Credit to Hughton, but still not convinced

[MancCanary 0]

I''ve been calling for Hughton to leave for the past few weeks, but I think it''s important to acknowledge the things he did right today, like..

Dropping Johnson & Turner. We went for a more positive midfield with no "ball-winner" but Fer & Howson who like to get forward. So we kept the ball a bit better and weren''t having to win it back so much. Also Bennett & Bassong looked better than Turner.

Playing Wes. I didn''t think Wes out wide was going to work - but it became obvious he wasn''t playing as a winger but was given a bit of a free role to roam. He did fade in 2nd half and lost ball a couple of times. Lacking match fitness I think. We also looked better once Redmond had switched to the right wing though.

Playing Becchio. I didn''t think he would, as it could be perceived as a sign of weakness. People might also say now it was a decision to appease fans and gain time. But I thought it was good of him to give Becchio the chance, & he did well - neat touches, good hold up play.

BUT..

We were still a bit clueless when attacking, and still too slow and laboured, particularly if Redmond was not involved in the play. Could be due to lack of confidence. I also thought there is still a lack of leadership on the pitch. All of these faults are quite serious, and this win against palace wasn''t comfortable. It certainly doesn''t make you think we will get anything from Anfield. I can''t see our away performances improving, so every home game is going to be like this for us, and Hughton''s job could be on the line before every one of them.

I hope Hughton learn''s a few things from today -

1. Elmander isn''t very good, and Becchio could probably do his role better

2. Redmond is better when on the right!

3. Hoolahan isn''t finished yet.

4. We don''t need to play Johnson to win the ball back. Without him we give it away less!

[MancCanary 0]

Bloody website! It let me use
codes in the preview then didn''t when it actually posted.

[Clint 221]

Whatever did he say to them at half time?

I thought we looked good first half, played some decent football, kept possession well and created some decent passes.

From the moment the second half kicked off, we were a different team. Sat back and just kept hoofing up field, bypassing the midfield.

We seem unable to put on a decent performance for a whole match, why is this?

[MancCanary 0]

Agreed. We''ve not had 2 good halves in a match all season. Could be a confidence issue, but still. At least it was a good first half this time, I was starting to think we''d never have a good first half ever again.

Interesting that that was only our 2nd first half goal of the season!

[grefstad 0]

You may start to wonder what Hughton thinks will breed confidence into this team.

Winning scrappy 1-0´s vs the leagues poorer teams? Getting a slightly lucky 3-1 win vs another poor team (West Ham), being outplayed for 45 mins?

Admittedly it is 6 crucial points against teams around us, but certainly little about our play has made us feel more confident we can get anything against better opposition.

I for one would like to see some more positive substitutions in todays game, even though admittedly Palace were well on top in the second half, but it has something to do with signaling intent, and giving players belief. Not just huff and puff, hoping to cross the line with a narrow win.

Players like Fer and Howson dropped far too deep in the second half, and you may argue they were played deep by Palace, but nevertheless, we almost invited pressure on ourselves. You can accept teams having good 10-15 min spells, where we will be under pressure, but not for 45 mins which was largely the case in the second half.

A game of two halves like this must be down to some tactical decisions at half time, otherwise it is a mystery.