So what are your views

[ca 1]

So what did you think about the following,
Performance of the 4 new boys - who impressed you and who didnt
Substitutions - should Bentley have been replaced by a defender
Svensson - how would you rate his performance
Midfield Holt and Francis - did they do it for you
Extra players - how many do we need and what positions do we need to strengthen
Ref - marks out of 10
Who was your man of the match
Next week - would you make any changes to the starting line-up

What do you think?

[Farkes The Herald Angels 0]

Overall, an entertaining game which was only spoilt by Trevor Francis'' overly negative views of our back four. How many time he said they lacked height and ''were caught out''....

Huckerby had a good game. Strong, tricky and direct.

Couldn''t see much of Svensson, except defending.

Bentley looked lively and was prepared to try a few things.

I thought Francis looked solid, but pedestrian - a bit slow at times and ponderous

Didn''t notice Holt too much

Jonsson likewise - maybe too early to have introduced him

Helveg looked OKish, but a little uncertain on occasion

Flem looked OK and Drury had a good game

Charlton looked strong, although caught out a couple of time

Green made an unbelievable stop with his face - great positioning

It''s always difficult watching on TV because you miss so much, but that''s how it came across.

Have to say that McKenzie looked lively and I''d probably be inclined to start him, rather than Svensson.

Also, maybe influenced by the incessant Trevor Francis comments, but I do think we need a commanding centre back. Malky? Maybe.

It was good to see plenty of skill on show - the flick from McKenzie for Huckerby to shoot, plus the save from their keeper late in the seconf half were magnificent. Johnson took his goal very well.

Not too worried by not taking three points.

A good solid start

[blacko 0]

Helveg didn''t have a huge amount to do and I thought he improved as the game went on.
Bentley was quieter than I expected, but thats not a criticism of him as it will happen. I thought his substitution with 20 mins to go was worth the risk and it was sods law that they scored soon afterwards.
Jonson was wacked a couple of times, whether this was what made him have a quiet game or he will just take time to adjust to the pace, only time will tell, but hopefully he will improve.
Charlton was for me the best new boy by some way, particularly in the first half. Although I couldn''t see if he was at fault at all for their goal.
Overall it was a disappointment that we didn''t win as the next few games are very hard, but on balance I thought it was a fair result.
The ref seemed fair to me, although the off side decisions, particularly Darren, just before they scored, looked questionable from my seat behind the goal! But I would say that wouldn''t I!

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

4 new boys-

Thought Charlton was excellent. Really solid and the height issue didn''t seem too bad at all. Helveg looked solid at right back. Didn''t do much wrong. Jonson and Bentley were both pretty quiet. I thought Routledge was superb and kept Bentley in check pretty well. Whether Jonson is still adapting to the pace of our game I''m not sure.

Substitutions-

I was a bit suprised to see Eddy play on the right wing. I thought he and Helveg would have switched over. Most of the second half play seemed to come down the left with McVeigh and Hucks.

Sven-

I thought Sven should have come off earlier than he did. Although he put himself about he didn''t win that much. With Hucks drifting out to the wing it must have been hard for him though. I''m still willing to see him given a go but he''ll have to win a bit more I think.

Holt and Francis-

Looked solid as ever, especially Holty. At times Francis'' final ball was off a bit but I thought they both had good games.

Extra players-

The centre of defence didn''t worry me too much today. Perhaps a bigger guy could come in, but both Chalton and Flem looked v solid. I''d definitely like another target man. Harewood, Scowcroft, Iwan ;-) someone in that mold to hold it up

Ref-

3. Didn''t let the game flow at all. It was very stop start. The lino''s seemed to give a few dodgy offsides too.

Man of the Match-

The Huck. Had to be. He put himself about, ran at defenders and scored a fab goal. Hopefully he''s on his way to answering his critics.

Next week-

I''d probably stick with what we had today. Give the new boys another go.

What did you think angel?

Keep the faith

[XXL16 0]

Performance of the 4 new boys:

Helveg -- Good player but too casual, mind you today''s game is a 6 pointer, not a normal Serie-A game. I didn''t feel any passion from him sorry.

Jonson -- Not look match fit, cannot take the ball on the ground, why he can start in front of McVeigh or Henderson? Did he really show so well in training? I don''t know...

Bentley -- Another good player but again too casual, if you give him space and time he can surely do something for you, but if the game was a bit tight then...

Charlton -- Great import of the season so far but definitely struggle to deal with the long ball

Substitutions - should Bentley have been replaced by a defender:

When I see Edworthy come in and he is not replaced Helveg, you know the old Nigel magic is there -- defend the 1-0 lead -- as we usually, FAILED!

Svensson - how would you rate his performance:

Sorry did he play in this game? I don''t really know that!

We miss Iwan Roberts because he can hold the ball up front for us, although he was slow.

Midfield Holt and Francis - did they do it for you:

Francis a bit nervous in the first half but do a better job in 2nd half, Three Lungs as usual did excellently to cover everywhere in midfield, but I just think he was TOO honest in some situation, not try to dive to draw a foul! He was trip by the Palace defenders in the second half but I was amazed no match report report it!!!

Extra players - how many do we need and what positions do we need to strengthen

CF for sure but we won''t have it!

Who was your man of the match:

1st half Hucks, 2nd half Holt, overall Hucks because he was the history man for us.

Next week - would you make any changes to the starting line-up

Green

Edworthy Fleming Charlton Drury

Holt Francis

McVeigh Bentley

McKenzie Hucks

Sub: Ward, Shackell, Safri, Henderson, Jarvis

EXTRA:

-- Adam Drury''s tackling time was JUST SUPERB and NEAT, but afraid to go forward as usual.

-- Once Three Lungs and once Damien, they stood there and let the Palace player jump to head the ball, the referee award the free kick to them! Why? You jump it first so I let you jump! What''s foul is it?

-- When we attack the corner we won ZERO headers, we miss Malky!

[susie b 0]

My thoughts, for what they are worth...

Green - usual brave self, didn''t really do anything wrong.
Helveg - looked very composed on the ball and made some lovely first-time passes, often
crossfield, to turn defence into attack very quickly.
Flem - Mr. Consistency, no need to say more!
Charlie - did well, showed a good turn of speed and looked as hard as nails
Drury - had a very good game, I thought, rarely troubled.
Francis - quite good overall, perhaps needed to win the ball a little more as there were
periods when we lost our way just a bit in the midfield.
Holty - ok, but sometimes a little bit off the pace.
Jonson - needs to play a few more games until we see the best of him, but there were signs
of pace and a decent understanding with Helweg down the right.
Bentley - some nice touches and beginning to get an understanding going with Hucks.
Svenny - a bit quiet overall, but a few decent lay-offs, especially in the first half, but I think
we needed more from him somehow
Hucks - a menace most of the time, took his goal very well and would have brought the
house down if his second-half screamer of a shot had not been saved.
Subs - McVeigh looked lively and was well involved, Eddy did ok in a less familiar role further
forward on the right and McKenzie didn''t really have much time to make a huge
impression, although he ran his socks off for the time he was on.

Overall result probably a fair reflection of the game. There you are - we have a point and are up and running. Three would have been nice, but we will have confidence to take to O.T. next weekend.

[AJ 1,218]

ok game from out point of view for the first half, Made a hash in the second.

We didnt hold onto the ball, and we need to pass it around like a premire league side!

Green - Reliable as ever, did well to save a few:unlucky about andy johnson. Hopefully will be selected for england tonite. Didnt do much in the first half

Helveg - Brilliant, solid, great passes spraying all over the pitch. Only thing wrong was he got turned twice in the first half.

Felming - SOlid as ever, still worried about the height in defence. Our defending looked shaky from set pieces such as corners and free kicks. Got a bit too mouthy with the ref and 4th official.

Simon Charlton - I was impressed, LEt the strikers know his presence and dispite hi height he won nearly every header. With the premireship experiance he can help us.

Drury - Brilliant game as always, didnt step a foot wrong. Made some great tackles.

Overall: i felt the defence did well and were unlucky to conceed a well worked goal.



Jonson - Had a quiet game but all the same was good on the ball. Looked comftable could hold it up and very skill-full. MANU WATCH OUT!

Francis - Did a big hand in the midfield but not up to the same standed as pre season. I feel we need a midfielder who can hold up the ball and pass it around: Francis can do this on a good day. Could have scored a goal which would have won the match

Holt - MY MAN OF THE MATCH!!!! WAs everywhere and even managed to have a good shot here and there, would have broke the deadlock if it wasnt for a good block! SOlid as always 3-lungs prooved his worth

Bently - Did nothing wrong. I was suprised he was taken of!, he himself was not happy!!!
Looks to have great skill and vision, and excerlant signing by worthy!

Svennson - Dissapointing, A flucky pace set up a good goal. Did nothing special but did some work, we need more from the man...... Have we released roberts too early???????

Huckerby - Good game all around. Got caught ofside a couple of times but put in quite a few good crosses. Skillfull and awkward as always it looks like Huckerby is going to be our key player! (not bently as suspected) Scored a great goal from svenssons flukey pass.... Could have got another in the second half but was denied by a great save from the Eagles keeper.

SUBS:

Mcveigh: Came on and didnt do a lot, got into the game like any other player. Didnt do anything special:: came on for Jonson after nasty tackle

Edworthy: all i can say is why??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
came on for bently played right mid-field?????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
why why why??????????? stupid sub! I was suprised helveg didnt move to right midfield.

Mckenzie: Didnt have enough time to do much, was unlucky witha chance.


OVerall: We done well to get a draw, Palace really outplayed us. Stupid Worthys subs cost us the three points.

[ca 1]

Agree with most of your comments DD
4 new boys - thought Charlton and Halveg looked pretty solid,Bentley ok and more to look forward too,Jonson pretty quiet.
Subs - was surprised when we were 1 up that Bentley was taken off and replaced by a defender,felt to needed to keep attacking for a 2nd goal rather than sit on the 1 goal lead. Svensson ,I felt should have come off at half time , didnt do enough for me in the first half.
Holt and Francis - gave it 100% thought Holt particularly worked hard in midfield
Extra players - would still like to see a target man brought in and a big centre half
Ref 3 out of 10 Ruined the flow of the game with some strange offside decisions.
Man of the match - Hucks - will prove all those doubters wrong.
Next week - I would maybe start Leon instead of Svensson but stick with the others who started today.

Really enjoyed the afternoon ,thought the fans and players put in a lot of effort but obviously wish we had of got 3 points because we needed them with some toughies coming up.Looking forward to next weekend.
P.S. Got my prediction wrong I went for a 2 - 1 win to us.

[Pyro Pete 1,889]

Performance of the 4 new boys:

CHARLTON looked composed, has more pace than Malky, and his distribution is a little better also. But his lack of height is a concern. Though he copes with it well in one-on-ones, we do miss a dominant defender when our penalty area is crowded. HELVEG looked very solid, and covered the centre backs well when called upon. Hopefully Worthy will encourage him to get forward more. BENTLEY was very quiet, and surprisingly I was impressed by his defensive work. Which was highlighted when McVeigh switched to that side and we instantly conceded from that flank. A lot of promise, but needs encouragement to have a go at defences. JONSON was anonymous. Forgivable bearing in mind he arrived only a week ago. As with Bentley it was his defensive contribution that made him look better than anything else we have on that side. Never play Edworthy on the wing again Worthy!

SUBSTITUTIONS: Cost us 2 points, it''s that simple. That''s all I''ll say.

SVENSSON: He was playing was he? He did nothing. NOTHING. McKenzie should have come on the moment we conceded, with Edworthy going straight back to the subs bench.

HOLT AND FRANCIS: They are the best we have. Until Safri is fit there is no competition in central midfield. Holt gave everything today.

EXTRA PLAYERS: A quality striker, a creative central midfield playmaker, and a big centre back. Each would cost big money.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Thank god for Huckerby and Greeno. Both deserved it today.

[Pudd 1]

Overall I thought it was a decent performance by the lads - showed some nice football at times and got a point - we certainly wouldn''t want to go into the run we have coming up with nothing.

Palace played their part and probably deserved something from the game, although I thought we edged it overall.

My only complaint really was the svensson really didn''t look interested. He seemed to happy to follow an opposition player at a safe enough distance to not have to challenge. He arrived late for most of the play, however he did have a big part to play in the goal - but Hucks did have a lot left to do. And he did it very well!

We should really have sown it up earlier in the game - still have to check out the tele replays before I pass a verdict on the linesmans performances.

Helveg I thought played very well. Composed and comfortable. Perhaps not showing Stuart Pearce type passion but he looked a very capable player. Charlton too looked comfortable, but I did wonder how Fleming and Charlton would work against a more physical forward line.

Midfield worked hard, both holt and francis wanted it - Holt''s sprint up the pitch for Greeno to kick to a perfect example. McKenzie looked lively. Jonson show a bit of potential. Bentley looked good although may need a while to adapt to the cut-and-thrust of must win games.

And Greeno - well what can you say?

Trip to Man U - I think I''d risk throwing either Jarvis or McKenzie on up front, in place of Svensson. I can''t see us winning an aerial battle with them, so we should try and do what we do best - play it around and use our pace up front.

John

P.s. check out mrcarrow.co.uk ;)

[knowhatimean 0]

Isn''t it amazing how we all seem to watch a different game! Going thru the team, I thought Green was as usual, superb - Drury, after a very nervous start, did improve and did actually get forward more than usual - Helveg, though composed, did seem a bit out of position somewhat, Flem was Flem, what a player! - Charlton - don''t know yet - he seemed to be struggling at times and a bit of a hoofer, don''t think he is much better than Malky and certainly not as commanding in the air - Midfield, Awol at times with Francis a bit disapointing - Holt, doing what he does best, chasing everything - Svennson - not at his best, winning virtually nothing in the air, should have been replaced by Leon at half time - Bentley - a tentative start with a few neat touches, but didn''t really get stuck in - he was substituted when he had just started to play a bit - Jonson - some neat touches but badly needs games to adjust to the pace, Hucks - well, without his flair and committment, we wouldn''t have got anything out of the game. Edworthy -didn''t understand why he was not put in his posiiton. Neil Adams said Worthy did not want to upset the back four! - Mcveigh - looked quite sharp when he came on.
Worthy said he was satisfied with a point and I suppose since Palace played most of the football, perhaps we should be grateful for the point but I found the whole game a bit of an anti-climax after all the hype leading up to the start of the season. Still, I think the team will have a different attitude when they face Man U & Arsenal.
Match Officials - Dreadful and need help from a man in the stands!!
M O M Wayne Routledge - what a cocky little player - good though!

[Chirping Canary 0]

What I though of the four new boys was:
Jonson: Didnt have an outstanding game and didn’t do anything special, but had flashes of class at times. He looks to me like he will be a very astute signing and with time to settle in could be really important to our season.

Bentley: As for Bentley I was expecting a bit more from him for today’s game and looked very average at times.

Charlton: I thought out of the four that Charlton played the best and seemed like he had been playing in the back four for years. He also wasn’t scared to get stuck in and fight for the cause. It was nice to see that he was working well with Fleming at today’s game as well.

Helveg: When Helveg did have the ball he was very effective with it and played quite a few good passes. He also got down the wings quite well and his defending wasn’t bad.

Bentley probably should not have been replaced by a defender as Edworthy seemed to be playing at right wing which he cleary isn’t.
Svensson did not have a great game by any means, but might get better although even so I would still say we need a new striker at least to give him competition. I thought Francis was very good, has improved a lot in pre season and will be one to look out for this season. As for Holt he was his usual self, but looked very tired throughout most of the game which might be because of the faster pace of the game in extremely hot conditions.
I think it is an absolutely crucial that we bring in another striker whilst another defender might be good, but not that important.
The ref was poorer than the standard of the refereeing that we had in the old first division and that is not good whatsoever as I feel everything in the premiership should be of a higher standard while the referring had remarkably got worse.
My man of the match would have to be Huckerby who was awesome for the whole game and carried the team forward, he fully deserved his man of the match.
At Old Trafford I would leave the team as it is because I don’t think Huckerby and McKenzie can really play together at the moment, but until we get a replacement for Svensson he’s the best with got.

[Steve White 24]

Have to agree with the commments on most of the posts, I really hate it when we make a defensive substitution, we saw it in the Euros and we have seen City do it too often.. Momentum is lost and it hands th initiative to the opposition. No more please! Don´´t want to judge Sven on one game, but it is looking like our weak spot at the moment, McKenzie looked sharp when he came on.. Could also be that we need safri to play as well in a 3 man midfield. Dont be too disappointed, Palace will not go down, Ian Dowie is going to prove that the second half of last season was no fluke, they could easily have won today. I think that Southampton (Crouch on the bench today!!) Blackburn and Man City will go down.

[kevin gorman 0]

what about putting jonsson upfront with super huck looks like he can hold the ball up good in the air and has good pace and looks like he can win a few free kicks aswell. think mulrynes got to play he is the best passing player we have got. helveg looked good will provide good experience to the backline thought we missed malky today he may not be the captain but is a good leader and organiser!!!!

[Dame to Blame 95]

I thought overall the new guys did well charlton was solid helveg looked like he had loads of time a sign of a good player jonsson just is not match fit and bently showed some nice touches .The only thing that worries me is if hucks gets injured how are we going to unlock defences .

[gazzathegreat 0]

CA (apologies, i missed the first 25 mintues as rainbowchaser got caught in traffic - again!!)

bentley, v impressive in friendly, less so yesterday, looked off the pace a bit, helveg, okay - charlton, not sure, he didn''t do much for me yesterday to be honest, flems seemed to be doing most of the work

substitution - bentley was replaced i guess as he is not match fit, by a defender, no, but is that just my opinion in hindsight as they equalised soon after, i will give nige the benefit of the doubt on this occasion, we played attacking stuff all match, though not always through the right channels

we need a strong midfielder, francis and holt were both over powered at times and this is crystal palace - not man u

the ref was appalling - sorry but he was - free kicks for the sake of it, but for him it would have been a 10/10 game!

man of the match - hucks, no question, the best player on the pitch, considering he is still carrying an injury

changes - bloody hell, i don''t know if safri would improve things, not sure about charlton - we need to put mckenzie in earlier, he should have played from the start yesterday - greeno looked strong, so did drury, thank god!! crystal palace were improved considerably from their last trip to FCR - and we cannot expect any easy games, having said that it was a great match to watch and no real complaints, we will be okay once we have warmed up a bit!

[0Amarillo<P><FONT color=#cccc00 size=4><EM> º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Amarillo ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°<EM><FONT><P>ddMMyyyy0Falseen-US<P><FONT color=#cccc00 size=4><EM> º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Amarillo ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°<EM><FONT><P>True 0]

Pyro - it is a game of opinions, but to say Svensson did NOTHING... he did put the ball through that Hux scored from, and he was quite close with a header at the start of the second half. But he didnt hold the ball up very well, I''ll agree with that.

[ZLF 271]

For whats its worth my views were

New boys
Helveg - good defensively, read the game well, definitely strengthens the team, but lacks pace and not the attacking outlet provided by Eddie. A good buy for the club.
Charlton - very good debut showing that a lack of height should not be an issue - again showed class through his reading of the game and anticipation.
Bentley & Jonson - quiet;a bit starved of the ball so didnt really get a chance to assess what they can do - some encouraging glimpses but need to see more from them. McVeigh offered more than either of them when he came on...

Tactics
Attacking options too limited centered around getting the ball to Hux. He is our best option but with the talents of Bentley & Jonson we should look to add some variety to keep our opponents guessing. However B&J both failed to get enough possession where it mattered.
Once again the midfield defended too deep encouraging an equaliser - backed up by introducing Eddie too soon - 10 mins to go is the time to defend the lead - before that attack is the best for of defence.

Overall
We should have wrapped the game up after an excellent first half where we dominated the game but failed to create enough goal scoring chances. We have talent in the team and have to be confident to use the attacking options available to us. Sven was not as bad as painted on this site (one assist and several other good passes) but did not carry enough of a threat at this level.

Improvement required but bring on Manure!

OTBC

[ca 1]

Seems we all pretty much saw the same game then and share the same views. Perhaps a couple of more players to come in to give us further options up front and maybe at the back and we should be as equipped as funds will allow for the battle ahead.

P.S. Gazza, Rainbowchaser stuck in traffic and being late, dont sound like him, did he miss the home made pizza?

[gazzathegreat 0]

CA

we don''t do pizza at the moment, he is watching his weight, due to an self enforced fag ban!!!

plus my oven is bust lol

nothing will ever get that man to a game on time lol

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Is it just me then who thought that we were distinctly poor for long periods and that if we play like that against most of the other teasm in the division we will get destroyed?

Bentley and Jonson did nothing and it was only when Mcveigh came on that we started to play a bit. Hopefully they will improve as the weeks go by but they will have to.

Defensively Flem and Charlton did pretty well but as a pairing they are too small and I was worried every time Palace had a set peice.

Svennson was poor and simply showed that we really need to get a quality target man in.

We did look dangerous when we went forward but generally I thought we squandered possesion far too easily, didn''t pass very well at all and generally didn''t look any better than last season. Have to say my confidence took a bit of a battering watching that display.

Having said that several players underperformed and if Worthy can get them going then we can play a lot better. Not expecting much from the next 3 games though!