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DumbleDelia is Magic

City Vs Mallorca

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Ward- Solid, didn''t have much to do but he coped well with what he had. Fantastic save in first half. Couldn''t really be at fault for the goal

Helveg- Again solid without being outstanding! I didn''t notice him too much so he must have had a good game! Distribution was good and didn''t shirk a tackle

Flem and Charlton- Looked good as a partnership but the height issue does worry me. We''ll have to get Francis back whenever there is a set piece as (apart from Sevn) he''ll probably be the tallest on the pitch!

Francis and Holty- Really bloody good. Two rocks in the centre! Mulryne and Safri are going to have a tough time getting a start

McVeigh- Started on the right and did well. Didn''t take players on but passing was good and had a few chances on goal. Might feature more than I thought.

Bentley- QUALITY! We have a gem here. Everything about him looked great. Pace, skill, passing, vision. I would be shocked if he didn''t start next week.

Hucks- Came on 10 mins after half time and changed the game! He looked back to his best. Taking players on, pacey. Didn''t see any sign of his injury. I''d like to see him start next week.

Jarvis- Started with Sven and although put himself about and made good runs just looked too lightweight and inexperienced at this level. I''d like to see him go out on loan.

The second half was pretty bitty. We brought on a lot of subs which meant the game was a bit stop start. Players like McKenzie, Brennan, Hendo, Edworthy and Lewis came on didn''t do much wrong. Malky came on too and looked pretty damn solid at the back. I wouldn''t be too surprised if he gets more of a look in next year than we think.

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Sorry am I missing something

Is malky not going to be first choice next season unless we get another centre half?


I have not seen charlton in action has he got much pace? i read in the paper that he marked henry out of one of boltons games

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Charlton looks a real bargin. Good in the tackle, good positioning and always alert. Also he is constantly shouting and organising. He will be in the starting 11, no problem

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great to hear that we are shaping up well. However I do wish we could find that striker. The more I think about it the more the season seems to hingew on it. We now have a magnificent squad for the size of club....but we need an out and out goal scorer to survive. That way the pressure is off Hcks etc who can setlle down to their usual game

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Charlton is far better than Malky and I think that it will be Flemming and Charlton to start the season next week.

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Have to agree with all those points DDiM, I thought small Mcveigh was excellent and Bentley just oozes class, I was in the south stand and early in the second half he took a man on with about 10 stepovers, dipped his shoulder, dropped a gear and just cruised past him, you should have seen the grin on my face, I really think this boy is going to make us all smile a lot this season!

Helveg really showed some lovely touches and was very very composed on the ball and made a superb run down the wing in the second half then supplied a beauty of a cross.

Given the fact that this was just a friendly, it was a bloody hot day and we were missing Saffri, Mulryne, Green and Zema(?) I thought we looked pretty good, a fully fit Hux would help and I thought Svennson looked a bit lost but overall the signs were good.

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I thought Francis looked outstanding, he will be a very important player for us next season!

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I think Malky and Charlton would be our best CB pairing at the moment. Charlton for organisation, experience, pace and distribution. Malky because he is bloody good in the air, probably as good as any centre back in the Premier, and he was as always a real threat at corners and set pieces.

I can''t see Worthy dropping Flem though.

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Sorry mate, you must have been at a different game!

He was at fault and late in the challenge far too often. And he can''t win the ball in the air. We looked much better in the 2nd half with Malky commanding the defence. OK, he may be slow, but what he lacks in pace he makes up for in the air and the way he commands the defence. Helveg or Edworthy looked equally good at RB, but it''s got to be Malky and Flem in the centre until a new centre back is announced.

Bentley was top draw, looked like he could run all day, and is equally adept with either foot! (superb ball to Svensson with his left peg, only for Svensson to be caught marginally offside).

Judging by tonights performances I''d have to go with the following line-up:

Green

Edworthy/Helveg (either is good enough) - MacKay - Fleming - Drury

Jonson (McVeigh looked good though!) - Holt - Francis - Bentley

Svensson (needs a kick up the ass to be honest) - Huckerby

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Bearing in mind that Mallorca beat Real Madrid last season, I thought that we looked fine, especially in the first half. Ward looked very good in goal. Helveg was very solid; Charlton was OK. Bentley was pure class; if he''s not a full international within a couple of years, Sven really does have his brains located due south! And when Hucks came on, he livened things up no end. We could still do with a tall and fast centre half; we definitely need a big, pacey target man, as we struggled to keep hold of the ball at times in forward areas. Thankfully, Worthy is on the lookout for the right players to fill those two positons; when he does, I think that we''ll do a lot better than some experts predict.

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Agree with most of the points here. Bentley & Helveg looked excellent, Ward was solid. Thought Francis deserved man of the match , looking very sharp. Generally a fairly positive game for us I thought. On the Charlton v Malkay debate , have to say I''m in the Charlton camp - do like the physical presence Malkay gives us but not nearly as composed on the ball as Charlton. When Henry,Drogba,Cisse and co are running at goal I''d have more faith in Charlton personally.

Biggest negative was up front. Svennson just didn''t look the part today, we badly need a big front man to complete the jigsaw - let''s keep our fingers crossed and hope we here those magic words early next week "press conference scheduled for later today".

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I have to say that neither Sven or Leon had their best games yesterday. Ok, it''s only a friendly so we don''t need to panic. However, I agree with Steve that if we are going to survive in the Prem we can''t just rely on Hucks and Bentley. I''m really hoping Sven does well because I think it''ll be him who gets picked alongside the other striker (be it Hucks, Bentley or McKenzie) His hold up play, laying off and skill at beating the defdender will be crucial next year and I just hope he''s up to it

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I agree with much that has been said regarding yesterdays game, I would just like to add one or two thoughts, I''m sure that they may be taken as negative by some but are intended to be constructive.

Firstly, I feel that some posters are watching through g/y tinted glasses
much of the comments on individual players are accurate and I''m confident that on the showing of huck/bentley during their brief time together on the pitch they will frighten the life out of even very good defenders but, there were weaknesses that were very plain for all to see.

1. central midfield players collecting the ball 5mtr outside their own penalty box then knocking 30-40 mtr passes to sven, (who''s first touch still needs to improve) resulting in possession being given straight back to the opposition with acres of space in front of them.
possession is so important in the prem''. we need to retain it for as long as poss''.

2. lack of an ariel ball winner in both attack and defence until MMc came on, made his presence felt at set pcs (not saying he should start though)

3. we are much to honest, In prem'' as soon as an opponent puts his hand on or brushes against a player they go on the floor, we stay up far to long (except huck!) many games are won as a result of 1 set pc, we will need our share

4. When conseeding a set pc someone has to stand over the ball and give time for team to regroup, a prime example yesterday real mallorca always got a body in front of the ball soon as free kick was given & walls always started not more than 4mtr away from the ball gradually retreating to at best 7mtr, slowing things down and making it difficult to get good delivery, how did they score?

I really believe we will stay up & perhaps the two signing NW is hopeing to make will make all the difference

Real Mallorca looked a class above yesterday with there pass and movement
when considering the 3hr wait on a bus, arriving 11/2hrs late

Pitch looked fantastic

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FOG, agree with most of your comments, especially parra, 1. I am mystified by our lack of guile in our forward runs resulting in too many off sides, is this because we are delivering the ball too late from midfield or are we asleep.
I would back up Worthy''s liking for Scowcroft and would go to £1000000 for him, he has the necessary hunger to chase and win any loose ariel balls in the penalty area. He would make the area just behind the front men his for keeps, I''m sorry that it would mean goodbye to Mc Veigh or Mulryne. OTBC!!!

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I''ve posted my thoughts about the game on another thread, but I forgot to mention the press pits! Ian Henderson nearly came to grief in one just before the end of the match and they seemed, to me, to be potentially lethal to the players with only those Toblerone-shaped pieces of edging at the front of them. Unless they take a serious look at protecting the players a bit more I can see some unnecessary injuries being caused by them. Did anyone else think the same as me, and are there any ideas as to what can be done to make them safer?

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Susie B, I am in total ent with you. I can''t for the life of me understand why the pits were dug very close to the pitch r,ather than back a couple of metres against the N & P stand perimeter "wall". A player WILL fall into them this season, guaranteed, and I wonder where the Club will stand if this results in a nasty head or back injury.

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I agree suse! It even came up at the forum today that Hendo nearly fell in! How many ball boys are we going to lose next year!? Doncaster said that they were positioned correctly and not too near the pitch. I beg to differ though. If Drury, Flem or anyone else were running full pelt with a player and went off the pitch they would either 1) fall down a bloody great hole or 2) fall on top of a cameraman and break a bloody great camera!!

Keep the faith

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Yes have to say I agree regarding the photographers pits. Players running flat out often end up struggling to stop before the stands behind the goal, these pits are much closer to the pitch and a player would have little or no chance of avoiding them is he was running flat out. Its an accident waiting to happen.

On the pitch I don''t think the game told us anything we didn''t already know. We are in pretty good shape and Bentley and Helveg look class but we could do with a taller centreback and a target man as the final peices in the jigsaw. Here''s hoping Worthy can work his magic and get the right men in!

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The pits do appear to be in the wrong position; however players are more likely to be running full pelt to the corners or goal, and not towards the pits. One of the stewards told me that there is about 3 inches of water in the bottom as they forgot to put drains in.

It was not too bad a game, we are just about there. We stepped it up a gear in the second half and caused Mallorca many problems, we certainly looked better when Hucks arrived. All those subs certainly interrupt the flow of the game why were they not all done at the same time? The last 15 mins we were getting into it again. Mallorca were a decent passing side and had a fantastic move starting from the keeper involving about 6 players and loads of passes, ending on our 18 yard box with a great Drury tackle. More of that quality to come, exciting times ahead!

Did anyone hear the cheeseboard shout?

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