***Official Lapps match thread - City v Bristol City***

[percy varco 254]

Well that was rubbish

[hogesar 10,935]

1 minute ago, shefcanary said:

Yeah, but only if the rest of the team more than compensate for the mistakes he has in him. On current form more important that Nunez gets fit.

He has less mistakes in him than every other midfielder we have and it's backed up with stats. No wonder Thorup made him captain and played him more minutes than anyone else. This team can't cope without.

[Indy 3,492]

What I’m baffled about is why we give Duffy the captains armband! You need someone who can drive and demand, encourage and lead by example not an old duffer who makes mistakes and is out of position most of the time, doesn’t encourage or communicate much! One thing I will say about mr McLean is he does lead by example.

[Virtual reality 862]

Basically our first choice 11 are a team that is more than capable of a play off position. Huge question marks on the rest of the squad though 

[Yonderlyeller 67]

Back home, the cooking sherry's kicking in and the whole house smells of Christmas cake baking. There’s always something to look forward to 🙂

Enjoy the break guys – I’ll be betting on us to win each game until the window, on the grounds that we could well have bottomed out now and with two weeks to recuperate and work on things, with players coming back in, there’s a good chance we’ll win more than we lose.

 If not, well then Merry Christmas everyone 😃   

(Am I first with that?)

[Capt. Pants 5,145]

On 08/11/2024 at 14:49, Capt. Pants said:

 

Even with all the absentees at our very best 3 pts is possible. We can't be as poor again as we were at Sheff Wed. 

Well that aged well.

Fcuking terrible Thorup from minute 1 to minute 90.

[city4eva 261]

10 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

Yeah, but only if the rest of the team more than compensate for the mistakes he has in him. On current form more important that Nunez gets fit.

I assume you are joking. We are a very poor team without McLean, of course he makes mistakes, just less than most

[Ulfotto 828]

Well if the last international break came at a bad time this one has come at a very very good time.

[duke63 755]

11 minutes ago, Virtual reality said:

Basically our first choice 11 are a team that is more than capable of a play off position. Huge question marks on the rest of the squad though 

But the players who would fill those injuries are also injured - Gibbs, Onel, Barnes and it sounds like Slimane is playing with an injury. 
I get the last month has been hugely disappointing but every team in the league would struggle without their captain, Sarge and Gunn. 

[Ian 1,223]

17 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

Yeah, but only if the rest of the team more than compensate for the mistakes he has in him. On current form more important that Nunez gets fit.

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

[City 2nd 193]

24 minutes ago, Ian said:

So what you're saying is that McLean is responsible for us losing the last 3? 😬

 

25 minutes ago, Ian said:

So what you're saying is that McLean is responsible for us losing the last 3? 😬

You have to say that without Gunn, Nunez, McClean and Sergeant Norwich are a very ordinary side. 3 defeats suggest exactly that!

[Indy 3,492]

Just now, City 2nd said:

 

You have to say that without Gunn, Nunez, McClean and Sergeant Norwich are a very ordinary side. 3 defeats suggest exactly that!

I wouldn’t say ordinary but pretty crap! But I would remind you that Oxford comfortably beat a Norwich side with them in! Lack of effort and organised game plan still in question for me!

Add to that a very poor back four I believe bottom 6 for conceded number of goals so far!

[daz 159]

We only needed cordoba and Duffy and long playing today... They just played pass the parcel with the ball all game.. Any chance to go forward naaaa let's go all way back and play hot potato again 🤔🤔😳

[repman 808]

My thoughts are much the same as they were on Tuesday night, there is just nothing to the midfield right now. Slimane and Schwartau are both best suited to being the furthest forward of the 3, Sorensen looks to me like he may have had one injury too many at this point. We basically had to try to hide our deepest midfielder in the buildup phase.

Obviously Kenny and Nunez are our best ball progressors, but this team could even do with Gibbs at this point. Bringing Doyle into the middle felt like an obvious remedy and that helped a little bit. If we had one of McLean/Nunez it would obviously be weaker but I'm not sure it would look as bad as it did today. 

Any issues further forward stem from these issues, I'd quite liked to have seen Marcondes dropping a bit more to see if that would help but I doubt it. Sainz is trying to do it all right now, hard to blame him for that but sometimes you have to pass the baton onto your teammates and trust them.

 

[ridgeman 156]

2 hours ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Fair point that Bristol are also missing half their team yet still outplayed us

Just goes to prove their are young English managers about who can get an average side playing well they outplayed us last season.

[Indy 3,492]

8 minutes ago, ridgeman said:

Just goes to prove their are young English managers about who can get an average side playing well they outplayed us last season.

Yeh indeed, one was at Oxford one currently at Oxford!

[Grumpy 154]

3 hours ago, S_81 said:

Thorup only has one way of playing. And much of this squad isn’t capable of it. That poses huge problems unless we’re gona get lucky with injuries or make some transfer moves in Jan 

I wish someone would explain just what is the JHT way of playing. I thought I had understood the basics of it but after today there was no pattern to the play (pisspotting about at the back cant be his idea surely,I thought he was a go forward at pace kind of coach).
His team selection and positions didnt impress me at all today.

I get the impression that all the press hype about the new dawn about to break at Carrow Road with the forward thinking team in charge is slowly unravelling and its almost a case of the same mistakes are being made pre Knapper.Certainly regarding recruitment.

[Capt. Pants 5,145]

For me today looked like a very Dean Smith performance. Absolutely no desire or ability to play between the lines. 4-3-3 pass it back, pass it sideways, FBs do not in any circumstances cross the halfway line. A massive step back from what we were seeing with Wagner.

[S_81 1,134]

41 minutes ago, Grumpy said:

I wish someone would explain just what is the JHT way of playing. I thought I had understood the basics of it but after today there was no pattern to the play (pisspotting about at the back cant be his idea surely,I thought he was a go forward at pace kind of coach).
His team selection and positions didnt impress me at all today.

I get the impression that all the press hype about the new dawn about to break at Carrow Road with the forward thinking team in charge is slowly unravelling and its almost a case of the same mistakes are being made pre Knapper.Certainly regarding recruitment.

Pisspotting about at the back is exactly what it is. 

[S_81 1,134]

Just watched the post match interview. I respect he’s not defending that. He’s gone as far as to say there was no energy and desire. But we heard similar in Sheffield and here we are again. Questions will firmly be asked now about whether he’s capable of changing things - and that includes his own tactical approach - if injuries leave us with a core of players that can no longer play to plan A. 

[Mason 47 1,994]

41 minutes ago, Grumpy said:

I wish someone would explain just what is the JHT way of playing. I thought I had understood the basics of it but after today there was no pattern to the play (pisspotting about at the back cant be his idea surely,I thought he was a go forward at pace kind of coach).
His team selection and positions didnt impress me at all today.

I get the impression that all the press hype about the new dawn about to break at Carrow Road with the forward thinking team in charge is slowly unravelling and its almost a case of the same mistakes are being made pre Knapper.Certainly regarding recruitment.

There's pisspotting about, and pisspotting with intent. The idea is to draw the opposition on with pisspotting then pass through them at pace (usually from central areas into wide spaces). The ideal blueprint version was visible in spades against Hull.

Today we lacked the bravery and speed of thought to play through the press, the ball often winding a way back to George Long in short order. We looked disjointed and shy, maybe hurting from two long, bruising trips, nobody taking any positive risks and Bristol quite happy to watch Doba and Duffy pass it to each other 50 times.

People can say what they like about Kenny, but a truth about him is he never hides and will try the brave passes. Ditto Nunez who has revelled in this role. Without that sort of player to unlock the press, the whole team gets stuck and we end up like this afternoon, kicking the ball up in the air for Marcondes to scrap for.