Ipswich

[Nibor]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

[funky monkey]

holey poo your fingers must be sore. i promise i will read it later honest gotta go tidy the van .

[Red Robin]

Good piece,so do u think Milly is the man to take the club forward.

We started brightly but again no cutting edge,

Watching the Cardiff,west ham game their play so far makes our lot look third division players so far.

Both teams are playing excellent attacking football.

[Nibor]

Good piece,so do u think Milly is the man to take the club forward.

We started brightly but again no cutting edge,

Watching the Cardiff,west ham game their play so far makes our lot look third division players so far.

Both teams are playing excellent attacking football.

Millen's the manager and has my support. Fantasies about recruiting other managers aren't useful (and Warnock's a complete ****).

I believe Millen knows what the problems are and I don't think any other manager with the same constraints could do any better.

He needs to pick a better XI though.

[Red Exile]

A very good analysis. Far better than most that'll appear in the press today. Thanks for that Nibor.

I think a watershed moment has arrived though. And it's neither an over reaction nor knee jerk to question whether Keith Millen is up to the job of managing Bristol City in the Championship. If he can't get his first XI sorted or his tactics right for the first game of his second season then something is wrong. And not just wrong on the pitch. As you correctly say we have players who aren't in the first team plans eating up the very budget that needs to go into improving the team. I'm sure it's not easy, and why should it be? This is a team seeking to succeed in one of the most competitive football leagues in the world. Lansdown/Sexstone should have world class people in place dealing with the situation.

I don't see much that is aspiring to be world class at the Gate. Looks a bit comfortable down there, same faces doing the same not very impressive jobs year after year.

Which is tough for supporters spending a lot of money when money is tight...

Question is, whether the squad is good enough and whether the management are good enough to bring the best out of them. Yesterday suggests that after a summer of preparation the answer is no on both counts. And if that were the answer it would be better to act sooner rather than later.

But others, I know, will have more patience.

[redcherryberry]

Milly messed up big time with the team selection yesterday.

As soon as i heard the line up with Nyatanag next to Fontaine i cringed & feared the worst. Football is about partnerships and these two together are truly awful. Both need a dominate leader next to them and I believe if Carey was next to either we wouldnt of got the school boy defending witnessed yesterday.

Killa missing out i can understand. Was injured prior to the West Brom game and only played 45 then so probably not yet match fit. Would of preffered to saw LJ next to Marv as oppsed to Skuse who bar an engine continues to offer nothing. Hopefully Kilkenny will be fit to start Tuesday.

Albert to me looked like a man who didnt want to get injured prior to his potential Ghana debut. Duct out of challenges early doors and only improved slightly (after a bollocking no doubt) second half. Yes he was doubled up at times but still not good enough. Disappointing. Without him on fire we will never create with the likes of JCR, Marv and Skuse.

Agree with Nibor on Maynard. Same type of performance against Swindon and get Pitman in their. I said when Leicester offered the reported 4.75 i would of took it. After seeing his body language yesterday i would take 4m and get a whole new back 4 in.

[Bigdave60]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

Very Good

[funky monkey]

Millen's the manager and has my support. Fantasies about recruiting other managers aren't useful (and Warnock's a complete ****).

I believe Millen knows what the problems are and I don't think any other manager with the same constraints could do any better.

He needs to pick a better XI though.

excellent write up Nibor. Im curious to know what your desired team and formation would be ?

[Brislingwood Red]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

Agree with pretty much all of that.

[Dolman Block B]

Millen's the manager and has my support. Fantasies about recruiting other managers aren't useful (and Warnock's a complete ****).

I believe Millen knows what the problems are and I don't think any other manager with the same constraints could do any better.

He needs to pick a better XI though.

Sorry Nibor. Millen will never have my vote. A quick fix from SL and although done ok last season will never be the answer for the club. Shame.

[bucksred]

good post Nibor, pretty accurate. However it confirms the the man to lead this club aint Millen. He left it so damn late to change things, I had a feeling it was the cockernee midget in the dugout.

Yesterday was like last season again, potential visible till they scored then everyone fell back into the kick, rush, headless chicken approach which so riles the supporters.

Agreed there is a dearth of potential managers availible, but we cant wait too long if we dont start winning, the heads willl go down and it will be a lot harder to escape this season from the relegation dogfight. I wont be in the least surprised if Swinetown turn us over on Tuesday, or Crapdiff next weekend. At that point Millen would have to go for me, specially if we lose either game by a number of goals.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

Agree with everythng you say. Especially about shifting on players it needs to be done by hook or by crook and if it costs us a bit so be it, we'll have to find the money from somewhere, 4 players are holding back some of the younger players and are hovering over the club like a dark cloud. I also agree about being 2 players short for me a centre back and a left back and also agree about the organisation /coaching of the defensive unit.

My major problem is yesterday Millen made virtually every mistake he made last year all in one game, but he could'nt see that result coming. He really needs to step up to the plate and quickly.

[Barneyredballs]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

Pretty much there.

I don't know if we actually defended that badly yesterday. However when you conceed three at home, something gones wrong. It was the distribution from the back which was the poor part. Nyatanga made 20+ long range chips which we one maybe 2-3. Fontaine played similar balls.

This has to be down to the fact that until NK came on there was no one wanting the ball in midfield. When he came on these hoofs stopped a little.

Ball playing central defenders have been a rarity (and full backs) for too long down the gate. We really on scraps for NM to feed off, which he has done fairly consistently for 2 years.

We'll do better away until we play a passer. We only have NK who can play this, so he has to start; as he should do.

Pitman and NM for me next game, just to avoid the hoof. Pass, pass, pass.

[notsobigfatdave]

An interesting synopsis of the game...in real terms though I will simplfy the problem yesterday...

1 goal was a goal keeping blunder from David (for god sake watch my hair) James..the other two the result of our back four playing just way too far up the pitch.

Millen just needs to drum it into the Players ( If he can, and if they can understand him) Defenders defend, Midfielders get a hold of the ball, and Strikers Attack... Its really that simples..

No Championship team should be conceding 3 goals at home without reply....irrespective of who they have in the team.

[GrahamC]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

Just a few observations.

Nyatanga is no world beater but was certainly better than Fontaine on Saturday, so why should it be him who drops out for Carey or Wilson? Fontaine is fast becoming the one that seems to be undroppable whilst actually doing very little to earn it.

JCR is baffling, he wasn't as bad as you make out but what is the point in your wide left player never actually being out there? I agree it is time to give Woolford a decent run wide on the left.

Kilkenny simply has to come in alongside Elliott, though with 2 tough away games coming up we could possibly still accommodate Skuse as well in a 4-5-1.

Finally I can't agree with Maynard's "efforts" having nothing to do with his contract talks, he clearly doesn't want to be here and so we should cash in and play Pitman instead.

[Nibor]

Just a few observations.

Nyatanga is no world beater but was certainly better than Fontaine on Saturday, so why should it be him who drops out for Carey or Wilson? Fontaine is fast becoming the one that seems to be undroppable whilst actually doing very little to earn it.

JCR is baffling, he wasn't as bad as you make out but what is the point in your wide left player never actually being out there? I agree it is time to give Woolford a decent run wide on the left.

Kilkenny simply has to come in alongside Elliott, though with 2 tough away games coming up we could possibly still accommodate Skuse as well in a 4-5-1.

Finally I can't agree with Maynard's "efforts" having nothing to do with his contract talks, he clearly doesn't want to be here and so we should cash in and play Pitman instead.

I'd take Nyatanga out because Fontaine always looks very good to me when played alongside Carey whereas Nyatanga usually looks like a deer in the headlights. Agree that Fontaine was worse though.

On Maynard, I meant that he should be given a bollocking for his performance on purely football grounds, regardless of the cause of it.

[GrahamC]

I'd take Nyatanga out because Fontaine always looks very good to me when played alongside Carey whereas Nyatanga usually looks like a deer in the headlights. Agree that Fontaine was worse though.

On Maynard, I meant that he should be given a bollocking for his performance on purely football grounds, regardless of the cause of it.

Fair enough.

I just wonder if Fontaine feels far too comfortable and under too little pressure for his place, perhaps a League cup tie might be a good time to remind him that he isn't indispensable?

[Nibor]

Fair enough.

I just wonder if Fontaine feels far too comfortable and under too little pressure for his place, perhaps a League cup tie might be a good time to remind him that he isn't indispensable?

Might be an idea. My guess with him though is just that he is a follower not a leader, doesn't want to take the brunt of it. He seems a fairly quiet character too.

[WellRedPhil]

I agree that JCR was poor and don't understand the fascination some have with him. He's one of the most frustrating players I've ever seen. Constantly cutting in, often out of position and even though he does make himself available upon receiving the ball he dribbles in to nowhere, turns around and dispatches the ball back to the defence. Pointless. I actually thought McAllister defended pretty well also. His distribution was, as you said, completely shit but that's not going to change and as frustrating as that is if he can defend like he did yesterday he'll be ok. (Although obviously a left-back is required he is not as much of a disaster as some make out.)

I'd personally start Pitman with Stead against cardiff but Millen of course finds himself in a situation where he can't really do that. Maynard has to start and even if he is a lot shitter than Stead, as he was yesterday, it will be Stead that makes way for Pitman when we inevitably need him to come on. Likewise dropping James, considering the wages he's on, for Gerken will be hard to orchestrate but I hope Millen has the courage to go through with it. There's a fair few awkward situations surrounding undroppable players right now due to whatever circumstances and that could become a problem as the season goes on. I mean how many games does Maynard have to be completely shit for Pitman to start? 3,4,5? I don't know and I doubt Millen does either and if Maynard continued to play each week and produce nothing Brett is understandably going to feel hard done by.

It's going to be an interesting start to the season and due to the reaction from a large portion of fans the pressure is already on after just 1 game. Although this time next Sunday we could find ourselves with 3 points and through to the next round of the Cup, which would of course change everything. You've just got to love football.

[chinapig]

Fair enough.

I just wonder if Fontaine feels far too comfortable and under too little pressure for his place, perhaps a League cup tie might be a good time to remind him that he isn't indispensable?

For me he is not allone. We have a group of players in their comfort zone happy to make a very good living out of mediocrity and knowing they can carry on doing so without fear of consequences, Too many have been here too long for that complacency to change any time soon. What are the chances of the usual "We only have to turn up to win this" attitude against Swindon followed by a defeat? Dropping any particular player is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as he is likely to be replaced by somebody who is equally cosy.

[Tales From The Front]

For me he is not allone. We have a group of players in their comfort zone happy to make a very good living out of mediocrity and knowing they can carry on doing so without fear of consequences, Too many have been here too long for that complacency to change any time soon. What are the chances of the usual "We only have to turn up to win this" attitude against Swindon followed by a defeat? Dropping any particular player is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as he is likely to be replaced by somebody who is equally cosy.

Totally agree, far to many of what can be considered first team players really aren't, they are just the "best" we have. Three of the back four have been were signed by Gary Johnson (not a dig just a indication of the lack of player turnover) and all three have been instrumental in the inconsistant displays of recent times from which the coaching staff do not appear to have noticed. And whilst I wish the answer was with Loius Carey, I fear that having been a great servant the expectation that he will be able to carry the aforementioned at this stage of the carear having suffered a serious injury recently might be a tad optimistic. I just couldn't understand why James Wilson wasn't played I was genuinely surprised at Kick off so not being wise after the event.

[Us_and_Them]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

I am glad someone else noticed JCR's performance yesterday as ive read quite a lot of comments saying how well he played. First of all im not knocking his effort but what was going through his mind yesterday? I have never been so frustrated by one player in my entire 30+ years following city. He had so so many chances to run into space along the left flank it was ridiculous, every bloody time he would cut inside in to the centre and give possession away!

[chipdawg]

Can anyone tell me whether Fontaine and Nyatanga have played together at all over pre season? i can't recall for certain, but given that fonts was injured for the start of pre season i suspect not. Their selection together was utterly baffling. Aside from that, Millen obviously didn't think Killkenny was fit so didn't start him- but now we only have 5 subs surely we can't take a risk on having a partly fit player on there. Error of judgement number two IMO.

As depressing as yesterdays result was, i don't think we should quite panic yet. Killa should come into the team, woolford should add balance to the side and once spence beds back in and a new defender or 2 comes in we will (fingers crossed) see an improvement. I'd like to see wilson, woolford, pitman and killa in at the start against swindle

[cummins17]

I agree that JCR was poor and don't understand the fascination some have with him. He's one of the most frustrating players I've ever seen. Constantly cutting in, often out of position and even though he does make himself available upon receiving the ball he dribbles in to nowhere, turns around and dispatches the ball back to the defence. Pointless. I actually thought McAllister defended pretty well also. His distribution was, as you said, completely shit but that's not going to change and as frustrating as that is if he can defend like he did yesterday he'll be ok. (Although obviously a left-back is required he is not as much of a disaster as some make out.)

I'd personally start Pitman with Stead against cardiff but Millen of course finds himself in a situation where he can't really do that. Maynard has to start and even if he is a lot shitter than Stead, as he was yesterday, it will be Stead that makes way for Pitman when we inevitably need him to come on. Likewise dropping James, considering the wages he's on, for Gerken will be hard to orchestrate but I hope Millen has the courage to go through with it. There's a fair few awkward situations surrounding undroppable players right now due to whatever circumstances and that could become a problem as the season goes on. I mean how many games does Maynard have to be completely shit for Pitman to start? 3,4,5? I don't know and I doubt Millen does either and if Maynard continued to play each week and produce nothing Brett is understandably going to feel hard done by.

It's going to be an interesting start to the season and due to the reaction from a large portion of fans the pressure is already on after just 1 game. Although this time next Sunday we could find ourselves with 3 points and through to the next round of the Cup, which would of course change everything. You've just got to love football.

Agree with everything said in this post. JCR has to be the most fustrating footballer i have ever watched in my life. McAllister played well and im not his biggest fan (still believe we despretly need a new lb), Pittman needs to start next game with Stead to simply put Maynard in his place and show that no one is bigger than our club. And as you say football is a wierd game, there could be a whole different atmosphere on this forum next week after the Swindon and Cardiff game, really cant see anything other then a Cardiff hammering though (and i am usually a happy clapper type of fella)

[fatman]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

That is a pretty good analysis of yesterday. Well said.

[Spud55]

Well, a shitty start to the season that was. Significantly worse than I was expecting though I wasn't massively optimistic as we know the squad is still two players short at least.

David James was at least partly at fault for all three goals and can't have had many worse games in his career. He was far too casual. It's a concern because he's definitely a better keeper than Gerken but if he doesn't look 10x better in his next game we'll have to play Gerken instead. I think he will, professional pride will do it's work there.

Spence looked like a player who had just joined us. Which he has. He will be fine when he's settled but he wasn't yet. Fontaine had a pretty crap game. He let Martin score by megging him after backing off for 30 yards and then making a challenge on the edge of the area... He hoofed it too much and he panicked a lot and doesn't seem like a captain to me, more a player who excels with a leader alongside him. Nyatanga wasn't terrible but didn't exactly look assured either. Those two as a pair are too similar and I would start Carey instead of Nyatanga next time even if he is older than the hills. The two left footers factor mentioned in other threads is also important I think, as this is quite easy to take advantage of.

McAllister actually defended pretty well, had JET in his pocket until he switched sides with Martin and only got done once in the game. His distribution was pathetic in the main hoofing balls at Stead but then he was given no option thanks to JCR not being anywhere f-cking near the left wing. I don't know whether that was on instruction - I sincerely hope not Keith because if it was you are seriously undermining my faith in you, this half arsed 433 doesn't work and that should be plenty obvious to you.

Campbell Ryce pulled a few tricks which will have made a few people think he played well but was in my opinion, thoroughly abysmal. That is probably controversial so I'll qualify it; he had one good cut in and effort on goal, almost every other time he was involved in play we lost possession soon after. He offered no help on the left, instead tucking in and coming short - receiving the ball facing the wrong way and then either passing backwards to defenders placing them under more pressure or played crap passes into the midfield that lost us the ball. When we broke he dithered and slowed down play, too often standing on the ball like he thought he was some sort of Paul Scholesesque passing genius before running out of options. I'd drop him like a stone, the only role he has is as backup for Albert on the RIGHT WING. It was like watching a poor man's Lee Johnson at times

Albert.. well talking of Albert... where was he? Someone must have swapped him for a doppelgänger who has no idea how to beat his man. He seems to have completely forgotten that he should either be on the shoulder of his marker for a ball behind him or far enough in front that he has time to turn. All game long he stood three or four yards in front of Cresswell, got the ball to feet and turned into a tackle - and then looked surprised! Terrible positioning, and a real lack of intelligence in his play, he should have adjusted his game after the first five or six times Cresswell snuffed him out. Yes, the defender played well but Albert had him for pace so he should have beat him a great deal more than he did.

Skuse did ok generally but made one major error which was the bad pass for the second goal. He had some bite in midfield and we really limited Ipswich to the three chances we gifted them on a plate part in thanks to winning the midfield battle. However Skuse does need to influence the game much more when we have the ball, he can actually pass over a decent range but he is rarely the one bringing the ball out and he should look to do this more.

Elliott got into the box and tried hard to get on the scoresheet but lacked the finesse to make any of his numerous headed chances actually hit the target - he was always heading through an Ipswich defender under pressure though, they marked well at set pieces. As is usual he put in a high energy performance but lacked touch and passing ability.

The problem with these two as a central midfield is not the lack of creativity, because we could play down the flanks effectively enough, it's that they don't offer the defence an outlet by making themselves available in the midfield. That means as soon as someone closes down a defender it's going long, or it's going along the back line and long.

Now Stead worked hard and challenged effectively but he had to spend far too much time out on the left covering JCR's stupid positioning. Consequently even though he won a lot of the shitty whooshball ball crap from our "playmakers" (aka the back four) there was nobody near enough to him to take advantage of it. He took a little while to get his touch right and there is clearly no real understanding developed yet between him and Maynard which is disappointing.

Maynard looked sullen and lazy. He played without conviction and didn't chase down much either. He also lost the ball a lot. He needs to get given a real ******* rocket, and if he doesn't respond in the next game he should be dropped for Pitman until he gets his shit together. Contract talks can be ignored, this is purely about performance on the pitch being nowhere near up to scratch.

Of the subs, only Kilkenny is worth mentioning. He came on in a piss and told the team what to do and it worked. Maybe he isn't Mr Charming but his passing was good, he was available in front of their midfield as well as behind it and he seemed very aware of where everyone was. He needs to be starting, though whether in place of Elliott or Skuse is difficult; although Elliott destroys and scores, he isn't a defensive player as he's often ahead of the ball. That might not fit with Kilkenny depending on how deep or advanced he plays.

It has to be said, despite Ipswich's spending spree, they were not a good side. OK at best. We handed them two and a half of their three goals (Martin still had a bit to do) and I don't think they had any other notable chances. We had lots of half chances from crosses and corners and we had a lot of possession and we played poorly overall so I don't see great things happening to them this season. The ref was good, he let play flow as much as it did in a fairly dreary game, though I'd like to see a couple of those offsides in the second half again. They seemed very close.

Millen got his XI and possibly his formation wrong, he should have started Kilkenny and either Woolford or Bolasie on the left. It was obvious after 20 minutes and should have been changed earlier than it was (ie half time). Must do better. As usual there are plenty of overreactions on here that go far too far. I am sure KM knows the defence needs work and reasonably sure we have a player coming in next week. I don't want him panic signing like his predecessors. Equally, I expect the defenders we do have to be better drilled than they appeared. I think the club will have to work harder on shifting the five or so players we don't want that are eating up £0k+ a week in wages - it's not transfer fees that are the problem it's the wage budget.

We're going to have to improve a lot but we can do that, the worst thing we could do now as a club and as fans is overreact, put more pressure on and encourage knee jerk decisions.

Have to say i agree with the majority of that.

On the subject of the hoofball we played, although it was mainly the defence who were playing the balls after watching the first half i find it hard to blame them for that. I was trying to look for the movement from the midfield when the defence had the ball and there was barely any, Elliot would literally just stand like a statue not looking to recieve the ball at all, Albert also just stood there, JCR was anywhere except where he should have been and was just grazing the pitch like a lost bloody sheep, thought he was by far the worst outfield player on the pitch. The only midfielder we had before Kilkenny came on who was offering any kind of movement was Skuse, and his movement was poor by his standards.

Almost exclusively whenever the defenders gave the ball to the midfield it invariably was either just given away, or it was given back to the defence who by then had less room which left little option but just to get rid, at least when they just humped it to Stead and Maynard it did occasionally stick and stay forward for a bit.

Thus i'd argue that our midfield are more responsible for the long ball game than our back 4, because the only way for them to have any chance of getting the ball to stick further up the field was to just bypass our midfield and hope Stead could hold it up.

From what i saw if we want to play any kind of posession football, then Kilkenny is a must and by virtue of generally being able to actually pass the ball if you are going to play 2 in the middle then Skuse is a better option than Elliot.

I'd like to see this side put out on Tuesday, it may not work but at least it's a different approach.

--------------------James--------------------

--Spence---Willson---Fontaine---McAllister--

--------------------Skuse--------------------

----------Kilkenny----------Reid/Elliot-----

--Albert------------------------------Bolaise/Woolford--

--------------------Pittman--------------------

I think that personally that makes the best use of the players we have and their respective weaknesses, Skuse can sit infront of the back 4, mopping up and breaking up play but with Kilkenny and Reid/Elliot in front of him he has the simple option, or he can if he has the time that should be created by having the extra man in the middle pick a pass to any of Albert, Pittman or Bolaise/Wolly. It also allows Elliot to break into the box late as he likes to, but with Kilkenny next to him he will always have a simple outlet for a pass should he find himself in possession in the midfield, which should help in the fact that he can't pass, as when alongside Lee Johnson in the first season, Elliots role when he had the ball, was pretty much either shoot or give it to LJ. I'd personally give Bobby Reid a go, but Elliot is not a bad player if used as a more attacking option rather than a defensive midfielder.

I think that team would do well as you can work around the weaknesses, you task the defence to in general look for Skuse, then him Kilkenny and Reid just use their extra man to keep possession in the middle of the park and try to suck out a defender which should leave the space in behind to allow Albert, Bolaise and Pittman to attack the space in behind, or you suck their midfield narrow which allows McAllister and Spence to exploit the space and get forward.

That team could turn out to be a total shambles, but i'd far rather Millen had gone into the ipswich game with that side and we'd made the same mistakes, i could forgive that side (especially if you have Reid and Bolaise playing) a few mistakes, but it would at least show we are looking to do something different, rather than trying the same shit over and over again but expecting a different result.

[Barneyredballs]

Albert/KillK are both away on international duty.

Expect Yanick to come in and Skuse/Elliott to remain in cm

[BCFC_Dan]

Sounds like Keith was as taken in as I was by JCR's decent performance against West Brom. I did qualify my praise by stating that a competitive league match would be a different affair, however.

If he's going to drift into the middle then he has to take the ball and do something with it. He was doing that against West Brom and using his dribbling ability to create space for himself. I suspect if City hadn't been 2-0 down when he received the ball from James that lead to the 3rd goal he'd have dribbled out of trouble rather than trying to pass it back to James. Not excusing him, though, as if he doesn't have the confidence to take the ball and use it then he shouldn't be playing there (or at all, really).

Secondly, if JCR is going to come inside then someone else needs to provide an option on the left. Elliot or Skuse can break forward, or a striker can go out there, but someone needs to be out there or McAllister's just going to hoof it.

I'd be quite excited by the idea of a midfield pairing of Elliot and Kilkenny (Elliot going everywhere, Kilkenny sitting and distributing a la Johnson of a few years ago) with Adomah and Bolasie providing pace on the flanks.

[Nibor]

Sounds like Keith was as taken in as I was by JCR's decent performance against West Brom. I did qualify my praise by stating that a competitive league match would be a different affair, however.

If he's going to drift into the middle then he has to take the ball and do something with it. He was doing that against West Brom and using his dribbling ability to create space for himself. I suspect if City hadn't been 2-0 down when he received the ball from James that lead to the 3rd goal he'd have dribbled out of trouble rather than trying to pass it back to James. Not excusing him, though, as if he doesn't have the confidence to take the ball and use it then he shouldn't be playing there (or at all, really).

Secondly, if JCR is going to come inside then someone else needs to provide an option on the left. Elliot or Skuse can break forward, or a striker can go out there, but someone needs to be out there or McAllister's just going to hoof it.

I'd be quite excited by the idea of a midfield pairing of Elliot and Kilkenny (Elliot going everywhere, Kilkenny sitting and distributing a la Johnson of a few years ago) with Adomah and Bolasie providing pace on the flanks.

I didn't watch the West Brom game but generally friendlies are played at a much lower pace with significantly less closing down - one of the reasons not to read anything at all into those performances. As a game they're just there for a bit of match sharpness and to let the fans see the new signings.

JCR is a pretty good runner with the ball but his passing isn't good enough IMO to play in behind the front two, he doesn't release the ball at the right times as far as I've seen, dithers on it quite a bit. Even when he sticks to the left wing he cuts in 8 out of 10 times and once that's sussed he's out of the game. I'd play him on the right side or not at all frankly.

I agree on the last point, I do quite like the idea of Elliott and Kilkenny, but I think it depends on whether Kilkenny sits or plays better more advanced. If the latter I'd go with Skuse or Cisse if he can stop eating pies.

[Mad Cyril]

i promise i will read it later honest gotta go tidy the van .

I have never heard it called that before.

Disgusting - go get a girlfriend.