Belated thoughts on last night

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Well what a demoralising wake up call that was for all concerned. If last season has taught us anything then its not to get too carried away on the back of the result of the first game but just as that 1-7 defeat sounded alarm bells in the boardroom last season then last nights performance should have set some ringing in the dugout.

Firstly the positives. I did think we played some nice stuff at times going forward once Fox woke up at half time and Crofts got himself in the game. We have a skillful midfield and will play some nice stuff this season. I think that going forward we have enough about us to score goals against teams at this level, particularly once Holty gets properly fit.

The worries for me all revolve around our ability to keep teams out and unless Lambert takes some decisive action quickly I can see us having real problems at the back all season. I think Whitbread has always been in his plans but the reality is that we can''t bank on him getting fit enough to play a sustained run of games. Ward was poor last night but he is a defender who has shown he can play at this level and we have to hope that once he gets properly fit he will show that.

For me though the players who have to be replaced as a matter of urgency are Russell Martin and Michael Nelson. I know this has been said below and i will no doubt be accused of scapegoating but that has been my view since the start of the summer (and of a number of others on here) and last night did nothing but confirm that view for me. in lambert we trust has been the motto of the last 12 months but the fact we go into the championship season with Martin as our only senior right back and Nelson in the starting line up (and also the captain) is depressing and starts to raise one or two question marks over lambo. This is where he will really earn his money and I think he will get it right but if he does not act to resolve this situation i will start to worry. These are both players who did ok but I did not really rate at League 1 level. They are players who would not get into any other championsip team''s starting line up. Neither have done anything significantly wrong ands both seem to be decent lads and have a decent attitude but they are just not good enough for the level we need to be able to perform at this season. Just a quick glance at the goals from last night shows Nelson being outpaced embarrassingly easily for goal 2 and (I think) miskicking badly which led to goal 3 (both of which came through the CB/RB channel.) He is a reasonable league 1 stopper but even at that level was not great and you always felt struggled against any kind of pace and movement. All teams at this level will have strikers who will make him look stupid. Martin was also out of position and failing to cover both of those goals as well. The decision to offload Spillane (who I thought was a better player and offered more going forward) and not bring in another right back looks stranger by the day. Lambert is not stupid therefore i am puzzled as to how he has allowed this situation to develop. He has however shown himself to be quick to identify problems in the past and so i hope we will now see him move to bring in someone on loan to shore up the defence asap.

I also have doubts about Ruddy but seeing the goals on the tv he was perhaps not as much at fault for the third goal as i thought on the night so will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Final wake up call is for the club with the attendance. £31 a ticket may make sense financially but the fact is it saw what (i think) was a smaller crowd than we got for any game in League 1 last season. Must tell the club something!

All in all it was demoralising but its not the end of the world and it all now depends how we react to this defeat. If the right people heed the right warning signs then, as happened last season, this poor first day defeat could again turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Ignore the obvious problems and it could be a long, hard season.

 

 

[grantroederdisaster 0]

Nelson probably not good enough for the Championship and Martin OK only just!

[Willmeister 35]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Well what a demoralising wake up call that was for all concerned. If last season has taught us anything then its not to get too carried away on the back of the result of the first game but just as that 1-7 defeat sounded alarm bells in the boardroom last season then last nights performance should have set some ringing in the dugout.

Firstly the positives. I did think we played some nice stuff at times going forward once Fox woke up at half time and Crofts got himself in the game. We have a skillful midfield and will play some nice stuff this season. I think that going forward we have enough about us to score goals against teams at this level, particularly once Holty gets properly fit.

The worries for me all revolve around our ability to keep teams out and unless Lambert takes some decisive action quickly I can see us having real problems at the back all season. I think Whitbread has always been in his plans but the reality is that we can''t bank on him getting fit enough to play a sustained run of games. Ward was poor last night but he is a defender who has shown he can play at this level and we have to hope that once he gets properly fit he will show that.

For me though the players who have to be replaced as a matter of urgency are Russell Martin and Michael Nelson. I know this has been said below and i will no doubt be accused of scapegoating but that has been my view since the start of the summer (and of a number of others on here) and last night did nothing but confirm that view for me. in lambert we trust has been the motto of the last 12 months but the fact we go into the championship season with Martin as our only senior right back and Nelson in the starting line up (and also the captain) is depressing and starts to raise one or two question marks over lambo. This is where he will really earn his money and I think he will get it right but if he does not act to resolve this situation i will start to worry. These are both players who did ok but I did not really rate at League 1 level. They are players who would not get into any other championsip team''s starting line up. Neither have done anything significantly wrong ands both seem to be decent lads and have a decent attitude but they are just not good enough for the level we need to be able to perform at this season. Just a quick glance at the goals from last night shows Nelson being outpaced embarrassingly easily for goal 2 and (I think) miskicking badly which led to goal 3 (both of which came through the CB/RB channel.) He is a reasonable league 1 stopper but even at that level was not great and you always felt struggled against any kind of pace and movement. All teams at this level will have strikers who will make him look stupid. Martin was also out of position and failing to cover both of those goals as well. The decision to offload Spillane (who I thought was a better player and offered more going forward) and not bring in another right back looks stranger by the day. Lambert is not stupid therefore i am puzzled as to how he has allowed this situation to develop. He has however shown himself to be quick to identify problems in the past and so i hope we will now see him move to bring in someone on loan to shore up the defence asap.

I also have doubts about Ruddy but seeing the goals on the tv he was perhaps not as much at fault for the third goal as i thought on the night so will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Final wake up call is for the club with the attendance. £31 a ticket may make sense financially but the fact is it saw what (i think) was a smaller crowd than we got for any game in League 1 last season. Must tell the club something!

All in all it was demoralising but its not the end of the world and it all now depends how we react to this defeat. If the right people heed the right warning signs then, as happened last season, this poor first day defeat could again turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Ignore the obvious problems and it could be a long, hard season.

 

 

[/quote]Agree with everything you say, and its looking like Whitbread may be the key to our season.

[G 0]

Agree with you totally. R Martin never really impressed me last season so this season i was hoping for a new RB and there still is time. Nelson last night with the second goal is far far to slow it was a nice give and go by Watford but he lost Nelson in seconds and he was just a spectator. R Martin didn''t do much wrong last season but there is a reason why he didn''t make it in the Championship with Peterborough.

[Fiery Zac 1,066]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Well what a demoralising wake up call that was for all concerned. If last season has taught us anything then its not to get too carried away on the back of the result of the first game but just as that 1-7 defeat sounded alarm bells in the boardroom last season then last nights performance should have set some ringing in the dugout.

Firstly the positives. I did think we played some nice stuff at times going forward once Fox woke up at half time and Crofts got himself in the game. We have a skillful midfield and will play some nice stuff this season. I think that going forward we have enough about us to score goals against teams at this level, particularly once Holty gets properly fit.

The worries for me all revolve around our ability to keep teams out and unless Lambert takes some decisive action quickly I can see us having real problems at the back all season. I think Whitbread has always been in his plans but the reality is that we can''t bank on him getting fit enough to play a sustained run of games. Ward was poor last night but he is a defender who has shown he can play at this level and we have to hope that once he gets properly fit he will show that.

For me though the players who have to be replaced as a matter of urgency are Russell Martin and Michael Nelson. I know this has been said below and i will no doubt be accused of scapegoating but that has been my view since the start of the summer (and of a number of others on here) and last night did nothing but confirm that view for me. in lambert we trust has been the motto of the last 12 months but the fact we go into the championship season with Martin as our only senior right back and Nelson in the starting line up (and also the captain) is depressing and starts to raise one or two question marks over lambo. This is where he will really earn his money and I think he will get it right but if he does not act to resolve this situation i will start to worry. These are both players who did ok but I did not really rate at League 1 level. They are players who would not get into any other championsip team''s starting line up. Neither have done anything significantly wrong ands both seem to be decent lads and have a decent attitude but they are just not good enough for the level we need to be able to perform at this season. Just a quick glance at the goals from last night shows Nelson being outpaced embarrassingly easily for goal 2 and (I think) miskicking badly which led to goal 3 (both of which came through the CB/RB channel.) He is a reasonable league 1 stopper but even at that level was not great and you always felt struggled against any kind of pace and movement. All teams at this level will have strikers who will make him look stupid. Martin was also out of position and failing to cover both of those goals as well. The decision to offload Spillane (who I thought was a better player and offered more going forward) and not bring in another right back looks stranger by the day. Lambert is not stupid therefore i am puzzled as to how he has allowed this situation to develop. He has however shown himself to be quick to identify problems in the past and so i hope we will now see him move to bring in someone on loan to shore up the defence asap.

I also have doubts about Ruddy but seeing the goals on the tv he was perhaps not as much at fault for the third goal as i thought on the night so will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Final wake up call is for the club with the attendance. £31 a ticket may make sense financially but the fact is it saw what (i think) was a smaller crowd than we got for any game in League 1 last season. Must tell the club something!

All in all it was demoralising but its not the end of the world and it all now depends how we react to this defeat. If the right people heed the right warning signs then, as happened last season, this poor first day defeat could again turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Ignore the obvious problems and it could be a long, hard season.

 

 

[/quote]Based on what? 2 games compared to R.Martins 26? Once again Spillanes great goal and 2 decent performaces make him better than a mostly dependable, solid Martin who DID get forward well (including last night) and often covered for CB mistakes (also including last night)

[PurpleCanary 5,553]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Well what a demoralising wake up call that was for all concerned. If last season has taught us anything then its not to get too carried away on the back of the result of the first game but just as that 1-7 defeat sounded alarm bells in the boardroom last season then last nights performance should have set some ringing in the dugout.

Firstly the positives. I did think we played some nice stuff at times going forward once Fox woke up at half time and Crofts got himself in the game. We have a skillful midfield and will play some nice stuff this season. I think that going forward we have enough about us to score goals against teams at this level, particularly once Holty gets properly fit.

The worries for me all revolve around our ability to keep teams out and unless Lambert takes some decisive action quickly I can see us having real problems at the back all season. I think Whitbread has always been in his plans but the reality is that we can''t bank on him getting fit enough to play a sustained run of games. Ward was poor last night but he is a defender who has shown he can play at this level and we have to hope that once he gets properly fit he will show that.

For me though the players who have to be replaced as a matter of urgency are Russell Martin and Michael Nelson. I know this has been said below and i will no doubt be accused of scapegoating but that has been my view since the start of the summer (and of a number of others on here) and last night did nothing but confirm that view for me. in lambert we trust has been the motto of the last 12 months but the fact we go into the championship season with Martin as our only senior right back and Nelson in the starting line up (and also the captain) is depressing and starts to raise one or two question marks over lambo. This is where he will really earn his money and I think he will get it right but if he does not act to resolve this situation i will start to worry. These are both players who did ok but I did not really rate at League 1 level. They are players who would not get into any other championsip team''s starting line up. Neither have done anything significantly wrong ands both seem to be decent lads and have a decent attitude but they are just not good enough for the level we need to be able to perform at this season. Just a quick glance at the goals from last night shows Nelson being outpaced embarrassingly easily for goal 2 and (I think) miskicking badly which led to goal 3 (both of which came through the CB/RB channel.) He is a reasonable league 1 stopper but even at that level was not great and you always felt struggled against any kind of pace and movement. All teams at this level will have strikers who will make him look stupid. Martin was also out of position and failing to cover both of those goals as well. The decision to offload Spillane (who I thought was a better player and offered more going forward) and not bring in another right back looks stranger by the day. Lambert is not stupid therefore i am puzzled as to how he has allowed this situation to develop. He has however shown himself to be quick to identify problems in the past and so i hope we will now see him move to bring in someone on loan to shore up the defence asap.

I also have doubts about Ruddy but seeing the goals on the tv he was perhaps not as much at fault for the third goal as i thought on the night so will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Final wake up call is for the club with the attendance. £31 a ticket may make sense financially but the fact is it saw what (i think) was a smaller crowd than we got for any game in League 1 last season. Must tell the club something!

All in all it was demoralising but its not the end of the world and it all now depends how we react to this defeat. If the right people heed the right warning signs then, as happened last season, this poor first day defeat could again turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Ignore the obvious problems and it could be a long, hard season.

 

 

[/quote]---I find Jim''s football-orientated posts (along wth those of a few others)

required reading for self-exiles. Two points - one on-field, one off-field.

Any defence (even if he''s right about the deficiences of particular

players, which I think he is) will come under pressure (and so make

mistakes) if the midfield battle has been lost.

Last season, when we played the diamond, we had one luxury player

(Hoolahan) and three workhorses in Smith, Russell and Lappin. Workhorse

may be flatterng Lappin a bit, but he was certainly no luxury player.

Now in crude terms we are going with one workhorse (Crofts) and three luxury players. That is a high-risk strategy that presumably didn''t work last night. And will be exposed again if not altered.

As for off -field stuff, such as the £31 price Jim mentions. The new

guard (Bowkett and McNally) enjoyed an extended honeymoon period last

year despite not everything being well-handled, in great part because of

the on-field success. But if, as it appears, they are bringing in a

more financially rigorous regime, with fans being squeezed, then they

are going to face much more critical scrutiny as economic reality

(unemployment etc) bites. Especially if on-field success dries up.

It is a strategy which will be very easy to get wrong and very hard right to get right.

[Mr Brownstone 0]

Having Sky+''d the game and just watched it again I''m finding it difficult to disagree with what you have said Jim, Martin in particular was very wasteful when in possession. Lambert could do worse than play Korey at RB against Gillingham in my opinion. Wouldn''t bet against Askou starting either.

[Mike 0]

As Purplecanary said, I think it''s harsh to put all the blame on the defence as they had no cover from our midfield. The main problem for me was Fox at the base, I''d much rather have Korey or Rusty (too late) as he just doesn''t break up play or win the ball enough. I''d even rather have Crofty doing that role as he was one plus point from a depressing evening.

£31 for a championship game is daft. End of...

 

[PurpleCanary 5,553]

[quote user="Mike Grant"]

As Purplecanary said, I think it''s harsh to put all the blame on the defence as they had no cover from our midfield. The main problem for me was Fox at the base, I''d much rather have Korey or Rusty (too late) as he just doesn''t break up play or win the ball enough. I''d even rather have Crofty doing that role as he was one plus point from a depressing evening.

£31 for a championship game is daft. End of...

 

[/quote]Mike, I should have mentioned also that we probably missed Holt''s ability to hold the ball up, and keep possession. I know it is possible to prove virtually anything with statistics, but last season we lost only six of the 39 games in which Holt played. Ie, one in six and a half. Of the seven he missed we lost three - close to half of them.

[Pabs 0]

Can I just say an excellent original post. Reasoned and well thought out. Not slagging the players off, but just looking at their deficiencies in a straight-forward way.

I actually believe we have the resolution to these problems at the club already. I feel that George Francomb will go on to be an excellent defender and maybe should be given a few games to prove how good he is. I can''t really see this happening though, maybe Lambert will bring in someone good on loan once the season gets underway?

At centre-back I have always been a fan of Askou. He may not be good on the ball (Like Nelson) but he is strong, great in the air and more athletic and fast than people give him credit for.

For the record, I don''t mind keeping Nels and Martin as part of the squad, but I agree it is worrying they seem like 1st choice. Also, surely Crofts would be a good choice for vice-captain?