Funny thing about today

[BillyStubbsTears]

We didn't actually play that badly.

Cardiff are streets ahead of most of this division. Their press was relentless. They were superb at holding up the ball and releasing it with little touches to an array of players breaking the line.

It was by some way the best league performance I've seen against us in years. And yet, we made the best chances of the first half.

Sometimes you need to be a big boy and just accept that we were given a football lesson in the second half. There's no shame in that. The shame is for a club who last year probably exceeded our salary budget by 1000%. The fact they ever ended up at this level in the first place with that backing is an embarrassment.

We'll be reyt. I'm not sure that football will though, while ever that sort of pissing away of money is normalised.

[selby]

Billy, on talk sport this evening they reported West Ham will have to sell players because of a reported loss of over £400 million last season.
  They were given a stadium on peppercorn rent which saved them just a few years ago in 2013. and the average cost of  a ticket for a premiership game is now £74.
 
   

[Chris Black come back]

They were clearly a very good side. Difference being they were good for 90 minutes. We were good for parts of 45 minutes.

Our poor finishing with the few good chances we had, mind blowing naivety for two of their goals, and chasing shadows for 60 plus minutes was the difference.

Still, that was a better performance than some of our other hammerings this season, not least Orient and Wycombe.

[GazLaz]

Billy, on talk sport this evening they reported West Ham will have to sell players because of a reported loss of over £400 million last season.
  They were given a stadium on peppercorn rent which saved them just a few years ago in 2013. and the average cost of  a ticket for a premiership game is now £74.
 
   

Is it not a £104m loss, I think it is.

Anyway, we were ok first half Billy, I agree. Two good chances and only undone by a real bit of quality and Bailey not fully tracking a runner.

Different story second half.

[GazLaz]

Grant played a back 3 at their place and I’m surprised he didn’t do it again yesterday. If it was the optimal strategy that day, why wasn’t it yesterday?

[sf9944]

His post match interview confirms he knows he got things wrong yesterday. Structure and personnel wrong from the off as far as Im concerned. The team on the pitch at the end was closer to what we should have gone with.

I think Grant is a great manager for us and I think the world of him but if he has a weakness I think its the way he sometimes deploys his resources.

[Padge_DRFC]

Thought too much about last Saturday's second half probably

[Chris Black come back]

His excuse was that he couldn’t carry his managerial team with him on the decision. Seems an odd way of proceeding. Listen to them, but you take the decision. 

Also, we had yesterday same as usual of putting in to starting line up players who came in and did well in previous game. Looks a bit reactive really. What mattered was putting out the best side to nullify / beat the opposition, not who did well against a totally different side.

[GazLaz]

His excuse was that he couldn’t carry his managerial team with him on the decision. Seems an odd way of proceeding. Listen to them, but you take the decision. 

Also, we had yesterday same as usual of putting in to starting line up players who came in and did well in previous game. Looks a bit reactive really. What mattered was putting out the best side to nullify / beat the opposition, not who did well against a totally different side.

About the last paragraph, I very nearly posted on that before the match, “basic” thought process was the thought at the time. Decided against it because I’m trying to be less negative! Did feel like a huge trap to fall into though. 

[Rupee92ONLY]

Not really sure I agree with that little bit of after-timing there.

Gibson has been pathetic for a while as has Sharp, do you think that combo would’ve miraculously offered any different to that norm yesterday?

If we were going to get anything yesterday we had to be dangerous when we had the ball out wide, crosses in and fill the box.

Middleton offers us a greater delivery, Hanlan is clearly more of a presence up top and Clifton is good in and around the edge of our box to get on the end of any loose balls. Scored a few. Also offers more physicality than Lee or Close which you could argue would be needed when we’re spending 60 minutes chasing a ball.

Obviously Middleton (just like Molyneux) threw in a stinker and Clifton ended up missing that chance inside the box that he would usually score. I’m sick of the sight of Jordan Gibson, he is horrific this season.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

The amount of ball watching we do shouldn't surprise us when we see opposition players in space. It's a feature I've noticed more and more since our 4  0 whooping to the hands of Wycombe, who appeared to stroll through the game without breaking much sweat.

It's the team as a whole who neglect this very basic requirement of football.

[CJK]

Agree with most of the above. I think what's most frustrating was in the fist half, despite Cardiff looking dangerous and probably shading pocession, we had two great chances. That showed they were vulnerable. We'll never know what would have happened had Hanlon scored at 0-0 and Clifton at 1-0 (I think it was after they'd scored). Ar half time time, despite the gulf in class, I was encouraged and interested to see how the second half panned out. That encouragement was gone in 30 seconds. Never mind the goal itself, how often have we done that? Not just let someone dribble through the field, but also conceed right after half time? And that killed it as a contest.

After the third goes in, I'm probably thinking about goal difference and limiting a hiding, yet GMc, ever the optimist, takes the center halves off to chase it. Although I commend his attitude, it was never going to happen.

[GazLaz]

Not really sure I agree with that little bit of after-timing there.

Gibson has been pathetic for a while as has Sharp, do you think that combo would’ve miraculously offered any different to that norm yesterday?

If we were going to get anything yesterday we had to be dangerous when we had the ball out wide, crosses in and fill the box.

Middleton offers us a greater delivery, Hanlan is clearly more of a presence up top and Clifton is good in and around the edge of our box to get on the end of any loose balls. Scored a few. Also offers more physicality than Lee or Close which you could argue would be needed when we’re spending 60 minutes chasing a ball.

Obviously Middleton (just like Molyneux) threw in a stinker and Clifton ended up missing that chance inside the box that he would usually score. I’m sick of the sight of Jordan Gibson, he is horrific this season.

I’m not having Middleton at all.

[Chris Black come back]

Grant is a good manager but some of the thinking does surprise you. His recruitment, rotation and inability to iron out really basic errors, don’t seem to be improving. We are wildly volatile and unpredictable. That’s what he needs to address for next season, trying to get some consistency into his selections, approach and performances. We don’t at this level expect to be winning every game but we should expect to have a fairly consistent approach and performance level. Way off this at present. Good then very very bad.

[GazLaz]

Grant is a good manager but some of the thinking does surprise you. His recruitment, rotation and inability to iron out really basic errors, don’t seem to be improving. We are wildly volatile and unpredictable. That’s what he needs to address for next season, trying to get some consistency into his selections, approach and performances. We don’t at this level expect to be winning every game but we should expect to have a fairly consistent approach and performance level. Way off this at present. Good then very very bad.

The volatility comes from or plan A being controlling games without the ball. That’s absolutely fine and off the ball stuff is often more important than on the ball stuff but we are a bit single faceted. The counter press is great when we are flying but we need to add to the in possession game and incorporate a more functioning counter attack. We struggle with the latter due to a lack of physicality and pace.

Being a bit 1D limits the scope for tweaking tactically as well. Plan B is generally try the same stuff but in a slightly different shape.

The big tell for me is how we never sign the same profile of striker twice! What’s the optimal profile to play up top in our system? Is it the Sharp profile or is it the Street profile? Or the Ironside profile? How do you work on final third stuff if the profile of the 9 could be so different every game?! Not joined up in my very humble opinion.

[Rupee92ONLY]

Not really sure I agree with that little bit of after-timing there.

Gibson has been pathetic for a while as has Sharp, do you think that combo would’ve miraculously offered any different to that norm yesterday?

If we were going to get anything yesterday we had to be dangerous when we had the ball out wide, crosses in and fill the box.

Middleton offers us a greater delivery, Hanlan is clearly more of a presence up top and Clifton is good in and around the edge of our box to get on the end of any loose balls. Scored a few. Also offers more physicality than Lee or Close which you could argue would be needed when we’re spending 60 minutes chasing a ball.

Obviously Middleton (just like Molyneux) threw in a stinker and Clifton ended up missing that chance inside the box that he would usually score. I’m sick of the sight of Jordan Gibson, he is horrific this season.

I’m not having Middleton at all.

His touch was like a trampoline yesterday but he was good when he came on at Rotherham and clearly Gibson is poor (also). Need big improvement there in summer. Both sides obviously if Molyneux leaves but I think we will keep him.

[Filo]

Molls for the most part didn’t look interested yesterday

[GazLaz]

Molls for the most part didn’t look interested yesterday

You say that about players quote a lot. It’s easy to look interested when you are struggling with the pace, tempo, quality of the opposition.

[roversdude]

Guy behind us kept muttering that Cardiff weren’t even a good side, mind you when they were so that they are top of the league he also said they weren’t singing that last year when they got relegated doh

[Usher wide.]

I’m not having Hanlon at all.

He couldn’t hold up a bank if the staff had all gone on a lunch break together.

He has no pace & when set free for the best ‘a real centre forward’ would have buried, he fluffed his lines.

Jogs around the pitch waiting for the ball.

He doesn’t close down or chase back he looks as though he couldn’t give a t**s.

We need much, much better come the summer.

Cringe at the thought he has another year to run on his contract.

[Goole Rover]

Molls for the most part didn’t look interested yesterday

I said that to my son.
But to generalise my view is that we have a large squad of (with the exception of two or three) mediocre players. I’m sure Grant thought that he could develop these but it’s failed. Look what Barnsley’s investment produced yesterday.

[vaya]

I’m not having Hanlon at all.

He couldn’t hold up a bank if the staff had all gone on a lunch break together.

He has no pace & when set free for the best ‘a real centre forward’ would have buried, he fluffed his lines.

Jogs around the pitch waiting for the ball.

He doesn’t close down or chase back he looks as though he couldn’t give a t**s.

We need much, much better come the summer.

Cringe at the thought he has another year to run on his contract.

Given you've previously just made things up about him in order to have a go, probably best if people rely on their own judgement.

[Usher wide.]

I’m not having Hanlon at all.

He couldn’t hold up a bank if the staff had all gone on a lunch break together.

He has no pace & when set free for the best ‘a real centre forward’ would have buried, he fluffed his lines.

Jogs around the pitch waiting for the ball.

He doesn’t close down or chase back he looks as though he couldn’t give a t**s.

We need much, much better come the summer.

Cringe at the thought he has another year to run on his contract.

Given you've previously just made things up about him in order to have a go, probably best if people rely on their own judgement.

Made things up?

Please enlighten me do.

[vaya]

I’m not having Hanlon at all.

He couldn’t hold up a bank if the staff had all gone on a lunch break together.

He has no pace & when set free for the best ‘a real centre forward’ would have buried, he fluffed his lines.

Jogs around the pitch waiting for the ball.

He doesn’t close down or chase back he looks as though he couldn’t give a t**s.

We need much, much better come the summer.

Cringe at the thought he has another year to run on his contract.

Given you've previously just made things up about him in order to have a go, probably best if people rely on their own judgement.

Made things up?

Please enlighten me do.

You claimed his last manager at Wycombe had said he "couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo" when in fact he said nothing of the sort.

[Barmby Rover]

Hanlon walks about the half way line doing nothing, jumps and misses the ball (several times yesterday) can't shoot under pressure, doesn't challenge the defence         
Can I wish Frankie a speedy recovery so we don't have to watch any more of this farce, the last time I saw a worse CF was when we employed Curtis Main for standing on the pitch.

[Thorney]

Not having the molls dodnt look intrested bit at all.

Once again ran his blood to water, so much that he finished the game limping from cramp.

You could tell that he knew as a team that we was totally outclassed and he was trying to make things happen and tried a few times to take the cardiff players on when a simple pass should of been enough.

Mols is definitly one of those players you can put your money on that gives a damn about this club. Along with bailey and sharp.
Will be a sad day when they move on.

[Chris Black come back]

We again played to Hanlan’s weakness not his strength. Do not give him the ball with his back to goal. If you are thinking of doing this, just as well put the ball of play further up the pitch and take it from there. Pointless keep expecting him to either win or do something with it when his back is to goal. He had I think two ok chances yesterday both of them when he was running on to or with the ball.

[GazLaz]

We again played to Hanlan’s weakness not his strength. Do not give him the ball with his back to goal. If you are thinking of doing this, just as well put the ball of play further up the pitch and take it from there. Pointless keep expecting him to either win or do something with it when his back is to goal. He had I think two ok chances yesterday both of them when he was running on to or with the ball.

Again, quite interesting that at their place we played ball after ball in behind them and created loads from it. We did it once to Hanlan yesterday. Strange.

[MachoMadness]

They are very clearly a good side, with a talented coach in charge and the budget to make his vision a reality on the pitch.

Didn't make it any more of a pleasant watching experience though!

[jmt23]

I only saw one bad finish, Clifton’s. Hanlans shot was on target at power, but the defender made an unbelievable clearance. Did we create anything else?