Cardiff Post-Match thoughts.....retire to a safe distance

[Derbymiller]

Cardiff were very good and fully deserved their victory, when they went down to 10 they raised their game, 10 minutes before half-time we said we will do very well to go in level, and we didn't. It is easy to hide behind the fact that they are top of the league and we were not expected to win, but that view masks a lot of issues that reinforce the reality that it is difficult to see how we will stay in l1 this season.

He keeps saying when all his players are fit, but that isn't going to happen. Today we lost Powell to a hamstring, Spence is having to have injections in his knee just to play and Gore is out for at least two more weeks. So it is likely we could go into two critical games with no Powell, no Spence and no Gore in midfield.

As for MH, well the man never learns. He started with 3 at the back and our best two full-backs as wing-backs, which they are not. He will have known that Cardiff play with two wide players, he does know that worse teams than Cardiff have exploited the gaps behind the wing-backs in many games this season, and yet he stuck to his favourite formation. That is where the first goal came from and they got behind us in the first half so many times.
So he then changed to a 4 and took off a FB and put a CB there, he brought on a FB and played him on the wing????? Powell had to go off, but he didn't have to bring on Martha, what a shocking decision.

In his interview the manager of our team openly admitted, that he didn't see that performance coming, and that the players didn't follow his instructions both whilst on the pitch and those given at half-time. So basically the players are not mentally in the right place and he didn't know and they don't listen to him and his coaches. That is a huge admission to make.

Statistically we had a better chance of staying up if he had gone before the window, now changing the manager after the window has closed is unlikely to bring the bounce needed to stay up, so we are stuck with him.

In my opinion he isn't good enough and I see little to change my mind, we are now at a very critical time of the season and a minimum of 4 points is needed from the next two games.

Hopefully Spence and Powell will be fit for those games and the new lads can bring something to our performances that give us a lift, the little we saw of them today, they looked up for it and capable, so there is always hope.

[RU66]

Adegboyega another dodgy centre back signing. We needed a big forward we aren't a good enough side to play without one.

[Brin]

Adegboyega another dodgy centre back signing. We needed a big forward we aren't a good enough side to play without one.

This rather silly obsession of needing a big centre forward, are you suggesting, IF we had brought one in we revert just to hoofball it to him?

Before today, we didn't have a big centre forward but against Wimbledon we scored a goal, Northampton 2 goals and Exeter 4 goals.
We took 7 out of 9 points without a big man up front so do we really need one has desperate as you keep posting?

[RU66]

This rather silly obsession of needing a big centre forward, are you suggesting, IF we had brought one in we revert just to hoofball it to him?

Before today, we didn't have a big centre forward but against Wimbledon we scored a goal, Northampton 2 goals and Exeter 4 goals.
We took 7 out of 9 points without a big man up front so do we really need one has desperate as you keep posting?

How do we play? Eventually revert to lumping the ball up with no one to win it. Nombe he's getting nothing to feed off.

[uttis]

Nombe doesn’t need a big man to feed off he thrives on running the channels and through balls to latch on to, for this to happen we need a midfield that can create, also he is decent in the air should a cross come in of decent quality to finish

[the_idiotb_stardson]

That was a shocker.

Two things really worry me.

Why does a 17 year old kid know morw about team formation, shape and pressing than all the rest of the squad and management team. Time after time, Gray pressed their defender and was incredulous when no one else had supported and filled in the hole he had left. He had done his job and was let down by his team mates.

Next thing, about 70 minutes in, 5 or 6 Millers players shouting at each other. It was so obvious they didnt't have a clue were they were supposed to be playing.

[Brin]

That was a shocker.

Two things really worry me.

Why does a 17 year old kid know morw about team formation, shape and pressing than all the rest of the squad and management team. Time after time, Gray pressed their defender and was incredulous when no one else had supported and filled in the hole he had left. He had done his job and was let down by his team mates.

Next thing, about 70 minutes in, 5 or 6 Millers players shouting at each other. It was so obvious they didnt't have a clue were they were supposed to be playing.

To answer your Gray question it's because he's been brought through the excellent coaching academy at Leeds United. Yes I too saw Gray time and again run into space never to receive the ball and like you say, no one filled the gap he left. McWilliams, hero to villain in a space of a week for one.

[GlennMiller]

Simply came up against a class outfit who were both technically and physically superior. We looked better against 11 men but the amount of space we gave their ten men was incomprehensible.

Cardiff were 50% quicker to every ball and we gifted them goals from our inability to move the ball swiftly.

One positive, I thought Cover looked very good.

We won't come up against that quality for the rest of the season and I'm confident we will avoid relegation as long as we keep Martha and McWlliams away from the playing surface!

[avondalemiller]

Well well well. Were Cardiff that good or did we make them look good?

I said before KO that Willock and Tanner will have a birthday today with out set up, and boy did they cause havoc.
If Gray had popped that chance in just before H/T things might have been different?
They showed us how to play "give and go" and made us look static, but i think we helped with that.

MH kept them locked in the dressing room for ages, the MOM never came up to the lounge, King Ronnie did the presentations instead.

If we'd drawn against Exeter and Cardiff some would have been happy, but now we're 1 point and +1 goal better off, but todays performance was poor.........UTM.

[mellowmiller]

That was so disappointing.
We knew Cardiff would be technically superior so I was hoping for a battling performance where we would challenge for every ball and harass them into making mistakes.
What we got was a shambles with no apparent game plan and we actually got worse when they went down to 10 men. Men against boys.
It's true that this game won't define our season but I just hope it doesn't leave too many scars because the lack of shape, effort and commitment was simply unacceptable.
Losing to the champions elect should not be surprising but losing in such an inept manner is unacceptable.
Lots of work to do to put things right for the next game.....and please, please, please stop persisting with this bloody stupid defensive formation!!

[Shark27]

Unfortunately, and I hate to say it, this game shows that MH has to go. Once they were down to ten men we should have gone for it.

[Tigerish]

For months I've been saying that the dumplings in the dugout are taking us down.
I'm still right.
Can anyone seriously disagree with me after that apology of a performance?
Sideways passing, powderpuff tackling, players too frightened to express themselves. Wings totally exposed to counter attacks.
This lies at Hamshaw 's door and he really has to go.
His signings are not going to get us out of this mire. Trust me
Mr Stewart, you saw that abject display against ten men. What did you think?
This manager is taking us down in our centenary year.

[Old_time_miller]

Goal 1. Terrible lack of organisation, play reading and positional sense to allow freedom to cross and pass. Baptiste.
Anyone else in the box watching?
Goal 2. Dawson, yet again out in no mans land then stops. Dead easy to score. Blames defender for not playing keeper on goal line.
Goal 3. Dawson, again, dumped on his arris trying with legs akimbo to stop a ball.
Still, it saves the cleaner serious washing of his kit by being dive shy. Can this guy actually dive? An age thing? Bruises easily? Can?t think fast enough?
Goal 2 really killed the game. Time for Mr. Cann.

[Timbertop]

If the (alleged) new owners turned up today a new manager will be their immediate priority.

[Ronners]

I've not looked what anyone else has posted before posting my view. Sometimes you just have to put your hands up and say we were beaten by the better team. In the championship, we were regularly beaten by the better team, but I thought Cardiff were outstanding today. From the word go they were always in control, their movement both in attack and defence gave them spaces to get in behind in attack, and made it difficult for us to get in good areas when trying to attack. We can talk long and hard about how bad we played, but sometimes you just have to put your hands up and say we were beaten by the better team. All in all I can't think of anything positive to say about our performance today, but I personally think that was way more down to how Cardiff played than how we did, they are by some distance the best team I have seen at ours this season and played for over an hour with a man less, we move on to the next game. UTM