No shots on target but plenty of pressure which our tactical changes encouraged. And we got away with it because Newcastle were fairly toothless up front. Watford aren’t good enough defensively to be happy to soak up pressure lik that even if today we just about did it. The rest of your post I agree with. And I don’t want rid of Gracia just because. It’s for the reasons I’ve stated at length. And I definitely want a bit of stability but it has to be with the right guy at the helm.
I'm just pleased that HB1 does not need to be concerned any longer. It was keeping me awake at nights
Indeed. Not only did Pererya and Holebas switch off, but the whole team seemed to be 3 or 4 seconds behind where they needed to be.
I thought I was supposed to be the stupid one on this forum, but right now you're giving me a run for my money. I won't be saying anything more on this as I know you always like to have the last word, so do your worse
The simple truth is I don’t know how we’d have fared since January with a different Head Coach. I don’t know, you don’t know, nobody knows. 15 points under Gracia is ok. It’s kept us up. Job done. Well done. Maybe a better coach would have got us more points than that. You could argue for this as we do have a fair amount of quality we can put out on the pitch, even allowing for the numerous injuries. Maybe better tactics, team selections, substitutions and coaching would have got us more reward. Equally you could argue a worst coach could have come in and got us fewer points. It’s certainly a valid argument that keeping Silva wouldn’t have netted us 15 more points, and equally valid I think to acknowledge the injuries and losses of form of our two leading scorers under Silva, and acknowledge too that Gracia had to find his feet in a new country and league very fast. Not always easy. So maybe one day we will look back with hindsight and realise 15 points was very creditable. The other issue here is not knowing the possible alternatives for next season. I often hear people say ‘keep Gracia or we will only get another unknown foreign out of work coach’ and maybe that’s true, but equally there could be a bigger better known name in our sights. So right now we actually have nothing to compare Gracia with, so again it’s hard to argue for or against him staying, in that regard. Better the devil you know, or nothing wrong with being ambitious and dreaming big? I’m glad I don’t have any input on the decision lol. 15 points and survival, and maybe still a top 10 finish should we shock the world next weekend, isn’t that bad a return. Do you speculate to accumulate, or play it safe and aim for another steady season with a full summer’s training and some new recruits to add to the mix? I dunno but I’ve just had this nagging feeling since he arrived that we could be doing better. But equally he’s not been a total flop so could we? Over to you Gino...
All the praise for that goes to Harry The Hornet. He roused the Rookery and got us up for the last 10.
How will it be better? We will sign 8 players in the summer, 2 good uns, 5 reserves from belgium/italy and one very bad egg who makes a good scapegoat for our defence. We'll probably have 2 managers and Gray on his own up front.
Just my thought on this. I think we'll earn a tonne of money from selling Doucoure and Rich. That will open a lot of doors and possibilities to strengthen. We don't need a great deal either. Deulofeu, a replacement for Doucoure, a left back, centre back, striker and possibly a keeper. I think the last two seasons would have been a big wake up call and I don't think the same mistakes will occur again. We've built well in certain areas, but we now know exactly what we need to do to improve.
A very enjoyable first half followed by a tense and frustrating second half. This team looks so fragile whenever they lose the momentum in a game. I was expecting a draw/Newcastle win when they made it 2-1, I really was. Bold decision by Gracia to go 2 up front today. I was concered by the lack of wingers in that line up but Pereyra made the difference to the scoreline so the correct tactics in fairness. Hughes on the other side didn't fair as well however and I think that’s the worst I’ve seen him play for us in the league. I was not surprised to see that in the sunshine Capoue was very good today and potentially my man of the match. Deeney was a bit disappointing and not involved in the game enough. I can’t remember him contributing to an attack other than his flick to Pereyra in the build up to goal number 2. Gray, on the other hand, I thought played very well! It’s the first time I’ve been impressed by him all season. Still some dodgy touches and unrefined finishing (that’s to be expected) but he looked good dropping a bit deeper and playing passes for others. Didn’t suit the lone striker role (why wasn’t Deeney given this job?! Was he injured?) but still worked hard. Final player worth a mention I think is Cathcart, who was solid all game. He won a lot of tackles and a lot of headers so it was great to see him back. Bring on next season.
I think we can still go down on goal difference. I admit it's unlikely and I'm not saying it will happen , but it's still possible.
Obviously speculation on my part, but at 2:0, did a command from upstairs (Gino) ‘recommend’ we should defend the lead, and avoid defeat at all costs? I’m still not convinced that certain coaches we appoint have full autonomy. Either way, I am a very happy hornet. No idea if Gracia is the coach we need going into next season, but his mission has been accomplished this season. Well done Snr Gracia. Thankyou.
Not much to add that hasn't been said. We were so dominant, and just not taking our chances and it was obvious that Benitez would change things at half time. For me the penalty miss was the turning point. The way Deeney ran up reminded me of Arsenal - there are games when he approaches penalties in a much more confident and aggressive looking mood. As others have said, the substitutions were plain odd. It was gave the team an awkward balance/ shape and the players looked as if they didn't understand what they were supposed to be doing. One thing I will say, there was a lot of commitment out there today, and a lot of effort on a very hot day ... we kept going, and Capoue has shown again that he has class, stamina and a bit of vision. Holebas also committed and tenacious today. There was something almost choreographed about the way so many players collapsed on to the floor at the final whistle ... will we be in flip flops at Old Trafford?
Quite enjoyed that. Sun. Football. Beer. A win. What's not to love. Entertaining first half. 2nd half subs seemed really bloody weird. Didn't understand any if those. Most entertaining bit about the second half was the fracas at the bottom right of the Rookery.
we won, we have more points than last year and will probably finish a place or two higher Progression !
it all changed with Deeneys penalty.... score and its game over. We dominated the 1st half and could have been 4 or 5 up at half time with better finishing WTF was Gracia doing putting Mapps on ? it throw the team and no one had an idea of what to do. Even with 3 centre backs Holebas and Janmaat got no where near the man on the wings time and time again. Newcastle had one tactic, give the ball to Shelby and let him ping it to who ever he wanted. Instead of Mapps he should have put someone to stand next to Shelby to stop him playing. Very very good first half, **** 2nd, Gracia out of his depth
I suppose that game was our season in microcosm. Start well,fail to capitalise,hang on and see it out for guaranteed survival. Lovely day,good effort from the crowd. Good to see Mick Hucknall out of Simply Red is now a steward in The Rookery,money must be too tight to mention I imagine. Didn't get an ice cream but lots of adults did.Bought one on the way to WH,dropped it on the pavement. I thought Hughes had his worst game for us,conversely Capoue was excellent. Another poor penalty from Deeney. Thank you Gravy,I'm still undecided but most people I speak to think he's gone.
I’m not sure I agree. I think he knew how the game was going and wanted three centre backs on. He put on players who should have been able to benefit from a stretched game. For the first few minutes after the second change we regained the imitative, just couldn’t keep it. Overall, we have a good half in us at the moment and need some help/good fortune to get through from there. I think whether Gracia is head coach next season purely rests on how good the work is behind the scenes. The team can play well enough, does the training, fitness, coaching suggest that improvement will come? As it stands I won’t be unhappy if he is coach at the start of next season.
People moaning about Gracia’s subs, I admit they were strange and I was not happy but he got it right. Had Mapps not be on, he wouldn’t have been able to block Merino’s effort in the 88/89/90th min which would have gone in. Albeit Mapps nearly scored an O.G but he also secured the three points with that block. We won, secured Premier League status without relying on others to do it for us, what’s not to like about today. Whether Gracia is the man to take us forward, who knows, but based on what I’ve seen him do with a very limited squad, I’m not opposed to him being here next season. Had our players not lost their balls in the dying minutes of some of the games he has been in charge, we would be in the top half. At that point I doubt anyone would say to get rid. We have played some nice football under him as well as grind out some results by playing awful. Granted we have also had some terrible performances. However I would like to see what he can do with a fully fit squad, pre season and some new signings under his belt. Unfortunately I don’t think he will be here, so this comment was pointless, I just wanted to say something.
A few points... • Can't believe I was the only one in 'the pond' tonight. • Game summed up our season - thrilling start followed by utter chaos. •. I'm reluctantly drifting towards the Gracia out camp after that second half performance and substitutions. •. Why leave our gifted but pasty-faced (bordering on albino) genius Hughes in the sun when the Shrodells stand side was in shade? • Nearly lost control of my bladder when Gray cupped his hand to his ear in celebration of a goal that, frankly, my dog would have scored! F••k off Scummer •. Not that its been in doubt since about March, but we're staying up. What a superb achievement! •. COYH!!!!
Mind you, we are talking about a team that only managed one shot on target during the sixty minutes leading up to the changes.
My problem is Gracia invited the pressure on to the team by changing the formation which was so not needed. I don’t like what I’ve seen of him which is weird because the results haven’t been that bad but the subs are constantly off and his personality isn’t that great either. He has done really with Capoue though...
And 3 out of the reserves will be useless chod for 20 million from the Belgian superagent like Okaka, Oulare and Lukebakio.
As soon as I saw Marriappa called back to the bench I knew Deeney was going off and the tactics were changing. The line up after the sub was actually pretty much our starting setup from recent games. I don't agree that it invited pressure. We simply didn't play well enough to get out.
