Point Gained
Well after a truly woeful first half display from those in black and white, who looked as though they couldn’t string 2 passes together we managed to come back when after the first 45 minutes it looked a case of how many we would lose by.
At half time I certainly would have taken a point. But based on the 2nd half we won that one and on chances probably could have went on to win.
I know KK tried to shore things up at the back by bringing on Charlie for the final 15 minutes but I honestly believe had Martins stayed on the field and a substitution of Geremi would have been a better option. But we’ll take a point and a positive 45 minutes and try turn it into 3 points against Fulham at the weekend.
I would certainly say its a case of a point gained rather than 2 dropped after the first half though. It could be a point which makes a difference at the end of the season.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:24 am
The game was televised here in S.A. so i managed to see it live. First half i was very very worried, and when McFadden scored, i thought this is it, we’re over. Seb Larsson was eating us on the right, with martins playing forward and not tracking back, barton having to come on the left and make tackles with enrique. We looked very ordinary at the back, taylor was a passenger during the first half, and faye made alot of mistakes, one of which led to the goal. obviously dont know what KK said during the break, but it certainly helped. the defence came forward more, and we dominated the left hand side of the pitch. i think butt and barton did well, but i didnt like the fact that we pumped too many ‘over-cooked’ long balls into the forwards, we were just wasting possesion. Once owen missed his first real chance, i felt that was the spark we needed. from that till the goal we really played well, i think martins and owen could play alone without viduka, who i felt was almost anonymous in the game. bringing on charlie for martins was probably to save the point, the brum started counter attacking at the end while we were going for the win, and i think KK really really needed the point. personally i would have gone for the win and sacrificed either butt or geremi, and played a proper 4-3-3 for the last 10. after a mediocre first half i was happy for the draw, its a move in the right direction, AND if we can follow this up with a win at SJP, get the fans all behind us, then i’m sure we’ll avoid the drop. This weekend i’d like to see charlie start on the left, with oba and owen up front, and the rest the same, with viduka on the bench. HOWAY THE LADS, we can do this!!!
March 18th, 2008 at 9:18 am
I really didnt understand bringing Martins off tbh. His work-rate and energy far exceeded that of Viduka, and when you’re playing as narrow as we were I cant see the sense in having Viduka there.
A terrible first half performace left me depressed and resigned to Championship football. Dunno what KK said to them at half time but it was like a different team…….
March 18th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
You can’t only play football for 45 mins in the premier league though. Thats my concern.
March 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Indeed……
It seems to me we have the talent amongst our players, but they constantly need a keep up the arse. The motivation level seems poor, but that could be a nerves/confidence thing?
I hope this point “earned” will give the required confidence boost to real do the business next weekend. Could do without the drama tbh :p
March 18th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I am impressed they hauled their asses back into the game though and not sulk about it. Haven’t seen too much of that this season and I hope they are starting to regain some belief. Getting beat would have been a disaster so I’ll take the away point. Hope they can get at fulham with some momentum, home support and not disappear in the first half again.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Yeah i would really like to see a convincing performance coming from them against Fulham with the 3 points. It would be good to help lift supporters and players alike and get a bit of the media off our backs. Im so sick of hearing their crap. Last night even Setanta were gagging for us to get stuffed. They obviously had all their one liners set.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
You reckon Martins did enough to make it impossible to leave him out?
March 19th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Obviously not he sub’d him in the end
March 19th, 2008 at 6:09 am
the way oba reacted when getting substituted tells me that he wants to be here, and he wants to play every game. if he is dropped to the bench on saturday, i feel he’ll put in a transfer request, there are plenty other teams where he’d start every game, and who are playing far better than we are atm. i really want to see the back of viduka, and would like to see oba and owen upfront together. Bring on the cottagers, 2-1 to us this weekend!
March 19th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Aye, Martins and Owen for me. Owen has to be on the pitch as he is the most likely to nick one. He appears to be making the right noises after missing his chances at Blackburn. Before that I wondered if he just thought it was all down to the rest of the team why he wasn’t scoring.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I think there were signs that Owen and Martins CAN play together the other night. Martins is like a kid he just wants to play, score and win. He is so unpredictable that it creates chances and goals. Ive maintained all along that I think we get Martins in the team he keeps us up. Hes been messed around a bit this season. But also I think Owen should be in the team. Hes world class simple as and gets u goals on predatory instinct which Martins will never get. But Owen needs service Martins does not. Viduka showed flashes the other night but punting the ball over his head wont work. We need craft from midfield but we aint going to get that til earliest next season as we just dont have the players. Interesting to see what team he goes with against fulham. Will the midfield be quite so defensive or will he go for it? One thing of note if Geremi plays i hope he spend 10 hours this week practicing corners as he couldnt beat the first man at all the other night.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Hello gents,
It sounded (from the little bits I snatched via the radio and what was written afterwards) like Faye had a pretty poor game - what on earth do we do to defenders at this club? From what I’ve read Martins had a good game too and it sounds as if Owen and Martins really could play together, in which case I hope we see it happening. Either way Smith was dropped and hopefully will continue to be.
By the way, can anyone tell me how Butt and Barton looked?
I’m increasingly confident that we might be able to grind out a result against Fulham (although confidence will still be fragile so it won’t be easy), in which case a win should start pushing us back up the table. With luck it’ll settle the players and get them playing with confidence. Fingers crossed…
March 20th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Yeah a win this weekend will make all the difference. Especially with now everyone having reached the 30 games mark. If we get a win im sure if it gets to 7 points between us and Bolton we won’t be going down. We just need to make sure that we do nail Fulham. Martins and Owen linked up a decent amount. Viduka showed flashes. Yes Faye had a poor game by all accounts though he improved 2nd half. He was caught twice for McFaddens goal and McFadden had him the whole first half. He looked scared but to be fair 2nd half he improved much like most of the team. Our midfield of Butt, Barton, Geremi lacks legs. Im beginning to wonder if Zogbia is a disruptive influence or isnt giving 100% because he expects to be moving on. Who knows…
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hmmm… Daily Express (aka the OK! Daily) and the Mirror both have the rumour today that we’re after Michael Dawson to “solve” our defensive problems. Erm, what? That’s like bringing in the Duke of Edinburgh to solve a race relations problem…
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:11 am
As for N’Zogbia, I agree, I think he’s given up as he has no intension of being here next season. Sod him, he’s an oddball from what I’ve heard of him (not that that matters on the pitch but hey…).