Sorry lads, Stoke Rotherham Sunderland and today.
10 preseason games wouldn’t have changed them.
Outdone at home by Mark Robbins.
Go Farke yourself.
A bench requires game changers not like for like when the energy levels sap if we are to be serious top 2 promotion candidates.
Early Jan requires experienced midfield creativity to slot in straight away as an interim signing for starters as we have no such player on our books presently - a player with wider vision passing wise and able to strike a dead ball from a corner or free kick ideally.
Danger of becoming a one trick pony tactic wise as teams now stop our wide players getting the ball to narrow our play zones leaving our current midfield clueless creativity wise - IMO
Seriously did our bench names worry Robins when he saw their names ?
MOT
I think we have the players Mts O but they aren’t getting much if any time and so are out of form.
Joffy
Joseph
Cresswell
Hjelde
Gruev
They would all be getting time with virtually every other team. Joffy is made for the 10 role in this league but needs to rebuild confidence and have game time to find form.
Gnonto has been good recently and should either have started or have a full half.
Instead Bambi continues to get minutes and shows sweet fa. That is likely to breed resentment in those coming through.
Look at the plethora of ex players who are doing well with other teams that we let go or somehow miraculously we loan a player out and they have blinding seasons. Clarke, Huggins and Davies all look great, Greenwood until injury was doing well too. There seems to be something amiss between the youth level and first team and getting development time. Bate, McGurk, Gyabi, Allen etc are all doing well in the u21 and must think the door is closed. This is the perfect league to blood and develop younger players.
The preferred XI look shattered and as other have said Archie Gray is both playing out of position and looks jaded.
When players are fatigued they are also more prone to injury.
Only Leicester and Southampton have better overall squads than us. Only way to develop players is to play them regularly we are definitely not doing that at present.
Cresswell was on fire at Millwall last season and by the end was unstoppable.he was part of the England squad that won a summer tournament too. Hjelde was getting MoM for Rotherham. Sunderland fans really took to Joffy.
Give is an experienced international and must be wondering what he has done wrong.
Club leadership and Farke need to up the ante if they want to challenge.
Whilst they have done a really good job and in any other season would be most likely in the top 2 the fact is that they are not and they need to review what is t working and improve it. .
Priorities for me.
Sort out what to do with the old guard - taking up spots on the bench that others could take.
Sign a left back
Sign a left back
Sign another left back.
Bring back Sinisterra
Sign a striker
Sort of the injuries
Get money in for the loan players that are free agents at the end of the season or whose clubs want to sign them - eg Koch and Wober.
Spend whatever comes in.
Oh and sign a left back
Maybe a left back then?
If Santa is being generous maybe two 😎
That “gag” makes much more sense here - tortoises are often called turtles.
(Jokes are rarely funny when you have to explain them)
You are in danger of joining Alf in the get your coat club …… 🙃