. He has been consistent in doing that when necessary but clearly does not let it put him off selecting them again nor let it affect their confidence. We have some mighty fine talent emerging this season so perhaps us keyboard warriors need to avoid being too judgmental and instead encourage their development and be proud of the enthusiasm and passion that they bring to our team.

Well clutching at straws I guess we are due a good second half performance. COYR !

So as long as our checks can match German efficiency then there should be no problems. What could possibly go wrong ?

The biggest problem we have at the moment is the lack of experience in all parts of the field. Having now lost Baker, James, King and Williams we only really have Kalas and the front 2 to add any real Championship experience. I don’t count Bentley for the most part as he is too isolated being in goal, Callum who doesn’t seem to have the wherewithal to dictate play or Jay who is out of sorts. Therefore I think taking out either of the front two would weaken us even further. Weimann could move into Scott’s position and then bring in Wells or Semenyo but options are limited.

At last with Ayman, Scott, Williams and Baker in particular we had players showing the attitude that we have lacked as a team for so long. Other players seemed to pick up on it and as fans we can accept mistakes if our team show they are prepared to not only take it but hand it out. That is a starting point for change and winning back the fans. Now we have to show that it wasn’t just a one-off.

According to the report in the Mail today, Reading have agreed a 6 point deduction with another 6 suspended.

Sorry wasn’t that what I just said.That their departure might have been planned because they weren’t up to it and Nige may not have wanted a scenario where they could be in charge. Hence Fleming is promoted and they are sent packing.

How daft or how planned was the decision to get rid of the other two coaches ? It’s now becoming clear that Nigel has been struggling for some time (well before Simpson and Dowling departed) and as things stood previously they not Fleming would have been expected to stand in for Pearson. Maybe Nigel felt that was not a scenario that he wanted to pin his future on if he had to take time off and wanted to give Fleming unchallenged authority in his absence.

I guess that it’s possible that Nige has offered to resign (sparking the rumours) but it has not been accepted and Gould has now had to front up whilst the Lansdowns decide on temporary measures.

How long can we continue as a rudderless ship is the worrying question. Presumably it could be weeks or even months and this isn’t going to reassure supporters. Hopefully Nige recovers soon but if not then do we have a plan B or are we just going to make do with Fleming.

And Watford !

When the team is doing badly too many seek to say the club is a mess but is it ? We have a great ground, we have a new training ground, we have an academy producing very good young players with a new director. We also have a new CEO, a new assistant coach and compared to most teams are financially stable. However the team is a mess and we have made plenty of mistakes in recent years on and off the field.We are where many of us expected to be this season but results like yesterday are unacceptable. With the players currently available I don’t think there are many managers who would feel confident in this league. Relegation would be a disaster and now the acid test for Nigel, the CEO and the owners is to buy the time by staying in this league to see the plan progress. The question now is whether Nigel is physically and mentally up for the challenge and if he is then Richard Gould and recruitment need to prove their worth in January and pull some rabbits out of the hat. Personally I think Nige needs to move upstairs (We need a football man in there as DOF) and bring in a new head coach.

I don’t think it’s as much as lack of heart as lack of confidence that’s now probably spreading to the young players who have never played in a confident championship side and are over exposed now because of injuries.

Staying up this season will take some doing. Warnock as a short term fix because long term fixes don’t seem to work.

Pring, Semenyo ? Then the likes of Bell, Benarous and Conway by next season assuming we add some experience to the squad.

Yes and he wouldn’t have made Team of the Week for me but he did seem to make most of the tackles in midfield, albeit a very lightweight midfield that was largely overwhelmed defensively. I would like to see Han make more tackles but he seems to lack the awareness defensively and always has to chase to retrieve rather than be in position to face up to players coming through. He is good at nicking the ball off players but could do a few more Tanner-type tackles with his strength. With Williams and King out the onus is on James defensively and I thought he did okay but nothing more than that.

And yet he made the Team of the week which demonstrates how people can see games differently.

Just seen that the club has announced that he has been released from hospital. Amongst all the negativity and comments made on here today I haven’t seen any asking how he is or wishing him well. Get well soon Bakes !

Getting outclassed by West Brom and Bournemouth will not define our season but how well we recover from this week may well do.

I suppose we will know shortly if Downing was on the bus or under it along with 1 or 2 players maybe.

It could be that Simpson’s health issues delayed this happening as it’s not a good look for it to happen when someone is undergoing treatment.

The real financial effects from the pandemic for clubs are only just showing. Player values have massively decreased meaning clubs like us who were doing reasonably well with regular sales are likely to hit a brick wall. Admittedly that wall will have been well dented by a few less financially stable clubs before we hit it but next summer will I think be once again about trimming the fat rather than investing in players. Any remaining high value assets will be hard to keep unless FFP rules are moderated post pandemic. There must be a real threat of more clubs entering administration and even liquidation so one would think that the League will be looking at stopping the trickle of clubs going into admin becoming a flood and the gap between the parachute clubs and the rest becoming an even wider chasm. I can’t see us buying players unless we sell for the next season or two.