Definitely some encouraging signs at the end . A bit of passing and movement at last . As I’m sure everyone is about to say, we must start with Wellbeck vs Norwich he looks like he’s getting some sharpness back now !
Doucoure definitely looks better and makes us play better when he’s deeper. Welbeck movement, pace and technical ability as the 9 made us play better as well. Let’s hope both start next game in those positions. Little added bonus of Pedro for at least half an hour of raw pace, energy and enthusiasm would be nice.
Capoue looked on another planet. Deeney looked lost and crap. Sarr was a rabbit in headlights. Pereyra was a shambles for his short time on. Masina isn’t good enough. Huge week coming up. The Championship has some brilliant looking away days next season.
Pearson is not the only issue at the club; very far from it, as we all know. But he is not performing one aspect of his job to an even acceptable level, and hasn't been for some time. The fact that our players go out playing like that, with that attitude, when his main USP is supposed to be motivation and mentality, is laughable. We send out increasingly ridiculous starting teams, and then alter them at stupid times with frequently stupid substitutions. His half-time talks may as well not happen. What is possibly going to change between now and Norwich?
Masina is one of the better players in the squad. Positive again when he came on. Not bullied physically and shows more application than several of his so called team mates.
Was on a zoom call so was only half watching (would've been 75% watching if I hadn't looked at the teamsheet), but it looked like Chelsea went out to nullify Sarr and the stats back that up. 83 mins played, 20 touches, 7 passes attempted and 4 successful. As a result we did nothing. I couldn't help but laugh when watching the Man Utd game earlier they had Mata, Pogba and Fernandes all over the ball to take a FK - the best we could muster was Chalobah ffs.
I like him because he runs to get the ball for a throw in when we're behind. A small thing but too many of the others show no urgency at all and seem happier when it's off the pitch as they're so scared.
Capoue was turd. Stupid challenge and definitely a penalty. Deeney was useless as usual Last fifteen we actually looked half decent. Hughes MotM for us, got stuck in and wanted to fight. No shots on target for 70 mins tells you how predictable we are. It was a free hit so to speak, but we were poor again in all areas. Sub Deeney Tuesday, play Welbeck as a lone if need be, he looked pretty good when he had players to pass to him. Pearson throwing his water bottle down was his best move, other than taking Deeney off. Not going to lament on this one we have bigger games to come.
And his usual spooned well over the bar effort again. Pathetic to see. Compare that to Ward-Prowse. Chalk and cheese. Zero threat at set pieces.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Nige on Deeney’s performance.. Nige on Capoue’s pen.. Bench both the useless turds for Tuesday.. Beating Narch is our only hope.
Indeed. He is one of the few in the team who still seem to have a positive mind set. The others are so afraid to get on the front foot. We are paralyzed. Sarr cannot shine in a team like this when the midfield constantly duck their responsibilities from deep. Bring it forward, take it inside and back to the keeper or circle about continually with so little movement as to offer any options. Does not help that we have a sloth upfront so we cannot risk getting the ball into a channel as he cannot keep up with Sarr or support him. Dross is Deeney's middle name. Well past his sell by date.
Even if we manage it, beating Norwich is neither the be all and end all nor our biggest problem. We will almost certainly need more than just those three points, should we surprisingly prove ourselves capable of getting them. Where are they possibly going to come from? Newcastle beat Bournemouth 4-1 last week. What the **** will they do to us? Everyone's targeted them as one of the best opportunities; in reality, it's one of the best opportunities to get embarrassed all over again.
My thoughts... - Rubbish again this evening. Zero pressing for 75 minutes and instead we sat back, attempting damage limitation when we are 2-0 down?? WTF. - I am sick of hoofball. - Sarr anonymous, though he got service. - Why bring on an aeging player who has said he wants to leave when we have a young, hungry and fearless Brazilian hotshot who plays with little fear!? - At an average age of 29.5 yrs old, we have one of (if not the) oldest starting XI in the league. - Pearson is not the answer to our problems. I'm sorry but he is done here. Get rid and appoint Hayden Mullins until the end of the season. - Pearson is part of the problem, but we have far greater issues. We have an aeging squad and one that is mentally very weak and not up to the demands of Premier League football. Big, big reset needed this summer. Ship out the deadwood, play our youngsters and start showing some ******* spine on the pitch. - Deeney is done at this level. Absolutely done. I can't believe we are still starting him. - I believe we will get relegated.
No more of the same dross. Play a more mobile formation that plays to our strengths of passing at speed and pace. We might get the wins. Not with a donkey upfront and an ass in midfield.
Deeney doesn't have that self awareness. He's sitting there thinking 'I really hassled Zouma today. Had a word in his ear. Gave him trouble. I am a big, big man."
Ah, Steve Bruce's Newcastle, they were supposed to be relegation fodder at the start of the season while we would be comfortably safe.
So much better when Deeney went off. Cleverley played well as did Hughes. The last 20 mins we played some decent football. Deeney just doesn’t look fit which inexcusable but not the first time ever. the game itself went pretty much how much we expected which was 10 times better than Southampton. next two games will make or break our season. Must win both
"Ask any Premier League defender, they never have an easy night when Troy Deeneys in town!" I can imagine the opposition CBs humouring him at the end of the game "yeah you ran me ragged mate!" as they swan off to collect their clean sheet bonus He has all the self awareness of David Brent of Alan Partridg
Confidence looks completely lost, I thought we were still in the game at 1-0 and Capoue completely spoiled that for us with absolute stupidity, it was almost as if he was trying to lose us the game. I thought it was going to get embarrassing thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I don't think there was any coincidence that we were much better in the second half with Welbeck playing up front and Deeney off the pitch.
Yep, Azpilicueta seemed to have been given the sole task of man-marking him, and he's a very good defender when it comes to that kind of thing.
A truly disgusting performance. From the very start, we were passive, slow to the ball, and second best in every challenge. Despicable lack of mentality and character on display today. Capoue was absolutely dreadful, a throwback to his lazy, disinterested-self of 3 years ago. Rightly replaced, but not before he’d managed to do irreparable damage. Shouldn’t be anywhere near the team on Tuesday. Hughes was good. I felt sorry for him having to carry the weight of so many disinterested performances in the first half. I hope we can hold onto him when we go down. Chalobah started poorly, and his first-half was summed up by his awful free-kick effort. Improved second half, and as we’ve seen with him, it can take him time to get going after time out of the side. Pereyra was genuinely disrespectful in his display. He couldn’t have given fewer ****s. I don’t want to see him wear the shirt again. Sums up everything that is wrong with our club at the minute, in that he’s naturally talented, but lacks the heart and desire to be a factor. Cleverley couldn’t get near the ball. Felt sorry for him, because he’ll give you effort, but we don’t have time for him to work his way back to fitness. So far off the pace. Foster is liability with the ball at his feet. Smashing the ball into a heavily marked Mapps before the Pulisic penalty shout late on was a particular lowlight. Another 2 years? Along with Dawson, a sad beacon of the lack of technical ability in our squad. Deeney was atrocious. A total non-factor and hinders our ability to play to our strengths with his lack of movement. Welbeck isn’t much better with the ball due to his obvious lack of match sharpness, but his movement is light years ahead of Troy. In the 15 minutes he played up top by himself, we worked the ball into the channels on several occasions, and got into promising positions. It’s no joke to say that his one run in behind, after that lovely spin was the best piece of forward play I can remember this season. He absolutely must start on Tuesday. I’m okay with Troy coming on toward the end, perhaps with extra motivation having been dropped. Granted, Chelsea were slowing down, but we looked immeasurably more fluid with Welbeck making runs and creating space for others. Finally, I don’t think Pearson is the man, however the final games play out. I posted in another thread about our need for a total reset, in terms of players and technical staff. We need to make an appointment with genuine revolution in mind. We need a clear and defined style of play, that doesn’t change when we change coaches. We need to sign players who obviously fit that philosophy, who are younger, hungrier and more technically equipped to grow and play successfully at this level.
I've pointed this out many times over the last season or so. It appears Palace have now overtaken us slightly, but it's basically been between them and us this season: https://www.transfermarkt.com/premier-league/durchschnittsalter/wettbewerb/GB1
Personally thought Masina did ok. He was forward thinking. Ok some of his passes were off the mark but he alone registered two of our three shots on target.
Be honest, if by some miracle we actually stay up who is actually going to look forward to next season. What a load of ****.
I'm trying hard for a positive, but I will say we did look better when Capoue and Deeney went off. Welbeck and Chalobah played well. Hughes was trying. Apart from that, this team should not be in the Premier League. It's way out of its depth. Up next is a Championship side, so we DO have a chance of winning. It'll be a top of the table clash next season after all. Important to get the phycological edge on them by winning, and getting the double.
Agreed because we could play the ball into space. Welbeck a light in the darkness. Pearson take note of his cameo.
This shouldn't even be a question; we would be insane to start next season with him. If this is an audition, he has failed it spectacularly. He has so much credit in the bank from that ludicrously implausible Leicester escape, but that was very, very much the exception, not the rule. Since then, he has left at least two lower-league clubs in embarrassing circumstances, one of which was in the second-tier of the Belgian footballing pyramid, and yet no one seems to remember any of those far more recent pieces of evidence. He's surly and non-communicative, and he sends us out with no clear style of play, to put in the worst performances we have seen from a set of our players in quite a few years. What could possibly motivate us to look at all of that and reckon it deserves signing up to for a further, extended period? As you say, why don't we actually try bringing in a coach with a philosophy, capable of coaching the team to actually play effective football?
