Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 loss Post match

[ibbosuk]

It's hard to understand quite why our performances have declined quite so much. Does it simply suggest that too many of the players don't have sufficient strength of character?

It's hard to understand quite why our performances have declined quite so much. Does it simply suggest that too many of the players don't have sufficient strength of character?

No its not!!!

We were poor before we signed Wood and in a slump, that signing gave everybody a boost (all be it temporary). Now Wood has has time to be fully indoctrinated into the "Pearson Way of doing things" and Hey presto and the teams pre Wood lack of form has now returned. I am pretty sure we will not make the play offs should Pearson stay in charge. Thankfully I see him being gone by the Cardiff game.

[jonthefox]

My lads vid of today (including the smokebombs).

Edit. Shitty sound, sorry

[sdb]

I paid £41 for that...what the fuuckk?

I don't want a change in manager. We were shit but didn't deserve to lose. The ref was incredibly poor. Our strikers are so short of confidence i'd actually start Vardy or Waghorn next game.

Understand fans moaning (especially if they pay what i had to when i turned up today) but there's definitely a losing/blaming mentality around the place that i remember so well from the depression years (04-09) which helps no one.

[EnglishOxide]

Understand fans moaning (especially if they pay what i had to when i turned up today) but there's definitely a losing/blaming mentality around the place that i remember so well from the depression years (04-09) which helps no one.

Spot on. I just cannot believe people have not learned from the last 10 years, that chopping and changing managers has not been productive for us. In Pearson we have a manager who is building a side, that takes more than a season. What happens if we sack Pearson, get Adkins and then find ourselves in a similar position to this next season? We go round and ****ing round.

For once, please, get behind the manager and the team, we are in a slump that has lasted a while and for now we have lost sight of 2nd place, but changing manager will guarantee you absolutely **** all. It's not as if we are losing 3-0 every game, we just need a few things to click up front and we will be OK.

[Thracian]

I honestly wouldn't believe any team could be so tacttically misguided until I heard the Pearson interview afterwards and realised he didn't seem to understand why we lost and didn't seem to have a clue how to put things right.

Any manager can sign half-decent players and sit back to watch em play. But a manager earns his salary by coming up with answers when things are going wrong and people are getting injured. Ours didn't. And wasn't even close.

The biggest positive today was to see how much the constantly maligned Lloyd Dyer was missed. We had no threat and, in effect, no pace because of the way we played.

i used to qualify coaches for a job and had constant fights with the governing body because they were forever expecting people who hadn't got a clue to be given a badge and I wouldn't play ball.

But it was qualified people came up with that shit today and we got it wrong from the first announcement. I've said 4-3-3 is dour, narrowing system totally unsuited to our personnel and maybe people will believe me now we've lost another game playing that way and recorded another zero in terms of goals scored - a bad habit we don't seem able to shake off.

And I said from the start today that we were never likely to score and more especially with the wacko decision to play strikers on the wing throughout. What nonsense. That wasn't being attacking it was being suicidal.

Next we played our fastest potential attacker, Geoff Schlupp, in a straight-jacketwhich virtually restraining him from crossing the halfway line. More nonsense but a real bonus for the opposition.

Third we continued to make like-for-like substitutions instead of going with the 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 I've suggested and really playing to our attacking strengths.

Finally Wednesday prediictably introduced Connor Wickham - a known dangerman - on the left to steal them a victory and did we have contingency plans for this or did we react as we should? No. We left him acres of space on the back post to volley a terrific winner but one he should never have got a sniff of.

We weren't just bad, we were woeful and the sight of Knockaert falling over his feet trying to show-jump between groups of defenders or running headlong into numerous blind alleys begged the question of whether he'd been given any sensible instructions at all.

All I can say for him is that he tried but trying and working hard on the training is no bloody good if we work at what appears to be the wrong things.

Rightly there's criticism of our lack of movement but the way we set up and operated there were so few spaces to move into anyway. Wednesday must have thought it was Christmas for the way we made it easier for their big defenders to cover the space we occupied instead of spreading the play as wide and as quickly as possible.

Yes, Dyer's absence posed a problem but we could still have gone 3-5-2 and used Schlupp as a genuine wing-back behind Marshall with Knockaert out wide on the other side.

Instead, Pearson had the gall to hedge his bets even in a home game and he still didn't work out an alternative in all the time he had available when we went a goal down.

So few players came out with credit.

King and DeLaet were the exceptions even though it was a rare loose ball by King that lead to their goal and it was arguably DeLaet's prime responsibility to deal with Wickham when he was left free on the back post.

Going back to King It was just his only loose ball all game and was delivered deep into our attacking half only to be intercepted some four or five passes and 60-odd yards away from where the resulting counter attack resulted in a goal.

Otherwise he was like a fireman, clearing up so many messes and tricky situations for us and also passing the ball quickly, thoughtfully and accurately throughout and also being one of the few to almost get a goal with a near-post header.

DeLaet did exactly what Schlupp should have been deployed to do as well and was a constantly willing question-asker down the right flank although, sadly, without the vital necessary menace in his final ball.

Kaspar made a couple of vital saves, one being required from his own previous miskick.

But we hardly threatened to get behind their back line at all. We lacked invention. Our passing. or lack of it, smacked of sloppiness and the uncertainty of people not being used to what they were doing in the attacking third. There were too many aerial balls for a passing side such as ours and minor epidemic of miskicks from the back.

Lastly there was the question of urgency. We started full of life and purpose. It lasted about five minutes. And there was another five minutes, rather like against Leeds, when the added time was announced and when we gave our all to attack and Kaspar threatened to cause havoc again.

But we needed that sort of urgency throughout.

As mentioned elsewhere it wasn't as if Wednesday were in the least impressive apart from their strength, their resolve and the fact they were tactically so much better than us it was embarrassing.

[Col city fan]

I honestly wouldn't believe any team could be so tacttically misguided until I heard the Pearson interview afterwards and realised he didn't seem to understand why we lost and didn't seem to have a clue how to put things right.

Any manager can sign half-decent players and sit back to watch em play. But a manager earns his salary by coming up with answers when things are going wrong and people are getting injured. Ours didn't. And wasn't even close.

The biggest positive today was to see how much the constantly maligned Lloyd Dyer was missed. We had no threat and, in effect, no pace because of the way we played.

i used to qualify coaches for a job and had constant fights with the governing body because they were forever expecting people who hadn't got a clue to be given a badge and I wouldn't play ball.

But it was qualified people came up with that shit today and we got it wrong from the first announcement. I've said 4-3-3 is dour, narrowing system totally unsuited to our personnel and maybe people will believe me now we've lost another game playing that way and recorded another zero in terms of goals scored - a bad habit we don't seem able to shake off.

And I said from the start that we were never likely to score and more especially with the wacko decision to play strikers on the wing throughout. What nonsense. That wasn't being attacking it was being suicidal.

Next we played our fastest potential attacker, Geoff Schlupp, in a straight-jacketwhich virtually restraining him from crossing the halfway line. More nonsense but a real bonus for the opposition.

Third we continued to make like-for-like substitutions instead of going with the 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 I've suggested and really playing tour attacking strengths.

Finally Wednesday prediictably introduced Connor Wickham - a known dangerman - on the left to steal them a victory and did we have contingency plans for this or did we react as we should? No. We left him acres of space on the back post to volley a terrific winner but one he should never have got a sniff of.

We weren't just bad, we were woeful and the sight of Knockaert falling over his feet trying to show-jump between groups of defenders or running headlong into numerous blind alleys begged the question of whether he'd been given any sensible instructions at all. All I can say for him is that he tried but trying and working hard on the training is no bloody good if we work at what appears to be the wrong things.

Rightly there's criticism of our lack of movement but the way we set up and operated there were so few spaces to move into anyway. Wednesday must have thought it was Christmas for the way we made it easier for their big defenders to cover the space we occupied instead of spreading the play as wide and as quickly as possible.

Yes, Dyer's absence posed a problem but we could still have gone 3-5-2 and used Schlupp as a genuine wing-back behind Marshall with Knockaert out wide on the other side.

Instead, Pearson had the gall to hedge his bets even in a home game and he still didn't work out an alternative in all the time he had available when we went a goal down.

So few players came out with credit.

King and DeLaet were the exceptions even though it was a rare loose ball by King that lead to their goal. It was just about his only loose ball in the game and was delivered deep into our attacking half only to be intercepted some four or five passes and 60-odd yards away from where the resulting counter attack resulted in a goal.

Otherwise he was like a fireman, clearing up so many messes and tricky situations for us and also passing the ball quickly, thoughtfully and otherwise accurately throughout and also being one of the few to almost get a goal with a near-post header.

DeLaet did exactly what Schlupp should have been deployed to do as well and was a constantly willing question-asker down the right flank although, sadly, without the vital necessary menace in his final ball.

Kaspar made a couple of vital saves, one being required from his own previous miskick.

But we hardly threatened to get behind their back line at all. We lacked invention. Our passing. or lack of it, smacked of sloppiness and the uncertainty of people not being used to what they were doing in the attacking third. There were too many aerial balls for a passing side such as ours and minor epidemic of miskicks from the back.

Lastly there was the question of urgency. We started full of life and purpose. It lasted about five minutes. And there was another five minutes, rather like against Leeds, when the added time was announced and when we gave our all to attack and Kaspar almost caused enough havoc again.

But we needed that sort of urgency throughout.

As mentioned elsewhere it wasn't as if Wednesday were in the least impressive apart from their strength, their resolve and the fact they were tactically so much better than us it was embarrassing.

I CANNOT ARGUE WITH ANY WORD OF THAT..

Great post again.

[David Hankey]

If anything this poor run of results has proved that Pearson is definitely NOT the manager to take this Club into the Premiership. He lacks tactics at critical times and is unable to inspire his team. There is little or no passion from either him or the players he selects.

It will be time for him to go at the end of the season.

If we can't beat the likes of Wendy, Ipswich & P'boro forget promotion for another season!!

[kingfox]

I CANNOT ARGUE WITH ANY WORD OF THAT..

Great post again.

You actually read all of that.

Can't argue with that

[LJS]

That was truly appalling. I'm now firmly in the Pearson out camp. I have no faith that he can get us up so I don't see the sense in hanging around. If he isn't sacked on Monday I suspect Cardiff will be his last chance.

[5waller5]

That was truly appalling. I'm now firmly in the Pearson out camp. I have no faith that he can get us up so I don't see the sense in hanging around. If he isn't sacked on Monday I suspect Cardiff will be his last chance.

At least if we wait until after the game on tuesday we'll be out of the play off positions and the happy clappers will have to accept the inevitable.

It's also an impossible position for the new manager to come in to pick up the pieces by tuesday and play top of the table .... so it makes sense to wait until wednesday anyway.

[Father Ted]

Not getting involved in this Pearson IN/OUT debate, as imo anybody who wants the manager of a side 5th in March sacked is definitely a cretin, doesn't mean that we can't question his tactics though. His decision to remain with an almost unchanged side from Leeds was worrying. Kane out wide? HE'S NOT A WINGER. Nugent starting? We played our best during this 'bad spell' against Blackburn... no Nugent and Kane/Wood up top worked, yet Pearson fiddled with that and has brought back something that EVIDENTLY doesn't work. He moaned after Leeds saying that we deserved the point against Leeds, WRONG big time, that was our worst performance of the season, bar today.

Drinkwater and King look absolutely destroyed and with no other centre midfield options, we must sign another centre midfielder on loan or I can guarantee you now that we won't make the play offs. No fluidity and we just seem to slow everything down, we get into crossing positions but never seem to cross. Players and Pearson need to have some balls and put crosses in the box, take men on, if we lose the ball, it doesn't matter but at least we're sticking the ball in a danger area instead of holding it in the corner for 2 minutes, waiting for something to happen.

Defence is solid as usual but drastic attacking changes need to be made. Has anybody else noticed yet that we played some of our best attacking football this season with Vardy in the side? (Probably not because most of you have already written him off). Drop Nugent and bring Vardy back in. Bring Lloyd in on the left, some more pace and a more dynamic front line.

[Bert]

What a pathetic afternoon of football that was. Slow, negative, heartless.

No-one bar Nugent showed any enthusiasm whatsoever. We had 8 ineffective players playing today. There's only so long that the consistent players can carry the ones that have bad games for.

We lacked any desire going forward, we looked devoid of any idea once we crossed the halfway line. Any time we had the ball, Drinkwater got hold of it and the attack then slowed right down and all their players were back behind the ball.

We struggled to match their physicality, made too many individual errors and we didn't look after the ball well enough. We were put user pressure from the front and resorted to lumping the ball to a striker that didn't want to jump.

Kasper wasn't much better, made some terrible kicks, one which lead to them having a glorious chance which he managed to save but then got lauded for it. What was he doing for their goal?

There seems so much indecision about us at the minute, it's like know one seems know what they're doing.

If we're serious about going up or even making the playoffs, something is going to have to change because we are just not performing at the minute, and after how well we've done up to now, that will be the biggest kick in the teeth - to have a season Peter out to nothing.

Let's hope we get a good response on Tuesday an Saturday before this international break.

[dannythefox]

£130 of my money spent on that shit this week. We are really starting to struggle and we're starting the tough run of games now I'm not feeling the love.

[Ely fox]

Well that was a waste of time and money ... the only good thing was the away support

[Ely fox]

Not getting involved in this Pearson IN/OUT debate, as imo anybody who wants the manager of a side 5th in March sacked is definitely a cretin, doesn't mean that we can't question his tactics though. His decision to remain with an almost unchanged side from Leeds was worrying. Kane out wide? HE'S NOT A WINGER. Nugent starting? We played our best during this 'bad spell' against Blackburn... no Nugent and Kane/Wood up top worked, yet Pearson fiddled with that and has brought back something that EVIDENTLY doesn't work. He moaned after Leeds saying that we deserved the point against Leeds, WRONG big time, that was our worst performance of the season, bar today.

Drinkwater and King look absolutely destroyed and with no other centre midfield options, we must sign another centre midfielder on loan or I can guarantee you now that we won't make the play offs. No fluidity and we just seem to slow everything down, we get into crossing positions but never seem to cross. Players and Pearson need to have some balls and put crosses in the box, take men on, if we lose the ball, it doesn't matter but at least we're sticking the ball in a danger area instead of holding it in the corner for 2 minutes, waiting for something to happen.

Defence is solid as usual but drastic attacking changes need to be made. Has anybody else noticed yet that we played some of our best attacking football this season with Vardy in the side? (Probably not because most of you have already written him off). Drop Nugent and bring Vardy back in. Bring Lloyd in on the left, some more pace and a more dynamic front line.

[Guest ttfn]

I know there's been a lot of negativity today, but seeing Marshall take 2 or 3 corners left footed was genuinely impressive. One was headed wide by Keane when he might have done better

[5waller5]

I know there's been a lot of negativity today, but seeing Marshall take 2 or 3 corners left footed was genuinely impressive. One was headed wide by Keane when he might have done better

Seeing all but one corner harmlessly collected by the keeper wasn't so impressive.

[sdb]

Seeing all but one corner harmlessly collected by the keeper wasn't so impressive.

Although Marshall wasn't great (confidence obviously very low atm), I thought the constant uncontested corners we not his fault. He placed them around a dodgy keeper and no one ever challenged. Infuriating!

[Bluetintedspecs]

We looked clueless and as if we were running on empty today genuinely hard to find positives in that performance!

[Col city fan]

We looked clueless and as if we were running on empty today genuinely hard to find positives in that performance!

You know the answer mi son!

Guinness!

[Bluetintedspecs]

You know the answer mi son!

Guinness!

On it Col, today was weird there seemed to be an air of something amongst the players didn't like it!

[Happy Fox]

On it Col, today was weird there seemed to be an air of something amongst the players didn't like it!

That air has been brewing ever since the debacle at Huddersfield and Chris Wood's supposed "injury".

[Col city fan]

On it Col, today was weird there seemed to be an air of something amongst the players didn't like it!

I picked that up on Tuesday mate. And stated it on here.

They don't look happy when playing at the moment.

Anyway! Enough with your moaning! Where's the eternal optimist we've come to appreciate??

[5waller5]

The apathy and poor body language hasn't just been since tuesday - it's been for the last month.

Something has happened that we don't know about, or they have just all realised that running harder in training isn't working as a tactic to break down a 5 man midfield.

If BlueSpecs has lost the faith it really is all over!!!!!

[Kitchandro]

No wonder we lost, fat Clem was at the KP.