V Watford

[The Bedlington Terrier]

The answer is simple: chalk on boots.
Watford scored by hitting a ball from the by-line.
Maatsen got in great positions but crossed too early from not a deep enough position.
Get to the by-line and pull a diagonal ball back into the danger area.
Bellamy will have them working on this tomorrow, I expect a goal fest on Tuesday.

[sinkov]

I'm still waiting for someone to mention the elephant in the room, but no one has, so I'll put my tin hat on and mention Manuel Benson. He was supposed to be our saviour, the man to rip Championship defences to shreds, but without wishing to be too negative about him, he was effing useless. It was like watching JBG cloned with Aaron Lennon having a really bad day at the office.

On the plus side he can only get better, but Vitinho has surely got to take his place on Tuesday.

[FromTheDarkness]

We dont create any chances for the strikers in the last 2 games... I hear constant noise about lacking a striker etc from media...
If a striker doesn't get the ball delivered how can they score?
our strikers job is to close down, feed off scrapes and chase back and be a extra midfield player out of possession.

This is the pre Harland false 9 game. all goals come from midfield, we are playing the same.. let not expect a ton of goals from a number 9. Jesus is a bloody good striker, he didn't score many did he... now watch him at Arsenal I recon over 25 this season.

I think we should not judge and just refer to how city played.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I'm still waiting for someone to mention the elephant in the room, but no one has, so I'll put my tin hat on and mention Manuel Benson. He was supposed to be our saviour, the man to rip Championship defences to shreds, but without wishing to be too negative about him, he was effing useless. It was like watching JBG cloned with Aaron Lennon having a really bad day at the office.

On the plus side he can only get better, but Vitinho has surely got to take his place on Tuesday.

Benny took two bookable clatterings within the first 4 minutes sinkov, that's exactly how I used to deal with tricky wingers. Kick 'em early and have the rest of the game in relax mode.

[sinkov]

If a winger can't cope with a couple of 'robust' challenges mon ami, if that's all it takes to put him in his box, then I would say he's not for the Championship. A Sunday School league this is not. Jack Grealish for instance, would have laughed at those two challenges, he gets that and more for 90 minutes non stop.

[outwoodclaret]

I thought Jay Rod fits the mold better than Ash.

I think mold is a town in north Wales (Pen-y-Cillin in the local tongue) but I get your point BT. Barnes is like a fish out of water in this system. Jay Rod would be a better starter if we can’t bring in someone new. Clearly three games where we have dominated possession but only have two goals to show for it-and those from a full back and a midfielder-indicate something is misfiring up front.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

If a winger can't cope with a couple of 'robust' challenges mon ami, if that's all it takes to put him in his box, then I would say he's not for the Championship. A Sunday School league this is not. Jack Grealish for instance, would have laughed at those two challenges, he gets that and more for 90 minutes non stop.

The lad who eventually got sent off should have had a yellow card for the second one and gave benny a bit of protection. I can see him keeping his socks and shin pads up on elastic bands and tape any time soon.

We should have had a penalty straight after they scored too. I'm not saying the referee was biased but he was.

[sinkov]

The lad who eventually got sent off should have had a yellow card for the second one and gave benny a bit of protection. I can see him keeping his socks and shin pads up on elastic bands and tape any time soon.

We should have had a penalty straight after they scored too. I'm not saying the referee was biased but he was.

The referee was bloody awful, he'd clearly been 'put wise' about our Ash and refereed him based on his preconceptions. That free-kick awarded against Ash, when Sierralta looked round twice to see just where Ash was before blocking him quite deliberately, was laughable. Francisco Sierralta knew every trick in the book, as a South American/Italian defender naturally would, and he must have thought it was Xmas and his birthday rolled into one as Mr Bramall fell for most of them.

[Swissclaret]

We will play a lot worse sides than Watford. We deserved at least a point. One pairing that I used to enjoy was Taylor and McNeil on the left. I do not quite understand why VK is playing Benson on the right. He appears to favour his left foot. Maatson and Benson on the left could work well for getting behind, crosses and pullbacks.

With Benson on the right, Roberts did not seem to get forward as much. I don’t recall him making a run down the right to get a cross in.

As for the short corners, I am not sure about them. Bachman appeared troubled by high balls coming in. Although we are playing the ball on the ground more, there is still a threat from high balls into the box, especially if the keeper is not dominant, like a Pope is.

[kritichris]

We had 4 short corners that came to nothing,(do we practice set pieces?), then we tried a long ball in and looked more dangerous.