Shrewsbury Post Match Thread

[BigMicky]

you are a patronising git sometimes Col. Michael!

Makes me laugh, as if a plank on a website will get under my skin by calling me by my Christian name. I pity col, I really do, he's just so clueless time and time again.

[Guest Col city fan]

Haha you fool. Here as you like it in bold THIS SEASON.

Why is this season any different? How many seasons did it take MON to win the league cup when in the Prem? I genuinely can't remember?

[Captain...]

Its meaningless this year. When we are an established prem team then let's try and win all trophies available, until then its FA cup and then the league for me.

It is not about trying to win the league cup, it is about taking the victories that are there. Nobody likes losing, winning breeds confidence, more so than great performances but losing at Stamford Bridge. It is not even that the positives from winning would be that high, but the negativity from losing will be felt.

I just hope our team is strong enough to take this defeat, the probable defeat on Sunday, the tough away trip to Stoke, Man United at home. Then Palace Away. We could end up going into October yet to register a win in any competition and all the pressure is on Burnley at Home.

Look at United, fortunately they will take the headlines, but It's a similar scenario and they will feel the negative effects of that defeat as will we.

I mean we are trying to attract top talent to this club, I'm sure Cambiasso can't wait to sign for a team beaten by Shrewsbury and don't actually want to win trophies.

[Guest Col city fan]

Makes me laugh, as if a plank on a website will get under my skin by calling me by my Christian name. I pity col, I really do, he's just so clueless time and time again.

.. Sorry buddy couldn't resist that one. I won't insult you though. Keep it amusing is best.

[foxfanazer]

Makes me laugh, as if a plank on a website will get under my skin by calling me by my Christian name. I pity col, I really do, he's just so clueless time and time again.

Ah to be fair I think he's a good poster and I've had plenty of good discussions and debates with him. Don't always agree with him but seems a good guy.

I know he rubs some people up the wrong way

[BigMicky]

Why is this season any different? How many seasons did it take MON to win the league cup when in the Prem? I genuinely can't remember?

Let's all live in the past, the landscape has changed somewhat.

[Guest Col city fan]

Let's all live in the past, the landscape has changed somewhat.

Tell you what Mick, you've had your say, I've had mine and I hope we've had a chuckle into the bargain.

Take care bud, kip calls, early start tomorrow and all that.

You could be right, perhaps being out the cup will keep us fresher for the league. Here's hoping...

[leeleic]

This. I think the fact that Morgan, our club captain, was out kicking balls around at half time shows that either they weren't up for winning or were too arrogant and thought they could win on the same dodgy performance in the second half. He should have been in the changing room trying to boost morale or get some passion into them.

Hopefully we'll see a better performance and team spirit on Sunday.

Morgan doesn't need to do anything of the sort. It is not his responsibility. If Pearson wanted the input of senior players, he'd ask for it.

[Alf Bentley]

I'm sorry all, I still don't really get the love for GTF. I know it's been quite endemic on here but I've always thought he looked ok last season because he was playing in a good team. The general ability of the team made him look ok, so to speak. Nige surely isn't seeing him as a serious option this season is he? Or am I being too harsh?

 

I thought GTF was our best player by a mile tonight. Covered the whole pitch, intervening to win the ball, getting flick-ons to win dangerous possession, playing penetrating passes (something that neither Cain nor Watson managed once), even dribbling past multiple defenders (!)...not to mention looking like he really wanted to win the match, which was more than could be said for most of the team.

 

Cain & Watson bottled it, I'm afraid. A rare opportunity to impress in the 1st team and they showed no aggression and no ability to play a telling pass - a few decent interventions by Watson, that's all. James Pearson looked little more than an athletic Sunday league player on that showing. But some of the regulars were just as bad: Wood looked completely half-hearted until near the end; Knocky was in egotistical headless chicken mode (though he did get through 2 or 3 times); Hamer's concentration looked dodgy, allowing a ball to float over his head onto a post and sending a clearance direct to an opponent.

 

Only a minority (GTF, Moore, Konch, Wasyl, Nuge, Schlupp) showed any desire - and some of them were mediocre in execution.

 

Mustn't take the credit from Shrewsbury, though. The first half-hour was fairly even, but they were far the better team for the last 60 minutes and should have won by more than 1-0. The standard of their passing in the 2nd half was consistently well above L2 standard and their performance deserved a win, regardless of our crap efforts.

 

A disappointingly lame surrender in 1 of only 2 chances at some glory this season (with the FAC). I know that the league is by far the top priority, but we can and should be doing a lot better than that. It's not the end of the world....but it does matter!

[EnglishOxide]

Awful result.

 

Anybody saying they aren't bothered needs to have a good look at themselves. We aren't getting into Europe any time soon. Therefore the cups are our only shot of silverware. Losing these games is not a positive under any circumstance.

 

I don't blame Pearson. The lineup he put out should have had enough to beat Shrewsbury.

 

The two young lads in midfield proved to be out of their depth, but they aren't the reason we lost. They certainly didn't take their chance to make a name for themselves, but in a game which is only 90 minutes it doesn't mean they are lost causes for the future either.

 

The real reason we lost were our lack of creativity and experienced players not performing. Knockaert and Mahrez constantly tried to turn inside and walk the ball in rather than stretching their defence and whipping crosses in. They were arrogant and uninventive. Wood struggled to impose himself and GTF was ineffective. He's the only one who i don't understand why Pearson kept. Look at the state of him. And again, our set pieces were woeful. Nugent had a free shot and hit the post.

 

It's a bad result, and it will have an affect on squad confidence, perhaps not consciously but definitely subconsciously.

 

I don't understand why our fans don't take cups seriously. I really don't.

 

 

All that said, Shrewsbury did play well, so fair play to them. They are a solid team.

[leftbackinthechangingroom]

I went tonight and it was one of the worst I've seen us play for a long time. More or less everything we tried failed to come off either by poor judgement or by poor execution. Hamer does not fill me with confidence at all as our back up keeper.

Defence looked very disjointed I know it was Pearson's debut but he was very poor. Moore and wasyl should of been more than able to deal with the opposition strikers but looked like they were total strangers and as for konch the less said the better.

Midfield knocky had in my opinion his worst game in a city shirt. Mahrez just couldn't quite get things to work for him and from where I was sat he shouldn't of got booked for diving. There was definate contact and the ref got that wrong. Felt sorry for cain and watson they tried hard but due to lack of experience got dominated.

Wood tried hard but wasn't his night gtf was woeful in the first half but grew into the game had some nices touches and made some good passes but was still poor.

Subs schlupp was the better out of the 3 as I genuinely forgot that king and nuge were on at one stage.

In my opinion the senior players thought they were gonna stroll past Shrewsbury and they were punished so credit to a hard working Shrewsbury side.

Btw I didn't boo but I did clap off Shrewsbury

[Exeter Fox]

I can't really put into words how little of a shit I give to be honest.

 

Awful result yeah, but the knee-jerk on here is hilarious. 

[Maybes]

Disappointed to go out.

 

Disappointed that some of our back-up players couldn't put on more of a show.

 

The only positive to take out of tonights game is that it shows the coaching team/director of football that our second string/ressies really are the pits.

 

Our squad is desperately thin. We need 3 players minimum (across the back line and midfield) before the window slams shut.

[Hirsty The Blue 94]

Christ above some of these comments are bordering on lunacy, but here is just a few ridiculous ones.

1. 'Their CM would walk into our first team squad.' Yeah he may have looked good playing against two teenagers who have played very little competitive senior football. But to suggest in any serious note that he would even be fit to lace the boots of Drinkwater, James, Hammond and King is quite ridiculous.

2. 'The Rot is setting in.' We have the toughest start in the league, we already have one more point than most predicted, and but in a bloody good showing against the best team in the league. Absolute codswallop as our Nige would say.

3. 'Pearson sent the team out not to give 100%.' Really? Does he seem like the sort of bloke who tolerates losing any match? The Fans who went can't be let down by the team selection, he has said all week the Kids will be getting a run out, but if it makes you feel like a superfan to go the 2nd round of the league cup so you can have a good old moan about how loyal you are and been let down then poor you.

4. 'The League Cup is important.' It's not, as can be seen by all Premier League teams tonight sending out a weakened side. It's nowhere near the same competition it was back when we won it, as teams no longer consider it a worthwhile venture both financially or playing wise. The reason the FA cup has a greater respect still is that it is played on Saturdays, meaning managers are more willing to pick a stronger 11 as they have a full weeks rest until the next league game.

All in all it is disappointing not to be in the next round, but if people think that this game will have any lasting effect on our survival chances this season then they are kidding themselves. Pearson will have learnt alot about his squad tonight and will force his hand in the transfer market, which can only be a good thing. So quit the embarassing booing and whinging and get behind the boys Sunday afternoon.

[zak_lcfc]

Went to the game, evident that a more defensive minded midfielder was missing, they passed from defense to attack far to often without anybody cutting it out or reacting to it!

Fair play to Shrewsbury they wanted it more and played much better so a deserved win but expected more from the lads playing today

[Mark_from_USA]

When a side is obviously sent out to avoid injury and give new lads a run-out, and tactics are adopted that are designed to avoid having players tire themselves, then this result is clearly as meaningless as a friendly.  In the past, PL clubs cared about this cup, but now obviously they don't.  

 

Remember going out to Stoke last year in the FA Cup on 4 January?  Did you remember it still on 8 April, when Leicester lost their next game?  I didn't think so.

[Dan]

3. 'Pearson sent the team out not to give 100%.' Really? Does he seem like the sort of bloke who tolerates losing any match? The Fans who went can't be let down by the team selection, he has said all week the Kids will be getting a run out, but if it makes you feel like a superfan to go the 2nd round of the league cup so you can have a good old moan about how loyal you are and been let down then poor you.

 

Did you watch the game? We did not go for it. Absolutely no-one who watched that game is convincing me we were having a proper go tonight. It was a half-arsed effort which proved to not be enough against a determined side - it's not the first time we've done it but tonight we were punished badly. I'm a huge Pearson fan but regardless of his track record I'm not buying for one second we had a proper go. We were pathetic.

[Dan]

It's only considered 'non-important' due to money. If there was a competition between four random teams in the country that the winner took in £50mil prize money then people would consider it bigger than the 'Champions' League. It's a sad fact.

[Grewks]

Did you watch the game? We did not go for it. Absolutely no-one who watched that game is convincing me we were having a proper go tonight. It was a half-arsed effort which proved to not be enough against a determined side - it's not the first time we've done it but tonight we were punished badly. I'm a huge Pearson fan but regardless of his track record I'm not buying for one second we had a proper go. We were pathetic.

 

 

Well that has nothing to do with pearson then does it?

 

If the players, which many were given a chance to prove themselves for selection were 'half-arsed', then NP now knows who he can and cannot rely on.

[Dan]

Well that has nothing to do with pearson then does it?

 

If the players, which many were given a chance to prove themselves for selection were 'half-arsed', then NP now knows who he can and cannot rely on.

 

Ah, so it can only be down to Pearson if they're motivated can it?

 

I'm sorry, Pearson isn't blameless here. I will defend that bloke against criticism 99% of the time but I saw a collective lack of effort tonight and that isn't a co-incidence. To me it looked like he sent them out to play at 60% and see how it panned out. We didn't even make it hard for Shrewsbury. It isn't like they've come here, nicked a goal, parked the bus and hoped for the best, Shrewsbury genuinely played the better football and if they had won by three I wouldn't have moaned at it being an unfair scoreline.

 

We were absolutely hideous and anyone who disagrees cannot possibly have seen the game, or they're just deluding themselves.

 

The funny thing is I'm not even anymore pessimistic about the season as a whole than I was 24 hours ago - I'm just referring to this game because it truly was a sacrifice of a potential cup run.

 

It was a joke.

[Grewks]

Ah, so it can only be down to Pearson if they're motivated can it?

 

I'm sorry, Pearson isn't blameless here. I will defend that bloke against criticism 99% of the time but I saw a collective lack of effort tonight and that isn't a co-incidence. To me it looked like he sent them out to play at 60% and see how it panned out. We didn't even make it hard for Shrewsbury. It isn't like they've come here, nicked a goal, parked the bus and hoped for the best, Shrewsbury genuinely played the better football and if they had won by three I wouldn't have moaned at it being an unfair scoreline.

 

We were absolutely hideous and anyone who disagrees cannot possibly have seen the game, or they're just deluding themselves.

 

The funny thing is I'm not even anymore pessimistic about the season as a whole than I was 24 hours ago - I'm just referring to this game because it truly was a sacrifice of a potential cup run.

 

It was a joke.

 

 

I agree it was terrible.

 

 

But the kids had no need to play at '60%'.

 

 

Amazes me how last season people on here were calling for cain to get a crack in the first side. He would look lost at barwell at the minute.

[MattGamble92]

Im pissed off I spent hours travelling to see that. Don't usually mind the 60 mile round journey, even to watch Martin Allen and Craig Levin teams

I felt sorry for Cain and Watson but if that's the best our u21s can offer then I don't think any will make the grade. Pearson looked very poor bar the odd decent ball up field. But what else do we expect from a player released by Scunthorpe? Cannot believe I heard radio Leicester gave him MOTM, is that right?

And why the **** were some of our fans clapping their fans at the end? I'm not talking about their team, I seen people on the stairs clapping towards their corner.

Excuse me if I don't applaud a bunch of ***** who've just been calling my city of birth a shit hole for the past 90 minutes.

[Merging Cultures]

Didn't watch the match but it sounds like the world is ending.

I can't imagine anyone at the club cared what that result would be and I'm sure we wanted out as quickly as possible while avoiding any more injuries. I believe NP has already said he was focused on the league.

I'm sure it was a rubbish match to watch. Sorry for those who turned out. Oh well.

[Crinklyfox]

The morning after the night before.

I had no issues with NPs team selection, it gave squad players a chance to make a name for themselves which they clearly didn't. This may convince the owners that we need to invest in a stronger squad.

The attitude of the players can, to an extent, be shaped by the manager. Last weekend we were committed and gave Chelsea problems, but the same attitude wasn't apparent last night. My concern is that if NP was having issues with transfers, money, etc. before the match and was mightily unhappy that could have been picked up by the team pre-match. I've nothing to back this up but it's a possibility.

Last season there were a couple of matches (Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton) where the team attitude wasn't right and NP said he would sort it, and he did. I'm expecting the same again. If things are right for Arsenal on Sunday last night will be forgotten, if they aren't then I'll get the worry beads out.

[KFS]

The morning after the night before.

I had no issues with NPs team selection, it gave squad players a chance to make a name for themselves which they clearly didn't. This may convince the owners that we need to invest in a stronger squad.

The attitude of the players can, to an extent, be shaped by the manager. Last weekend we were committed and gave Chelsea problems, but the same attitude wasn't apparent last night. My concern is that if NP was having issues with transfers, money, etc. before the match and was mightily unhappy that could have been picked up by the team pre-match. I've nothing to back this up but it's a possibility.

Last season there were a couple of matches (Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton) where the team attitude wasn't right and NP said he would sort it, and he did. I'm expecting the same again. If things are right for Arsenal on Sunday last night will be forgotten, if they aren't then I'll get the worry beads out.

Good post, I agree with most of it.

However, I don't think it would be right to be worried even after the Arsenal game. We've got an incredibly hard start, yet we've showed a lot of promise.

Last night aside of course.