Surprised at the negativity. Any point away is decent plus we certainly had our chances to win it. GD agonisingly close with that free kick.
It's WFC Forums mate. Never be surprised at the negativity. I was however disappointed by our second half performance. Hardly crossed the halfway line. So much in the second half of the season will now depend on Del Boy, Sarr and Pedro plus A.N.Other if he materialises.
Well I guess we have Pedro coming in. We also seem to have some pretty decent strikers lower down the rankings. Swap gray and success out of the squad for Hungbo and Cassidy. Literally cannot be any worse and if we do go down then they're bedded into the first team squad for the championship. (Also realised I said first eleven strikers and realised that could suggest we have eleven strikers!).
Can we just take a moment to appreciate Sheff Utd being Burnley 2.0. Absolute bunch of pansy with their diving today. Nothing but long ball hoofers and cloggers. They are an embarrassment to the Premier League. It’s a shame that small teams like Sheff Utd are even allowed in it. Just such a poor poor team. Next season they will be my favourites to go down. Such dross. They must be jumping with joy to get a point from us. It was a good job for them that all of our players were hungover from Christmas today. Had they not been, a proper thrashing was on the cards for them. Anyway, thankfully we don’t have to play that shambles of a club again this season. Next up is Villa, which is an extremely easy win for a big club like us.
I presumed he was directing it at the owners/DOF. I agree with him, because their idiotic arrogance has placed us in this precarious position.
Well, again, I was ascribing the arrogance to the owners/hierarchy. To find your supposedly stable club, going into their fifth consecutive season at this level, in this state, having made one of the worst starts ever to a Prem season and compounded it by hiring and firing a second manager of the campaign, and react by saying 'nah, we'll be fine, these players we assembled, who haven't been able to coax anything anywhere near even resembling the performance levels required to survive, are enough to survive (despite all the evidence in front of our eyes that we have been treated to over the past six months)' is arrogance, as well as a bout of seemingly wilful blindness. Where they finished last season is fairly irrelevant, because we are not the team and many are not the players that played last season (particularly the beginning of it, when we were actually capable). I would ask exactly how you see us surviving based solely on the actions of the players we have at our disposal, since our midfield is incapable of scoring, we scarcely possess a player who has made it into double figures in the league and at least one of those who has continuously demonstrated how utterly spent they are as a force over the past few years (a force that hasn't been particularly goalscoring in the top-flight ever)?
There is some comfort knowing if most of these players don't jump ship, technically we should have a decent Champ side under Pearson.
You mean you're not enraged that we didn't manage to win against the eminently "beatable" Sheffield Utd?! Even at their home where their form isn't even as good as it is for them away?
Well they certainly took their eye off the ball. But they've responded with Pearson and January's on the horizon. So I suggest we all get behind Pearson's very impressive and common sense initial approach, our improvement since QSF's departure, whatever January brings and stay positive that we can now get out of this thing. Don't worry about things we have no control over. And if we do escape I expect G.Pozzo to not make the same mistakes again.
One that I would imagine is a fairly simple and obvious example of the craft: bring in a striker who is an upgrade on what we have (not difficult) and has a chance of scoring the goals that will be required to keep us up (slightly more difficult, but made more likely by things like goalscoring precedent). I do not believe that this is a revolutionary sentiment; in fact, I believe that multiple other posters here have already suggested it, both in this and other threads. In addition to that, if it is possible: upgrade the defence to a Premier League level. Frankly, we need to be better than what we could have got away with if we hadn't utterly **** the bed for half a season. We need more than the bare minimum, which is now pretty much what our defence look like they might be capable of mustering on their third manager of the season. Both of these things are tricky, and require tact, nous, and expertise. Luckily, there are several people at the club for whom it is their primary job, and for which they are paid enormous sums of money. They also appear to have taken the last few windows off, so they must be extremely well-rested and refreshed; ready to spring into action and put the conditions in place for Pearson to have the players he needs to carry off the miraculous feat of escape we are all hoping for ASAP (that is, at the beginning of the window).
My hope is today, putting aside what we may think of SU, We were playing the team in 6th Place now (I think they were 5th when we started). I was impressed by SU. They really went for it and are extremely well drilled. I don’t think we can throw away the corner being turned yet. I think this a point won. A point we would have got with QSF.
Entirely agree. All that I ask is that posters believe and post positively just like that. Moping just because we weren't exactly at our best today will get us nowhere.
For all that was disappointing about today's game, I saw a side that isn't in any danger of relegation from here. We'll have risen well clear of the drop zone in a few weeks, and by the end of February everyone will be moaning that the stupid appointment of Flores has cost us a Europa spot.
Bit weird that many of the same people who lambasted QSF for settling for a point against this side are now praising Pearson for 'winning'a point against them, despite a performance where we didn't create the chances we did in the home fixture or have the same solidity. Not saying that Quique was not terrible, just saying that people are being more than optimistic and a bit delusional to look at this performance and result as anything better than disappointing and falling short of what was needed.
Whilst I agree we should be doing better, we aren't and that is because the players stopped battling. Many other teams that looked decent on paper have gone down over the years. Whether it is arrogance I'm not sure but I do remember one of the players saying we weren't in a relegation zone despite us being bottom after 5 matches which indicates some believed we were too good to go down which is a huge danger for any club below the perceived top 6
Bit disappointed with a point, but at least it lifts us off the bottom. Beating Villa is the priority because if they win the gap between us and safety will look scary.
Well, in my defence in that case I would refer you to the first paragraph of my first comment, in which I pointed out/acknowledged that perhaps it wasn't as much our overall performance being bad as it was the effect of Sheffield Utd's gameplan. That being said, we did learn things from the way individual players comported themselves today, many of which compound things we already thought we knew, and there's nothing wrong with exploring those lessons.
Hughes got put off by Kiko going to wallop the ball away and then pulling his foot away at the last minute. Still, a poor challenge from him but he probably wouldn't have dribbled it into the box if Kiko hadn't done that. Just another one of those fine margins and self-inflicted calamities to add to the list this season.
I hope João Pedro is ready because Deeney is league one standard at best. Thought Pereyra was quite isolated out on the left in the second half so fingers crossed Sarr is okay for Saturday. Just had a look at the team sheet but I think I need to put my glasses on because, unless I'm mistaken, apparently Chalobah played. We defended resolutely (Kaba was a beast) but I was disappointed with our lack of desire to win in the second half. 5 shots against Sheffield United simply isn't good enough. Villa is a must win.
I know the misery-mouths like to get in first on this forum, as they probably do on other forums, too, but I'm a bit surprised at the amount of doom-laden pessimism and dismissive one-liner criticisms of player after player. We know the limitations of quite a few of our players by now and we knew that Sheffield have been flying high all season and that, by now, this can't just be down to luck. So what did you expect? I would say Watford have done well to have brought a point back today. Teamwork is tremendously important in a sport like football and Sheffield are surely proof positive of this. Indeed, their best player is arguably their coach. People go on about the lack of quality in their players and they are largely right, but they are very fit, very mobile and very well rehearsed. They are clearly full of confidence and this is very important in a team game. It is hardly a surprise they pushed us back and had plenty of possession. But we dug in. Currently, this is a very heartening perception. Were we lucky? I think we had some luck, but not outrageous amounts. I wonder if Nigel Pearson is one of Bonaparte's 'Lucky Generals'. But I am sure there is more to it than that. For all their limitations, the players stuck to it and grabbed a point and this is an improvement on what was going on before.
Stop it ffs. You need to believe and start posting positively. That's all I ask. Do as you're told. As that will definitely definitely help. If we don't win tomorrow, can we please move on to posting prayers.
Okay @SkylaRose ... every other time someone has “fixed” my message they changed what I meant and were being sarcastic. You made it say what I meant to say! Thank you. I did mean what you fixed it to!
Fair point in general. Although I wasn’t one of those that lambasted QSF for the game against SU at home. I was one of those that didn’t mind the performance and result; despite not being happy with QSF being our manager. So I’m not entirely sure what point you are trying to make?
Admittedly, I wasnt clear but it wasnt specifically directed at you. I'm just throwing **** and seeing what sticks.
Well it didn’t stick on me exactly, but I do have some **** in my ear now. And firstly that’s not a great look, but also, a smell a bit ****y now.
I believe I've consistently posted negatively around Giraldi. I hope he's gone in May. But currently it's December. So, do you want us to stay up or not? Or, instead, bang on with the usual gang. I do seriously question what the word 'supporter' means in the context of you and yours. We have an excellent new head coach. We've undoubtedly improved recently. We had a poorish day at the office today. But get with the new agenda eh? Where would you like us to be in May because I seriously suspect you might enjoy some sort of 'I told you so' moment as opposed to actually k.o.ing again in August in the top flight?
The game against Villa will come down to which team copes with 3 games in a week the best. Delefeo has run for miles the last 2 games so wudnt be surprised if he puts in a lacklustre display Saturday. Which then presents the challenge to other players to step up. Pearson may have to make some changes to the starting 11.
What on earth is this gibberish? If you bothered to read my post on the match it was “ good point, poor performance”. I found the performances of Mariappa, Chalobah and Deeney very concerning. I found Foster, Kabs and Kiko to be excellent. If that isn’t “getting with the agenda” in your mind then frankly I don’t care.
