It was not a poor display at all.................

...it was just the best we can do.

We didn't play badly. We just had no cutting edge. Largely because we don't have one.

S'abart it.

 

Woodrow & a roaming cavapoo could have been the difference.

 

Exactly what I’ve been saying mate. Good lads. But our squad is wise than last season in a better league

 

One thing worth pointing out too is that we made a lot of mistakes at the back last season..however we weren’t always punished for it. Big difference in this league is that more often than not, mistakes will be punished and thus illuminated

 

We do have one he’s injured or badly .
I thought we played ok considering the changes but the passing was terrible from midfield causing no threat up front and pressure in defence .

 

Stendel got it all wrong tonight in my opinion.

That’s the first time I’ve came away from a ground under his leadership and I’ve found myself questioning his tactical mindset.

Don’t know if it’s lack of tools or he’s just had an absolute mare but tonight was down to the management selection in my opinion.

 

Sensible post.

 

I think that in the two away games it feels like we’re playing at our maximum to stay in the game. The minute we open up slightly to take a risk to try & get a goal we get punished.

Because we don’t have a player who can hold the ball up to get us up the pitch the only way we can score goals in open play is to overload & push players forward but the minute we do that we leave big gaps behind & seem to get picked off.

I also don’t think either Sibbick or B. Williams are ready to be championship full backs. I’d personally play Cavare or J. Williams at right back. Left ones a tough one as Pinillos would’ve really struggled against the pace Birmingham had down their right. Maybe Cavare at left back & J Williams at right back?

 

I don’t think we were let down by our full backs today imo.
They dealt with everything thrown at them and with ball not sticking up front at all had more than their fair share of work to do .
The goal was not the doing of the back four .

 

I think it was partially. McGeehan put Anderson under pressure but he could’ve done better. Ben Williams started following the ball inside when he should’ve kept his attention fully on the wide man who ended up assisting the goal & but it’s hard to criticise Sibbick against Justiewitz (apologies for spelling). I’d probably let him off for that, he’s a man mountain going for a header with more momentum so not a lot Sibbick can do

 

If we are hoping Jordan Williams will improve us we are in trouble.

I like the lad and he hope he trains on but he shouldn’t be anywhere near our first team at this level yet.

We need to play Cavare and Pinillos. Ok so Dimi doesn’t always get back as quick as he gets forward - and he wanders about, plus Dani isn’t the quickest (Ben Williams is hardly Usain Bolt), but they are - by some distance - the best two options overall, so we should play them. Cavare was preferred to Williams at chuffing left back in the only game we’ve won. Get them in the side, the current incumbents don’t look that great to not at least try.

Oh, and to the OP.

It was a poor performance, and we did play badly.

It might have been the best we could do on the night - that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t poor.

A repeat of series’ of square passes before we lose it got us 65% possession - but we wouldn’t have scored if we’d still been playing now.

We weren’t neat and tidy and just lacking cutting edge. It was a toothless performance which gifted victory to an awful side who was there to be beaten. Birmingham will lose more games than they win this season, and they won tonight without actually doing a great deal or feeling like they’d been in a match.

Players like Thomas, Bahre and Chaplin are better than was shown tonight. They played poorly. Thiam was poor - maybe that is his level in this division. McGeehan? I hope he’s better than that but he’s done the same thing three times now. The back four and the keeper were ok, I would change the full backs though as mentioned.

Having seen us against Fulham and Charlton, I know that tonight isn’t our top level. Yes we were missing Woodrow, but even accounting for that it was a shocking performance. Chaplin can’t play up front alone again, tonight it should have been Wilks central, or even Thiam, to at least engage their back line physically. Stendel has to take a look at how he set up tonight.

I’ve always said I’ll save overall judgement until after ten games. Always do every year. So I’m not writing anyone in the team off. But tonight needs to be seen as a lesson and one that is learned from quickly. We have to beat Luton on Saturday to put some early distance between us and them.

 

I've never thought J. William's is ready for the championship after watching him last season. Our squad is very thin.
pinnilos doesn't have the pace of ben Williams but he reads the game alot better and is our best option at left back.

 

Williams sibbick bahre mcgheean all need resting. Polite word for dropped

 

Daniel agrees with you..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49326871

But, if he thinks we played well and could have won the game, then he's deluded.

 

Partly agree EXCEPT I would add the word 'currently' the best we can do.

Defence wise we can improve massively. We shot ourselves in the foot.with sloppy pass from McGeehan (again) putting pressure on the defence which we never cleared leading to the first goal.
Regarding 'cutting edge' we missed Woodrow and brought on a forward with literally no game time.
There were times when we played some really good passing moves but, as you say, the usual failings with the final pass/decision making let us down.
We have to remember, these are young relatively inexperienced players in a team still learning and gaining an understanding of the system and playing together.

We should cut them some slack They are NOT the finished product yet. We should hold off any criticism at least until Christmas. The overreaction from some post match on this BB has, once again, been disappointing.

 

I thought we tried to play like a Champions League team but without that technical ability if we try to do 7 passes in our own half there's always going to be one that goes astray and puts us immediately in trouble. I presume we were keeping possession in our own half so much because of lack of movement up front/midfield for us to pick a pass? Or Birmingham were well organised and ready to break on the counter? We had almost double the possession of Birmingham but they had all the shots on goal. Possession football is ok but it gives the opposition time to sit back and maintain a formation which is difficult to break down. Need to take a risk earlier or move it quicker to open up the space.

 

I don’t think there’s an obvious answer after Cavare who I definitely think should play. I’m not against Ben Williams playing, I’m just not convinced he’s ready but the same can be said about Sibbick & like you said Jordan Williams might not be ready either

 

It reminded me of a Keith Hill performance, looked comfortable in possession but all in easy areas of the pitch where they let us have it more often than not. As soon as we got anywhere near the final third they shut us down.

 

Positives for me: Radlinger - commanded the area pretty well and was quick off his line; the only time he dropped the ball, he was fouled; I don't blame him for one error and for not getting to Gimenez in time; I like this keeper. Diaby and Andersen - looking like a unit; they rarely gave the ball away; Andersen's faff with McGeehan was Cam's fault not Mads'; I like these players who already look Championship quality; Mowatt - was behind a lot of the better things we did and looked capable of directing and dictating play; usual mobility and positivity. BUT: that's pretty much it. We have a weakness at full-back, which experience will begin to sort out; I agree that both Sibbick and Ben Williams need to be brought along gently and would make sure that Cavare and Pinillos share their workload through this season, whilst they gain the experience, especially in the defensive side of their game; there are some spectacularly good wide players in the Championship, (note the cameo from Montero last night) so it will take time and also be a good test for the young ones, but we need the experienced ones in some key games. Neither of our wide players got past their defenders and, given that Chaplin would have needed an extending ladder to reach any high balls up to him, the wings were our best (only?) attacking option last night. That it didn't happen was a key reason that we were almost non-existent in the final third of the pitch. Wilks looked a better option when he came on. You have to feel a bit for Chaplin. He was never going to get up for high balls, so had to hope that the wide players could get quality ball along the deck into the area and six-yard box, which did not happen. He will show his real worth in a 4-4-1-1, or 4-4-2, but, as sole striker, he was always at risk of being starved of chances last night. I am concerned that Daniel used the word 'frustrated' about last night. I hope that he doesn't end up doing a Hecky, because he really does have something special about him, both as a coach and as a man-manager. Keep the faith, folks, but it's going to be sorely tested this season at times, for sure.

 

I think it boils down to this.
We are in a stronger division than last year.
With a weaker side.
Not the first time this 'back to front' way of doing things has happened.
A new column needed in the spreadsheet headed "cost to the side if x leaves"
No need to sell Moore now, and one of the centre back should have been retained and accept the loss of revenue for the sake of the team and survival.