Clint

Duncan, just out of politeness (as I''m sure you really know which games they were):Villa (h) - lost 4-1 - enough saidWest Brom (a) - lost 2-1 - didn''t go but our only goal was from a set-piece and the goals conceded were poorChelsea (h) - lost 1-0 - I don''t recall Czech having to make a save of noteMan City (h)- lost 4-3 - all our goals came as a result of set-pieces and we conceded some poor goals against a team with 10 menWest Ham (a) - lost 2-1 - Jaaskalienen didn''t make a save of note and the goals conceced were poorWould you like me to do the same for the poor run earlier in the season which included matches against Fulham, QPR, West Ham, Liverpool and Newcastle?  

Is it that if anyone posts a negative view on here that they are a troll?  Or that if anyone questions the team selection, tactics etc, they are an idiot to question Hughton''s judgement?I''ve been to almost every match home and away this season (inc cup games) so feel that I have a right to express an opinion on here without being shot down by those who only ever see the club and management in a positive light.We have now lost 5 out of the last 6 matches, have looked second best for the most part and and have barely mustered a shot on target in several of these games (seemingly being hugely reliant on set-pieces to get goals) whilst conceding plenty of goals. I appreciate we''ve had some tough matches but this is not the first time this season we''ve been on a similar poor run.  We''ve also not won a match in the league in which we''ve gone behind in this season so I think people have a right to question the team selection, tactics and possibly more importantly, the substitutions and lack of a plan B.  

Snoddy and Pilks are both extremely inconsistent with their set pieces.  Some are brilliant but quite a few are overhit or hit the first man.  I''m hoping a greater level of consistency will come with time although I''m not convinced as this seems to be a common problem with most teams.I suppose, as we seem to be scoring most of our goals from set-pieces, although the overall quality of our free kicks isn''t great, when both Pilks or Snoddy get it right, they put some peaches in! 

Bunn''s decision making is very questionable, which is why he''s a decent shot stopper but offers little else.  When he does something instinctively, its usually pretty good but when he has time to think about what to do, he seems to flounder....ie crosses into the box, long range shots, one on one''s etc.  His stature is also a major issue. Probably why at the age of 28, he''s never really been a first choice keeper.On the performances I''ve seen of Bunn, Rudd and Steer, I don''t see that Bunn offers anything more.  Sooner or later, we need to decide whether Rudd or Steer are good enough at this level, particularly Rudd as the older of the two.  We''re never going to be able to do this without giving them games.  I agree in giving Bunn one last go at West Ham but definately give one of the youngsters a chance in the cup. 

20 goals in 38 starts suggests he isn''t too bad at finding the back of the net - a far better option to start/come off the bench than Morison IMHO.

Nutty, I would argue our game plan wasn''t working perfectly unless it was to lose 1 nil and have no attempts on goal?Had Bassong''s header gone in, it would have been a fantastic result but an extremely lucky one, which is exactly what I said in my earlier post.  Rather than change things, Hughton would prefer to keep it tight and hope to get lucky from a set piece.  I agree that certain substitutions could have a negative impact on how the game is going.  However, I''ve witnessed certain players either having shockers or looking dead on their feet and for whatever reason are left on the pitch.  I don''t see how making a change in this situation would have a negative impact. The West Brom and Villa (cup) matches are examples of where we were well in the game but the opposition manager made positive tactical changes, which worked to their advantage.  Had we done the same, these games may have gone our way, for example, Pilkington was dire in both matches (and apparently ill in one) but played the full 90 mins in both - why? 

This is something that I''ve been saying for a while, it''s not just the lack of subs, its that the same subs are are made at roughly the same time each match.I know it''s not the case but it''s almost like the changes are pre-determined before the match.  Either Morison or Howson will come on with roughly 10 mins to go and the other a few mins later.  Invariably it''s Morison for Holt and Howson for Hoolahan, irrespective of how the match is going.  Bennett or Jackson will come on in the last couple of mins, usually only if we''re losing.There seems to be a disctinct lack of a plan B or any kind of game-changing change of personel or formation.  Although a level of consistency is good, you can''t expect the same 11 players, playing exactly the same formation to do well every week, for a huge number of reasons.I don''t agree with Hughton not having sufficient options on the bench either, both Jackson and Bennett played an important part in our 12th place finish last season and offer something completely different to what our starting 11 does - pace!  I''ve been to almost every match this season and a lot of the time our play, albeit nice and tidy, lacks a directness and cutting edge, which these 2 provide.Hughton seems very afraid to try something different for fear of getting a hammering and has gone on record saying how vital a point is in this league.  It seems he would prefer to stay in the game and hope to get lucky from a set-piece than make changes to try change the pattern of the game.  It seemed to be working but 3 defeats in 4 games (and Man City up next) suggests a change of some sort is in order.     

Don''t get me wrong, a point at Reading isn''t a bad result but yet again they looked like a team that was there for the taking - on the day, they were dreadful.To a man, our starting 11 were fairly poor yesterday, some even worse than this so why did Hughton not make any changes?We didn''t need to change the formation or the solid disciplined approach but a change in personnel certainly could have improved things because going forward, we were dire.  The 2 wingers were dreadful and although Hoolahan again looked like the most creative player, he didn''t have a great match by any means and never really trouble Reading''s defence.  Basically, it just wasn''t working.So why not change it?  Bennett (should have been on much earlier) and Jackson would have offered something different - pace.  Hughton did his usual Morison on for Holt with 5 mins left, which to my mind, makes us even less of an attacking force.  Hughton was also, noticeably, telling our players to slow the game down with 10 mins or so to go.I was sitting with some Reading fans who suggested that we came and parked the bus, well if we go to Reading and play for a draw, where are we ever going to go and try and win?I appreciate we got what may turn out to be a fairly decent result and if that''s how we need to play to stay up this year, then so be it.  I won''t be going to any more away games though!

It''s not necessarily the strikers that are the problem.  I lost count of the amount of mis-placed passes in midfield and aimless long balls yesterday.  Reading''s keeper had absolutely nothing of note to do.  Holt isn''t a £20m striker, he''s a player who''s spent most of his career in the lower leagues.  As good as he is, he is likely to need more than 1 chance a match to score, which is all he really had yesterday.  Going forward, we were appalling.  The wingers were anonymous, the midfield couldn''t pass, Hoolahan was being constantly outmuscled (not helped by Foy''s poor refereeing) and the defence kept hitting it long! Based on this, I would suggest most established Prem strikers would have struggled to do anything yesterday so by default, unfortunately any striker we can afford is unlikely to have done any better than Holt. 

Are any of these opinions of Fox actually based on his performances this season?  I''ve seen him in both cup matches and he was dire.  Looked totally unfit, constantly under-hit or over-hit passes and arguably responsible for the Bale goal.  Hughton I expect felt the same as he was hooked straight after.I know a couple of people who have seen him in the development matches and they said he looked off the pace then as well.This is not a dig at Fox as he is a good player and I expect his time will come but all those clamouring for him to be included now clearly have no idea, he is well off being anywhere near the 1st team for a league match.

It''s not like me to be a percy positive but I thought I''d give it a go......2 weeks ago we were looking at the Stoke match being the start of our season, we were facing going into this game being bottom of the league after another heavy defeat at the hands of Arsenal and ''the Messiah'' obviously masterminding a convincing home win for Villa.Agreed, on the balance of play, we should have won yesterday and some of the passing and crossing was woeful (though I''m sure the waterlogged pitch played its part) but if you would have offered me 4 points from these games 2 weeks ago, I would have bitten your hand off!  As it stands, we''ll head into the Stoke game outside the bottom 3 and looking confident.The next couple of weeks could go a long way to defining our season with a home tie against Spurs in the cup (winnable as I suspect they won''t play anywhere near their first choice team) then onto Stoke, which we''ve been saying for weeks is a must win.  We then head to Reading where avoiding defeat is the minimum but getting a first away win on the board would be massive.Lets forget about the fact that our end product yesterday left a lot to be desired and look at the fact that we would have all taken a draw 2 weeks ago and probably even before start of play.  If we can get the results mentioned above, which are more than achievable, we can go into the Utd and Everton games full of confidence and not really needing results. 

Ayala as well now!

From what I''ve seen of him, losing Kane is hardly a big blow and he chooses not to play Wes!

I''ve always rated Jackson, brings a lot more to the team than some people give him credit for.Shame he keeps being substituted!

I''m in, he''s had 8 matches  (2 cup) plus pre-season, how long can we afford to give him?Of those 8 matches, break down how well we have actually done.  I would suggest Spurs away is the only decent result we''ve actually got.  We''ve had 2 utter humiliations, 2 home bankers against fellow relegation fodder which we''ve failed to win, 2 dire cup performances where we''ve scraped through against poor quality opposition.In the next 4 weeks, I suspect we''ll lose to Chelsea, Arsenal and Villa and Spurs will put us out of the cup.

To get a pay rise Jas and be paid what he thinks he deserves.Are you unemployed?  A fairly standard process in employment when you feel you can earn more money elsewhere is to try and negotiate a pay rise with your current employer.  This works particularly well if another employer is willing to pay you more.It''s not rocket science.  So yes, it is hugely plausible that he still wanted to be here.

In that case GP, he''s not a very good RW and I''m bl**dy glad we didn''t pay £8m for him last summer!

Jackson may have scored as well if he''d not been taken off at half time.  Like he might have scored against West Ham, if he''d not been taken off after 60 odd mins.At 2 nil down today, why take off a striker anyway?He looked our liveliest player in both matches, remind me how those games ended up after Hughton''s bizarre substitutions?

Snoddy needs to learn how to use his right foot, he''s more one footed than Keith O''Neill.Why does Hughton persist in playing him on the right?  He''s put in bugger all crosses in 6 games and doesn''t cut in and shoot either.  Surely, the left would be a better for him?  Our forwards may actually get some service then.At least switch the wingers round during the game if its not working - Hughton really has no idea when plan A isn''t working and plan A seems pretty lame.

Probably just getting it ready for after the Arsenal match.

Just like Man U imploded when Rooney asked for a transfer and likewise Man C when Tevez did.Those transfer requests had a really negative impact on the players individual performances as well didn''t they.Both clubs must surely be in the Championship now and Rooney and Tevez playing in the Blue Square?Let me think, is that what happened............errrrr, NO.

TBH, it seems to be the midfielders who seem to be spurning most of our chances, not the forwards.  Holt has had bugger all service as Hughton persists on playing a flat 4-4-2 with Surman and Snoddy and the flanks.  Surman spends most of his time in the centre of the pitch and Snoddy can''t use his right foot, which equals a complete lack of crosses.Add to that the comment about the full backs not overlapping, there''s no crosses going into the box from the byline or similar decent positions.We are not playing to our strenghts, hence we have sod all goals for inc 4 home games against fellow relegation fodder and dire L1 teams!

Harry Kane all over again.

A goal would be nice.

Professional footballers should be able to play 2 games in 4 days, when we were in the Champs, L1 we did it regularly.  In years gone by, this was common place.We can rest Ruddy, the defence and Johnson if we have too!