I think the game was crying out for somebody like him to be in our midfield yesterday. Most will think I'm wrong but, I also think we need a better right back, or Wiseman may deserve another chance in there. Hassell is a legend and always will be but he gets caught out too many times for me. Didn't four goals come from the left flank yesterday?
I thought we really missed Drinkwater when he went off last night. Don't think we'd have been so badly overrun in midfield if he'd been on the pitch. In his absence I agree that I'd have turned to Doyle. He's not as good on the ball as others but he'd have given us more steel. But, whilst I think letting him go out on loan wasn't wise given the depth of our squad and the number of games we play in December .......I trust Hillcroft. They know what they're doing and will put it right. As for Bobby, not sure - it wasn't something I noticed during the game so will need to re-watch (don't know if I can bear it though!) Actually I was most disappointed defensively in McNulty - thought he should've gone for the header rather than trying to stop Collins heading it for their third and then he let Chopra pull away from him on the fourth. Also didn't think JOB got our to the fella fast enough when he crossed for the second. I love JOB for his work rate but he was slow to react then - which makes me think Hill is right when he talks about energy levels....
Agree needed that option of Doyle. Hindsight is wonderful thing so should have been Edwards on not Done. Edwards to left back or McNulty, wiseman to RB with Bobby in midfield alongside Perkins. Would have enabled Butterfield to remain top of triangle. Just felt he changed to two up as knee jerk reaction. And I've said he smelt of arrogance ironically, stood motionless in dugout while his team capitulated
I agree that it was probably Mcnulty's worst game for us. Maybe I was a tad harsh on Hassell, OBrien did have a bad game,by his high standards, which won't have helped him. I can see us extending the Drinkwater loan and getting another defensive minded midfielder in when Addison goes back.
Easy to be wise after the event, but I agree that Doyle would've done a job in there 2nd half. Perkins and Butts were over run by Bowyer and Andrews and we didn't do anything to stop their momentum. Needed a few fouls, slow it down and get some possession. 2nd half was a constant wave of attacks and we didn't really mount any of our own until the last 5 minutes.
Agreed, but only when Drinkwater went off, given the choice between the two when fit, i'd take Drinkwater.
I found it bizarre at the time. But it was Nathan's choice allegedly. But, IMO, we should have brought another battler in in midfield, rather than bl00dy Ranger. I actually find it quite disrespectful to Andy Gray, that he cant even get on the bench. And as I said last night, Rangers tweet straight after the game sums him up. He's a c0ck
Completely agree about Doyle. They walked through the centre of midfield at will in that second half. Hill should have done something about it.
Tricky one this, because Ridsdale has already said that the players on big wages are going to have to go, with mellor and Hume the two mentioned in the papers. An easier target would be to send the loanee back, because Doyle will be on more than a lot of their squad, but the fact that they haven't done this makes me think they're not paying much towards his wages, in which case he'd have been better off on our bench yesterday and would have been a direct replacement for Drinkwater. Odd decision to let him go out on loan with the games we have coming up.
NilePowerRanger Nile ranger Christmas party in GLASGOW CAN'T WAIT.. Missed my newcastle team mates followed up later with NilePowerRanger Nile ranger Tonights Gonna Be A Goodnight Was his mind really on the game when he was planning a big night out in scotland straight after the match?
Odd decision to let him go out on loan. fecking stupid decision to send him out on loan but keep addison
Agree 100% Doyle would have "got stuck in" would certainly have got booked but we wouldn't have rolled over and died when Ipswich started the rough stuff.
That's harsh on Bobby, the biggest problem was we were very weak in the centre and they just walked through us. We needed a general in the middle and we were found wanting for the whole 45 minutes. Bobby didn't have one of his better games but I don't think anyone in the team, including Hillcroft, can be given any credit for that second half performance.
Was Addison on the bench? I've not seen much of the lad, but from what I have seen, it was clear that he was a similar style of player to Doyle (but not as good in my opinion). What's the point of keeping the lad on the books if he's not going to feature at a time where in my honest opinion, we needed a player just like him, brash and physical. I watched the game from the comfort of the pub, and I said the guy at the side of me at half time. This is by no means over (I didn't truly believe Ipswich could get back into it - but I knew they had the quality to cause us problems) and we need to consolidate for the first 10/15 minutes, no conceding any soft, early goals - what did we do? Sat back and let them attack us and conceded within 30 seconds. The second half was unprofessional and abject, and we were systematically ripped to pieces by a team low on confidence but not short on quality and fight. Our quality and fight quite frankly remained in the dressing rooms at half time. The passing went to bits. The spirt just went. We were second best for 40 minutes, until we managed to redeem a little bit of face when we pulled one back through Davies second and then had a flurry of attacks which resulted in a few half chances. I think we were all getting a little bit ahead of ourselves, given the run we've been on (and quite rightly too) but this may just be the wake up call that we needed. Let's get back to business next week at West Ham.
I agree not many came out of the second half well but I have to say Bobby had an uncharacteristically poor game. Even first half he was caught out a couple of times and he was also very wasteful in possession. All of which were highlighted by the fact that Wiseman had a very good game. Thoughtn he was excellent going forward's first half and second half he made some excellent tackles and blocks to prevent crosses ( I would add that their third goal was never a corner, Wiseman kicked the ball against their player). I'm not having a go at Bobby or suggesting he should be dropped, and he certainly wasn't helped by the fact O'Brien had a poor game and he certainly wasn't the key problem (you're spot on, the loss was down to them exploiting the massive hole between defence and midfield). But I'm pretty sure he would hold his hands up and say it wasn't his finest day. On a positive note I think we have an excellent prospect in Wiseman
