16 Dec 2021 12:56:56
Ratings
Sa - 7 Had v little to do as Brighton were v poor
Semedo -7 Had a good game going forward less impressive defensively. Whilst the foul by Burns, not even disputed by Virgo, on him was probably outside the box this is the sort of decision that the big 6 get. We on the other hand didn't even get the free kick
Marcal -8 Wish he wouldn't be quite so daft with his challenges and theatrics, (other refs won't be so accommodating) but he was v strong defensively as expected but was also surprisingly excellent going forwards if not as fast or silky as RAN.
Saiss 8 Fabulous finish and solid game all round. Again!
Coady 8 a rock at the back
Kilman 7 had v little to do and didn't treat us to any marauding runs this time
Moutinho 7 Does what it says on the tin. V impressed he put in two big shifts only a few days apart. Can he do it again v Chelsea or does he need a rest?
Neves 7 Solid but sprinkled it with a bit of magic for the goal. I know its greedy but can we have more forward passes that cut the opposition to ribbons and not quite so many safe passes.
Trincao 5 Not as bad as many have stated but is lightweight and does need to improve his reading of the game. He gets caught in possession far to often and unlike Traore and particularly Podence who also lost the ball occasionally he doesn't create enough (or frankly anything) from these perhaps selfish retentions of the ball to balance out the lost opportunities that arise from his failure to pass to better placed colleagues.
Podence 8 V creative and hardworking but perhaps tries too much (cf Neves and Moutinho) and a terrible finisher. Might make a 10? If we switch from 3 up front to a narrower 1-2 formation.
Hwang -n/a Worried how long he will be out as we are running out of bodies.
Subs
Traore 8 Was surprisingly good at holding the ball up with his back to goal and gave a great impression of Bergkamp with his unselfish vision and passing.
Dendonker n/a
Silva n/a
16 Dec 2021 14:23:43
Pretty much covered it my friend. Re Trincao I think if we hadn't lost Hwang and Traore already being on the pitch a switch of Trincao/Traore could have happened by halftime. I though Trincao was very poor last night losing the ball by trying to be too clever in dangerous areas for us. I saw a few looks of despair by Bruno. You flatter him with a 5 frankly.
16 Dec 2021 15:11:33
Ken - Brighton were so poor it is hard to really tell how good we were so perhaps my grades are a bit high all round
As stated above though the fact that there is no obvious MofM is surely a good thing. It was a solid of workman like performance from the entire team.
Well done Lage again.
We created more than ( the current) normal and I think the Podence/Traore combo worked well.
I would like to see - ( pre Neto coming back and assuming he comes back at his former level) 3,4,1,2
with Podence in the free role and Traore playing off of Jimenez.
Clearly this requires Traore to be willing not to go and sit on his wing and sulk but as yesterday drive down the middle linking with Podence and hopefully Jimenez.
If Neves/Moutinho can also pick some passes to the runners - ie Traore, Podence and the 2wbs we might be able to still sit solidly but retain a threat and some goals
At the moment playing the 2 wide men isn't paying off as well as it has done formerly as Jimenez isn't dominating the box like he used to and frankly Hwang and Trincao aren't a patch on Neto and Traore
ps Hope your grandaughter is giving you a bit off a lift pre Xmas!
pps have you been watching the secrets of IWM - they have been showing quite a bit of Duxford!
16 Dec 2021 15:13:03
Phil - apologies it was you who made the insightful comment about no obvious M of M.
16 Dec 2021 15:47:37
No worries pal.
COYW
16 Dec 2021 18:13:33
future totally agree with Phil and yourself regarding MofM no one obvious because it was a good team performance. As for IWM no I'd not seen that but I'll have a look. I have an interest in some of the commercial aircraft there. One in particular because I've flown on it, not particularly exciting it just shows how old I am! Granddaughter and her carers have gone back to London sadly and the house is back in order and very quiet. It always looks like a bombsight when either of my two lads turn up but not the eldest with partner and child its amazing what they can do to it in very little time!
16 Dec 2021 20:57:25
One of the posters made the valid point about the team tactics in the City match being similar to Nuno’s tactics when we won 2-0 there a few years ago and I think the point was spot on. The big difference (and still an issue for me) is the lack of effective forward forays from the wing backs. Although Marcal hit the bar last night some of his delivery into the box (especially in the first half) was just hitting the first defender (not dissimilar to some of RAN’s crosses to be fair). I’m still unconvinced by Semedo going forward though he was unlucky with the potential penalty incident last night. The defending at wing back level is good this season but we need more going forward as we can’t expect Neves / Saiss to work wonders every time the front line misfires. I may be in the minority but I’d like to see Hoever getting some games under his belt.
17 Dec 2021 00:18:06
TFIOG, not a million miles away for me, a couple of debatables.
Samedo was very poor little attacking impact lost the ball too often.
Mout was poor first thought was backwards, even when we were trying to attack and hold a press.
Marcel poor deliveries all night.
Podence (who I love) amazingly was not at the races, a return square ball to Traore was obvious choice when both threw on goal.
Traore better end product from him, but he really needs to come to collect the ball, we lost the ball on numerous occasions simply because he sat to collect and they nipped round him. (sell Jan please).
Overall if you look at sofascore you will see lost possession through bad passing way to often, and this is impacting our attacking abilty, more movement required and more forward thinking.
17 Dec 2021 06:58:27
With our squad small injuries the uncertainty of c.v. infections or players contact with infected we have Giles and Sanderson we can recall in January whether we do or not it's a viable and sound option imo.
Giles has a very good delivery and is up there top of the chart in assists.
Sanderson has been very good and consistent for Birmingham.
The c.v. is of concern sorry to bring it up as its very serious and could wreck our plans for January and beyond but main seriousness is everybody's health.
17 Dec 2021 14:20:33
Tks Lord Thor
Semedo is a difficult one - he is a v good player between the boxes but isn't a great defender and as you say doesn't actually produce much going forwards. He is a nice player with all the pejorative overtones the word "nce" has. He is a solid Prem player, maybe even top half. However when you look at for example Lamptey who you could have bought for 6 month's of Semedo's amortisation you realise just how modest a signing he was.
Moutinho - As I said he does what it says on the tin - which of course means that yes he rarely plays incisive passes these days but nearly always passes to someone in the same colour shirt. That is what he gives - control, recycling the ball etc which all helps the defensive effort but does little for us offensively. I marked him according to that measure though as clearly that is now his role?
Marcel - ok I thought his passing wasn't too bad. Clearly without Jimenez crossing to the far post wasn't going to work but I agree he isn't as smooth as RAN going forwards.
Understand your comment on Podence I think he sometimes tries to hard but given my criticism of our overall lack of ambition it would be harsh if I blamed him for being too ambitious and he doe work hard and keeps his head up when others might lose their drive.
Traore again I actually want him going away not coming to the ball - his best attribute for me is his pace and the ball in behind would be perfect for him - so I understand your view as it isn't really his game and I actually commented that he did it better than I expected and he to be frank normally does!
Appreciate your comments and the discussion!