Just passing to one another appears to be too much for us these days..... we never seem to keep control of the ball!
Hard to believe we could start as badly as we played against Ipswich, but we have. Can't control ball, can pass it other than back and sideways. Then Nugent. This does not bode well
Just passing to one another appears to be too much for us these days..... we never seem to keep control of the ball!
Then Nugent, say no more. Did Huddleston stop playing for that 2nd goal? Gave away possession, and let knockhart walk past him and shoot. Bryson gives it away every time he touches is. Gotta bring Marriott and josefzoon on, get bryson and Nugent off and bring waghorn into middle
Get in.....! Ashley Coles first ever goal in the FA cup😂
Massive lack of width until Josefzoon came on, poor Bogle had 2 or 3 men on him every touch, missed Lawrence again. Bryson and Nugent massively pissed me off today.
Apart from not having a 2nd minute goal to our credit, this game was almost a replay of Wednesday's little escapade at Portman Road. Off the pace, harried into errors that we also managed to make even when not harried. Little to no movement off the ball meaning the man in possession had no outlet for the ball. Passes were off target and therefore difficult to control and there numerical superiority in midfield meant that every loose ball was easy pickings. All of the little movements we do to shake off opponents when in possession were all read by BHA and we looked even slower than we were.
Playing 3 in MF against a Premier League MF 5 meant we were facing a long, uphill battle.
We were better 2nd half without looking dangerous having slightly the better of things in the opening 30 of the half. Last 15 or so we went for it and............. not quite.
Turns and flicks and dummies that work week in and week out in the SBC were gobbled up by BHA's midfield.
As Stockers reminded us of with regard to Ipswich, we failed to get into position when not in possession and that made us look poor.
Where oh where is the side that was full of movement and passion and effort earlier this season? The team that we said looked the biz? It wasn't only successful, it was also nice to watch.
Having a half full glass (actually half full bottle of Grolsch at the moment) I don't think the wheels have come off but we need to get back to basics. Moving up and down the pitch as one. Giving teammates options. Pressing the opposition. Not backing off...... and more.
Disappointed? Yes. Definitely. Donhearted? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. Lots of work to be done between now and Wenesday for the visit of Millwall. They will pack midfield and harass and harry us into trouble/mistakes and also not be afraid to leave their foot in. It's a game we can win but we neeed the right players in the right formation in the right frame of mind.
It's a game where I would pack midfield with a 1-3-5-2 formation. I would also go for a balance of skill, speed, yourh and experience. I hope we get it.
Roos - decent game, not at fault for either goal, couple of very good saves. Deserves to keep his place
Bogle - worst game this season. Poor control. Poor passing. Off the pace.
Keogh - some misplaced passes often caused by a lack of teammates to choose. Solid in all othe raspects.
Tomori - slipped for that first tackle but the yellow was correct. After that he was lucky not to get a 2nd. Like Keogh, good in defence but distribution must be better although a lot of the problems were caused by lack of movement ahead
Malone - No major errors but nothing positive either. very average.
Bryson - Put himself about, put in some very necessary challenges, poor control due to poor balls to him. Once he got control he was under pressure.......
Huddlestone - Did what he always does but this time our MF was outnmbered and his usual bag of tricks was insufficient. Caught in possession to often.
Wilson - pretty ananymous. Deserved yellow which VAR looked at to see if it should be red. Never a red. To easily knocked off the ball and is poor in the tackle.
Waghorn - No decent service leading him to poor control leading to pressure on the ball and less than accurate passes
Nugent - Read Waghorn. They both worked hard but that was not enough today.
Holmes - Huffed and puffed all to no avail. Couldn't cope with their bigger physical presence
All in all not good enough. Not a crisis though, IMO.
The ref? First half he got all the calls against us spot on from the fouls he gave to the cards he gave. 2nd half he treated us a bit better. He let BHA get away with worse than we got done for first half and was slightly harsher against them in the 2nd than he had been in the 1st.