We got what We Deserved and Should of been more

Personally I thought we were a complete shambles in the first half against Newcastle, we made a mediocre Premier League side look world beaters and run rings around us, I thought we were very lucky to go in in at half-time 2 nil down, but thanks once again to David Marshall,like the Spurs game, Marshall saved us from a hammering.

Yes second half we came out a different side and attacked for 20 mins, got a goal,but our quality upfront was virtually non existent and attempts on goal were nearly zero. Newcastle looked tired and were there for the taking, but we were not good enough so never took advantage.

So in my opinion we got what we deserved nothing and should of lost by more.

Questions

Where are we going wrong at home?

Have we the quality we all think?

One upfront, is that enough ?

Can we goto Chelsea and cause a major upset?

Our home tactics are all wrong specially against the likes of Newcastle.

One man upfront is not going to work. It seems to me Malky is prepared to do this all season. He got away with it in the championship but it will not work here in the premier. Its fine doing this away where the home team will come at you but not at CCS. This is going to be the frustrating thing this season.

We are playing far too defensively at home. Against City and Spurs I agree maybe we should have given it a go against Everton but at home to Newcastle with the form they are in we should be looking to get three points and playing positively.

I think we have enough quality but we are using it wrong. Whitts is not a left midfielder, he lacks pace.

Playing two up top would is needed but 4-4-2 in the Prem is just asking for trouble nowadays. Look at Reading last season they were dominated in nearly all of their games for playing with 2 in midfield.

No. I think we'll be comfortably beaten. If we keep whacking it up the pitch and giving them the ball constantly then we'll be defending wave after wave of attack

W have the players to play in the shell but that's it.

So when we are expected to come out and get at a team for the whole game, we're f'ed.

Malky will have to figure it out.

Fair points. I think that we are still too cautious at home and we are severely lacking in pace and width.

One upfront can work but usually when it's with a big striker who can hold the ball up to allow the midfield to get up in support, not when the ball is played in the air to a relatively small striker who is struggling to get hold of the ball.

Chelsea? I'm a bit worried to be honest.

Newcastle are a decent team but we need to get points against teams such as them, especially at home.

Personally I think the main problem is no pace to get round the back of defenders -on the right "Theo" tried today but his crossing was a bit wayward and he got caught out of position as a consequence. Bellamy seemed very lethargic. Noone has the pace but gives the ball away too often, so don't know what the answer is as we don't have anyone else. On the left neither Taylor nor Whitts have any pace though both can deliver a decent cross - that's it for the left. Everyone
said during the window we needed a winger but we didn't get one and it is now glaringly obvious that it was a mistake not to sign one. Up front Campbell's touch lets him down too often as he seems to be trying too hard - he desperately needs help.

I also think that Gunnarsson and Kim had poor games today and even Medel gave the ball away a few times. Not too many positives from that display really other than Marshall and Mutch, but it just goes to show the margin for error is fine in this division. We gave Remy far too much room for both goals, but hopefully its a lesson learned. While Cabaye was the catalyst for everything they did, Cisse, Gouffran and Remy worked tirelessly up front, gave us no time to settle and were all very impressive I thought.

We have to go to Chelsea believing we can get something and who knows - we are definitely capable of staying in the game if we cut out the schoolboy errors.

Annis I think your comments are spot on. We looked a yard slower than them but we lack a goal scorer. We looked lightweight up front and a lot of passes went astray. We need to pass the ball better and get into positions where we trouble their defenders.

David Marshall again showed his class he was outstanding in the first half and kept us in the game.

Whitts needs to be brought back inside, Medal is there for insurance.

Mutch for Kimbo- If Mutch's foot problems are behind him he could be the breakout player this season.

Bellers on the left or right- He hasn't played well for a while, but he is still the best we have on the flanks.

Not sure on the other flank- Noone, frazier or Maynard- we look weak

Peter O is a central striker, and so far the best i have seen so far this season.

Parking the bus at home will ultimately see us either clinging on to a draw (due to Marshall's brilliance) or taking a beating.
The difference at Fulham was we had a bloody go.
Plenty of attempts rather than parking the bus. Premiership teams take their chances. Giving an 'average' team like Newcastle so much space at home was pathetic. I'm all for clubs welcoming away fans but we've gone to the extreme. The choir singing to them??? Needed to be to us surely? Stiring us on to victory blah blah blah. It's meant to be our fortress for fucks sake! Yes I want encourage away fans and make their trip a safe one, but I want the atmosphere at home to be passionate.
Totally MM's fault today. Tactically poor and naive. Sick of the Championship style hoofball, defensive crap.
Every bugger can see that Campbell struggles on his own. Bellers has not deserved his place in the team. Turner to the bench and try that young Uraguyan CB. Kimbo needs to retain possession. As a side we give possession away far too easy.
Newcastle with over 20 efforts. Us - 2 on target the whole game.... at home.
Hope he learns quickly.

Personally I thought we were a complete shambles in the first half against Newcastle, we made a mediocre Premier League side look world beaters and run rings around us, I thought we were very lucky to go in in at half-time 2 nil down, but thanks once again to David Marshall,like the Spurs game, Marshall saved us from a hammering.

Yes second half we came out a different side and attacked for 20 mins, got a goal,but our quality upfront was virtually non existent and attempts on goal were nearly zero. Newcastle looked tired and were there for the taking, but we were not good enough so never took advantage.

So in my opinion we got what we deserved nothing and should of lost by more.

Questions

Where are we going wrong at home?

Have we the quality we all think?

One upfront, is that enough ?

Can we goto Chelsea and cause a major upset?

Where are we going wrong at home? We play way too defensive

Have we the quality we all think? Yes but not the depth to mix things up and we have a lack of impact players on the bench

One upfront, is that enough ? It could be but with the long balls maybe campbell isnt the right man to be on his own

Can we goto Chelsea and cause a major upset? No, its damage limitation in that game IMO

. I think Spurs deserve the points more than Newcastle. Come on keep the faith

For long periods of the game we were far too deep and too slow to close Newcastle down.... Gunnarsson had probably his worst performance in a city shirt, was wasteful in possession, poor challenges giving away stupid free kicks, the wrong side of his man too many times and really didn't offer a lot. We were far better with mutch In the second half but when on the front foot we lacked the creativity and quality to get the second goal... Was baffled when mutch put a nice through ball to Campbell he turned away from goal...

We didn't deserve anything from that game today and made a poor Newcastle team look good! I clearly could not make out what our game plan was...


Disappointing performances by players in key areas...


Malky needs to get ruthless an drop Gunnar for the next game and bring mutch in.

Agree with just about all that has been said already. If we play like we did in the first half for more than a quarter of an hour in every game this season, then we will be relegated. We might as well have a go. Better to go down trying to play a bit.

If we play like we did in the second half the maybe we can go there and break now and again but looking at a lot of comments through this board questioning malky or the team and or the tactics which got us that win last week against Fulham.... Then I have one thing to say to you! Have you never seen a team play badly for 45 mins in your life? Yes we were dreadful collectively, yet in the second half we were the better team and deserved a second goal but we needed that second striker on. So stop moaning and start singing and get behind the team!

Bring on chelsea! Win lose or draw we battle as a team!

Where are we going wrong at home? We've had four games, beat City and drew with Everton, lost to a great Spurs side and had a bad day at the office today. Weird

We just weren't at the races in the first half and it cost us dearly. Plenty of positives such as David Marshall in goal, Mutch played superb and Odemwingie's distinctive finish

I can see our next points coming in December, we should be okay if we end the year on 18 points and push on in second half of the season, we may just get to the targeted 40 points

Today
Marshall kept us in the game
Defence were ok but not sure who was to blame for the goals ? or the goals that Marshall saved ?
Midfield - Medal was due a bad game and it was very bad, couldn't pass to my granny with out my grandad getting the ball. Gunnerson was very poor all round and he knew it, Kimbo was ok but will have better days, Whitts was wasted on the left wing. Best passer in the team and never saw the ball.
Peter O took his goal well, and Campbell ran his red boots off. Peter O missed a sitter of a header in second half that my grandad would have scored.

Solution - Mutch and Whitts in midfield, with Kimbo and Peter O / Bellers out wide. Medal behind them.
Defence as is and Campbell up front. Noone the sub to replace a shite midfielder to make/ score a goal.
Simple.

Pointless having Whitts in a team on the wing. May as well have a winger. (Conway - gone)

Team at Chelsea ? that's another answer.

Having watched the repeat of the goals, I thought KTC was at fault.
From what I've seen of him he's been excellent going forward, but he's awful in the air.
He didn't win his aerial battles and for the 2nd goal, instead of putting his body on the line and getting the block in, he half heartedly turned away from the ball like a sissy. (Apologies to all sissy's)
Where's Super Kev.

I think in general we are good enough to upset any team in the division. We just played badly in the first half.

Some type of 451 is essential in the Premier League, but I'm not sure the quick and nippy type of player like Campbell is the best way to exploit this. Perhaps when we get Cornelius up to pace he will fulfill that role better.

Although a good wide player, Odemwinge would be a better central striker than Campbell. I don't want to see too many changes to the team, but I'd like to see Odemwinge up front with either Bellamy or perhaps Noone (unlikely, I know) out wide, and Mutch driving through the middle.

Since Malky's arrival we haven't often played badly at home, but first half yesterday was one of those days.

And let's be positve - we were the equal of Newcastle in the second half.

Where are we going wrong at home?

Malky's overly defensive tactics.

Have we the quality we all think?

Yes but Malky shows no faith in those players HE signed by the way he deploys them. The fact Medel needs Gunnarsson alongside him is laughable as he is a top quality defensive midfielder and should have a box to box midfielder of higher quality alongside him with more attacking intent. This is a player who kept the shackles on Messi for 90 minutes and more attacking play and control in the middle would take pressure off him in itself.

One upfront, is that enough ?

Yes thats fine I think but the set up is all wrong and the players being chosen for that set up is all wrong. We could have played a 4-2-3-1 yesterday or 4-1-4-1 and done much better. Campbell should not be starting and Odemwingie should be. He is a striker first and foremost, one who can grab goals at this level and was at his best up front so why he is being put on the wing is baffling. Although he can do a job there it is not his true position.

Can we goto Chelsea and cause a major upset?

No. Malky's tactics are a hindrance at the moment and we could even get a thrashing there if we are not careful. People slate Bellamy but he got a few quality balls in the box yesterday in the second half and he needs the right style of play to be effective and that is not a defensive style.

Fans keep blaming players but the truth is Malky is picking the wrong overly cautious formation and wrong players for those positions. There is very little team chemistry in terms of passing and offence yet a lot in terms of defence. Defensively our players can align, fall back to play the offside trap well, cover to block and they do it without think. Passing, possession play and offence is the complete opposite. We give the ball away freely too often and we invite pressure on ourselves. We are completely out of sync in going from defence to attack Annis and its frustrating to watch because we have the tools in the box to unlock teams.

Thats the team I'd go with from now on. It has the perfect balance there. Mutch is a tall physical player who can go box to box and support both in attacking and defence. Whittingham can go wide and deliver if Bellamy comes inside. He is also a CAM and Bellamy has a decent enough delivery from the left. Kim can pick a pass and has good footwork so put him on the wing to play in Theo on the overlap and get to the byline. Odemwingie is a better striker as proven by his pedigree and Mutch can also get in the box and help with Whittingham. Medel should just be the metronome that helps keep things ticking over.

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Where are we going wrong at home?

Malky's overly defensive tactics.

Have we the quality we all think?

Yes but Malky shows no faith in those players HE signed by the way he deploys them. The fact Medel needs Gunnarsson alongside him is laughable as he is a top quality defensive midfielder and should have a box to box midfielder of higher quality alongside him with more attacking intent. This is a player who kept the shackles on Messi for 90 minutes and more attacking play and control in the middle would take pressure off him in itself.

One upfront, is that enough ?

Yes thats fine I think but the set up is all wrong and the players being chosen for that set up is all wrong. We could have played a 4-2-3-1 yesterday or 4-1-4-1 and done much better. Campbell should not be starting and Odemwingie should be. He is a striker first and foremost, one who can grab goals at this level and was at his best up front so why he is being put on the wing is baffling. Although he can do a job there it is not his true position.

Can we goto Chelsea and cause a major upset?

No. Malky's tactics are a hindrance at the moment and we could even get a thrashing there if we are not careful. People slate Bellamy but he got a few quality balls in the box yesterday in the second half and he needs the right style of play to be effective and that is not a defensive style.

Fans keep blaming players but the truth is Malky is picking the wrong overly cautious formation and wrong players for those positions. There is very little team chemistry in terms of passing and offence yet a lot in terms of defence. Defensively our players can align, fall back to play the offside trap well, cover to block and they do it without think. Passing, possession play and offence is the complete opposite. We give the ball away freely too often and we invite pressure on ourselves. We are completely out of sync in going from defence to attack Annis and its frustrating to watch because we have the tools in the box to unlock teams.

Thats the team I'd go with from now on. It has the perfect balance there. Mutch is a tall physical player who can go box to box and support both in attacking and defence. Whittingham can go wide and deliver if Bellamy comes inside. He is also a CAM and Bellamy has a decent enough delivery from the left. Kim can pick a pass and has good footwork so put him on the wing to play in Theo on the overlap and get to the byline. Odemwingie is a better striker as proven by his pedigree and Mutch can also get in the box and help with Whittingham. Medel should just be the metronome that helps keep things ticking over.

Agree with 99% of that. Not sure if Kim is adapting to the premier league quick enough
Ag

Where are we going wrong at home?

Not knowing how to play football outside of set pieces, and being complete bottlers when it comes to taking our chances.

Have we the quality we all think?

Wow, if anyone actually thought we had quality, they're deluded. Besides Kim, we have no creativity in the side, and even yesterday he was a weak link who's departure opened us to a more attacking side. We lack the quality in depth, as well as positions with quality. We have only one winger capable of playing at this level, and that's Bellamy. Yet he's still a sack of shit outside of 20 minute appearances. We play Odemnotawinger on the wing, when he's a f*cking striker. In fact, our best striker. We either get a proper creative winger, or we're relegated. Then our defence is a shambles and honestly Turner is not good enough. Hudson is better and even then that's not enough, because we need that CB quality in depth with a partner for Caulker who rivals his abilities. Same with the winger, if we don't get a new CB, we're relegated. As Annis has said many times, we're still a good 3-5 players away from safety, and the loan system is something we need to exploit in January.

One upfront, is that enough?

It would be, if we actually bothered playing a striker who can play upfront alone. I'm sorry, but you can't have some midget up front who constantly keeps missing chances handed to him on a plate. To play one upfront in the league we need someone with strength and height, ala Lukaku, RVP, Cornelius, Odemwingie. The system crumbles without the big man up top, especially when we are the type of side that doesn't know how to play football and can only cross and use set pieces. If that's how we are going to play, at least play a f*cking target man/big player up top. Odemwingie isn't a target man, but he's a player who can link defence, midfield and attack as he showed yesterday. As the striker he can drop back with Kim behind and help with the midfield battle as well as create space on the wings, but nope, we play some average small man up top who has done absolutely f**k all in the league other than some lucky moments against Man City.

Can we go to Chelsea and cause a major upset?

To be honest, i'm more confident against sides like Chelsea and United than I am Norwich and Newcastle. We can't play competitively against teams on our level and when we play higher opponents our system actually has a chance of working. I would be more surprised we beat Norwich than if we beat Chelsea to be honest. Don't know why, our negative football just has a better chance of working against better sides.

Perhaps Tans gets his inspiration for meddling and thinking he knows best from us ?