birchfest 397 Posted January 31, 2021 (edited) Yesterday was frustrating, when you are at the top and use to getting 3 points more often than not it a jolt to the system to even draw a game. Middlesbrough managed to manipulate the proceedings stylistically to get the point they will view as an excellent result (which is testament to how far we have come). Seeing Emi rule himself out for 2 games, especially as we are finally seeing players return from injury is also frustrating. However... Even with 10 men and Middlesbrough growing into the match, at no point did they ever look like they were going to take 3 points. Hanley and Gibson have formed what we so desperately needed last season and I would argue are doing an even better job than the Godrey/Zimmerman one of 18/19. With those two in front of Krul and Skipp in front of them we really force teams to have to be exceptional to score against us or just have a moment of sheer luck to get it in the back of the next. Whats more, despite yesterday not being the best example, they are both more than capable of being the starting point of our attacks, with Gibsons passing in particular being such an asset to this side... dare I say more so than Godfrey? With Krul only just returning and getting back into the swing of things himself I feel our defence is hopefully only going to get better at shutting teams out, which with our consistency to win games by a single goal is absolutely massive. This ability to be able to grit out results, even if its just picking up a point with 10 men is the way top teams keep themselves in the top spots, which whilst we are frustrated not to get 3 points I'm sure Swansea fans and Brentford fans will be equally irritated that even with 10 men we couldn't be beaten and limited the damage to only 2 points. We've got a huge week ahead but its great going into these matches with rivals knowing we have a defensive unit that is really finding its rhythm. Edited January 31, 2021 by birchfest 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheGunnShow 5,932 Posted January 31, 2021 It's a sign that Farke is very good, when given time, at subtly evolving his team from a basic template to pose a different set of problems for opposing teams, and working out what exactly is needed to resolve a problem. Sure, this side isn't playing the same wonderfully gung-ho, almost madcap football of two seasons ago where full-backs were pretty much ersatz wingers and we were vulnerable to being charged and countered down the middle as often as not (not to mention inability to defend set-pieces, which pissed us all off for ages), but the hallmarks are still there. Quick movement off the ball, short and sharp passing, the odd cross-field or channel ball pinged in, and often coming on very strongly in the later stages of games simply as we've kept the ball for prolonged spells and forced the opposition to play at our pace, resulting in much more tired opposition in the later stages. And yes, not losing is usually good for confidence. If you're not playing well enough to win, make sure you don't lose. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cambridgeshire canary 6,675 Posted January 31, 2021 Footage of Hanley anytime anyone tried running past him Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hank shoots Skyler 2,094 Posted January 31, 2021 Seen some criticism of Hanley across the board yesterday but I thought he was our stand out defender and easily MOTM. He covered for all 3 of our other defenders at various stages during the game, won several key interceptions and dominated our defensive set pieces. Yes Boro stood off him in possession but I don’t think his runs forward were counter productive for the team. It was up to Emi / Cantwell / Vrancic to demand the ball off him and make something happen. It’s not Hanley’s fault that didn’t work out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Don’t be Krul 398 Posted January 31, 2021 Compared to his performances this season, Skipp looked a bit below par yesterday and it's no coincidence as a consequence the team were below par too. He is an awesome player and as much as the plaudits go to Emi, Todd for their flair and Pukki for his goals, Skipp rarely gets the praise heaped on him but make no mistake, he is one of the most influential players on the pitch Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
