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ricardo

Ricardo's report v Huddersfield

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On the stroll up to the ground my thoughts went back to the 1960''s when my first sight of Huddersfield was in the old Division 2. They were somewhat of a bogey team in those days and we very seldom got much from them. As expected AN kept faith with the winning eleven from Tuesday but it very soon became apparent that we were in for a completely different game. City''s dominance on Tuesday was completely lacking tonight as the visitor dominated the opening proceedings.Oliveira scuffed an early chance for City but when Palmer released a sweeping ball out to the Huddersfield right, Olsson was caught in no mans land. Katchunga made no mistake when nodding in the cross from 6 yards. Thankfully the stunned crowd were brought to life bu City''s swift response when Brady picked out Howson in the Visitors box and the City captain nodded in from close to the penalty spot.It should have been a signal to kick on but winning the ball and retaining it looked difficult against a strong Huddersfield mid field. Oliveira pinged a deflected thirty yarder over while Bassong nodded a corner over but it was almost the sum total of City''s first half attacking efforts. Most of the play was in the City half but City defended reasonably well until late on when Dorrans ran into a blind corner and attempted a suicidal back pass. Wells looked to have a simple chance when he side stepped Olsson and the advancing Ruddy but somehow Bassong slid in to save a certain goal at the expense of a corner.With halftime approaching I slipped out to beat the rush for the toilets only to miss the Huddersfield goal. I had to wait for the halftime replay because my son would only shake his head in disgust. At the whistle we thought it was obviously Tetty for Mulumbu because Tuesdays star player was on a shadow of his Villa performance.Happy Xmas to all, lets hope for a better new year.AN oblidged and it did look better as City retain and won more ball. Murphy almost broke through then Oliveira had a shot turned round for a corner. Huddersfield were obviously sitting back further but Oliveira hustled his way past a defender just before the hour and lifted a shot over the advancing Ward. We rose in anticipation but the ball bounced the wrong side of the far upright.It was much better by a long way but when AN changed it again on 65 minutes there was mayhem at my end. Oliverira and Dorrans were replaced by Jerome and Naismith to a storm of booing highly reminiscent of the Hughton days. To be fair I think the subs were correct and after a few minutes City buzzed dangerously around the Huddersfield box for most of the remaining time.Murphy brought a fine diving save out of Ward, Naismith''s neat back header was almost bundled in by Jerome and a Brady jink was snuffed out by weight of numbers before he could pull the trigger. You couldn''t fault the effort but nothing seemed to fall for us in the box as scramble after scramble was hacked away. Huddersfield milked every throw, free kick and substitution for every second it was worth and somehow you knew it wasn''t going to happen for us.Ward then saved well from Howson and Bassong headed narrowly wide a s City went for broke. In injury time the big City centre back was even closer when his header missed by inches. Despite the time wasting only 3 minutes were added but to be honest I couldn''t see us scoring if we played until midnight. At the end the boo''s were more subdued. A tribute at least to the effort expended I suggest because you can''t say that they aren''t playing for him. The awful truth must finally be dawning on even those with the brightest yellow and green glasses, the league table doesn''t lie.Ricardo''s Xmas predictions, although I probably made this first one weeks ago, 1. Auto promotion, don''t make me laugh. 2.AN won''t be getting the push while the playoffs remain on.

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I don''t know how that Happy Xmas slipped in at half time instead of the end. This computer is like me, on its last legs.[:D]

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I think you''ve tried to be fair Ricardo but post match Neil said we looked short on legs 1st half but after his substitution looked better 2nd half.

This begs the question: why did Wagner rotate players but not Neil. Huddersfield looked and were much fresher.

I think he is paralysed by fear. He was afraid NOT to keep a winning side incase it went wrong despite having a huge squad with many similar players. We have all seen this before as a manager takes the downward spiral.

The Board are also running true to form and we have seen it before, notably with Hughton, where to replace a manager you have defended too long means admitting you were wrong and so you hand on and hope to save face.

After Tuesday I was prepared to accept the players were playing for Neil but I wonder whether they have any belief in how they are being asked to play and it is difficult to ignore so many players who if they haven''t been frozen out (and you have to ask why) have certainly been sidelines for no obvious reason.

We have to trust our instincts: if it looks wrong it probably is.

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[quote user="ricardo"]AN won''t be getting the push while the playoffs remain on.[/quote]Thanks for the report Ricardo. Balanced and how I saw it from my armchair. [;)]Your point above is right too imo, which is why it is important for people to stay positive about things. As long as we are in with a shout of the playoffs by the end of the season, we are still with a shout of being promoted. 

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I''m afraid we''ve beaten a poor Brentford and an inexplicably poor Villa . Otherwise, it''s been a run that is as bad as most times in our history , and with our current finances cannot be allowed to continue . The manager cannot generate momentum particularly against 2 banks of four defending a lead . Don''t be fooled by us having more possession . Neil has to go . Give him his

Money (he deserves his contract ) and move on.

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Don''t think anyone can defend that performance tonight, no belief and no confidence. 
Huddersfield wanted it a lot more than us and deserved their win

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[quote user="ricardo"]On the stroll up to the ground my thoughts went back to the 1960''s when my first sight of Huddersfield was in the old Division 2. They were somewhat of a bogey team in those days and we very seldom got much from them. As expected AN kept faith with the winning eleven from Tuesday but it very soon became apparent that we were in for a completely different game. City''s dominance on Tuesday was completely lacking tonight as the visitor dominated the opening proceedings.Oliveira scuffed an early chance for City but when Palmer released a sweeping ball out to the Huddersfield right, Olsson was caught in no mans land. Katchunga made no mistake when nodding in the cross from 6 yards. Thankfully the stunned crowd were brought to life bu City''s swift response when Brady picked out Howson in the Visitors box and the City captain nodded in from close to the penalty spot.It should have been a signal to kick on but winning the ball and retaining it looked difficult against a strong Huddersfield mid field. Oliveira pinged a deflected thirty yarder over while Bassong nodded a corner over but it was almost the sum total of City''s first half attacking efforts. Most of the play was in the City half but City defended reasonably well until late on when Dorrans ran into a blind corner and attempted a suicidal back pass. Wells looked to have a simple chance when he side stepped Olsson and the advancing Ruddy but somehow Bassong slid in to save a certain goal at the expense of a corner.With halftime approaching I slipped out to beat the rush for the toilets only to miss the Huddersfield goal. I had to wait for the halftime replay because my son would only shake his head in disgust. At the whistle we thought it was obviously Tetty for Mulumbu because Tuesdays star player was on a shadow of his Villa performance.Happy Xmas to all, lets hope for a better new year.AN oblidged and it did look better as City retain and won more ball. Murphy almost broke through then Oliveira had a shot turned round for a corner. Huddersfield were obviously sitting back further but Oliveira hustled his way past a defender just before the hour and lifted a shot over the advancing Ward. We rose in anticipation but the ball bounced the wrong side of the far upright.It was much better by a long way but when AN changed it again on 65 minutes there was mayhem at my end. Oliverira and Dorrans were replaced by Jerome and Naismith to a storm of booing highly reminiscent of the Hughton days. To be fair I think the subs were correct and after a few minutes City buzzed dangerously around the Huddersfield box for most of the remaining time.Murphy brought a fine diving save out of Ward, Naismith''s neat back header was almost bundled in by Jerome and a Brady jink was snuffed out by weight of numbers before he could pull the trigger. You couldn''t fault the effort but nothing seemed to fall for us in the box as scramble after scramble was hacked away. Huddersfield milked every throw, free kick and substitution for every second it was worth and somehow you knew it wasn''t going to happen for us.Ward then saved well from Howson and Bassong headed narrowly wide a s City went for broke. In injury time the big City centre back was even closer when his header missed by inches. Despite the time wasting only 3 minutes were added but to be honest I couldn''t see us scoring if we played until midnight. At the end the boo''s were more subdued. A tribute at least to the effort expended I suggest because you can''t say that they aren''t playing for him. The awful truth must finally be dawning on even those with the brightest yellow and green glasses, the league table doesn''t lie.Ricardo''s Xmas predictions, although I probably made this first one weeks ago, 1. Auto promotion, don''t make me laugh. 2.AN won''t be getting the push while the playoffs remain on.[/quote]

Some posters are seeing what they want to see with those substitutions. Leaving aside whether Jerome should have come for Oliverira, Neil did make a sensibly attacking move by bringing on Naismith. We looked at our most dangerous when he was probing just behind Jerome.

The alternative would have been Oliverira and Jerome, and when we did that in the only other game I have seen this season (Preston) they just got in each others''s way.

I did notice, thanks to TV, a woman in the crowd knitting at half-time. Shades of Madame DeFarge, and heads rolling. I would not be so sure of Neil staying, even though we are in sight of the play-offs, since there are at least two potential alternatives who might be available.

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[quote user="ricardo"]On the stroll up to the ground my thoughts went back to the 1960''s when my first sight of Huddersfield was in the old Division 2. They were somewhat of a bogey team in those days and we very seldom got much from them. As expected AN kept faith with the winning eleven from Tuesday but it very soon became apparent that we were in for a completely different game. City''s dominance on Tuesday was completely lacking tonight as the visitor dominated the opening proceedings.Oliveira scuffed an early chance for City but when Palmer released a sweeping ball out to the Huddersfield right, Olsson was caught in no mans land. Katchunga made no mistake when nodding in the cross from 6 yards. Thankfully the stunned crowd were brought to life bu City''s swift response when Brady picked out Howson in the Visitors box and the City captain nodded in from close to the penalty spot.It should have been a signal to kick on but winning the ball and retaining it looked difficult against a strong Huddersfield mid field. Oliveira pinged a deflected thirty yarder over while Bassong nodded a corner over but it was almost the sum total of City''s first half attacking efforts. Most of the play was in the City half but City defended reasonably well until late on when Dorrans ran into a blind corner and attempted a suicidal back pass. Wells looked to have a simple chance when he side stepped Olsson and the advancing Ruddy but somehow Bassong slid in to save a certain goal at the expense of a corner.With halftime approaching I slipped out to beat the rush for the toilets only to miss the Huddersfield goal. I had to wait for the halftime replay because my son would only shake his head in disgust. At the whistle we thought it was obviously Tetty for Mulumbu because Tuesdays star player was on a shadow of his Villa performance.Happy Xmas to all, lets hope for a better new year.AN oblidged and it did look better as City retain and won more ball. Murphy almost broke through then Oliveira had a shot turned round for a corner. Huddersfield were obviously sitting back further but Oliveira hustled his way past a defender just before the hour and lifted a shot over the advancing Ward. We rose in anticipation but the ball bounced the wrong side of the far upright.It was much better by a long way but when AN changed it again on 65 minutes there was mayhem at my end. Oliverira and Dorrans were replaced by Jerome and Naismith to a storm of booing highly reminiscent of the Hughton days. To be fair I think the subs were correct and after a few minutes City buzzed dangerously around the Huddersfield box for most of the remaining time.Murphy brought a fine diving save out of Ward, Naismith''s neat back header was almost bundled in by Jerome and a Brady jink was snuffed out by weight of numbers before he could pull the trigger. You couldn''t fault the effort but nothing seemed to fall for us in the box as scramble after scramble was hacked away. Huddersfield milked every throw, free kick and substitution for every second it was worth and somehow you knew it wasn''t going to happen for us.Ward then saved well from Howson and Bassong headed narrowly wide a s City went for broke. In injury time the big City centre back was even closer when his header missed by inches. Despite the time wasting only 3 minutes were added but to be honest I couldn''t see us scoring if we played until midnight. At the end the boo''s were more subdued. A tribute at least to the effort expended I suggest because you can''t say that they aren''t playing for him. The awful truth must finally be dawning on even those with the brightest yellow and green glasses, the league table doesn''t lie.Ricardo''s Xmas predictions, although I probably made this first one weeks ago, 1. Auto promotion, don''t make me laugh. 2.AN won''t be getting the push while the playoffs remain on.[/quote]

Some posters are seeing what they want to see with those substitutions. Leaving aside whether Jerome should have come for Oliverira, Neil did make a sensibly attacking move by bringing on Naismith. We looked at our most dangerous when he was probing just behind Jerome.

The alternative would have been Oliverira and Jerome, and when we did that in the only other game I have seen this season (Preston) they just got in each others''s way.

I did notice, thanks to TV, a woman in the crowd knitting at half-time. Shades of Madame DeFarge, and heads rolling. I would not be so sure of Neil staying, even though we are in sight of the play-offs, since there are at least two potential alternatives who might be available.

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Surely even our board of directors with their horrific judgment of footballing matters cannot watch that performance and not see how appallingly we are being managed by this clueless individual. Well drilled, well coached and motivated. They were everything we are not. If Neil is allowed any more time he will inevitably set us back years. They must surely act?

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Midlands Yellow, I am calling it that AN won''t be sacked on the basis of the facts as I see them. The crowd weren''t happy by any means but the unrest is still a long way from reaching what I estimate to be critical mass.

On the stroll home last night my son said that it was obviously going to be a long drawn out lingering death and I think he got it spot on with that comment.

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"On the stroll home last night my son said that it was obviously going to be a long drawn out lingering death and I think he got it spot on with that comment. "

As a club we are experienced and in that approach.

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The club is breathing mediocrity , there is no soul atm...as there was when Lambert was here... I think AN should go...and I have been thinking that for some time now!

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[quote user="ricardo"]That''s why my predictions for the future are based on long experience of the past Winky.[/quote]

In a way therefore fans get the club they deserve. Too many of our fans are too accepting (at least public ally at matches anyway) of poor performance and allow Delia & co to continue as they do.

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Robfleck, my son also mentioned this in our after match chat. He said Lambert wouldnt have waited until half time to change what was so obviously wrong.

It did seem like watching a hanging and waiting for the inevitable trap door to open.

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It was cm that was the issue yest, Mulumbu, dorrans and howson simply ineffective and leggy against more dynamic and committed partners.

The subs were the right calls, but when it''s clear the players don''t commit to challenges, won''t win the ball back, are then hesitant in possession, lack responsibility so make only safe pass and then poorly I have to question the players complacency as well as the motivational skills.

What could have been a platform game ended up confirmation of 8-10th season.

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Strange that you think the subs were the right call, I agree the timing was correct, but at that point, we needed a game changer and Naismith isn''t that, Wes was the man.

As for two strikers, for me it showed when AN threw Bassong up top just how wrong he got that sub, we were chasing the game.

I can''t see how like for like was ever going to work last night!

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[quote user="ZLF"] What could have been a platform game ended up confirmation of 8-10th season.[/quote]I remain hopeful that it will end up better than that but if we are honest with ourselves it didn''t look right even when we were winning those early season games. Back in October I often commented in my reports that we just didn''t seem convincing but I persuaded myself that the old adage of winning games while playing poorly was a good sign. Unfortunately it wasn''t and a glance at the goal average began to tell the true story. I think I picked that up early enough to then call it accurately when I said we wouldn''t get auto promotion conceding an average of one and a half goals per game.The playoffs are still on IMO and I will be mightily disappointed if we can''t at least finish 6th.

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[quote user="Indy"]Strange that you think the subs were the right call, I agree the timing was correct, but at that point, we needed a game changer and Naismith isn''t that, Wes was the man.

As for two strikers, for me it showed when AN threw Bassong up top just how wrong he got that sub, we were chasing the game.

I can''t see how like for like was ever going to work last night![/quote]He''s never going to go two up top Indy, you may as well forget that one. I think the subs were correct because Naismith got into the box much more than Dorrans while Jerome offered more pace in behind. There were chances to equalise and if we had it would have thrown a different light upon it.I think AN is in a rut and I also think that while we have better players than most on paper, he cannot find a consistent mix. He will however get enough decent results to stumble on into the New Year.

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I agree we had the chances to get that equaliser, had Oliviera been on the pitch and that chance fell to him, I have more confidence in getting it!

Naismith is so frustrating, he mills about gets in good positions but has little end product to unlock that defence, surely awes was the right call?

But fair enough, we''re all first class managers :-)

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I fear it''s going to go the same way as Hughton. Modern football fans don''t have the patience to see it through bad times like they used to and an unhappy crowd is never going to be a helpful thing.  Once negativity sets in, it''s in - and unless people rise above it, it''s a viscious circle.  The manager and he players can rise above it and bring the situation round, but to do so they are going to have to show a depth of character, commitment and courage way beyond what many people think they are capable of.  I hope they can do it, of course, because it is in every one''s best interests that they do, but it''s a big ask. Two away games coming up may be a good thing, especially if  we can muster good performances and get the away crowd onside.   It''s an unpleasant season so far with the team struggling to find the right form consistently, but it''s not beyond saving - far from it - and AN saved it before....and gave us one of the best matches in our history.  He has it in him to do it again.   

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Do you remember at the start of ther season when we were fearful of teams coming to Carrow Rd and shutting up shop and we would have to break them down, the position has completely reversed itself and still it doesn''t work

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LDC, it has always been the same as Hughton in my experience. Eventually it becomes embarrassing to watch, almost like intruding upon someones private grief. Once the knives are out it takes a lot to survive. He will die the death of a thousand cuts because this Board have never been good at euthanasia.

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