Will Slavisa's arrogance cost this squad automatic promotion?

I went to Ashton Gate, and listening to 3CR last night, I had a feeling of deja vue (except that I wasn't viewing). But this time it wasn't entirely self-inflicted - Pudil and Vydra got knocks on Saturday and presumably weren't fully fit, Bassong was injured and I guess Munari too, which did leave us short. But a combination of Tozser, Anya and Magoo was never going to dominate midfield. I suppose Joker needed to find out what Magoo could do, but it would have been better to have put him on the left of the front three and played FF deeper, as FF would have put in the tackles. Murray has been disappointing lately, but he would have been a better bet for central midfield than Anya, whose indecisiveness would have been even more apparent in a position where more decisions need to be made than when playing wide.

So far Joker has learned that too little rotation for midweek matches is a bad thing, and that too much is also a bad thing. Let's hope he now has a better idea of the qualities of the players at his disposal.

 

We've been overachieving up until now and tonight was the end product - mark my words, this team is not good enough for automatic. We'll be lucky to reach the playoffs.

Hate to say it so soon but a Joker isn't the manager to lead us to promotion.

 

If you have injuries like we do then go with a formation that suits what you have, not one that tries to shoe players into positions they can't play. We were lacking first choice centre mids, so go 442, that only needed 2.

Out of the 18 players on the bench:

Gomes
Paredes Ekstrand Cathcart Doyley
Anya Andrews Tozser Dyer(or Mcgugan)
Vydra(or Fessi) Deeney

If Joker learns the lessons of last night then great.

Being built for 352 I I think the squad is imbalanced and needs some hacking in Jan

 

It won't have been wasted on Jokanovic that we have not got a team yet that is more than the sum of it's parts. He said that he would not change things quickly and thus far he has tried to evolve what was in place. Don't forget the coaches have offered continuity so far.

But he won't have been fooled that our recent performances, where within the run of the game we have largely been outpassed, constitute promotion form. We made top by default only and need to improve considerably before Xmas.

 

You know me, I don't really like football, but I'll give this one a go.

Because at least 4 of them are injured?

 

No they weren't. They hate the cold. It's no coincidence that Abdi is always injured in the winter.

Pansy.

 

Does that even mean anything?

 

It was stupid to mess with the team more than was forced by injury, in the same way it was stupid of Zola to do it at Brizzle a couple of years back and lose our momentum.

Accusing Joka of arrogance is a bit premature though - it only becomes arrogant if he keeps doing it, if it stops him doing it then it's been a good lesson and one he's been humble enough to accept. Time will tell.

 

I hate it when you call me that

Except during our loveplay

 

Nobody in their right mind can have thought a midfield trio including McGugan and Anya would be good enough.

That's the crux of it really because Joka did, or at least he thought he could get away with it against Brum. Andrews has not played a huge amount of football, so not starting with him was ****ing mental.

When you're forced to make several changes because of injury, I don't know if it's arrogance or stupidity which makes you make further changes, which include slotting square pegs into round holes in your starting formation.

He shouldn't have done it. OK, we might have kept Pudil, Andrews and Vydra in the 11 and still lost, but that would have been the lower risk option IMO.

As has been said before, however, if Joka learns from this, then I will get over it in a matter of minutes.

 

Stop calling me at work. I've burgers to flip.

 

Why is it that every time we lose a game there has to be a gigantic stewards. I went last night and didn't enjoy what I saw but FFS these are not idiots we have running the club they are perfectly aware where problems lie. To suggest it was arrogance is complete rubbish so let them get on with their job........WE ARE GOING UP.

 

Maybe not gigantic but certainly a large steward.

 

Really? Never heard of cup games? FML did we get knocked out before round 1?

 

I agree that a squad assembled for 3-5-2 isn't always well-equipped for 4-3-3. As Temps says, 4-4-2 would have made better use of the players available than sticking with 4-3-3. We do need a bit of a cull in January, and I expect we'll get it.

I would have liked to have seen Andrews starting, but I think it's very likely that his legs aren't up to 180 minutes in 4 days.

 

Yes. It means if anyone else was any good we wouldn't have been top. We went top after a run of drawing more than we won and looking unconvincing. It's not rocket science. Other's failures meant we went top. Don't get all pedantic now.

 

Personally I think the squad is unbalanced with too many players of attacking intent and not enough high energy ball winners.

Injuries have deprived us of Abdi and Munari which is unfortunate but Joka's selection yesterday of a front three meant our midfield put out which was lightweight at best was given no protection.

Need to look at recruitment in January otherwise season could peter out again as it did last year

 

We need 10 new signings and they all need to be English, in your face, hard *******s who will put it into Row Z if necessary and who aren't afraid to get elbows deep into the opponents' mixer.

 

Moog for manager.

 

Totally agree

 

Thinking about Norwich fans travelling to Boro on a Tuesday night to get stuffed has made last night not so bad!

 

Probably didn't help our manager coming out and saying two days before the game that Hoban will start the game. It doesn't take much for the opposing coaching team to see that our defence will be lacking anyone with some aerial or physical strength. Therefore, giving them the impetus, and using their target man more so than perhaps they usually would.

But getting back to our changes, why is it we feel the need to make so many changes yet the opposition didn't? They, too, played on Saturday. We already have an injury hit squad - at any point in the season it feels like we have several of our key players out - so making further, unnecessary changes is only going to disrupt and weaken the team.

I genuinely feel like those changes were made because we thought it would have been a walk over. It wasn't.

 

100% correct. This wasn't like the defeat at Charlton. To many of our starting 11 didn't want to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in to the game.

 

I don't think Peter has been given a chance

 

We lost one game, so now we need a 'cull' in January and Slav isn't the man to take up.

Jesus ****ing Christ.

 

Get yer boots, Moog!

 

We need a cull because we've got a 3-5-2 squad playing 4-3-3. Square pegs, round holes.

 

Promotion wouldn't be nailed on under him either.

Too nice to be a manager.

 

Na m8 ur thinking of Jesus H Christ. I've heard this guy is a right bruiser

 

Nailed on. Like it. Doesn't deal well with crosses either I've heard.

 

No m8 need an English manager, not some Mexican.

 

Maybe. But turning water into wine in the Choccy Bar could prove useful ...

 

No.