Luckily even his most ardent supporters have started to give up on him. It’s only the fans that get pissed enough, to not remember anything but a moment of ‘passhun,’ remaining.
Cathcart deserves a mention, a quality defender even though you can tell in certain part of the game he still isn't fully match fit/sharp. He's been massively missed this season, one of our best defenders. Also thought Deulofeu was really bad when he came on. He seemed like he had played 90 minutes already - wasn't at it atall. There were a couple of times in the second half when Doucoure & Richarlison should of played in I think it was Gray alot earlier, which we would of killed the game early on. I do feel like Gracia isn't the man to take us forward, he's a tad too defensive for me. Either way I don't dislike him and gets full respect.
How many crosses came in from our left today? Deeney coming off was OK but we needed 5 in midfield as we were getting killed down the flanks. Hughes ran all day he has some engine. Hoping we only sell one of Rich and Doucs or we could have a tough season. Cathcart has been a big miss while out, a proper defender. Glad the end of the season was rescued from full on depressing! COYH
Which is an awful tactic given that both goals against Spurs and the goal yesterday all came from crosses.
This is something I take issue with. I will agree with this with the qualifiers that over the 90, Gray contributed some positives and by his standards that was good. But he's hopeless. People are crediting him with an assist for the first goal, when he didn't assist. He received the ball with two players to pass to, got the ball stuck under his feet and did a full 360 for no reason and then managed a 4 yard sideways pass. Doucoure then rescued the situation with a quick, clinical onward pass to pereyra. There are the missed one on ones and then of course the failure to put through team mates. He did head into an empty net from 1 yard thanks to a peach of a ball from Pereyra, so well done. I've been as critical of Capoue as Gray, but have to admit that he's proved me wrong over the last few weeks. He's consistently outshone pots and 40m rated, Liverpool target Dercquorrre and deserved his starting place, regardless of injuries. Gray however is just not a premier league foot baller. He's better than Deeney, yes, but they are both so utterly abject that we need to stop accepting such dismal showings and certainly not be praising either of them for actually doing their job for isolated minutes every few weeks.
Capoue’s revival is a real bonus. Under Silva felt like he was just fading to a backup player. Gracia has really got the best out of him.
Not sure it helped once he came on we were pretty much sitting back and having to defend - not an ideal situation for him.
Interesting to watch things back 1. Gray utterly stuffed up a great move for the first goal, but was rescued by a Newcastle player deflecting his nonsense pass to Doucoure who did excellently to revive the move with a sideways pass to pereyra 2. It was never a Penalty. Gray had massively overshot the ball and was never getting it. The defender slid and didn't touch the ball, but Gray fell into him, not brought down. 3. See the slo mo replay of Deeney following up his crap penalty. Look at all that wobbling flesh 4. Their goal was a quick break which caught janmaat out of position. This is part of the risk of allowing your full backs to provide extra width up the pitch, especially if they are not particularly fast. Blaming Holebas is incorrect. The cross was so deep that running back at speed, there is no way that Holebas would be expected to be tight to a player running midway in our half. Especially with another runner just inside him and just two defenders back. The issue was not that a cross came in from there, it's that a player was allowed into our box, unmarked to tap it home. Anyway, I think I and others have been especially harsh, as we have won and secured a 4th successive season in the top flight. I'm happy with that, but there is obviously a lot of room for improvement. If the halves had been reversed I reckon we'd all be buzzing about next season.
He's been a revelation. The big frustration with him is that he's one of the best footballers at the club, but you could never get more than one decent game in ten out of him. Under Javi he's had a few off games, but unlike before he's been putting in grinding performances whereas before he'd be practicality invisible when thing weren't working for him. Couple of crunching sliding tackles in their final third yesterday highlighted the change in him I feel. He's in his prime, lets hope this is a permanent change, and not a fleeting upturn in form
The problem is we have 2 strikers who aren’t very good. If we’re changing formation at 60 mins then surely the only option is to play Deeney on his own. At least the ball has a chance of sticking rather than pinging straight back. Gray utter ****. Total garbage. Can’t score (unless it’s from 1yd), can’t hold up the ball, can’t create. No wonder the players were knackered at the end - the way we set up for that last 30mins meant there was acres and acres of space to cover. They were also completely confused about who was supposed to be doing what - arguments abound between them about structure. We then moved into the well known 5-5-0 formation for the last 10mins. Got to blame the manager I’m afraid. Baffling formation change with the wrong players to implement it. Players also unclear about the instructions....poor. However, to be fair the 4-4-2 we started with worked well - smart initial set up and the 2 up front brought out the “best” in Gray. It caused Newcastle problems and really should have been game over at 3-0. No issues with that - it’s his mid game tactical changes that should spell the end for Gracia.
Tbh I was judging it by his standards as he actually managed to score for once. There was some incredibly hilarious control and turn in the build up to the first goal which showed his turning circle which is equatable to a cargo ships. The bloke is not good enough.
Take it you missed his through ball on his weaker foot to Pereyra that was the best pass of the whole game? He also put Richarlison through with a perfectly weighted through ball against Spurs on Monday night. He's not great and I'd hope we'll find a better option in the summer but he's set up two of our best chances in the last two games. He's been unlucky not to play more, as despite his limitations he offers so much more than Deeney.
Gray needs to move on at this point because at least 50% of the fanbase have already completely written him off. He could have scored a first half hattrick yesterday and his first heavy touch of the second half would still have been greeted with groans and abuse. I maintain he is a fairly average to poor player at this level, yet still a better option that Deeney, if only for the way his inclusion seems to allow the team to play more fluidly. I think he would have scored double figures if he'd started 25-30 games
I don’t recall it - you’re not talking about the panicked screw up he made before the first goal followed by the massive slice of luck he got for it to fall to Doucoure? Best pass of the game was surely the Pereyra chipped cross for Gray to score from his customary yard out?? Best chance Monday was from Deeneys nod down for Richarlison
No, watch the highlights back. He played a ball on his left foot through the Newcastle defence that put Pereyra through one on one that the keeper saved, Deeney's rebound was saved and then Capoue's follow up driven wide. Deeney's "nod down" was an attempt at goal that came off the defender's back and luckily fell to Richarlison.
Cruyff once said “Look, the thing about Inzaghi is he can’t actually play football at all. He’s just always in the right position.” The same rings true for Gray. He gets criticism for his all round play, but he is invariably in the right position at the right time. I would also say that despite his poor control, he's ahead of Deeney for assists, and just one behind Doucoure despite having played nearly half as many minutes.
2 things to bear in mind when discussing Gray. 1/ a striker missing chances is nothing new .Remember Blissett ? The key is to keep getting in the right place. He missed chances yesterday but unlike other options he was always looking to get in the right place and his movement did create space. I'd accept a heap of missed chances if he scores every 2-3 games he starts . 2/ proven strikers are ridiculously expensive. If we buy a replacement for him, TD or both, it will not be a household name, it will be another cross-your-fingers-and-hope buy like Okaka or the guy from Willem II currently being debated on another thread. How many teams in the bottom 10 have a striker with 10 or more goals to their name this season out of 38 games ? It's not easy to score at this level.
People defending Gray are like abused spouses pointing out the good points of their battering husband "He'd never cheat on me". He's utterly awful, but granted he's our best bad option at the moment. He's no right to be starting premier league games when he can't play basic football.
When Gray has scored 70 goals in the top division you may mention him in the same breath as Luther Blissett.
Holebas watch: Look at his involvement for the Newcastle goal. Newcastle on the attack and Holebas tracks back. A few seconds later, and Holebas makes no attempt to close the ball down, but turns his back and crouches as the ball is crossed in. Another attack where Watford get caught out. Look at the reaction of all other players though. They all react to the situation, apart from Holebas who stands like a statue and let's others do the defending.
I wasn't there yesterday but watched it on motd, so am entitled to an opinion. "I'd wish we could play the Geordie's every week." Off to Manchester next weekend for the game, really hope Mr Ferguson hangs on in there otherwise its going to be very sad.
People daring to in any way to compare Gray to Luther (who didn't miss a lot...just another stupid myth that abounds here) are up with those abusive husbands inimy contempt.
People who make nonsense comparisons with domestic violence are up there with abusive husbands in my book.
If Gray is the answer then I don't want to know the question. The question would almost certainly contain the word 'Championship'. He's incredibly limited. There is nothing about him whatsoever that is PL quality. I might be too demanding, but personally, I prefer my strikers when through 1-on-1 to run towards the goal rather than the corner flag.
People who make further non...ok that could go on all night. It would have been better if it was people who trod on spiders that was introduced rather than those who beat their wives I agree. All of that notwithstanding, Blisset and Gray have no comparison. None.
I like Gray, but he's a square peg in a round hole. He'd do a decent enough job with a bit of support like he had at Burnley, but to play him and Deeney up top together is a risk given that their overall contribution is far below other players. He is one of the worst starting forwards in the league (if you can call him that), and I'd certainly look to replace him if we get a bit of money to spend, but it's not all his fault
The issue I have with Gray is he’s technically really poor. How many times does he get through on goal and fire straight at the keeper? Hit it in the corners pal, or at least get it across the keeper so his save might fall for another chance. This is basic stuff that he just doesn’t do. As for his touch - he’s like a wall, ball just pinging off him everywhere. I don’t want my strikers to have pace to burn, run the channels, stretch the defence - I want them to score when a chance presents itself.
Gray had a few good moments which is the best we can hope for, but Deeney looked more effective and more energetic with somebody alongside him
