Fragile... And Worrying...

[SimplyRed]

I didn't go yesterday, nor have I been to the last few home games due to illness, but for me yesterday summed up City and showed the weak underbelly of the team.

When we're on top, we play well, stroke the ball around and score great goals, as we have seen in our last few league games. If we had scored in the first half yesterday, I've no doubt we would have gone on to win with ease.

But when things don't run smoothly for us or we go behind, we seem to lose our shape... our heads... and our confidence...

The are a few players in the team, especially in midfield, who tend to drop their heads, when things aren't going well or we go a goal behind, and lose concentration.

Millen needs to root these players out and show them the door because it's starting to cost us. I don't now why it is, whether the team has no confidence in Millen or whether the players in question are low in confidence but it's now affecting results and Millen needs to make it a number one prioity to nip this in the bud.

It's too easy to say the opposing manager gave his team a boot up the backside and they came out a different side. From what I heard on the radio, we were controlling the game and were comfortable. How then, can we possibly lose 3-0 in the second half?

Once again, City slashed prices to attract the casual fan to the game in the hope of drumming up more support for the club, and once again the club shoot themselves in the foot by being crushed by a lower division side. Those casual observers who went yesterday certainly won't be coming back in a hurry.

If we want success at this club we need to be more ruthless on the pitch and start sweeping aside inferior opposition, but I fear Millen is 'too nice' to do it.

[slartibartfast]

I didn't go yesterday, nor have I been to the last few home games due to illness, but for me yesterday summed up City and showed the weak underbelly of the team.

When we're on top, we play well, stroke the ball around and score great goals, as we have seen in our last few league games. If we had scored in the first half yesterday, I've no doubt we would have gone on to win with ease.

But when things don't run smoothly for us or we go behind, we seem to lose our shape... our heads... and our confidence...

The are a few players in the team, especially in midfield, who tend to drop their heads, when things aren't going well or we go a goal behind, and lose concentration.

Millen needs to root these players out and show them the door because it's starting to cost us. I don't now why it is, whether the team has no confidence in Millen or whether the players in question are low in confidence but it's now affecting results and Millen needs to make it a number one prioity to nip this in the bud.

It's too easy to say the opposing manager gave his team a boot up the backside and they came out a different side. From what I heard on the radio, we were controlling the game and were comfortable. How then, can we possibly lose 3-0 in the second half?

Once again, City slashed prices to attract the casual fan to the game in the hope of drumming up more support for the club, and once again the club shoot themselves in the foot by being crushed by a lower division side. Those casual observers who went yesterday certainly won't be coming back in a hurry.

If we want success at this club we need to be more ruthless on the pitch and start sweeping aside inferior opposition, but I fear Millen is 'too nice' to do it.

Good rational reading of the situation, are you sure you wern't there :0) I couldn't have summed it up better.

First half, just waiting for the first and it would have been four or five. At half time I wouldn't have put a single penny on the eventual score!

I would have been devastated if it had been a league game, but it's only the cup, so draw a line ,regroup and onward and upward.

[SimplyRed]

I just thought I'd bump this post as it is still relevant after yesterday's game and will remain relevant until we get a central midfielder who can put his foot on the ball and distribute creatively.

The Boro game was another Cardiff - one of the worst displays I've ever seen. If Boro were a better side, they might have outscored the Bluebirds.

For me, the buck stops with Millen. Similar to Johnson in his latter days, he simply did not know how to change the side to stop the rot. We had to go 2-0 down before he decided to take off Cisse, when it was plain to everyone that he was having a 'mare at centre back.

It seems everyone and his dog agrees that Cisse is no defender, apart from Millen. Why was Fontaine on the bench?

Furthermore, Skuse is no right back either and, whether Carey was fully fit or not, he should have at least started the game at RB. Nyatanga wasn't much better but it's hard to see who can fill LB when McAllister is out. However, I think Fontaine would've been better instead of warming the bench., but then he wouldn't have had anyone to replace Cisse!

Johnson and Elliott were ineffective in central midfield and this is the weakest area of the team. I say again, JOHNSON IS NOT THE ANSWER. He needs too much time, is too small, is lightweight and under pressure can only pass square or backward. I don't think we won a 2nd ball in the middle of the park all afternoon.

Elliott, who was outstanding in his first two seasons here, is going backwards and his distribution is awful.

Stead was starved of any service and I felt a bit sorry for him as he runs his heart out.

Then we come to Pitman. I may be unpopular here as he's scored several good goals recently, but for me the Jury's still out. For a striker playing off 'the big man' (Stead), he doesn't take enough chances to get on to knock-downs. Several times yesterday, he stood still waiting to see where Stead's knock-down was going, instead of taking a gamble and runnning on in the hope of the knock down reaching him. They should be practising this in training!

Add to that the fact that the transfer window has been practically non-existent for BCFC so far, I'm of the opinion that, as I said at the start of this post, the buck stops with Millen.

I truly think he's out of his depth - not when we're winning and we score early - but when we go behind and he needs to change things on the fly during a game - for me, in this area he is seriously weak and and makes decisions either too late, not at all, or incorrectly.

I wasn't in favour of his appointment in the first place and I now think I've seen enough fof me to conclude that he will NOT get us out of the mire and if we stick with him, we could be fighting relegation at the end of the season.

Lansdown needs to thinks seriously about whether he wants to be loyal to Millen or playing League One football next season because it is certainly coming down to that choice.