I think HB1 and many, including myself, would have looked at Wolves of last season and seen them as "best of the rest" and so, certainly based on our opening 3 games, not a likely place to pick up points. Since then, we've improved and they have continued to be one of the "next worst" after us. I'm not writing them off over the whole season, as they have good players, but right now, their form is not much different from ours.
They have 2 world class strikers and the rest are mid-table players at best. I'd be amazed if they finish top 6.
But who of the 'rest' are likely to finish above them? Everton are shyte, wolves are shyte, Leicester are shyte. The whole league is shyte.
Capoue, who was otherwise brilliant, was the first and most important offender by stopping play when Hughes was fouled
Holebas got booked for looking very scarily at Pepe after Pepe kicked him. Pepe didn't get booked because kicking people is a lesser offence
If they keep their premium strikers maybe but why would Lacaz and Aubam stay there when they are both good enough to play champs league ? Or maybe an injury. They are so **** they only drew at the bottom team last night and conceded 30 odd shots. Not many teams will come away from Vic Rd with anything other than 3 points this season.
My coaching advice would be - NEVER have anyone in your own penalty area when taking a goal kick as it just invites trouble. I suspect that teams are only doing it because they're now allowed to
Think he elbowed him as well as a stupid pathetic kick. But you are right a scary look is much worse than physical assault.
He must be so used to Hughes falling over at the slightest touch in order to buy cheap free kicks that he was stunned by the fact that for once the ref didn't fall for it.
Good points. I'd also written Cleverley off recently but that was his best performance in a long while. It's also perhaps the first time I've seen Del keep up his intensity for a full 90 minutes. To be fair to Gracia, there were plenty of occasions when he brought Del off where he looked absolutely shattered after 60 minutes already, but that rather begs the question of how and why the players' energy levels seemed so down to begin with. It reinforces the general impression of the atmosphere and the players having been a bit "flat" lately under Javi, with the players maybe having been playing within themselves.
That was one of the best passes I’ve ever seen from a yellow shirt, but according to Souness, he’s a clogger. He’s in the same club as Chris Sutton for me. These experts are so boring with their lack of knowledge now, why are they any authority to comment on clubs outside the top 6 when they obviously know nothing about them? Maybe we can organize a yearly battle royale for all these clueless pundits where they must cull each other in the most bloody way possible using a variety of different weapons. The winner gains a contract analyzing the following years competition where they provide teary commentary on the demise of their peers “Jamie shouldn’t be letting a man with a crossbow run at him like that *sniff*”
The only memory Souness has of Capoue is the Zaha incident last year. Hence his strange description and continued assertions that only Deeney can save us.
We had 31 shots yesterday so this may sound a bit obvious but we did seem a lot more willing to take on shots from range than we have done for a long time. I won't resort to walking it in clichés but in recent history we have very often seemed to want that one extra pass, not sure if it has been players not being confident to take the shot on (this has also been in times when we are playing well so wouldn't think so) or if we have been trying to make sure? It looked to me a bit like they had been told to have a go when they get a sight of goal, let's hope so it seemed to have a good effect yesterday.
Except that on the one hand we still have Doucoure who can't hit a barn door with a banjo most the time regularly trying 25-yarders that end up nearer the corner flag than the goal, and on the other hand we have Deulofeu who is hesitant to shoot even once 6 yards out.
Great time to be playing Man City, defensively they are weak right now, they play Shaktar Donetsk away on Wednesday night, so they won’t get back till the early hours of the morning on Thursday at the earliest, if not fly out first thing Thursday morning, will only have a day and a half at most to train, work on shape and prepare for our game. Not that I think we will win m, but we definitely have a good chance. Shocked that the game hasn’t been moved to Sunday but benefits us for sure.
I may be full of deluded optimism, but I think if we play like we did second half, we will at least worry them. There's always the chance with City that they can break and score against us, but we showed yesterday, that with the likes of Del, Sarr and Pereyra, we do have players in attack who can scare a top 6 defence. I think we need to play without fear, but obviously play close attention to the discipline of making sure we don't end up leaving two, slow centre backs playing high and isolated against breaking City. Like you say, not that we will win, but we may have a chance. (Have I learned anything from that cup final or our previous meetings with the Sky Blues? evidently not).
Just make him Brazilian. I entered his name into a Brazilian football name generator. It came back with Deulofeeca. (which sounds a bit like it might mean dueling sh***, but I could be wrong)
An account I follow on twitter (https://twitter.com/BenDinnery of the http://www.premierinjuries.com site) suggested there was a slight problem with a virus in the squad last week with Will Hughes unable to train. Welbeck omission seems to be Flores wanting the players' overall fitness to improve (not surprising after such a long lay-off) rather than a new injury.
Least Emery seemed to take the goals we scored with good grace (please correct me if wrong!) Wenger would have claimed a foul on Luiz or the Greek bloke and then said Pereyra dived for the penalty whilst saying we should have had about 3 players sent off or something!
