Where is the creativity going to come from?

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

32 minutes ago, Fuber said:

The bank account. Creativity costs money. 

Pearsons sold players for £35m+ and spent £2m ffs.

He's spent a total £2m ? 

Let's not let the facts get in the way of the populist narrative.

[ExiledAjax]

7 minutes ago, Supersonic Robin said:

True. I made a similar point in comparing today with the Millwall match.

• Vs Millwall, we had 1 shot on target - the James goal in the 94th minute.
• Today, we had 1 great chance - the Wells tap in from 6 yards.

Two things are pretty clear in comparing the 2 games:

A) If you're going to play in this way, you have to take your chance(s)

B) If you're going to play in this way, you have to be very solid defensively

We did neither today. We did both vs Millwall.

Yeh, and for years we've done ok, scored about 1.2 - 1.3 goals per game, but have been undone by a leaky defence.

Last season that defence tightened up, and the attack stayed about the same. So we improved our points haul, and our league position.

This season, for whatever reason, the attack is faltering. The defence is actually ok, conceding 1 goal per game is fine, you can get promoted with that, but you'll need to score 60+...which we're not looking on for right now.

There's also perception. When the chances go in "low quantity, high quality" looks clinical, lethal, and efficient. When they don't go in it looks uninspired, wasteful, and weak. And that's what we're seeing right now.

Edited August 19, 2023 by ExiledAjax

[BCFCGav]

Just now, Fordy62 said:

People genuinely forget we were(are) on the cusp of a points deduction.  

Were. No danger of that now. 
 

On topic - started the season well defensively, although of course those standards dipped today with some wayward passing out the back throughout. And Dickie will of course be absent, but that was a horse-shit decision from the ref.

I share the concerns regarding attack. If our only outlets are occasional link-ups down the left and long throws, this season will be another slog. I feel like we’ve sacrificed some creativity for more rigidity. I don’t know the solution to that though, hopefully someone at the club does.

[Fuber]

Just now, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

He's spent a total £2m ? 

Let's not let the facts get in the way of the populist narrative.

In my head I was thinking off the top of my head since January - so sorry, allow me to amend that to £5.5m (forgot McCrorie) - for all the difference that makes. 

Fees in during the same period are £36m.

£30m up.

And 35% lower wage budget (circa £23m p/annum, down from £34m).

[Redrascal2]

5 minutes ago, nickolas said:

Lets hope McCrorie is a powerful lump when fit. We miss strength, power AND pace. Mehmeti has zero pace also. 
We couldnt play any slower if we tried and must be so easy to scout and set up against for other teams. 
Desperately need a couple of big powerful lumps in midfield and upfront as a minimum. 
If we cant reinvest even £5m of the £25m Scott fee then League One here we come. 

I must admit after a full pre season and games last year, I thought that Mehmeti would be a real threat this season.But he looks to me like a league 1 player still. Very disappointing.

[redsocks]

I think with this current squad it's going to be a long hard season.two many players not good enough.connick awful.bell to week to play in the middle.i think we need a new goalkeeper,big strong centre forward.and a creative midfielder.hopefully when these injuries clear up we might see it getting better.one good thing to take from today was young yeboa he looks good for the future.

 

[Barrs Court Red]

Desperately lacking flair in the middle of midfield with no Scott. It’s noticeable compared to last season, where City were able to counter through the middle at pace (ok final ball wasn’t always there).

If there’s nothing in our budget to buy, a loan is vital. 
 

 

[onlyotib]

45 minutes ago, mozo said:

Wells has never been a goal machine,

Bradford. Huddersfield. Qpr or just our poor management as always

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

Just now, Fuber said:

In my head I was thinking off the top of my head since January - so sorry, allow me to amend that to £5.5m (forgot McCrorie) - for all the difference that makes. 

Fees in during the same period are £36m.

£30m up.

And 35% lower wage budget (circa £23m p/annum, down from £34m).

Sorry- the quote was about spending not saving which is a different matter. As the fees paid for virtually every player since Semenyo left have been undisclosed, your £5.5 is a guess.

The £36m as "fees in" is wrong because Semenyo didn't sell for £10m nor Scott for £25m- the deals are add ons which we don't have the exact details of or hen they are triggered.

Saying that £2m or £5.5m makes no difference is , imo, ridiculous!

 

[Superjack]

6 minutes ago, Redrascal2 said:

I must admit after a full pre season and games last year, I thought that Mehmeti would be a real threat this season.But he looks to me like a league 1 player still. Very disappointing.

He was brought in to be a 'maverick' and that's what he will be. 

He will win us games this season. He will also be anonymous in a lot of them.

[Shauntaylor85]

You can’t take Scott and Conway out and not replace that quality. Get on with it 

[Dr Balls]

13 minutes ago, EstoniaTallinnRed said:

The problem with that is he won't take a paycut, so back to square one.

Well the pay cut when he’s got no contract come 1st September will be even more noticeable. Every player has their price and clearly the valuation of wages for Kalas is affected by his injury problems. He may not like that but it’s the reality of the situation.

[Supersonic Robin]

We do look lacking in threat and creativity, but I'm slightly more concerned about the front 3 than the midfield in that respect.

The front 3 really lacks quality at times IMO. I can't say that I'm particularly inspired by any of our options (perhaps bar Conway). That doesn't mean they're crap, and it doesn't mean they'll never be good enough (especially re Mehmeti and Bell), but it means that they don't quite seem top half Championship standard right now.

Bell really struggled through the centre today. I don't think he's ready to be playing as the central striker at this level, and is more effective on the left. Cornick is a honest hard working player, but doesn't offer much threat - compare him to Dembele this afternoon. Mehmeti is my "favourite" of the 3, but still has to improve his decision making to match his technical ability.

Maybe we need to sign someone, or maybe we need to just give players like Mehmeti and Bell an extra season to develop, but I'm struggling to see us finishing in the top 10 with the front 3 we started today.

[James54De]

52 minutes ago, Fuber said:

The bank account. Creativity costs money. 

Pearsons sold players for £35m+ and spent £2m ffs.

False

[W-S-M Seagull]

Creating wasn't the issue today. We got the ball into the box aplenty. There just wasn't anyone there to get on the end if the balls, that was the problem today.

[Shauntaylor85]

Just now, W-S-M Seagull said:

Creating wasn't the issue today. We got the ball into the box aplenty. There just wasn't anyone there to get on the end if the balls, that was the problem today.

We lack the pace and power of a Semenyo who can stretch teams. We also need a strong CF who can hold the ball and link, but crucially as we’ve always lacked year on year…..a creative goal scoring mid! 

[Sleepy1968]

54 minutes ago, Fuber said:

The bank account. Creativity costs money. 

Pearsons sold players for £35m+ and spent £2m ffs.

It's not Pearson who sells players is it, or has hold of the purse strings for new recruits. It is a function of SL's sustainability drive.

[Sleepy1968]

6 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

Creating wasn't the issue today. We got the ball into the box aplenty. There just wasn't anyone there to get on the end if the balls, that was the problem today.

We were always second best to high balls into the box. So that was pointless. When Sam Bell managed to put a decent low ball across, we should have scored (based on post match radio talk, I couldn't tell from my seat)

[W-S-M Seagull]

Just now, Sleepy1968 said:

We were always second best to high balls into the box. So that was pointless. When Sam Bell managed to put a decent low ball across, we should have scored (based on post match radio talk, I couldn't tell from my seat)

That's the point I'm making. We need someone who can win those balls. 

Yep Wells should have scored from that ball but somehow he put it wide when it was easier to score. 

[nickolas]

25 minutes ago, Redrascal2 said:

I must admit after a full pre season and games last year, I thought that Mehmeti would be a real threat this season.But he looks to me like a league 1 player still. Very disappointing.

Agreed. A spot of the early Scott Murray days of running into areas he cant possibly get crosses from. But he turned out ok so lets see!

I always wanted us to try to buy Dembele. My god thats how a winger should play. Pace, trickery and scared Tanner to death. 

Edited August 19, 2023 by nickolas

[mozo]

53 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

 

Your silence speaks volumes...

[Kingswood Robin]

Creativity would be good, but lets keep it simple to start with. The ball needs to stay within the white lines. How many times did we just kick the ball out of play? It was pitiful, you can't blame FFP, selling players or injuries for that. 

It was dreadful to watch. All huff and puff and completely predictable, no quality whatsoever. I believe Lansdown is ultimately responsible, but Pearson won't get cut much slack this season if home performances continue in the current vein.    

[Charlie BCFC]

1 hour ago, Fuber said:

The bank account. Creativity costs money. 

Pearsons sold players for £35m+ and spent £2m ffs.

2 million? Spent more than that on players this season

[sludge]

1 hour ago, ChrisBW said:

3 shots on target in 3 games, 2 from long throws. Wells no goals in open play for 20 games. This is Pearsons side with his players and signings…..he goes on about how little money we have yet he made the signings of Cornick and Mehmeti - what is the solution? 

Were Birmingham particularly creative today? Just looked like the same old to me. They are stronger than us and took chances that came their way. 

[mozo]

4 minutes ago, sludge said:

Were Birmingham particularly creative today? Just looked like the same old to me. They are stronger than us and took chances that came their way. 

Well, Hogan is hardly a frightening proposition. We managed to snuff out Dembele and Bacuna pretty well, but looked to struggle with Miyoshi from the moment he came on.

[sludge]

4 minutes ago, mozo said:

Well, Hogan is hardly a frightening proposition. We managed to snuff out Dembele and Bacuna pretty well, but looked to struggle with Miyoshi from the moment he came on.

Hogan not a unit no, but they have more muscle than us as a team? 

[mozo]

Just now, sludge said:

Hogan not a unit no, but they have more muscle than us as a team? 

Sorry, I was responding to your comment about Birmingham's creativity. I agree with you about them being stronger.

[The turtle]

Boring comes to mind

Been that way for a while now. I was hoping post summer we'd see a spark, things worked on over a summer. So far it's just win or lose.

How often in the last ........ Years have you said, wow what a game that was. Not close to often enough.

Wolves and top at xmas were the last real have a go team.

Scott was the spark......

The way too early opinion in the season is it's all well and good improving the side (it has) but you need magic that delivers more often than not.

We have many good players now.

But creativity? I'm still to be convinced.

I'm all for fighting for the right to play, but you have to play.

4 points 3 games...... Meh football

Here's to the next 43 and some inspired team football along the way.

 

[sludge]

19 minutes ago, mozo said:

Sorry, I was responding to your comment about Birmingham's creativity. I agree with you about them being stronger.

Fair point. I just felt that first half in particular they were on top without creating that much. 

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, Edgy Red said:

I'm not anti Pearson in any way, but how he escapes criticism is wrong. He has had the best part of 3 years to form a team... its like The Tories continually blaming Labour for the mess they left the country in (13 years ago)

Tin hat on

He hardly escapes criticism, jeez, there’s some on here who consistently criticise him.

I like him, but….

Would I have taken off Pring at h-t?  No

Would I have left Tanner on?  No

Those were the wrong decisions in my eyes.

 

FWIW - red rag to a bull, sorry.  He’s had 2 1/2 years to sort out a mess….now is the start of building HIS team.  It’s been compromise after compromise since day one.  The sale of Semenyo for £10m who assisted last week and scored today, is a sacrifice isn’t it?  It’s nothing like the Tories at all.