funkyrobot

He only played 56 minutes….. … but the last 26 mins of that, he limped around holding his Achilles...

He’s not really looked the part since that 4 goal match in October 2021. Presumably he’s not then had any confidence for 52 months since that mirage of ability. That’s some crisis of confidence tbf.

Rowett doesn’t trust the kids, it’ll be the anonymous BDCR.

Looks like it’s going to be BDCR as the 10 on Good Friday then ffs. James was hobbling around from 30 minutes. He played on way too long exactly like he did when he did his hamstring early in the game against Wrexham. Would you fkin believe it.

All of the above can be true, (except where you suggest I’m naive) but that STILL doesn’t change the fact that if we are relegated by 1 or 2 points we can say that Patson Daka missing an easy penalty and an absolute sitter is the football moment that was the difference between staying up and being relegated. Simple opportunities against an opponent that was as bad as Bristol City and offered no attacking threat.

It will be if we go down by 2 points. A penalty is as close to a guaranteed goal as you can possibly get. To miss that and then an absolute sitter is very poor. Thats the easiest 3 point opportunity we’ve thrown away considering the opponents threat across the whole game.

It was a poor penalty. The replay from behind Daka showed how centrally it was placed. It also was tentative and lacked pace. You only hit pens like that if you are the master at reading goalkeepers like Ivan Toney. Daka’s little stutter didn’t affect the keeper but reduced the pace he could hit the ball. If the penalty had been hit into the corner with pace then it’s far less likely that any keeper saves it.

Irrespective of who took it, It was a crap penalty mate. Nowhere near the post, hit along the floor and lacked power. If the keeper dives the right way it’s an easy save every time. Poor from Daka.

So he has a worse ppg than Cifuentes as you’ve had to factor the 6 point reduction to even it out

Or Richards

Why he was given the penalty with James, Fatawu, Ricardo all better strikers of a ball god knows. Rubbish pen that lacked power and was very central.

He came with glowing references from Palace fans which is very strange considering his scoring statistics when he was there. Tbf he was mainly back up for them and never seen as a centre forward. Shows how far we’ve fallen and how flawed our transfer plan is that we sign a non goalscorer who isn’t naturally a number 9 and play him only as a number 9. I still think it’s bizarre how popular he was at Palace, same as I’m surprised by the glowing references that The Ghost of Bobby Reid got from Fulham fans.

Whilst the keeper should’ve shouted that doesn’t excuse Nelson for a terrible slide and OG. I like the lad but he had a terrible game. He needs an experienced head next to him. I’d probably still start him in the next game but with Lascelles alongside. Both Okoli and Nelson are deputy centre backs, not leaders. Lascelles can lead and I’d play Nelson beside him because he’s way better on the ball than Okoli.

VK out for the season

People trying to use conspiracy theories to explain why Rowett picked Ayew. He picked Ayew because that’s who he wanted to start. He probably won’t pick him again now he’s experienced the full Ayew effect yesterday but let’s be honest, the alternative is almost a non footballer in Daka. Lots of effort and workrate but terrible technique. If Rowatt was being brave he’d accept that neither striker is good enough and try something else like playing Richards centrally.

Yeh after the Bristol city match he explained why he picked him. Because of his (alleged) ability to hold the ball up, to win free kicks and allow the wingers to run off him. The reality was he wasn’t great against Bristol but his performance was masked by how bad they were. Sure enough, against a side that actually competed with us in midfield and so there was more needed from the striker in terms of support for the midfield, holding the ball up and pressing the opponent, his shortcomings were obvious for us all to see. Both our strikers are terrible. Tbf to Ayew he was never a main number 9 at Palace and usually played on the side. For us, his lack of pace or even any work ethic recently makes him even more of a liability than Patson ‘touch of a trampoline’ Daka.

Rowett is picking the team. He talks as much in his pre match interviews. Extolling the virtues of Ayew and of benching some of his better players to affect the game later.

It’s not though is it. It’s pretty much all monstrous ‘Hyde’ football, with very little ‘Jekyll’ good stuff

Rowett is averaging a point a match. That’s worse than Cifuentes. Whilst we have seen some positive signs under his leadership, today was one of the worst matches we have seen at the KP this season, if not the worst. We were playing a bang average and out of form opponent who out fought, out thought and outplayed us. Very few opportunities were created by Rowett’s team. We saw slow lethargic play, the worst defensive horror show of the season and substitutions made far too late.

Maybe only Spurs could pay his £50k pw wage next season in The Championship.

He was our best player. He often isn’t, but he was today.

The masterplan of not starting your best players and having some of those as subs has failed in its second game. Going forward he needs to start Lascelles and Winks. Ricardo despite his flaws is better than Hamza, Daka is better than Ayew. No idea about what he does at number 10 as Reidy is a ghost and Mukasa lacks urgency.

He was very much part of the problem today. His side was attacked at will, we were dominated on our right . He showed no urgency with the ball, slowed the game down. Hamza plays football like it’s netball. When he gets the ball he literally stops like you aren’t allowed to move with the ball anymore. At one point in the first half he was presented with the ball in space and unmarked with Fatawu ahead of him and he literally stopped dead, turned backwards and passed it back. The crowd moaned and he turned round as captain and mouthed back to them. Fair enough if he had a point but he didn’t, there was absolutely no reason not to progress the ball. Really poor for me today and never a captain.

Tbf that description could be used for all of the starting 11 except for James and Mavididi.

Mavididi was our best player. James was ok, Skipp anonymous.