Overall i wasnt too disapointed as i feel with the players we have to come back we will definately stay up. Moore and Souza looked strong and won most headers, will struggle when they come up with someone with pace like F Campbell last year. QPR were poor up front though. Howard was the best player on the pitch apart from there number 20, Ledesma Hassell was a complete joke, not his fault i know Devaney had one of his off games, too many of them i know Hamour did ok Hume and Macken were quality but lacked better service from the rest, looking forward to C Ryce and Anderson back. Rigters looked overweight (Too early to judge i Know) Odddjob waste of time, wonder what he made Davey for tea on saturday night. Anyway like i said there were a lot more positives than negatives and when we get players back we should be ok.
I didn't go to the game but I got the impression that there were some positives to be had. - Howard had some influence over the game and set up the goal - Hume took the goal really well - We had decent possession But, our defence (even on paper) looks very weak and by the time we get our "key" players back from injury we could be in serious trouble. Why haven't we brought in any pace at the back? Also, Davey continues to mystify me with his decision making in the transfer market and in team selection. I'm not saying he hasn't signed good players because he has, but he seems ignorant to the fact that our defence MUST be strengthened if we are to stay in this division. Then leaving Kozluk out of the team and the persistence with ODJ and Hassell are just inexplicable when he's the only person who can't see the error of these decisions. I'm not a Davey hater, but I honestly don't think he is such a good manager as many make out.
Id agree with most of that mate apart from i thought Macken was poor, looked off the pace and should have been replaced earlier. Im just waiting for the people who were saying we should not play Howard and give Leon a chance to pipe back up as Howard once again showed on Sat that he is critical to our season.
Howard </p> I don't think you'll find anyone wanting shut of him or wanting him dropped. He seems to have shown he's ready to put a shift in this season and thats good enough for me.</p> The pre-season grief directed towards Howard was based on speculation that his mind was elsewhere, which is no good for a captain. If he plays like he did against QPR he'll have the fans on side no doubt.</p>
RE: More positives than negatives? There were for me more positives than negatives against QPR. It was a very decent performance, but here are a few points: Someone earlier criticised Kayode for Saturday - hell, he was only on the pitch for 10 minutes and the ball was hardly played to him, so it's unfair to judge him on that. Bobby Hassell for me isn't creative enough in midfield. There were a couple of occasions where he could have played someone in on goal, but he failed. Iain Hume looked good, took the goal well and worked hard. Dennis de Souza didn't looked too assured at times, I was a bit disappointed with him. Foster at centre back may be a better option. Darren Mooore looked solid. With Richgters, da Silva, JCR and Muller in contention, for me we look much stronger than last season.
Move Foster inside, Bobby at right back to take some pressure off him (plus he better there), Colace in centre for now or even Johnson at a push for next month - and KO on the bench at best. However, it is obvious by now Davey doesn't read these boards as surely something in his mind would have switched-on and told him hundreds of fans can't be wrong over Bobby and KO.....
I dont think there is an alternative for Hassell in midfiled If there was I think SD would have played him by now Remember Robbie Williams in the same role We have De Silva and Colace for that position.............one injured, one not eligible to play As for Odejayi............I more than most have said that this guy needed time...........I think his time is more or less up now
We have no alternative to hassell in MIDFIELD Are you claiming that the only central midfielders at the club (apart from his partner brian howard) are colace and de silva. Look at my signature if you need help. And you're right, I do remember Robbie Williams, thank you for reminding me that Simon Davey's ability to pick a proper defensive midfielder when his first choice is out has not shown any improvement since the day he was given the job.
