ProfitInMyPocket

ballooned pretty much everything apart from the cross for AS goal

With the front three we play we haven't got the midfield or defence to play a back four without getting countered, stick with the 5 with hard working wingbacks and then at least we have some width.

Think he will stick with the wingbacks and back 3 or 5. If he is keeping the front 3 as attackers and building around that then we haven't got the midfield & back four at this moment in time to keep it balanced and try leak less chances. Switching in game could be a possibility but we have seen this season that the formation and style can work going forward and we were a good threat on the counter, I think keeping that and trying to solidify through the team without spending big is the best idea for progression.

I felt like he would stay with previous links to Forest, Palace iirc but this link to Bournemouth really worries me. That's the type of player they would sign and then maybe sell on for more like Kelly, Wilson, Ake and Mings. Martin and Weimann without Semenyo is a massive difference. Always look less dangerous whenever he comes off for Wells or whoever. Unless Conway comes in and is given an opportunity, we would really have to invest smartly in another forward with pace. Hopefully they get starry-eyed in the Prem and look at other options instead.

When he plays well the whole team plays well. When he's not having a good day Weimann and Semenyo see a lot less of the ball and we are much less efficient.

Slick counter attack, all 3 forwards involved. Good stuff!

Another couple points dropped but at least its not three like usual, defensively solid and found gaps to exploit them. Good point in the end! Mentioned at half time we weren't going to play through them and we didn't need to, when we won the ball clearly and picked the right pass we look really dangerous. Congrats to CM for double figures this season and hope JD and Semenyo are okay.

that Wells miss might come back to haunt us, could have played in CM or AW

Shouldn't be letting their LWB run all the way over there unmarked for a free shot.

It's not all about knocking the ball about and looking pretty, we're being more strong when winning the ball back and playing better passes out than the first half and look how much more dangerous we look. We haven't changed our style at all but just look a bit more assured and confident when we get the ball with some good running. They are still going to be dangerous but there's a bit more about us, keep it up. COYR.

Can people not see that we are being dominated in the middle, if we try and play through midfield they'll pinch it constantly. Their three forwards are all midfielders, they are all going to drop in and try link up, the only way we are going to create chances is sit in deep and play the long ball and see if we can pick up pieces. No wonder we can't play out, it would be absolutely stupid to do so. If we tried to play through Massengo and James we'd be losing the ball closer to our goal time and time again. Yeah it is not pretty right now but we haven't got the players to knock the ball about, especially against a team with an identity like Sheff Utd who dominate the ball and overload out wide. Lucky they haven't got Sharp today and Bentley hasn't been punished for a few moments of madness. Game still there to be won if we stay switched on at the back. COYR.

Midfield getting overrun by a very good team, gotta hope we can stay switched on and see if we can create more chances on the break. Think Atkinson has been excellent with all the covering and overloads they're doing down that side.

Need Weimann to cover back in when they're overloading the wide areas, saw him pointing at someone when they had a spare man and him being a few yards away. We can catch them out but if we keep leaving a spare man we're going to get caught out.

great hold up by AS and we'll take those, good positioning high up from JD to get the opportunity. hold on city, COYR.

We aren't creating these chances without Semenyo, he may be rusty and scuffed a few but atleast he has the pace and power to get in behind and hold it up. Wells wouldn't be doing the running or the hold up that AS brings. You can say Wells would have scored the one on one possibly but he wouldn't have beat the offside trap in the first place. We're not playing that bad, we probably look like edging it based on chances so far.

If it was up to me I'd keep NP for the foreseeable but if he wants to go I'd go abroad and find a coach with a different playstyle and culture, but I know full well Lansdown would never do that. Pearson built Leicester back up but our fans see a few bad results and get their knickers in a twist. Like I said in my previous post, there is no patience anymore. It has exacerbated since Covid and also I think coincides with the increase in football violence. What happens if Pearson gets pushed or walks and we bring in some "young, exciting British coach" and we go down, it will just be restarting again and again and again until something sticks. Lee Johnson got given plenty of time and that is something I'll give SL credit for, I want a manager to have a chance but Pearson's barely been here long enough to make changes he wants.

There isn't anyone better available to fix this mess. The club has been heading in this direction for years and it is going to take years to fix our finances. Couple poor performances and everyone is out for blood again. The fans of this club are used to quick splurges of money for quick fixes and it has come back to haunt us. We can't buy our way out of this one. There is no patience anymore. Just because we spent lots of money in previous seasons doesn't mean we have any right to be a top half side, you have to earn it. I'd rather attempt to steadily progress, look at Luton, Blackburn, Huddersfield, Millwall and Coventry for examples. Don't spend fortunes but have been patient and have reaped the rewards and have a good chance to improve next season. Look at QPR, West Brom, Stoke, Derby and Reading who have tried to buy their way up the league, it doesn't always work. I've seen a few signs of progress, I like seeing the young lads get opportunities and some of the players get me off my seat, I haven't had that feeling for a little while. I'm not going to wet the bed just because we've had a few bad performances recently, where was this furore when we had a good run of home form a couple months back? If NP decided to up and leave then another yes-man will come in and bow to the almighty lord and saviour SL and who knows what will happen, I'd rather go down attempting to fix the finances and the culture of this club where the players get too easy a ride for below-par effort and performances. I'm hopeful the culture can change with SL still in charge but I still have my doubts.

Solid point, Bentley should do better clearing for the penalty and that pass shouldn't be going through before the flick on to Reach to put it in, but other than those two individual errors I thought the defence were very good today. Punished by two mistakes and when you're down there you can't get away with those.

Cam Pring has been immense today

What a header by Atkinson, perfect cushioned pass to Weimann. Don't trust Weimann when he takes more than a couple touches but first time instinctive finishes he's right up there.

Defence have been good so far, keep it up boys

No pace or decent hold up without Semenyo's unpredictability, struggling to hold the ball whatsoever.

Don't think it has sunk into a lot of our fanbase that we aren't going to be spending money on a plethora of signings like we were used to under LJ from now on. He's been reliable given the amount of minutes he has played (his performance levels in a midweek game dropping after a full 90 aren't the same I know) but he has still been ever-present for us and when the team gets it right Martin is at the centre of it. We are not going to make any money off of him transfer fee wise, and I cannot see us getting anyone in better than him on a free so it is a good idea to keep him here. If we can keep some reliable old heads around the place whilst we shift off players like Palmer/Wells/Moore/Vyner/COD/Bakinson etc then we might build a more well-rounded and financially efficient squad. But it takes time, add to what we got when we can if it is the right deal and we might see some steady progression. We are not the playoff pushing "Premier League team in waiting" anymore, that time is gone. I'm thankful our club is still around and trying to move forward in a pragmatic way instead of moving under some fake dream like we have been used to for the last five years or so.

Manager hasn't got it right but the players aren't showing up either. Seems like a fair amount of them are hiding every game, I don't know how many teams in this division would be snapping at the heels to take our players (apart from the youngsters who are learning on the job who we should try and keep as many as possible). I'd keep Williams, Weimann, Klose, Bentley and Pring probably. The rest just seem interchangeable to me, it doesn't matter who comes in out of any of them, it is always the same performances with the same individual mistakes.

don't forget about O'Leary