Thoughts on Today's match

[Bs4Red]

Where to begin?

Burton Albion, one of the strangest and smallest grounds I've been to in the FL, manned turnstiles and a rammed terrace. The ground not much different to FGR for reference. 

Thought we start slowly and things didn't really go for us, Nigel Clough had clearly scouted us well and highlighted Little as a weak link. All their joy today came from his side. Position wise he is so poor, got caught so many times and Burton just didn't take their chances. They will be going home today wondering how they have lost that game. 

We didn't deserve the win today, we were lethargic and we're lucky to go in front at HT.

Second half was all about slowing game down and crawling to victory. Burton probably had 5 good chances to level the game before they eventually did. 

I thought Kodjia was shocking today, rarely gets his head up when TA is making unreal runs in behind. 

Once we conceded our urgency came back and we looked like a side who wanted to win the game. Wilbs who I'm not a lover of was excellent when he came on and gave us another dimension.

Overall 2 wins from 2 and not playing great. Last season we'd have lost both of those games. Going in the right direction. Absolutely buzzing. No sweeter thing than a 90 minute winner

Ratings:

ROD 8

JB 7

HM 7

Flint 7

Little 4

Brownhill 5

GO 8

Tomlin 3

CO 6

JK 5

TA 9

[Londoner]

1 minute ago, Bs4Red said:

Where to begin?

Burton Albion, one of the strangest and smallest grounds I've been to in the FL, manned turnstiles and a rammed terrace. The ground not much different to FGR for reference. 

Thought we start slowly and things didn't really go for us, Nigel Clough had clearly scouted us well and highlighted Little as a weak link. All their joy today came from his side. Position wise he is so poor, got caught so many times and Burton just didn't take their chances. They will be going home today wondering how they have lost that game. 

We didn't deserve the win today, we were lethargic and we're lucky to go in front at HT.

Second half was all about slowing game down and crawling to victory. Burton probably had 5 good chances to level the game before they eventually did. 

I thought Kodjia was shocking today, rarely gets his head up when TA is making unreal runs in behind. 

Once we conceded our urgency came back and we looked like a side who wanted to win the game. Wilbs who I'm not a lover of was excellent when he came on and gave us another dimension.

Overall 2 wins from 2 and not playing great. Last season we'd have lost both of those games. Going in the right direction. Absolutely buzzing. No sweeter thing than a 90 minute winner

Ratings:

ROD 8

JB 7

HM 7

Flint 7

Little 4

Brownhill 5

GO 8

Tomlin 3

CO 6

JK 5

TA 9

You did see that JKs turn and ball won us the game right?

[Bs4Red]

Just now, Londoner said:

You did see that JKs turn and ball won us the game right?

Only thing he did for 90 minutes. Doesn't warrant a good rating surely? He was average. 

[cityexile]

Thanks for the report.

Just going from commentary, but Tomlin clearly not found his stride yet. Watching the goals, great run by Kodjia to set it up.

[Londoner]

Just now, Bs4Red said:

Only thing he did for 90 minutes. Doesn't warrant a good rating surely? He was average. 

What and the rest of the team weren't? 

[Bs4Red]

1 minute ago, Londoner said:

What and the rest of the team weren't? 

A few stand out performers but totally agree the team were average. How would you rate the players?

[DaveF]

4 is very generous for Little...

We got battered for most of the game, If we'd lost by a couple we couldn't have really complained.

Burton reminded me of us at the start of last season, wasting chances and losing it late on.

[Bs4Red]

2 minutes ago, cityexile said:

Thanks for the report.

Just going from commentary, but Tomlin clearly not found his stride yet. Watching the goals, great run by Kodjia to set it up.

Yes mate, Tomlin look anonymous today and was lucky to not be hooked earlier! Yes fantastic by Kodj but apart from that was very poor, head looks elsewhere in my opinion 

[samo II]

5 minutes ago, Bs4Red said:

Only thing he did for 90 minutes. Doesn't warrant a good rating surely? He was average. 

If he's getting game winning assists while playing badly, here's to his form picking up.

Does sound like he's got a bit of a hangover from his sensational season last time out.  

Might be that assist is as good as a goal for his confidence, and the start of a productive partnership. 

[Drew Peacock]

21 minutes ago, Bs4Red said:

 

Thought we start slowly and things didn't really go for us, Nigel Clough had clearly scouted us well and highlighted Little as a weak link.

How did he do that?

[Nomad]

24 minutes ago, Bs4Red said:

Yes mate, Tomlin look anonymous today and was lucky to not be hooked earlier! Yes fantastic by Kodj but apart from that was very poor, head looks elsewhere in my opinion 

crack?

[REDOXO]

So three wins....

Forward scores 4 in 3

Other forward gets 95th minute assist

Team tactically poor (other thread)

Opposing managers targeting players he could not possibly have known were starting

ETC etc etc etc....Its effing August! Newcastle can't buy a point and we are top and not even playing that well. We have only conceded two and look pretty solid even with Mark Little in (I like Mark Little, just making a point)....

These are the sort of positives we should be taking....But Eff it I hate being top....LJ Out!

 

[Buckobcfc]

25 minutes ago, DaveF said:

4 is very generous for Little...

We got battered for most of the game, If we'd lost by a couple we couldn't have really complained.

Burton reminded me of us at the start of last season, wasting chances and losing it late on.

Harsh in my opinion yes he didnt have a good game and made 1 or 2 wayward passes but was left isolated so much was unlucky with the tackle leading to their goal fans seemed to be on his back from the kickoff which doesnt help

[Globe Trotter]

Thought jk wae poor but the assist more than made up for it. Thought Magnusson was brave and assured. Otherwise very poor, 3 points th main thing though 

[cityexile]

4 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

So three wins....

Forward scores 4 in 3

Other forward gets 95th minute assist

Team tactically poor (other thread)

Opposing managers targeting players he could not possibly have known were starting

ETC etc etc etc....Its effing August! Newcastle can't buy a point and we are top and not even playing that well. We have only conceded two and look pretty solid even with Mark Little in (I like Mark Little, just making a point)....

These are the sort of positives we should be taking....But Eff it I hate being top....LJ Out!

 

Take the point, and I would imagine we are all delighted with the results. 

Match reports can become very dull if they just focus on the result however. Clearly there is room for improvement. Think we will know much better in three games where we really are. These two results mean we are not under early pressure going in to them.

[Olé]

12 minutes ago, cityexile said:

Match reports can become very dull if they just focus on the result however.

Amen to that. No point telling some of you  what you can already read in dispatches on Twitter or BBC Sport (ie the result and little besides).

For me winning despite tactics clearly not working as intended has been a feature of every game so far this season and was a topic worth sharing. Doesn't mean I'm any less happy or enjoying the trip back, but it's not a worthwhile contribution to OTIB in my opinion to just say we won. Perhaps this thread has captured it better than I have but it's worthwhile reporting the issues now for discussion, I think a forum that goes into meltdown over the colour of a shirt will survive this reality check about our tactics and performances without impacting your enjoyment of this fine start to the season.

For what it's worth agree with everything the OP has posted here and his ratings.

[DaveF]

41 minutes ago, Buckobcfc said:

Harsh in my opinion yes he didnt have a good game and made 1 or 2 wayward passes but was left isolated so much was unlucky with the tackle leading to their goal fans seemed to be on his back from the kickoff which doesnt help

I thought he looked like someone who had won a competition to play a professional game of football.

[Drew Peacock]

18 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

The Little aspect was obvious, and scout will tell you that, he is not a Championship defender, Ayling was better. 

Based on?

[North London Red]

1 hour ago, Bs4Red said:

Where to begin?

Burton Albion, one of the strangest and smallest grounds I've been to in the FL, manned turnstiles and a rammed terrace. The ground not much different to FGR for reference. 

Thought we start slowly and things didn't really go for us, Nigel Clough had clearly scouted us well and highlighted Little as a weak link. All their joy today came from his side. Position wise he is so poor, got caught so many times and Burton just didn't take their chances. They will be going home today wondering how they have lost that game. 

We didn't deserve the win today, we were lethargic and we're lucky to go in front at HT.

Second half was all about slowing game down and crawling to victory. Burton probably had 5 good chances to level the game before they eventually did. 

I thought Kodjia was shocking today, rarely gets his head up when TA is making unreal runs in behind. 

Once we conceded our urgency came back and we looked like a side who wanted to win the game. Wilbs who I'm not a lover of was excellent when he came on and gave us another dimension.

Overall 2 wins from 2 and not playing great. Last season we'd have lost both of those games. Going in the right direction. Absolutely buzzing. No sweeter thing than a 90 minute winner

Ratings:

ROD 8

JB 7

HM 7

Flint 7

Little 4

Brownhill 5

GO 8

Tomlin 3

CO 6

JK 5

TA 9

 

Agree with most of that, although I think 8 for O'Donnell is a little generous given how awful his kicking was for much of the first half. 

In Little's defence I don't think he had a huge amount of defensive cover from O'Dowda in front of him, but even so he had a number of dodgy moments today. 

I'm not sure if Tomlin isn't 100 per cent fit or just seems out of place on the left of midfield - either way I think (and hope) there's a lot more to come from him over the coming weeks and months. 

And although he did excellently to set up the winner, something doesn't seem quite right with Kodjia either. Fingers crossed that he and Tomlin can quickly reach last season's form - if they do and Abraham continues to shine, the future could be very bright indeed. 

[Super]

Just now, Drew Peacock said:

Based on?

The fact Little cant defend?

[Buckobcfc]

1 minute ago, DaveF said:

I thought he looked like someone who had won a competition to play a professional game of football.

I agree he had a shocker bud and rather we kept ayling and moved ml on but get behind the players that start at 1 point little knocked a ball down to tomlin who then gave it away and peope around me were shoutin ffs little just seemed people were on his back early

[Drew Peacock]

Just now, Super said:

The fact Little cant defend?

And how does 'scout' know a league 1 championship winning defender can't defend in the Championship. He has had minimal games there and not fit in most.

[Olé]

23 minutes ago, North London Red said:

I'm not sure if Tomlin isn't 100 per cent fit or just seems out of place on the left of midfield - either way I think (and hope) there's a lot more to come from him over the coming weeks and months. 

And although he did excellently to set up the winner, something doesn't seem quite right with Kodjia either.

Tomlin main issue is that he is playing so deep - inside his own half a lot. I think this is down to having fewer defensive midfielders so Tomlin is trying to build from further back. If we can have Pack in there or better get Korey back in, I think Tomlin will be better knowing someone will win and supply the ball. At the moment he is sitting back and playing with eight opponents in front of him because we have so many other attacking midfielders. I'm not sure what Brownhill is adding yet as to my mind he hasn't got in a game yet and using his place for a midfielder behind Tomlin may give him the confidence to play further up the pitch.

On Kodjia, 100% agree. He always plays head down but he is really 'down' at the moment. His ego may be bruised with the form of Tammy and he must be unsettled by the transfer talk, but he doesn't look like part of the team, he looks 'isolated' and needs someone to put an arm round him and make him believe he is part of the team and this season. Things aren't coming off for him, he's making poor decisions and he's not feeling the love. O'Dowda had a go at him for not following through on a Reid through ball and he visibly shrunk. Definitely needs an arm round him and some encouragement, especially with how Tammy is playing. At the risk of raking the coals of my other posts today, I don't think the tactics are helping either, but I'm sure both he and the tactics are going to click soon (happy now!)

[DaveF]

51 minutes ago, Buckobcfc said:

I agree he had a shocker bud and rather we kept ayling and moved ml on but get behind the players that start at 1 point little knocked a ball down to tomlin who then gave it away and peope around me were shoutin ffs little just seemed people were on his back early

I agree. Tomlin completely anonymous, as was Brownhill.

[samo II]

1 minute ago, Olé said:

On Kodjia, 100% agree. He always plays head down but he is really 'down' at the moment. His ego may be bruised with the form of Tammy and he must be unsettled by the transfer talk, but he doesn't look like part of the team, he looks 'isolated' and needs someone to put an arm round him and make him believe he is part of the team and this season. Things aren't coming off for him, he's making poor decisions and he's not feeling the love. O'Dowda had a go at him for not following through on a Reid through ball and he visibly shrunk. Definitely needs an arm round him and some encouragement, especially with how Tammy is playing. At the risk of raking the coals of my other posts today, I don't think the tactics are helping either, but I'm sure both he and the tactics are going to click soon (happy now!)

I was impressed with Ambraham giving Kodjia a verbal arm round the shoulder in his post-match interview; spoke of them building a partnership, and how the roles will be reversed, and he'll be setting up "Jimmy" on other occasions.

I'd have understood if the boy got a little caught up in his own hype after such an explosive start to his first team career, but speaks glowingly of the team spirt and his colleagues - might be impressed on him (I know Prem youngsters get coaching) but I thought that was a nice positive - hope they develop into a formidable unit.

[Davefevs]

43 minutes ago, samo II said:

I was impressed with Ambraham giving Kodjia a verbal arm round the shoulder in his post-match interview; spoke of them building a partnership, and how the roles will be reversed, and he'll be setting up "Jimmy" on other occasions.

I'd have understood if the boy got a little caught up in his own hype after such an explosive start to his first team career, but speaks glowingly of the team spirt and his colleagues - might be impressed on him (I know Prem youngsters get coaching) but I thought that was a nice positive - hope they develop into a formidable unit.

That's nice to hear.

Did Burton play 3-5-2 today?

[Redandy]

3 hours ago, Bs4Red said:

Where to begin?

Burton Albion, one of the strangest and smallest grounds I've been to in the FL, manned turnstiles and a rammed terrace. The ground not much different to FGR for reference. 

Thought we start slowly and things didn't really go for us, Nigel Clough had clearly scouted us well and highlighted Little as a weak link. All their joy today came from his side. Position wise he is so poor, got caught so many times and Burton just didn't take their chances. They will be going home today wondering how they have lost that game. 

We didn't deserve the win today, we were lethargic and we're lucky to go in front at HT.

Second half was all about slowing game down and crawling to victory. Burton probably had 5 good chances to level the game before they eventually did. 

I thought Kodjia was shocking today, rarely gets his head up when TA is making unreal runs in behind. 

Once we conceded our urgency came back and we looked like a side who wanted to win the game. Wilbs who I'm not a lover of was excellent when he came on and gave us another dimension.

Overall 2 wins from 2 and not playing great. Last season we'd have lost both of those games. Going in the right direction. Absolutely buzzing. No sweeter thing than a 90 minute winner

Ratings:

ROD 8

JB 7

HM 7

Flint 7

Little 4

Brownhill 5

GO 8

Tomlin 3

CO 6

JK 5

TA 9

Not at the game but a worry to see you gave Tomlin a 3. Is he playing that poorly? After last season you would hope he would be standing out as a class act.

[redysteadygo1]

My big fear is that Tomlin may have done a " Tony Dinning " by playing out of his skin whilst on loan and securing a contract then not living up to all expectations. I was not impressed by his Wigan performance and comments by fans who have seen him in the other two games has not been that complimentary. It could be he may not be playing in his preferred position, where his attributes are more suited, but that is no excuse for lack of effort etc. Maybe due to his fitness levels he needs a few more games, much like Freeman the season before last when he came good after Christmas.

I just hope I am bloody well wrong. Tin hat is on for the expected avalanche of comments from the LT lovers.

 

[INCRED]

2 hours ago, Olé said:

Amen to that. No point telling some of you  what you can already read in dispatches on Twitter or BBC Sport (ie the result and little besides).

For me winning despite tactics clearly not working as intended has been a feature of every game so far this season and was a topic worth sharing. Doesn't mean I'm any less happy or enjoying the trip back, but it's not a worthwhile contribution to OTIB in my opinion to just say we won. Perhaps this thread has captured it better than I have but it's worthwhile reporting the issues now for discussion, I think a forum that goes into meltdown over the colour of a shirt will survive this reality check about our tactics and performances without impacting your enjoyment of this fine start to the season.

For what it's worth agree with everything the OP has posted here and his ratings.

Its very much lije 2006/7 season when we didnt exactly play teams off the park but somehow managed to win games or scrape draws

Not saying just yet that we will reach the play offs but we will probably play a lot better in games this season but not win

[forbespm]

I thought kodjia played well.couple of good passes to Abraham and the assist for the goal.tomlin and brownhill were poor apart from a great clearance from brownhill on the line.

Little was diabolical,piss poor tackling,heading was woeful and exuded panic! The sooner Mathews is back the better