How many times?

[dpjfox]

Am I going to say to myself "were playing ok, the good run will start after the next game"... Look forward to the next game then restart the process!
Im starting to realise we may not be getting better!

 

[SilverFox]

The frustrating thing is that we are actually playing better football...we just can't seem to get a win. Tactically something is not working.

 

[Real Sharapova]

The problem is, we are getting better, but the ruddy results won't come. CL must be tearing his hair out! I know I'll get accused of being easily pleased, but at least we are trying to play football now, something that hasn't been seen for some time from the boys in blue ( and, no, I am not referring to the boy band ).

 

[PFKAKTF FOX]

IMO the transfer window will allow a number of problems to be resolved, we are currently operating a squad with a number of players who appear to have lost the faith and trust of there manager, namely, Tiatto, Williams, Wilcox, Wright and Gilbert something you can ill afford when operating with a small squad, if we can ship them out and bring in 3 or 4 quality replacements that can provide competition for places and bring more balance to the squad then I think we will really be able to kick on in the new year.

 

[Feriol]

To play well and loose, on a regular basis isn't unlucky. something is wrong.

For me i think that CL has given the impression that he doesn't know what he is doing.

He keeps changing the team
His substitutes are ridiculous
he seems to think that 1 goal is comfortable enough to sit back and defend
he has favorite players who won't get dropped no matter how poor they are
he critisises players when they do an okay job, out of posistion
He picks a captain that never plays
When we loose he is happy with the performance
When we win, he thinks we could have played better

Players (and fans) are bound to loose confidence in him.

 

[Brauny Blue]

If we continue to play like we did against Stoke, then i believe that only confidence is between us and a change in fortune. IMO there was not much wrong with us in this game, and only a mental weakness and a lack of belief stopped us from obtaining 3pts. Remember we certainly could have been 3-1 up if not 4-1, before it went down the pan. IMO 3-1 to Leicester would not have flattered us, we were the better side for most of the game. More belief and the ability to close out a game and we won't be far away.

 

[Leigh]

He keeps changing the team

He's played mostly the same team for the last 4 or 5 league games.

His substitutes are ridiculous

When?

he seems to think that 1 goal is comfortable enough to sit back and defend

That's why we continued attacking against Stoke then is it? Or against Sheff Utd?

he has favorite players who won't get dropped no matter how poor they are

He's dropped Johansson, Sylla, de Vries and Maybury this season, all four of whom I've seen classed as 'favourite' players. He dropped Kisnorbo for the Bolton game and would have dropped Douglas too if Henderson had't been injured.

he critisises players when they do an okay job, out of posistion

Blown way out of proportion by the media, and I'd still maintain that Johansson was doing a poor job at left back (a position in which he has played for a whole season the Premiership).

He picks a captain that never plays

Should Tiatto play then? Just because he doesn't play doesn't mean we have no captain on the pitch. Making him club captain probably wasn't a good idea but clearly Levein though he'd have more of an influence than he has done this season. He was voted Player Of The Season last season, maybe that went some way towards swaying Levein's thoughts.

When we loose he is happy with the performance
When we win, he thinks we could have played better

Psychology surely, if we lose and he says we're awful not only will that hinder the confidence of the players it'll also make the fans turn on them, which isn't what Levein wants. If we win he feels more comfortable criticising them as he knows they'll be more able to take it. I do the same when I come back from a match, if we've lost I try and take the positives, if we've won I point out a few problems while still celebrating... different people do different things I suppose, but that's probably why I side with Levein so much, as we have a similar outlook.

 

[Feriol]

He's played mostly the same team for the last 4 or 5 league games.

Burnley
City: Douglas, Maybury, McCarthy, Gerrbrand, Johansson (Tiatto 54), Sylla (Hughes 75), Gudjonsson, Kisnorbo, Smith, Dublin © (Hammond 63), de Vries. Subs not used: Stearman, Hamill.

Watford
City: Douglas, Stearman, McCarthy, Gerrbrand, Maybury, Sylla (Hughes 73), Gudjonsson, Kisnorbo ©, Smith (Tiatto 84), De Vries (Dublin 76), Hammond. Subs not used: Hume, Hamill. 3 changes including maybury to LB

Sheff Utd
City: Douglas, Maybury, McCarthy, Gerrbrand, Johansson, Sylla, Gudjonsson, Kisnorbo ©, Smith (Hamill 77) Hume, Hammond (De Vries 83). Subs not used: Williams, Stearman, Tiatto. 3 changes including maybury back to RB

Leeds
City: Douglas, Stearman, McCarthy, Gerrbrand, Maybury, Sylla, Kisnorbo © (De Vries 80), Gudjonsson, Smith, Hammond (Dublin 86), Hume. Subs not used: Tiatto, Hamill, Johansson. 2 changes including maybury to LB

Stoke
City: Douglas, Stearman (Williams 84), Dublin ©, Gerrbrand, Maybury, Sylla, Kisnorbo, Gudjonsson, Smith, Hammond (De Vries 84), Hume. Subs not used: Tiatto, Johansson, Hamill. 1 Change due to suspension, so cant call him for that

When?

This is a matter of opinion, and hindsight is a wonderful thing, but managers are often said to 'earn their money' with subs. how many have changes the game in our favour? Take watford as an example it finished 2-2. dublin on for de vries while hume warmed the bench.

That's why we continued attacking against Stoke then is it? Or against Sheff Utd?

two examples of game we won or nearly won. how often do we end games feeling tense? we don't finish teams off and put ourselves under pressure

He's dropped Johansson, Sylla, de Vries and Maybury this season, all four of whom I've seen classed as 'favourite' players. He dropped Kisnorbo for the Bolton game and would have dropped Douglas too if Henderson had't been injured.

there is a difference between being dropped, and being rested for a cup match, and giving someone else a chance. Kisnorbo doesn't add anything to our team (IMO) and many comments on here i agree that we need a more attacking option. though i have been disapointed with williams as well. i think he at least has the ability if he can tap into it. Nissa is better than Maybury at LB IMO.

Blown way out of proportion by the media, and I'd still maintain that Johansson was doing a poor job at left back (a position in which he has played for a whole season the Premiership).

Proportion aside, has he ever said anything about Sylla?

Should Tiatto play then? Just because he doesn't play doesn't mean we have no captain on the pitch. Making him club captain probably wasn't a good idea but clearly Levein though he'd have more of an influence than he has done this season. He was voted Player Of The Season last season, maybe that went some way towards swaying Levein's thoughts.

Kisnorbo and dublin have swapped in the last five games, even though Kisnorbo has still played. this cant help to settle the team.

Psychology surely, if we lose and he says we're awful not only will that hinder the confidence of the players it'll also make the fans turn on them, which isn't what Levein wants. If we win he feels more comfortable criticising them as he knows they'll be more able to take it. I do the same when I come back from a match, if we've lost I try and take the positives, if we've won I point out a few problems while still celebrating... different people do different things I suppose, but that's probably why I side with Levein so much, as we have a similar outlook

agree to differ. players, particularly young players need encouragement when they do well to keep it up. they also need to know that loosing at home is not acceptable. CL says its okay as long as we play well and all this 'Unlucky' tripe. now the players will feel unlucky and everything is against them, and also think they can make excuses when they loose. whatever happend to PMA?

 

[fcukcov]

Its all down to the passion of the players IMO. There looks to be too many players who dont seem to have any pride in playing for us. This must be the 10th time ive posted this now but I believe this to be the final piece of the jigsaw for the team. We are playing well, our heads just drop whenever we are pegged back. Pride and passion will keep us going through even the toughest of times.

 

[Feriol]

Its all down to the passion of the players IMO. There looks to be too many players who dont seem to have any pride in playing for us. This must be the 10th time ive posted this now but I believe this to be the final piece of the jigsaw for the team. We are playing well, our heads just drop whenever we are pegged back. Pride and passion will keep us going through even the toughest of times.

I agree. but i think it is the managers job to create an enviroment at the club for these things to thrive.

i make no appologies for refering to MON as a good example. he had passion, you could see it everytime we scored, or conceeded. That rubbed off on the players. he also recognised that having players like Walsh in the dressing room was worth every penny of his wages, even when he reached the point that he rarely played. i don't recall him making lame excuses when we lost. and you could usually predict his starting 11. it barely changed.

 

[Chrysalis]

so to all the people who think they seen improvements from the 1st game of the season I ask this.

You are happy with the way rab deals with 1 on 1's on strikers closing down on him?
You are happy with how rab deals with crosses?
You think the team defends crosses well?

To the above 3 do you think they have improved since day 1 of the season?

We was the better team but midfield dominance is no good if you cant defend properly. However we seem to have defenitly improved in attacking which is good.

 

[highland fox]

Its all down to the passion of the players IMO. There looks to be too many players who dont seem to have any pride in playing for us.

Care to name them Fcuk ? I'm not disagreeing with you but I don't believe there are all that many.Out of those involved on Friday I would name 3 who I believe aren't all that bothered.
Maybe the 'togetheness' and 'spirit' will grow as the same group of players are playing together...if that doesn't sound Double Dutch

 

[fcukcov]

I agree. but i think it is the managers job to create an enviroment at the club for these things to thrive.

i make no appologies for refering to MON as a good example. he had passion, you could see it everytime we scored, or conceeded. That rubbed off on the players. he also recognised that having players like Walsh in the dressing room was worth every penny of his wages, even when he reached the point that he rarely played. i don't recall him making lame excuses when we lost. and you could usually predict his starting 11. it barely changed.

totally agree with the bit about walshie. David Pleat (I know, sorry but bear with me) once signed Birchie just as a character in the dressing room (I think at notss county). We dont have a character at the club like that at the mo. I think Dublin was meant to be that player but it isnt working out. A real character that is showing passion for the blue shirt will also pass that on to his colleagues.

On the subject of changes, i dont think CL has much choice in many of his changes but I do alos think he has made some very odd decisions. Hopefully with the stoke and sheff u peformances and relatively similar teams he has found his team and the changes can stop to a reasonable extent.

The late substittuions didnt help friday night either IMO.

 

[fcukcov]

Care to name them Fcuk ? I'm not disagreeing with you but I don't believe there are all that many.Out of those involved on Friday I would name 3 who I believe aren't all that bothered.

three could be too many TBH hf. been a problem for a few seasons now that a lack of general passion from the players has lead to poor results IMO.

as you edited yours I will edit mine.

As I said above in my post, Im hoping that now we have had two decent performances from a reasonably similar team then hopefully this is his team and they will be given a chance to gel, at least until Lee Morris comes back and makes his immeadiate come back into the first team and scores a hatrick.

 

[highland fox]

so to all the people who think they seen improvements from the 1st game of the season I ask this.

You are happy with the way rab deals with 1 on 1's on strikers closing down on him?
You are happy with how rab deals with crosses?
You think the team defends crosses well?

To the above 3 do you think they have improved since day 1 of the season?

We was the better team but midfield dominance is no good if you cant defend properly. However we seem to have defenitly improved in attacking which is good.

We were defending well with Maybury,McCarthy,Gerrbrand,Johannsson and conceeded one in four then for some odd reason CL changed it.The Back 4 needs to be settled so they can forge an understanding and work as a Unit IMO.The 4 I mentioned are our best back 4 IMo with Stearman as cover.

 

[PFKAKTF FOX]

We were defending well with Maybury,McCarthy,Gerrbrand,Johannsson and conceeded one in four then for some odd reason CL changed it.The Back 4 needs to be settled so they can forge an understanding and work as a Unit IMO.The 4 I mentioned are our best back 4 IMo with Stearman as cover.

I agree Highland, at present that is our best back 4 as a combined unit, however Stearman's individual performances has meant he has forced his way into the starting XI thus leading to Levein chopping and changing to accomadate him, IMO we must revert back to a balanced back 4 as against Sheff United until the transfer window reopens and we can sign a specialist left back, for me move Stearman into the defensive midfield role in place of Kisnorbo, Stearman is athletic, energetic, disciplined and does have a good footballing brain and as he is comfortable in possession and is capable of getting forward, he would make an ideal foil for Joey and IMO would provide a much better option in midfield and bring more to the team than Kisnorbo.

 

[Feriol]

I agree Highland, at present that is our best back 4 as a combined unit, however Stearman's individual performances has meant he has forced his way into the starting XI thus leading to Levein chopping and changing to accomadate him, IMO we must revert back to a balanced back 4 as against Sheff United until the transfer window reopens and we can sign a specialist left back, for me move Stearman into the defensive midfield role in place of Kisnorbo, Stearman is athletic, energetic, disciplined and does have a good footballing brain and as he is comfortable in possession and is capable of getting forward, he would make an ideal foil for Joey and IMO would provide a much better option in midfield and bring more to the team than Kisnorbo.

totally agree. Nissa isn't the best LB but he is the best i have seen there for us so far this season. Hadn't considered Stearman in midfield before, but i like the idea.

 

[highland fox]

I agree Highland, at present that is our best back 4 as a combined unit, however Stearman's individual performances has meant he has forced his way into the starting XI thus leading to Levein chopping and changing to accomadate him, IMO we must revert back to a balanced back 4 as against Sheff United until the transfer window reopens and we can sign a specialist left back, for me move Stearman into the defensive midfield role in place of Kisnorbo, Stearman is athletic, energetic, disciplined and does have a good footballing brain and as he is comfortable in possession and is capable of getting forward, he would make an ideal foil for Joey and IMO would provide a much better option in midfield and bring more to the team than Kisnorbo.

I'd rather leave the Midfield alone,Stearman will get his chance he's only young.Possibly play Wesolowski when he's fit or at least give him a go.

 

[Chrysalis]

from another poster

Our recent results:

Leicester 2-2 Watford
Leicester 4-2 Sheff Utd.
Bolton 2-1 Leicester
Leeds 2-1 Leicester
Stoke 3-2 Leicester

So thats 10 goals scored in the last 5 games, which is an average of 2 goals a game, bearing in mind we had an average of 1.7 goals a game in our last promotion season. The attacks a problem? Err I think not.

And thats 11 goals conceded in the last 5 games, which works out at a whopping 2.2 goals a game, when we had an average of 0.9 conceded in our last promotion season.

Granted bolton are premiership and a cup game so can exclude that but it seems clear to me where the current problem is.

 

[Dickovforengland!]

from another poster



Granted bolton are premiership and a cup game so can exclude that but it seems clear to me where the current problem is.

Against Stoke, it was putting chances away. Best form of defence is attack and all that. Ryan Smith had a great chance he put in the side netting. We should have been 3 or 4 - 1 up before Stoke scored. They also scored 2 great goals. If McCarthy hadn't been red carded AGAIN for complaining about the offside goal maybe we would have been better equipped to defend the two goals.

Paddy needs to realise he is most useful on the pitch.