As others have said - so close to working (which was the same with VI at WBA). Dominated possession, dominated chances but just can't score. 2nd game in a row Bayo hasn't even taken a shot (the one thing he's usually pretty decent at). Rajovics first touch looked awful. I hope he's the answer but I strongly doubt he is. Although his movement looked good Kone poor. TDB slightly better but not by much. Kayemebe also awful - with Livermore and Sierralta our only alternatives this must be a priority to reinforce before the window closes. Blackburn had a few nice set piece routines (hopefully a remnant of my work with them at the end of the season!). Really nice goal in all credit to them, the touches of Hedges to juggle the ball forward like that to then finish also requires a huge amount of skill. Bachmann possible should've done better at his near post but hey ho. On Sky it looked like he wasn't pushing as high as he has done so far in our other games? Asprilla poor, wish he'd gamble on shooting on his right rather than trying to shift it onto his left so close to goal. We get into the box relatively easily, but players just seem to be after the "perfect" finish rather than just gambling on putting their foot through it. On a positive note: Martins is absolutely electric. Have no idea why so many managers didn't fancy him last season.
As many have said there were some positive signs and you get the feeling that we might well thrash somebody soon if we can just get the ball to go in the opposition's net. That said, I felt we seemed a bit disjointed at times during the first half with several players looking unsure of where they were supposed to be. The second half was much better, but we appeared to lose some momentum and the atmosphere became noticeably flatter as it slowly dawned on people that our new centre forward looks as comically bad as Bayo. No less than three separate minute's applause for Andy Rankin, Jimmy Davis and someone with a Blackburn connection, meant there was plenty to enjoy for all those who love a grief fest
I thought Martins has been quite good, but seems rather wasteful. I like the fact that he’s going for goal, but his shots tend to be well off target. He needs to work on those quickly, otherwise the rest of the teams going to get fed up very quickly with him squandering those shots.
I'm not sure how VI wants us to create chances. Today it seemed like we were under instuctions to only play it wide in the final third as an absolute last resort...allowing Blackburn to compress their defensive lines across the width of the penalty area leaving us to attempt to tippy-tap our way through a highly congested area. We don't have players good enough to make that work and without VAR the chance of any slight contact on one of our players resulting in a penalty is vanishingly slim. And we are so slow and deliberate in transition that teams have worked out there is little risk in springing counter-attacks as they'll always have time to regroup and watch us attempt to tip-tap our way through 9 defenders. We need to mix up our play a lot more or we are going to be facing today's outcome extremely regularly.
I think the problems are far deeper. Open your eyes. The season has begun as poorly as many fans feared. All good will has gone. We are far too easy to play against. 1. Ismael football tactics have been sussed out already, as predicted. 2. We show a great lack of effort. No one seems bothered. The players seem fresh as daisies after 90mins. I thought Ismael was at the club to change the culture. 3. We have no goal threat, so teams don't worry about us. The worry is that we haven't played any one decent yet.
Well point 3 is probably valid . Certainly no lack of effort though. Quality yes but they certainly tried .
Rajovic & Bayo cannot be the answer. No matter how well the rest of the team functions, and that isn't without issues, nothing in these guys track record and recent performances suggests they are going to score enough goals at this level.
Sorry but why is it "a shame"? In his brief cameos he looked even less sharp than Bayo did - and I'd presume that will have also been the case in training for him to not be getting a sniff. If Bayo isn't the answer, and Healey hasn't looked as dangerous as Bayo, then Healey seems unlikely to be right now either. Seems he's probably still got a way to go to be fit enough, if he'll even get there.
Agree with most of this, but what did Ngakia do wrong? I thought in his brief appearance that he injected much needed belief and urgency.
He’s our 3rd striker, another option to bring on in games like today where Bayo wasn’t getting the rub of the green, and neither was Rajovic by the look of things. As you say he may not be up to fitness yet, which is probably why he didn’t make the bench. The fact that he’s not ready yet is a “shame”. He may turn out to be utter bobbins, but when plan A isn’t working like in today’s game, bringing on a different style of striker is worth a punt.
VI has said he's consistent in training but suggested that Healys not confident in trusting his injury has healed. I think VI knows he should be ready (and personally I think he's had enough time- he made a couple of sub appearances at the end of the season + a full preseason) so it's about getting that confidence back. Unless he picked up an injury in training this week he's not gonna get that confidence back unless he gets minutes. Could've been useful this game, along with the last. Maybe dropping him entirely will send that message that he has to be willing to play or he has no place in the team. Hopefully he realises and forces VI to play him in the next couple of games. Or he's pony. But hopefully the first paragraph.
I get that Healey doesn't have the same build as Bayo and Rajovic but we aren't exactly hoofing it for 90 minutes. Looking at Healey's goals he's more likely to finish some of these chances that anyone else at the moment. Hopefully he gets himself right mentally very soon.
@reids (or anyone else who knows how / where to find it), is there an up to date table of expected goals from the first 4 rounds of championship games?
Was that one where they tried the surprise pass across the pitch, lost it, and we broke away and nearly scored one of yours? I'm not sure what they were trying to do there, but it was a disaster from the moment he played it.
Grrrrr......so frustrating ! We've played more decent football in three home games this season than we did in twenty-three last year. And as for that b@stud f'kn woodwork.....
Rover in peace here. Bit of a smash and grab on our part after you pretty much bombarded us. Sorry not sorry, I guess! But on a serious note, it was a real touch of class from your club to feature a Matt Sillitoe tribute and for your fans to join in as you did. Matt was the voice of Ewood matchdays for the best part of the last ten years, and a shock to hear of his passing at such a young age. Good luck for the season Hornets! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There was a corner that was passed which was dummied and then (I presume) was supposed to be a shot from the edge of the area. Can't remember whether they lost the ball from it or not (i've had a few pints ) but the idea - perhaps not their execution(!) is a classic reids routine. They also had a nice FK routine I recall (as did we, with Louzas attempt)
He's good at dribbling and beating a player, but has little idea what to do with it (other than try to beat the next player) after he's achieved that.
Funnily enough the first player that came to mind when I watched a highlights video of him when we were first linked was Fabbrini!
I like Giorgi, I'd rather watch a player buzzing around trying to make something happen than watch Kone do whatever he was trying to do today. He's only 23 and it's always a risk if they haven't played in England before. We don't really have the luxury of waiting for the likes of Chakvetadze and Rajovic to settle because our options in those positions are so poor, we need them to hit the ground running.
Thank. Same for you with Andy Rankin. Cannot complain - you got the goal (good one too) and we didn't score or really look like doing so once you went in front.
I can’t help but just feel very frustrated with it all. It’s half so good and half so poor. After what feels like four seasons of shocking football I’ve sat through, there finally seems to be some light with good effort and heart shown and now we can’t score a goal. It’s so nearly there and could be a great season but I’m so nearly done with caring and just don’t think Pozzo will bring in what we need. I hope I’m wrong but that’s three very similar games on the bounce, I really hope it clicks because it could be wonderful but I see us being goal shy till November and Pozzo pulling the trigger. We finish 14th. Sema starting to irritate me, that 94th minute shot was so ridiculous he needs disciplining. Porteous best game in a Watford shirt. Tom Ince promising. We’re really relying on a good end to the window and Jamal Lewis being as good as he should (and fit.)
We were forced to take pot shots at goal from distance because of either lack of movement up front, or Blackburn positioning. Yes, we hit the woodwork twice but if we’re relying on 25 yard shots being our only chance of scoring, it’s going to be another tough season
Quite enjoyed the game. Unlucky and thought Martins, Andrews, Centre backs, Asprilla and Ince all did well. Kone seemed to do nothing but give the ball away and Ngakia was awful when he came on. Surprised Bachman isn’t getting more criticism for the goal - I thought it was awful keeping given the angle. Keepers get something on that for a corner 90% of the time. Coventry away looks tough. Pressure would start to build on the next home games if we don’t win that.
