Greg2607 Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 I thought we had patches last night where we looked good, however, there is a distinct slowness in our build up at times and that in itself negates the runs that the forwards are making. There were a number of times where we had the ball out wide, nugent or beckford made their runs and the ball wasn't delivered. it was moved back inside or it we took a touch too many. The forwards can only make one run within any given attacking move in order to get in front of their defender and this slowness means that they are often picked up before the ball comes in. Further to this, I thought that both nugent and beckford were dominated in the air last night when we were playing long balls up from the back four. It seemed that their striker seemed to win the ball more often than not (although he didn't really make great use of it after) but anything above chest height into our stikers came back from their defence. we lacked a natural width (although you've all been saying this for some time) and with gallagher constsantly tucking in, we lacked a real attacking threat down the right wing. Peltier is a solid full back who CAN get forward, but he isn't a player to consistently take on and beat his opposite number and get in a chance creating cross. I thought Danns and Wellens huffed and puffed well, but were late to the 2nd ball a little too often in the first half. When Drinkwater came on, I think he was a genuine breath of fresh air, and his off the ball movement and constant "wanting" of the ball is what all of our midfield should be aspiring too. He may have had a couple of sloppy passes, but in the main he protected the ball and looked for the simple pass. All in all, I thought we were the better side and created more chances in open Play than Middlesborough did. Given their position in the league, it's a shame we've had such a stuttering season as we deserve to be ahead of them based on that performance. Beckford did look dangerous at times and I think given the right type of delivery and a quicker build up, he could be lethal at this level.
turkish14 Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Cannot qoute as using iPhone.... But in response to kitchandro post, I almost entirely agree expect for having no creative centre midfielder. I think Pearson will use bamba to add a bit of muscle and attacking running threat. To cornetto fox....I'm sure gally was jeered again when he was subbed, maybe this is why he did not applaud the fans.
Leicester_Loyal Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Drinkwater and the Fonz looked quality. I really hope Drinkwater starts and maybe Fonz and/or Marshall to replace Dyer and/or Gally.
Ric Flair Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Jermaine Beckford when confident is as unstoppable a player at this level as Collymore was in his pomp in the PL. The only thing that let's him down is his first touch, if he had that then he'd be off the scale. I'm not in to 'I told you so's' as i've been wrong about players and stuff countless times before, but I always believed in Jermaine and finally he is starting to prove how good he is. It takes some players a long while to settle at a club, even if it shouldn't do. It took Henry 20+ games to show any kind of ability for Arsenal and I seem to recall Peter Crouch going about 15 games before his 1st goal at Liverpool. Beckford looks a donkey when he's not in tune with the way his team plays and that was what was happening. However, now he's confident he's constantly chasing down lost causes and trying things he'd perhaps hesitate to do previously and he's getting his reward. Slowly but surely him and Nugent are working well together and quite frankly, they must be horrible to defend against. We needed the win last night but if we keep up this level of intensity with players like Drinkwater, Delfouneso and Marshall coming in for any players not pulling their weight then we're not done just yet this season. I thought Schmeichel was playing a dangerous game with the wall from that far out, he had them cover the right hand side of his goal and he stood furtehr to the left, well all McMahon needed to do was get it up and over on target and it was going to take a monumental stretch to keep it out. The whole midfield was shocking first half and it got better when Drinky and Fonz came on. Drinkwater dropped very deep, but his array of passing is superb and it helped bring Danns and Wellens back in to a game they'd struggled in. I thought our defence was a bit hit and miss, but we nullified them for almost the whole of the 2nd half and i'll leave it to Nigel to decide when to unleash the beast in there. Big game on Saturday, I see no reason why we can't get a win at Brighton. Home or away if we play like we did last night but shore things up and drop the under-performers then we'll have a right good go at the top 6. Marshall in for Dyer and Drinkwater in for Gallagher please on Saturday. Let the bear have some salmon.
Babylon Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 The thing is Ric people didn't really moan at him for not scoring, I certainly can't remember it being brought up. We all know that comes and goes with form. But whether you are in form or not it doesn't stop you putting in a shift, or from chasing lost causes. If he had bothered to do that people wouldn't have given him grief anything like he recevied. He deserved 90% of the critisism he got, he doesn't deserve the boos and jeers that some people aimed at him. But for 15/20 games the guy was nothing short of dreadful. People blamed the midfield for his problems, but that was and is nonsense. The midfield gave him little to work with again last night, the difference was HE was putting in a shift. Which meant he was in a position to force a mistake from the keeper, or in a position to get on the end of a loose ball. Everything he did last night was pretty much self made because of the extra commitment he showed to get at people and attack. There was nothing stopping him from doing that at the start, whether in form or out. I don't know what has got him going, whether he'd decided to change how he was playing himself, or Pearson has lit a rocket up his arse. But the new Beckford is everything everyone wanted him to be.
lcfcliam Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 What did people make of Jutkiewicz elbow on St.Ledger last night anybody see it? Straight red no doubt, ref didn't even book him!
Ric Flair Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 The thing is Ric people didn't really moan at him for not scoring, I certainly can't remember it being brought up. We all know that comes and goes with form. But whether you are in form or not it doesn't stop you putting in a shift, or from chasing lost causes. If he had bothered to do that people wouldn't have given him grief anything like he recevied. He deserved 90% of the critisism he got, he doesn't deserve the boos and jeers that some people aimed at him. But for 15/20 games the guy was nothing short of dreadful. People blamed the midfield for his problems, but that was and is nonsense. The midfield gave him little to work with again last night, the difference was HE was putting in a shift. Which meant he was in a position to force a mistake from the keeper, or in a position to get on the end of a loose ball. Everything he did last night was pretty much self made because of the extra commitment he showed to get at people and attack. There was nothing stopping him from doing that at the start, whether in form or out. I don't know what has got him going, whether he'd decided to change how he was playing himself, or Pearson has lit a rocket up his arse. But the new Beckford is everything everyone wanted him to be. I don't disagree with our fans and how they were reacting to him, he was very poor from the moment Sven left to the Palace game where he then started to get involved. Beckford needs to learn when things don't go his way to continue to put the effort in, which he eveidently wasn't doing. His team mates and even Pearson weren't helping matters in the way they were playing but ultimately Beckford had and has to take responsibility of his conduct and application. But I genuinely believe it's down to confidence with him, and long may him have belief and long may his performances terrify the opposition. Balotelli needs to take a leaf out of Jermaine's book. What did people make of Jutkiewicz elbow on St.Ledger last night anybody see it? Straight red no doubt, ref didn't even book him! Wasn't that bad.
lcfcliam Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 I don't disagree with our fans and how they were reacting to him, he was very poor from the moment Sven left to the Palace game where he then started to get involved. Beckford needs to learn when things don't go his way to continue to put the effort in, which he eveidently wasn't doing. His team mates and even Pearson weren't helping matters in the way they were playing but ultimately Beckford had and has to take responsibility of his conduct and application. But I genuinely believe it's down to confidence with him, and long may him have belief and long may his performances terrify the opposition. Balotelli needs to take a leaf out of Jermaine's book. Wasn't that bad. He clearly elbowed him in this face? How could it not be a red.
easilee Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Just found it, thought i'd put it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KFhbKAXr_4
SMX11 Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 How the hell did Boro nearly win that game. They were the biggest spoilers I have seen in a while and really didn't do anything for nearly all the game. We need to stop conceeding soft goals like the first one as that has been our undoing this year.
muzzy1981 Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 A mediocre performance really that proved how much Pearsons signings are needed. Drinkwater looked class again, expect him to start in the next game, Fonz looked good and looking forward to seeing Marshall. And there is something comforting about having Morgan at the club, he's like big warm blanket of championship experience. Nug and Becks looked sharp again. In Nige we trust!
Guest ttfn Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Didn't see the game last night, but I listened to it on the radio. By all accounts Beckford was excellent; good for him. But the "told you so" brigade appear to be conveniently forgetting that Beckford signed in August. It's now February and yesterday he bagged his third league goal in 5 months. Let's not get carried away. He'd still do well to get 10 league goals for the season, which frankly isn't good enough.
Karljohn Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Beckford aside, it was the usual drivel, huff and puff, aimless passes from Matt Mills, lack of movement, poor vision and decision making throughout. Beckford could have had 4, looks hungry, sharp and genuinely interested, vastly improved performance. as for the Subs, Drinkwater and fonz looked decent, and need to start at Brighton.
beemeroo Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Not that shocked that we came up against a team that actually wanted to win and fell short of beating them. I was interested after three good results against substandard opposition (sorry, but Southampton were half a team) how we would cope. The referee did us no favours, but I don't think he did us any real harm either.
Thracian Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 To me we didn't press with anything like the conviction we showed at Southampton. The moment we scored we gave the initiative right back to Boro. We never sought to raise the tempo and dominate the match.
Charl91 Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Beckford: a little premature for people to be getting 'I told you so'. How long do I have to wait before I'm allowed to say it?
PegguyArphexad Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Not quite sure where to put this but I really feel that after last night once again there is a growing unity between the club and fans. An improved atmosphere, a hard-working and organised team, and after NP's run-in with the officials there is a little more fire in the belly and anger which is a positive thing. After the lassez-faire and direction-less spell under Sven I can't help but feel the passion is coming back! Come on you Foxes!
Guy Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Not read through any of the other posts on this thread as yet, just typing afresh here so apologies if this is essentially just repeating what many have already said about last night. Ho hum, two points dropped really, all things considered before the game - with regards to present form and such like. I know the Championship doesn't really do current form though so perhaps a mere draw against out-of-form opposition last night was to be half expected! A win would've set us up nicely for the tough few games ahead and perhaps less emphasis would've been put on us to have to go out and win against Brighton and Cardiff now, had we won last night. I think Mowbray said it best after the game as regards M'Boro being happy with a point before the start, despite their conceding late on with Beckford's quality equaliser. For me yesterday's game has summed up our season to date in a nutshell with the way in which we still concede too many soft goals (their first) which ultimately cost us dearly. The marking was poor for both Nugent's opener and their equaliser but the game was rounded off with a quality couple of strikes by comparison with their quality free kick (was Casper slightly unsighted though?) and Beckford chasing down their hashed clearance to slot the ball away sublimely from a very tight angle - that many a striker would've easily missed. On top of the generally negative vibe on here, that's also not discounting the fact that we've still yet to win back to back league games this season! Perhaps that just isn't meant to be and therefore isn't going to happen! If we don't get four points from the next two games then I think it's goodbye play offs!
Storming Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 When Gallagher scored them two cracking goals in the dressing room he threw his boot on the floor and said some one put an extinquisher or them there smoking cann someone please put some fire lighters in them on Saturday as since them there hasnt been a smoulder . Loved the new chant though can see this getting better and better :scarf: :scarf:
Raw Dykes Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 Having had time to reflect, as someone else has said the old guard HAVE to go. Wellens, Gally, Dyer and Howard, all useless to varying degrees. Replace Wellens with Drinkwater, Dyer with Marshall, Gallagher with the laundry lady - or Jobber - and Howard with Delf/Waggy when fit. As the Thai TV link was crap tonight, it was hard to see if all the ground joined in the scarf waving, but it sounded fantastic. We should definitely keep that, and Lees drum really helped. Just watched Pantsil at the ACN, he aint good! Who can we realistically replace Gally with? I can;t think of anyone, unless we play Marshall wide right. But that means retaining Dyer, and with the best will in the world, he's gash most of the time. Unless, we can persuade Bamba to play alongside Dannzy in the middle, then have Drinkwater and Marshall playing wider? Works for me. If I was in charge, I'd put Danns and Drinkwater in the middle, with Marshall and the Fonz either side for the next match. I know Delfouneso prefers to play up front, but he's got to be a lot better out wide than Gally and Dyer, surely.
reynard Posted 2 February 2012 Posted 2 February 2012 We basically played well for the first 8 minutes and for the last ten minutes (helped by their substitutions and injuries). Overall it was a disjointed and fairly uninspiring performance with the exception of Beckford. Though not as bad as Barnsley it wasn't far off at times. The last three games have been misleading in some ways. Forest were very poor, Southampton decimated by injuries to their attacking players and Swindon are two leagues below us. Ok we did play well in those games but suddenly we come up against a side with a bit more quality, organisation and the will to win and we're in trouble. Once again our midfield looked totally inadequate and SSL was frankly poor and was dominated in the air. We gave the ball away far too cheaply (Mills the biggest culprit here) and were saved only by the sheer bloody mindedness of Beckford chasing down a poor back pass. We also don't appear to be able to defend set pieces with any sort of authority. Though the difference between us and other sides is that more often than not they deliver dangerous set pieces where as ours more often than not either don't clear the first defender or float aimlessly over everyone. I can see why Pearson has brought in Morgan on last night's performance. We're too easily bullied off the ball and lack height in defending corners. The midfield is good enough to compete in the lower reaches of the league and against sides who stand off us and let us play. But when it comes to a real competitive encounter we go missing, are second to most 50/50 balls and generally are too ponderous moving the ball. Until this is sorted out we will not make the play offs this season or next season. Last night none of our starting midfield looked good enough. In the end it felt like a good point but when you score in the first ten minutes against a side which hasn't won since new year's day? then you should be able to take the game by the scruff of the neck and go on to win. The fact that we were unable to do so is symptomatic of why we are where we are in the league. A side can carry one or two under-performing players in a game but not 4 or 5 and that is our problem. It isn't always the same players but most games we have 4/5 players who simply don't play well enough on the day and the others cannot compensate for it. There were some positives last night; Beckford is starting to look the part, Nugent scored again and Drinkwater despite one poorly misplaced pass showed glimpses of what we have been missing in midfield. We need to be more patient and to keep the ball more and somehow we have to be more competitive in certain areas.
J.Lisemore Posted 3 February 2012 Posted 3 February 2012 Anyone know where i can find the goals on the net? normally down the KP but had work, cheers in advance.
Kawwaah Kawwaah Posted 3 February 2012 Posted 3 February 2012 they should be up on the BBC website at some point today
MrSpaM Posted 3 February 2012 Posted 3 February 2012 Anyone know where i can find the goals on the net? normally down the KP but had work, cheers in advance. Sky sports news has had the highlights up for 2 days now
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