birkbeck_dj
Well-known member
On a day like this, Mark Drury on BBC Tees really comes into his own
Who would have thought so, with our well planned out pre-season identifying quality players and getting them in early..........You’ve got to say it’s not been a great start!
Oh let’s not start this daftness again. We are defending poorly but we were last year too but no one said somethings not right.Its not the defence the team are not defending. Somethings not right at the club
Agree with all of that except Rogers….very underwhelmed so far. Hope he proves me wrong!Weird weird game. West Brom looked toothless at times but scored 4. Smith was a little unprofessional but shouldn’t have had the first yellow and maybe not the second. Confidence looks pretty low, but we can play it about a bit.
I’m not going to over react from this result, despite how disappointed I am at it, chalk it up to experience, and move on.
Dieng 6 - not a lot he could do about the goals
Smith 4 - his job is to bring experience and a bit of defensive solidity to the side. He failed. The first yellow wasn’t a yellow but for the second he should know better at 31 and 350 games i don’t think an actually shirt pulled, he tried to stiff arm him, the ref bought it, Smith shoulda known better than to give a poor ref a decision to make. Killed the game
Fry 5 - should have closed Swift for his goal but kept backing off. Closest man goes to the ball.
Lenihan 5 - struggled to handle their CFs movement and strength
Engel 5.5 - terrible mistake with the back pass, nearly redeemed himself 2 mins later but good save from their GK. Put in some sumptuous crosses and won the penalty. But the back pass, look then play.
Howson 5 - looks rusty, looking his age today. Needs competition
Hackney 5 - needs to bucks his ideas up, seems to run out of stern after 79 mins. Kept shooting at the wrong time first half and gifting the ball. Keep it simple and play like last year. Switched off for the 4th
Silvera 6 - playing as a proper winger instead of inverted suits him. Keep it simple, drop the shoulder run at fullback cross goal
Rogers 6 - some neat touches bringing the ball under control in tight areas and releasing it at the right time. Victim of Smiths red
McGree 5 - anonymous largely, poor game. Oh he did have that one chance when he stole it from kipre but then just toe poked it
Lath 8 - great header, worked his ass off, unlucky not to get a second, tired after 65 but loan striker when down to 10 is energy Wapping. Need a proper back up
Subs
Jones 8 - I’ve been on his back the last 2 years, but he was excellent today, direct, dangerous, pacey. Should start Vs Bolton
Crooks 4 - I’d do better and I’m 51
Forss 6 - works hard buried the pen but he lacks a trick to play out wide
McNair 6 - offered little support at RB and he’s out of position
All in all, despite the result, I’m happy with Dieng, brain fart aside Engel looked dangerous, needs to quicken his thought process now. Lath was excellent. Jones looked confident. Rogers and Silvera offered something.
We just need to start defending better
Exactly.We scored two goals to fight back when behind
He didn’t impose himself on the game enough, but some of his first touch, control and dribbling and short passing was superb. I think he needs to work on his physical side though, needs to be fitter and quicker.Agree with all of that except Rogers….very underwhelmed so far. Hope he proves me wrong!
So why do you think we are taking longer than other teams in getting the new players and ultimately team up to speed?Carrick [Thursday]:
New players. New surroundings. How do you help them settle in?
Part of it is time. Listen, we`re not different from any other teams, [who`ve] got players that are settling in as well. At the start of the season, it is what it is. Once you settle into it and get results, find your rhythm...coming into September, this season starts taking shape a little different[ly]. It takes time. We obviously spend time in meetings, on the training pitch. Time and experience is a great thing [Smile]. Unfortunately you don’t get enough time. Its here and now it counts. There`s an understanding from us as staff with new signings [of] what they need and what we need to give them.
......
A lot of people are overreacting though. I'm concerned about today's performance, but I'm not writing the season off or the plan as a whole off like some people are. Today was bad, but the side never gave up and that's good, it shows the character is there. I've said all along that it's not worth making any judgements until we see what players come in and see how they perform together. I don't expect many players to come in this week but I'm sure there'll be some movement. And then we can see where the squad is and we'll hopefully have a more positive performance next weekend.The trouble is we've signed young inexperienced players and expect them to be stars on day one. It will take time and it's wrong of us as a football club to expect them to produce from day one. They should be built up but we are throwing them completely into the deep end with a expectant fan base who doesn't take defeats well
Ask Michael Carrick - those are his thoughts and words from Thursday`s Media Conference.So why do you think we are taking longer than other teams in getting the new players and ultimately team up to speed?