I do feel sorry for Healey, I am sure if he had a run of games he'd do well, but it's hard when his two rivals for the jersey just keep chipping away with game-changing contributions
Our second top scorer who has had next to no service? I get he’s this seasons boo boy but this seems harsh. Before today we’ve created hardly anything for him.
I presume you meant with Lewis + Sema you have 2 players trying to do the same thing and things get bunched up. Lewis did seem to get in Sema's way a couple of times in the first half. I've also called before for a Sema + Martins combo to be used more often. I suspect though that in tougher games Ismael will stick for now with the more defensively solid and conservative Lewis + Sema starting. Maybe in some upcoming home games we'll get more of Sema and Martins together and he at least showed a willingness again today to do that later on in the second half.
Scored 4 goals already this season and has given plenty of opportunities to teammates with his pressing up top, I don't know if Healey has that in his locker after his injury
I don’t think Bayo is anywhere near as bad as others make out and I think he offers something, but he does miss a lot of chances and is very rarely in the positions in the box to get on the end of crosses like Sema’s today.
Which game apart from Cardiff did he change the game ? 1 point he has earned us AFAICT I am not a Bayo hater. He cannot try any harder. We need better than someone who just gives 100%, which should be the minimum BTW
I actually thought Healey looked okay when he came on, looked like he was trying to make things happen. I think for Martins goal Ayala had covered the space quite well which made him look like he'd wasted the chance but he recovered well.
You can only beat whats in front of you -and i missed that Rotherham only had 10 for last 10 minutes of normal time. 5-0's at home in the league are very rare. I think the last one was nearly 9 years ago v Charlton in Jan 15 in our promotion season under Joka when one striker- Ighalo- got a brace and three others each got a goal Before that was April 89 v Walsall when one player -Gary Porter also got a brace and three others each got a goal. That was under Steve Harrison when we made the play offs losing to Blackburn in the semis under the then away goals rule. Co-incidence to make it to the top 6 this season-who knows That such an emphatic win was on Rememberence day with Mrs GT and daughter alongside my friends Martin and Sue Sawyer present was also poignant.
Scored our first against Boro to get us back in the game, which was crucial at the time even if we didn't get anything out of that game (I don't think you can blame him for us conceding 3 goals), and he did most of the work for Rajovic to score at Coventry. Even without those tangible contributions, his pressing gives us more control in games, we were well on top when he was on the pitch against Millwall but ceded control when he came off
I can see why some people might say Healy looked decent. Although his touch was very rusty, his movement and positioning was excellent, finding space in the front line and for example on Ince's goal he'd peeled off toward the far post in case the pass was over hit. Also a word for the two centreback's creative contributions - first Hoedt's lovely pass up the wing for Sema's cross for the 2nd and Porteous' rampaging run before a delicate lay off for Kayembe's goal. Playmakers all over the pitch!
Yeah I think Martins was desperately unlucky to lose his place in the team (even though Sema has been superb of late), they've been arguably our two best players this season, so I would like to see them both together, especially as Lewis hasn't been amazing so far
Rotherham aren't great but massive credit to the lads today for speeding things up today and simplifying it a bit, one-two touch in defence and midfield, a decision was made and the ball was moved. Too often this season we've had plenty of the ball but been ponderous with moving it. I think Hamer has to have some credit for that too. 5-0's at home are rare, just enjoyed it! Thought Hoedt was quietly impressive again and Sema & Livermore standouts. Kayembe also impressive. Nice to have depth on the bench that can change a game too! Louza not even being able to grace the pitch today must mean he's off in Jan?
Seems Val is good at beating the weaker teams which is all we really need this season. Good to see the handbrake off a bit. Interesting to see if donkey Rajovic gets a run and the service out wide is decent! Just seems to have a nose for goal.
Rotherham are an awful team. Although to be fair they usually are. However, you still have to beat what's in front of you and we did a good job of that. We played to Rajovics strengths today getting it wide and putting it in the box. Wonderful cross from Sema for the first goal.
I would agree with this. Luther also missed a lot of chances. And despite his goals yesterday, Rajovic looks a total waste of money.
I don't think a player that will probably score 15-20 goals this season - okay at least 10 - can be described as a total waste of money
Definitely not a waste of money. Might not offer anything in the build up, but he presses a lot and is always in the right place to score. We just need to play to his strengths and not expect him to be involved in anything outside the 18 yard box
Come on Dev, he has 6 league goals already and will most probably get well into double figures this season. He's still relatively young and is still getting used to the league. Hopefully he can develop other parts of his game. To be fair he made 2 or 3 clearances from our box yesterday.
They are the form team at the top of the Champ. Slightly aggressive response if you don't mind me saying.
The more I see those crosses by King Ken, the more I appreciate them. I was directly above them in the stadium and thought they were good at the time. Absolutely inch perfect, and pace perfect, for an onrushing striker. The sort of service the bog owl thrives on, and without which he is utterly ineffective. We have to have King Ken playing there for this reason when Raj is on the pitch. There were zero equivalent from the right and once Martins was on, as usual he was only interested in cutting in and shooting.
Few teams in the Championship will give up as much space and time as Rotherham but as Skyla said, you can only beat the opposition in front of you, and putting together a competent, cohesive display to extend the unbeaten run to six matches does suggest that things are slowly falling into place. The freedom allowed for King Ken's cross here is absolutely remarkable. No marking or pressure whatsoever, despite three opponents in relatively close proximity. He won't get that space against better teams but he still has to put the ball into the right area at the right time and he is good at that. https://twitter.com/San_Pers/status/1723370283908653299?t=iWO8cuh_CbOmQqmtrluUxw&s=08
How can he be a waste of money? He has made 13 appearances so far and is scoring at a rate of a goal every 111 minutes (say, 1.25 games). Obviously, this is a small sample of games, arguably some against weaker opposition, but I doubt we have had many strikers in our history scoring at that rate. His stats are interesting 13 shots, 7 on target, of which 6 resulted in goals! Given the right service he clearly knows how to convert. I thought yesterday he also ran in on the 'keeper more effectively. He doesn't have Bayo's pace, but the 'keeper was forced to hoof the ball down field on almost every occasion, giving us a 50/50 chance of regaining possession.
Excellent post. But I do believe you've missed a 6 - 1 home win against QPR. In the days of Johnny Fairbrother, so early 60's.
Rayovic did, in this match, exactly what we bought him for - knock the ball in from in front of the goal. The lesson, as if it has not been screamed by many of us from these pages, is that we must supply him with the appropriate passes. Sema did just that; granted Rotherham defenders more or less allowed him to. In Enjoy the Game's clip you can see their number 2 actually ducks out of the way of Sema's cross. In general outfield play Bayo is the more useful player, he is more mobile and has a terrific engine. As a matter of fact I believe he is also a 10-goals- minimum player this season, if played a sufficient number of times.
Healy is a different sort of striker from Bayo and Rajovic. We have hardly seen him play and he looked very match-rusty yesterday, but one can tell anyway because of his build and movement. At the moment it is only a dream, but one could imagine him feeding off the scraps and knock-downs from one of the big men.
Although VI is very unlikely to play 2 centrally upfront other than as an occasional plan B when chasing a game. Healy doesn't work as he central striker in a front 3.
