MATCH THREAD - Swansea (A) Sponsored by the play off final

[MmmMonsterMunch]

lol match of the day made us look better than we were

Did you see Pog's lack of celebration for the goal? Looks distinctly unimpressed!

[leon]

lol match of the day made us look better than we were

Did you see Pog's lack of celebration for the goal? Looks distinctly unimpressed!

he must be wondering why he's slumming it, when he could be playing for perennial league achievers Fulham.

[Barry the bird boggler]

Most obvious thing is that our midfield options are not good enough for the step up to the Premier League. Karacan and Leigertwood is probably the most effective combination in a 4-4-2 as we have seen recently (and just typical of the way our sodding luck is going at the moment that that partnership was disrupted by a minor injury). Guthrie can't really play in that formation as it makes our game too slow and denies our wingers room to play so either he needs to sharpen his game or we change our style (not something that can be done with the players we have currently).

The only other option is to play 3 in midfield - which theoretically should give us what we need in the centre of the pitch but causes us problems as the strikers available I don't believe are deal for that formation (unless you turn Kebe into a centre forward).

So, in my opinion, there is still work needed on the playing side and I only hope our position in January is not hopeless.

On 20th Oct at Liverpool I expect pretty much exactly the same sort of game except, presumably, we'll have Leigertwood back in for Tabb.

Oh and great to see McCarthy stepping up and proving what a bl**dy good keeper he is, I sincerely hope he isn't just dropped when Feds is fit again like he was after that run in the team in early 2011.

[Snowball]

The most important thing about McCarthy is he's already very good but has masses of room to improve
to become top-top keeper, if he gets the game time and experience at this level

[Snowball]

Swansea have a lot of excellent players.

Even if we had gone there and tried to take the game to them
they would have dominated possession.

And they played some KILLER balls. It was just their poor finishing first half that allowed us to have a chance.

We scored two very good goals away from home. We got a very good draw away from home, to a side now 11th.

The goal-order is meaningless.

It's not as if "after we scored two and stamped our clear authority" we then blew it.


Swansea deserved to score 2-3-4-5 goals but didn't first because they missed good chances
and second because McCarthy had a great game.

We deserved to score 2 goals and might have had 3

[Snowball]

We have now played

1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th

Our opposition away are 4-0-0, 4-0-0, 1-2-1 totaling 9-2-1 27 F - 12A

[Man Friday]

All those dockheads who say "cheer up, we got a point away from home, wot's the problem?", do you ever look beyond the end of your nose? Ultimately over the season performances will equal points. Perform like that every week and we'll

get a point.

about once every five matches.

[Man Friday]

All those dockheads who say "cheer up, we got a point away from home, wot's the problem?", do you ever look beyond the end of your nose? Ultimately over the season performances will equal points. Perform like that every week and we'll finish bottom by miles.

yes but play like we did against Newcastle and we'll get into Europe.

Your point is?

We need to play like we did against Newcastle, or at least something reasonably close to it, not the dire performance delivered yesterday.

[LUX]

So, given the way Southampton's match evolved this afternoon, did they gain a point or drop two? They played mostly well against a team much higher in the table, took the lead, conceded two goals near the end and equalized in injury time. At home.

[Ian Royal]

So, given the way Southampton's match evolved this afternoon, did they gain a point or drop two? They played mostly well against a team much higher in the table, took the lead, conceded two goals near the end and equalized in injury time. At home.

Given that description, probably just about gained. Never had a comfortable score line and were behind for a bit.

[Hoop Blah]

Honestly I do not think we were played off the pitch at all - we just ran out of steam, our players were chasing them down all the time - Tabb was hounding them around in midfield always closing them down and harrying them, then when we ran out of steam they took control and we made a few stupid tactical errors, like Kebe gave the ball away when we were attacking, which lead to their one goal.

Ever thought that that's part of the plan when teams keep the ball and move it around the pitch well making the opposition chase shaddows?

Or is that just a conincidence that teams who,

...pass it from one central defender to the other central defender for 90 minutes and call that sexy football

seem to finish strongly and wear teams out?

Just watching Barcelona v Real Madrid and on the commentary they pulled out a stat that Barca have scored half of their goals in the last 15 minutes.

Coincidence? Perhaps their constant pressure and passing just kills teams and Swansea did the same against us?

[RoyalBlue]

We have now played

1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th

Our opposition away are 4-0-0, 4-0-0, 1-2-1 totaling 9-2-1 27 F - 12A

Out of interest were those their positions before or after playing us?

[themadstad]

This game, certainly a lot earlier in the 2nd half, we shoułd have made changes. The midfield should have been strengthened up because we just let Swansea keep coming at us. We left it far too late with changes and we really have a shockingly poor ability to be able to retain the ball or make accurate passes.

Where will that win come from? We look like a relegation team, I'm not sure we really prepared well enough looking at it.

[ManchesterRoyals]

This game, certainly a lot earlier in the 2nd half, we shoułd have made changes. The midfield should have been strengthened up because we just let Swansea keep coming at us. We left it far too late with changes and we really have a shockingly poor ability to be able to retain the ball or make accurate passes.

Where will that win come from? We look like a relegation team, I'm not sure we really prepared well enough looking at it.

This, said it all second half take hunt off and tighten the middle of the park but it never happened think it was a bad call by BM

[Ian Royal]

This game, certainly a lot earlier in the 2nd half, we shoułd have made changes. The midfield should have been strengthened up because we just let Swansea keep coming at us. We left it far too late with changes and we really have a shockingly poor ability to be able to retain the ball or make accurate passes.

Where will that win come from? We look like a relegation team, I'm not sure we really prepared well enough looking at it.

This, said it all second half take hunt off and tighten the middle of the park but it never happened think it was a bad call by BM

Thing is, you know he'd have done it if Tabb was on the bench and Guthrie had started.

[ManchesterRoyals]

This game, certainly a lot earlier in the 2nd half, we shoułd have made changes. The midfield should have been strengthened up because we just let Swansea keep coming at us. We left it far too late with changes and we really have a shockingly poor ability to be able to retain the ball or make accurate passes.

Where will that win come from? We look like a relegation team, I'm not sure we really prepared well enough looking at it.

This, said it all second half take hunt off and tighten the middle of the park but it never happened think it was a bad call by BM

Thing is, you know he'd have done it if Tabb was on the bench and Guthrie had started.

So whats BM beef with Guthrie it was a great opportunity to get 3 points on sat when we went 0-2 up and we blew it, it was obvious to u me and many others plug the middfield and stop swansea playing so much in the middle i like BM but this was a bad call and if its because hes got the hump with Guthrie thats just a bad managment call

[Extended-Phenotype]

Seems to be making quite a few bad calls this season.

Tabb for Guthrie, Pog/Hunt for McCleary. It was screamingly obvious.

[Hoop Blah]

To defend McDermott here, and I'm not sure he needs defending or should be defended, but I'd presume his non-introduction of Guthrie wasn't because he's got the hump with him but because he doesn't think he is quite doing the job he's asking of him.

As Guthrie himself said (stupidly IMO), he needs to adapt to the way the team is set up to play and to the way McDermott see's as being the best forumla for us to suceed.

Is that formula correct for this league? I'm not convinced. Was Guthrie the right purchase, without any other incoming centre mid signing, for us to carry on playing the way we have been? No, I don't think he was and he's almost having to suffer for that.

I don't think McDermott left Guthrie out or didn't bring him on because of something personal, it's more his view on how he's contributing in the team that's influenced the decision.

[winchester_royal]

Well then I would contest McD's reading of the game because given the state Tabb was in after 70 minutes RL could probably have contributed more by standing in the centre circle and swinging her hand bag around.

[ManchesterRoyals]

I just thought he should taken hunt or pog off and plugged the middfield as swansea run us ragged and it was attack after attack and they were bound to score we were lucky even to get a point they should have scored about 7 goals lucky we had AM in goal

Just thought wrong call BM