I don’t mind admitting it - given what I’ve seen of us on the pitch and all the mitigating factors off it...I’m absolutely terrified about next week. A disjointed team who look unsettled and who likely won’t have it rammed home to them just how important the game is to fans. I worry our best players will be sat at home again and we will be using the game as yet another to try and ‘find our feet’.
These are the pass-maps from our CBs against Boro (don't have the one from today yet) - guess which one is Wilmots? That's why i'm seeing it, cos it's literally what's happening. He could definitely improve in this aspect but as others have picked up on, being right footed as the LCB cuts out a lot of passing lanes which inevitably means you'll be giving the ball away - especially when teams pack the midfields like we saw Wednesday do today - although he still had a better pass accuracy than Cathcart..
Interlude. https://www.owlstalk.co.uk/forums/topic/292563-wednesday-v-watford-omdt/page/11/#comments
We get it, you have a weird vendetta against Wilmot, of all players. He's the one being asked/made to play in the more awkward role as a right footer over on that left side, Cathcart has the easier job. Wilmot was fine defensively today and let's not pretend Cathcart is anything other than crap on the ball himself. As I said to UEA, the main difference is that Wilmot is very young with the potential to improve with age and game time, which can't be said for Cathcart. He's being asked to play by far the most difficult role of the current back three. Give him a chance on the right hand side and let's see how he looks then.
Agreed. I think the difference isn’t necessarily in the quality of their passing, but that Wilmot has the bravery to attempt passes in to midfielders who are asking for the ball in more congested areas.
No he still isn't fast or strong enough (I was pointing this out last season as well). He'd be even more exposed in a two though, when he doesn't have the luxury of Kabs as a spare man to cover for him.
I see it showing Wilmot giving the ball away a shedload. Repeatedly giving the ball away cheaply by punting it to their CBs or out for goal kicks is hardly worthy of being applauded. You may try and spin it as him being "adventurous" but given how dreadful he is at it, it's just being wasteful. Hoofing is not a skill - it's generally what bang average Championship defenders are negatively stereotyped for. He's also misplacing lots of his short passes, as well as his longer balls.
Perica changed the game, he's basically what Deeney should be. Holding up the ball, releasing it to the quicker players nearby and can get his head on the end of things. Murray shouldn't be starting, he's a player to bring on for the last 10 minutes when 1 up. Pedro is raw but has glimpses of brilliance, going to be a very good player in the future. Must admit at half time I was ready to switch off. Hopefully Ivic makes the changes required against Luton.
It’s only two games. But anyone who thought a midfield based around Hughes plus Quina and Chalobah, with Wilmott in defence was a foundation for promotion, must hope those three improve under the coaches instruction. I just hope Capoue stays. Cleverley at the moment looks indispensable. Both he and Hughes are bound to miss a lot of games through injury. Our midfield players need to keep the ball and to create the offensive chances we need to threaten the opposition goal. Not losing is the best that can be said of the game. It was at least a marked improvement second half.
While we're playing our B team, it's not worth even analysing the games. Two points dropped. Play Sarr and Suarez we win. If we're deliberating picking weaker teams, for whatever reason, it's a bit pointless investing any interest in the side.
Not a bad result, another game this team has played together now and towards the end of the second half it looks like things are starting to click. We desperately need to sort the midfield out if we are serious about promotion.
Well most people will support whoever is playing... We've had much weaker sides than this even this. Certainly there is still some quality but it's not really showing in midfield which means the strikers get no real service. Sure its disappointing Suarez and Sarr aren't playing and they would make a difference...or be kicked to death!
Zola season one it took until Nov for a new team, formation and style to start to really motor. I’m staying patient.
Fortuitously missed the first half. Thought we looked decent second half but no more than that - not much goal threat. I can't see much changing until some of the "ill" boys "recover" or we get some new signings in. From what I've seen so far this season: Strong players at this level: Foster, Bachman, Kabesele, Sema, Pedro, Cleverley Decent enough / getting up to speed: Ngakia, Cathcart, Wilmot, Chalobah, Femenia, Perica (looking promising) Jury's out: Sierralta, Philips, Quina, Garner, Pussetto Turds: Navarro, Murray That's not good enough for a promotion push, but honestly I wouldn't say it's far off. Of the other players actually likely to play for us, Gray, Hughes are strong. TDB who knows. This Udinese CB should be an upgrade. And we will surely sign more once some of the others leave. The Championship is crap. We can definitely go up this season.
He made 52 passes against Boro - 5 of those were played off the ground - 2 of which were around his own area meaning only 3 passes out of the 52 were hoofs. Today he made 57 passes - 8 of those were played off the ground, only one of which was played towards the opposition area. I don't know who you're watching but it isn't Wilmot.
Very poor first half , Much more encouraging second half . Perica made a huge difference when he came on and we started actually playing further up the pict h where we looked like we could cause some damage. Foster mentioned something about he pitch in the first half being the reason we couldn’t pass the ball ? . We definitely need a couple of midfielders , a proper left back / wing back and a goal scorer ,to be promotion contenders , whether that comes from the players we currently have or new ones . I hope and expect that will happen in the next few weeks though.
A crap long pass to no one is a crap long pass to no one. You're splitting hairs by just claiming they're not all hoofs, they're still simply wasteful.
I'm always a bit confused with the obsession of playing from the back, if it's not working there needs to be a plan B. Too many times today we just gave the opportunity to Sheffield Wednesday to reorganise their shape.
At the very least, Ivic appears to have made us harder to break down even without his strongest team available to him. 2 clean sheets out of 3 competitive games is a decent return, considering keeping clean sheets has been our achilles heel the last few years. I'd be far more concerned if we were still leaking stupid soft goals in a weaker league to lower quality opposition. I'd rather build a solid foundation from the back then start working on our forward play, which should almost take care of itself if we see Sarr and Suarez integrated into the first team with Gray also providing another option when he returns, leaving the likes of Murray to be an impact sub rather than a starting option.
I'm not terrified about next week. If we win, great. If we lose, the happy clappers will be down to single figures.
Nothing wrong with being negative with reason, some are just negative to fit their forum persona but others do offer good points that makes you think whether your owm views are slightly biased.
Maybe it was a pass made under pressure? Or maybe it was a bog standard ball into the channel but the lumbering centre forward was too slow to get to it ? In any case it shows great strength of character for the rookie to play on the left and having to use his least developed foot whilst knowing he will receive stick from those who can't even kick a ball
Look it's not going to change overnight. This is a mammoth overhaul we are in the process of. I think a lot of people on here need to find something else to do with their time. Fair enough not feeling optimistic about certain aspects of the club but the usual suspects contaminate every thread repeatedly with tiring negativity. I recommend channelling your energy on dealing with your personal problems head on instead of looking for different avenues to vent your frustration.
Same with Joka. There were people on here calling for Joka's head before he finally got the team playing. It takes time to pull everything together. Most of the other teams in the division will have come into this year with a mostly settled squad and playing style. We have a non-settled squad and a new playing style. We're going to be disjointed for a while. It's inevitable, especially after a mere two preseason games. Vlad's probably going to need another 5-6 weeks to get his systems in to the point where we'll really start seeing his impact. We should also have some of the more experienced senior pros back by then, so I'm expecting a significant shot in the arm mid October onwards that carries up into November. That's the time to start to judge, I think.
There's certainly nothing wrong with measured criticism, but as with all things (including being positive) there's a line you can cross where it becomes ridiculous. From the way some people on this board post you'd think the Pozzos caused cancer and AIDS. There's no doubt mistakes have been made, but it's not as bad as some wish to make out.
Terrible first half. Much better with Perica on. Probably just about deserved a win but ball would not fall for us. Encouraging stuff but thought Cleverly, Quina, Wilmot and Murray all poor. Main thing I have taken from first 2 games is that the championship is poor. Still think playoffs would be about right with this squad.
It’s a big week for you guys. Hope you have the right focus in training, practice all your key set piece posts and have everything ready to go at kick off at 4.45 next Saturday. Don't be distracted by the midweek cup tie either. Field the reserves - rest Nath and moog for sure.
I see Wilmot being the one who steps up and gets involved with midfield most. Fair play to him, but then he gives it away too much. Defensively he's not as strong as Cathcart or Kabasele.
We can't actually watch the match. It blows my mind how everyone is still so invested in the football. Am I the only one who has to motivation to watch or debate it at the moment? Win lose or draw I just can't care. Or this just my coping mechanism to deal with relegation and the fact that we're back to square one again? Anyone else having an existential crisis?
