Yankee_Jack
Key Player
Yates is not going to carry the load. He’s a Cullen clone - can finish in the box when supplied - but not going to do much else. And I would currently judge him Cullen-lite.
Deepdale - Preston away .
- Thread starter The Blobster
- Start date
So our manager has us in 20th position. Nice work, Mr Duff. 
Keep going as you are and we'll soon be bottom. Some stats:
POSSESSION: 40-60 SHOTS: 11-10 OT: 3-1 CORNERS: 6-4 FOULS: 12-7 GOALS: 2-1
Is ONE shot on target acceptable to you? It's not to us!! We are a Championship team NOT a First Division outfit but then you have no experience higher than that so it's not surprising that we are where we are. I wonder what idiot actually appointed you. The mind boggles!
Keep going as you are and we'll soon be bottom. Some stats:POSSESSION: 40-60 SHOTS: 11-10 OT: 3-1 CORNERS: 6-4 FOULS: 12-7 GOALS: 2-1
Is ONE shot on target acceptable to you? It's not to us!! We are a Championship team NOT a First Division outfit but then you have no experience higher than that so it's not surprising that we are where we are. I wonder what idiot actually appointed you. The mind boggles!
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
Based on the numbers @ivoralljack posted, little has actually changed from last season. There are new faces, but the Madness persists. Possession but no punch is still the end result. We played yesterday no better and little differently than we did during the Madness barren period earlier this year / last season. Whatever Duff is doing in training, or thinks he’s doing, it is not sinking in and it’s certainly not being transferred to the match.
Press … couldn’t iron a wrinkled shirt. There is no press. We bullied L1 opposition in preseason. we are too timid against the real opposition now.
Substitution and selection is baffling. Duff brings on Abdulai for more punch at the end of the game, if he’s that effective, start the guy. From what I saw in the recent U21 match, Abdulai should be playing midfield instead of Patino or as RWB. Duff needs a goal yet persists with 3+2 and pulls Cullen, when he should be pulling a defender and adding big Myk up top. We have an international in Allen on the bench yet start Patino. Cullen has been limited to cameos yet shows in his first start more than Yates who has had a ton of minutes.
The train is not running on the tracks and it’s churning up the track bed.
Press … couldn’t iron a wrinkled shirt. There is no press. We bullied L1 opposition in preseason. we are too timid against the real opposition now.
Substitution and selection is baffling. Duff brings on Abdulai for more punch at the end of the game, if he’s that effective, start the guy. From what I saw in the recent U21 match, Abdulai should be playing midfield instead of Patino or as RWB. Duff needs a goal yet persists with 3+2 and pulls Cullen, when he should be pulling a defender and adding big Myk up top. We have an international in Allen on the bench yet start Patino. Cullen has been limited to cameos yet shows in his first start more than Yates who has had a ton of minutes.
The train is not running on the tracks and it’s churning up the track bed.
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We actually lost to Oxford and Bristol Rovers beat us at home, so we couldn't even bully them. In the game yesterday was it Darling who was beaten in the air for their first goal? And by a smaller player as well. As for the second, there was no one anywhere near the scorer who had time to light a cigar before netting. Totally abysmal and amateur defending!! WOL actually made Patino our MOM. I can't comment as I didn't see the game but I've had feedback that he was decent enough before being pulled.
Duff is trying to create a footballing team to play with physicality and intensity - make us an uglier team that no one wants to play against. But we don't have the players to do that and his plan has been a dismal failure so far. Sure we can play with more intensity and urgency but forget the muscle game. We aren't built for it. @Yankee_Jack do we have even one player as nasty as Ducks or even DH who was small and 10 stone wringing wet? An assassin on his worst days. Add JB and a couple of others and the Ponty team I played in was a whole lot nastier than our lot right now. I know which team I'd rather face for sure!
So the nett result so far is that we are being out-passed by the footballing teams and out-muscled by the physical teams, which is why we haven't won a game and sitting 20th in the league below even Cardiff. What an unholy fcuking mess!
The Blobster
Prediction Champ
Let's see what players we have at the end of this window before we pass judgement.
Davies from Villa is incoming ( medical today ) strong , fast and good with both feet , the holding target man that others can play off , he will strengthen our team and help create chances for Cullen and Yates. Big Myk had some minutes yesterday and caused problems, who else will we bring in by the end of this week ?
It's not looking great at present but let's have 12 league games played and then we will be in a better place to pass judgement on Duffs stint in charge. I'm not impressed so far , but I will give him more time to find a system that suits whatever squad he ends up with .
Davies from Villa is incoming ( medical today ) strong , fast and good with both feet , the holding target man that others can play off , he will strengthen our team and help create chances for Cullen and Yates. Big Myk had some minutes yesterday and caused problems, who else will we bring in by the end of this week ?
It's not looking great at present but let's have 12 league games played and then we will be in a better place to pass judgement on Duffs stint in charge. I'm not impressed so far , but I will give him more time to find a system that suits whatever squad he ends up with .
CroJack
Key Player
And yet we have created more than our opponents in every game so far this season. Even against Preston we created more chances. It was just that final pass that was missing.
Ashby takes one step too many in this position. If he passes the ball to Yates here,
we have an 80% chance of Yates scoring a tap-in.
we have an 80% chance of Yates scoring a tap-in.
And here is Fulton in an identical situation.
As you can see, we wasted two easy goals, which is inexcusable at this level.
And here is the third big chance Patino created for Ashby. We scored from this one.
And here is the third big chance Patino created for Ashby. We scored from this one.
How about this one, where Key is running towards the Preston box
and instead of winning a penalty or getting the Preston defender sent off, he suddenly stops running?
and instead of winning a penalty or getting the Preston defender sent off, he suddenly stops running?
A better striker would have buried this one, but Big Mick shoots over the crossbar.
Have a look at Woodman here!
Have a look at Woodman here!
Preston had only one big chance (their second goal).
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
XGoals, xChances, xFuckall …. All of that doesn’t count at the end of the match when the result says otherwise and Duff is left holding his dick. With substitutions that defy common sense and were easy to negate.
There are two main reasons to make a substitution: player is injured or knackered or failing to perform; and tactical pivot to a different shape and approach out of necessity. Either way the change has to be net positive. Our changes were net negative. Desperately needing a goal to salvage something from the game, We went with a more defensive shape with only one “goal scorer” in Myk up top and as yet unproven, and still retained the 3 central defenders, added no press and limited attacking flare and creativity.
Duff needs to up his game in terms of match management and start producing his talk on the field during the match, None of the big playing elements and styles he promoted during preseason are being manifested … so whatever he has them do in training is not being taken on board, our unders routinely demonstrate more flare, quality of execution and energy, and better style that is exciting to watch.
@ivoralljack is right we have no Tommy Smith or Bodde on the field. The closest we can come is Fulton and Allen and potentially big Myk. There is no muscle and sadly limited brains and speed employed to compensate. Our midfield is upside down, three deep midfield players, none of whom are box to box, and the one with the greatest technical skills - Grimes - being deepest of all. Put it this way our center of mass is nowhere near the opponents goal. Against Preston we dominated possession but held the ball far too deep, and the opportunities we did have resulted from freak moments of individual flare and those players were sub’d out not supported with fresh legs.
i’m expecting Bournemouth to expose all this and give us a lesson. When City came to town under Potter there was an atmosphere of excitement and possibilities, and but for a missed offside decision we could have been victorious. Sorry, but I just don’t feel it with this lot, I feel dread.
There are two main reasons to make a substitution: player is injured or knackered or failing to perform; and tactical pivot to a different shape and approach out of necessity. Either way the change has to be net positive. Our changes were net negative. Desperately needing a goal to salvage something from the game, We went with a more defensive shape with only one “goal scorer” in Myk up top and as yet unproven, and still retained the 3 central defenders, added no press and limited attacking flare and creativity.
Duff needs to up his game in terms of match management and start producing his talk on the field during the match, None of the big playing elements and styles he promoted during preseason are being manifested … so whatever he has them do in training is not being taken on board, our unders routinely demonstrate more flare, quality of execution and energy, and better style that is exciting to watch.
@ivoralljack is right we have no Tommy Smith or Bodde on the field. The closest we can come is Fulton and Allen and potentially big Myk. There is no muscle and sadly limited brains and speed employed to compensate. Our midfield is upside down, three deep midfield players, none of whom are box to box, and the one with the greatest technical skills - Grimes - being deepest of all. Put it this way our center of mass is nowhere near the opponents goal. Against Preston we dominated possession but held the ball far too deep, and the opportunities we did have resulted from freak moments of individual flare and those players were sub’d out not supported with fresh legs.
i’m expecting Bournemouth to expose all this and give us a lesson. When City came to town under Potter there was an atmosphere of excitement and possibilities, and but for a missed offside decision we could have been victorious. Sorry, but I just don’t feel it with this lot, I feel dread.
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CroJack
Key Player
It doesn't count in the short term, but it shows that things aren't so bad.
Yes, we're not playing well yet, but we're creating a lot of quality chances, which is an excellent sign. If we were a really bad team, we wouldn't be creating anything.
I'd rather we create chances and lose a few games than create almost nothing and win a few. It's Preston who have created "Fuckall" and if I were them I'd be worried. We are a better side than Preston, even when we play like shit. Imagine how much better we'll be when we start playing good football.
At the start of last season Piroe and Obafemi missed a lot of chances and we had the same complaints about xGoals xFuckall, but I was right when I said we were good up front and it was only a matter of time before our strikers started scoring. We finished the season as one of the best attacking teams, but unfortunately one of the worst defensively. Something that xGoalsAgainst pointed out at the start of last season.
Under Martin we conceded a lot of quality chances. We don't do that under Duff. It's a huge improvement. And when the realGoalsAgainst/xGoalsAgainst ratio shows that we concede more than we should, then be sure that it's nothing wrong with our football and Duff, but the poor defenders we have.
Preston had one big chance and they scored two. We had four great chances and scored one. Which one is more sustainable in the long run?
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Yankee_Jack
Key Player
Do you think this new ownership / exec team is going to give Duff the same rope they gave Madness.
CroJack
Key Player
I think he won't need a rope because we'll soon start converting chances into goals. The transfer window is still open, there are still ins and outs, some of the players lack basic fitness and some are coming back from injuries. We'll be ok because we have a solid squad, though our centre-backs are not up to it. Shame Duff doesn't want to switch to a four at the back.