i might do this one
Bought my Wigan ones this morning still 250 odd left in the block
Bought my Wigan ones this morning still 250 odd left in the block
They must've added another block then since I last looked :) hopefully they do the same for Hull for people who still want to go.
;D First match of a big week of 3 games in 7 days. Tough game we should get something from..the next 2 probably our sternest test.
Think "fringe" players like Field,Hoolohan,Harper and Edwards may be involved at some stage for a run-out.
Hopefully Bako will also be used. He would have a good understanding with Gayle from Palace days...exciting times at the Albion ;D
I dont expect big Dave to deviate what he has done so far. I expect;
Johnstone
Dawson hegazi Bartley
Phillips (if fit) Barry Livermore gibbs
Barnes
Rodriguez Gayle
However I would have Rodriguez out for either hoolahan or Morrison and try control the midfield and the game.
Hopefully we see Sako on bench too
With regard to Hull, only tickets for N6 & N7 have gone on sale so far, there's still Blocks NE and E1-3 to go, so should be plenty of tickets for those wishing to make the trip.
Unless they released more tickets since Sunday then I think it's sold out mate as I had a look. Hull is also sold out as I bought the last ticket (again, unless they released any more blocks since), which is not even on this board yet as a placeholder
Cheapest places to park please guys.
Cheapest places to park please guys.
Hi Hull,thanks for that information mate,very good work and thank you for taking the time to look it up.
I have personally seen nothing that suggest Morrison should start. He is not the man he was! Get Phillips back and leave the rest unchanged for me. Hopefully Sako is ready for at least a place on the bench though....
The way Moore spoke in his pre match interview about Phillips suggested to me he won't be fit to play again tomorrow worryingly
Any idea how many tickets we sold?
No Phillips or Sako in the squad but Mears is preferred to Edwards. Bartley retains his placeA bit of a shock and worry would have expected Phillips back and also for Sako to be on the bench.
My stream is a bit stop/start but looks like we have started reasonably well.
COYB
Phew
Penalty to Wigan
? what?
Suvived to half time, and I mean survived. We need someone in midfield to control the game. We are being over run at the back too many times. The ball is bouncing off our forwards and not being controlled.
I thought that the ref had pionted to the spot....He just motioned to give the free kick to Wigan. 1mm and it would have been a pen.
Droitwich Baggie thought it was a pen
I thought that the ref had pionted to the spot....He just motioned to give the free kick to Wigan. 1mm and it would have been a pen.
They've worked us out....Pressurise our defence.Doesn't take much working out , does it
We might be third, but to repeat, we've won games in spite of Moore's team selections and tactics, not because of them.
Reactive management, illogical substitutions, clear favourites (mainly those players who are oldest or happen to have been around the longest), unable to recognise or make attempts to deal with our weaknesses (central midfield, as was clear before the season even started).
Not impressed at all.
Without being consistently bailed out by Gayle and Barnes (worryingly both of whom are on loan), we'd be languishing in the bottom half.
Somebody care to explain why when a goal down we take Gayle off and bring on HRK :o??Darren Moore's masterplan.
Why no Morrison sako or Phillips when we’re constantly being told there all fit
Out come the knives. Bad day at the office we are not going to beat everyone easily we will have off days today was one of them, get up dust themselves off and go again Wednesday.you may construe it as a bad day at the office, however his pathetic substitutions and persistance with playing Brunt in the centre of midfield and uterlizing mears wide right is more than bad day at the office....its smacks of somebody who is clueless
you may construe it as a bad day at the office, however his pathetic substitutions and persistance with playing Brunt in the centre of midfield and uterlizing mears wide right is more than bad day at the office....its smacks of somebody who is clueless
Poor performance, wrong subs, Rodriguez the only player to come out with some credit! Should of scored in 1st half. If we do get promotion to the premier, there’s no way we can play that system! So why keep going with it??
Out come the knives. Bad day at the office we are not going to beat everyone easily we will have off days today was one of them, get up dust themselves off and go again Wednesday.Performance wise, at least half of our games have been "bad days at the office" this season, but we've been lucky to be bailed out by the quality of Barnes and Gayle. In the long-term, we can't always afford to rely on them if we're serious about automatic promotion. That's why it's not good enough - this is one of the few away games this season where the result has reflected the performance.
Performance wise, at least half of our games have been "bad days at the office" this season, but we've been lucky to be bailed out by the quality of Barnes and Gayle. In the long-term, we can't always afford to rely on them if we're serious about automatic promotion. That's why it's not good enough - this is one of the few away games this season where the result has reflected the performance.Well Barnes and Gayle weren't very effective today was They?
No one covered themselves in glory but that was as cynical a performance as I've seen from anyone by Wigan today. As stated you come away slightly pleased with sending off but not much else. Barnes squandered our best moments through lack of composure and or vision but we certainly deserved a point.Can't believe you wrote that Jacko.
The ref was terrible. I can't believe how bad these Championship referees are.
Out come the knives. Bad day at the office we are not going to beat everyone easily we will have off days today was one of them, get up dust themselves off and go again Wednesday.Exactly. Ok so long term issues still exist - the midfield is still slow to get forward and to recover, so the defence who do not seem to know anything about each other get left isolated and vulnerable to anyone who can run at them. But we have not yet lost many games and the ones we have lost are usually by the only goal. There will always be games like this, unbeaten runs come to an end so move on and get better next time. I think we all feel that some of the younger players deserve a chance, and that team selections and tactics might be more obviously game changing, but so far I am very happy with what this club is putting in front of us supporters.
Out come the knives. Bad day at the office we are not going to beat everyone easily we will have off days today was one of them, get up dust themselves off and go again Wednesday.
You make it sound as if it was a one-off ?obvious? please don't presume to know what i have seen or missed.
Obviously you missed Sheffield, Forest and Birmingham where just about got away with a point despite being outplayed ?
Well Barnes and Gayle weren't very effective today was They?
You make it sound as if it was a one-off ?
Obviously you missed Sheffield, Forest and Birmingham where just about got away with a point despite being outplayed ?
obvious? please don't presume to know what i have seen or missed.
Another away performance that was uninspiring. This has been the case all season. We've lost to Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough and really should've lost at Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City. We've had our fair share of luck this season and we've been rescued by the quality of a couple of individuals namely Harvey Barnes and Matty Phillips. At home we've pretty much deserved the points we've accumulated although we could've been three down to Bristol City before the aforementioned Barnes took over the show.
We have individuals that are better than other clubs in this league. Ahmed Hegazi, Craig Dawson, Phillips, Kieron Gibbs, Jake Livermore, Gareth Barry, Chris Brunt and Barnes are all players that have Premier League quality whilst Dwight Gayle is top Championship quality. These players have played in most games this season and it's the quality of those individuals that have got us results and not the quality of the team.
We are disjointed, a group of individuals rather than a team. If this continues we will not finish in the top two. Because of the quality of our individuals we will be around the top six for sure providing they all remain fit and we don't lose them for periods of time or in the transfer window.
The midfield is the biggest problem. Defensively we've struggled but a lot of that is to do with the middle of the park there is no solid base in front of the back three. It's been said all season and it is perfectly true, Chris Brunt is a very good footballer but he is not a central midfielder it is not in his nature to play there and he doesn't have the attributes to consistently play that position. Gareth Barry does have the attributes and we've looked better with him in the middle rather than Brunty but Barry is 37 years old, he doesn't have the legs. He can and will do a decent job in midfield but you cannot expect it all the time in the Championship at his age. Barry should be an option to play in midfield as should Sam Field and for me it's the biggest issue of the season that Field is not getting a look in. This is Darren Moore's biggest issue and biggest failing. Livermore has too much on his shoulders at times and at times it is affecting him. We are fine in wide areas with Gibbs and Phillips and Conor Townsend is a player we can get by with for a few games if Gibbs is absent. Everyone knows we need cover for Phillips, the club included, I'm certain this will be addressed in January.
Going forward we've scored goals for fun but there have been games where we've needed another option and haven't had it. We rely far too much on Barnes and Gayle. Jay Rodriguez has offered very little all season from open play and at times has been totally anonymous. When the guile and craft of Barnes is nullified we offer little threat. We could do with a "Mitrovic type" option at times, which we don't have at the club and there are times also, particularly late on in games where we've been holding a lead where we've been crying out for some real pace up front to give the opposition a problem rather than just inviting endless pressure like we did at home to Stoke for the last fifteen minutes or so. There will be more occasions as the season progresses where we're in a similar position. Oliver Burke and Bakary Sako are potential options as the season progresses.
Some of the weight needs lifting off Barnes's shoulders. James Morrison and Wes Hoolahan don't have the same qualities that Barnes has but they do offer a kind of creative threat that we may need to exploit more.
At the back, given the way we're playing and given the fact that we do not have a solid platform in front of them we're not actually doing that badly. We are conceding too many goals overall but this isn't just a reflection of the back three. Hegazi gets criticism which for me is not only ridiculous, it's plain baffling at times. Not only is his defending vastly under-rated particularly one on one, he is also by far the best of our three on the ball. The way we play doesn't really play to Dawson's strengths. Daws is at home in a deep lying defensive unit where his main job is to head the ball away, put in tackles and blocks and basically be a rock. He is excellent at that. His game isn't really suited to playing expansive football where he is expected to play on the ball BUT he is good enough to get away with it at Championship level. Kyle Bartley is the clear weak link in the back three. He is not particularly comfortable on the ball and his idea of marking is to wrap his arms round strikers or tug their shirts. We have been lucky not to have conceded more penalties than we have this season. We could do with an upgrade here.
Moving forward Darren Moore's biggest priorities are:
a) Sorting out the midfield. Field and Barry need to be the option alongside Livermore. Brunt cannot start games in the centre of midfield.
b) Finding other options up front when Barnes is nullified. Stop Barnes and you stop us creating. We then rely on moments of individualism, usually from Phillips.
c) Find a decent back up for Phillips in January.
d) Either get more out of Rodriguez in terms of his positive influence in open play over ninety minutes or find another alternative.
e) Find a left sided centre back that is better than Bartley.
Have we won away yet in the beloved yellow/green away kit? We all knew these 6 games was going to challenge what the teams about, Today was lesson 1.
Sluggish and slow all over the pitch' the International break did us no favours. Barnes was anonymous as was Gayle mostly. Rodriguez coming very deep to try and get things started. Did we even have any attempts at goal? I can remember a Barnes shot into row Z in the second half but struggling for any others.
Brunt was okay but his corner(s) were back to being poor again.
Oddly I thought we looked better defensively especially in the first half.Hope Dawson is fit for Wednesday although Adabarioyo was okay when he came on and at least took a few quick throw ins to try and get us going. Poor defending from Hegazi for the goal.
A very cynical display from Wigan, going down under every challenge to stop us getting any momentum.
Stupid from Livermore for the second booking and one of the few decisions the ref got right. Have to agree with Jacko about the shocking standard of refs in the Championship.
Happy with 3rd but it could have been so much better. We do need to change something away though.
Tosin left me less than impressed to be honest.
Casual in possession, weak in the challenge and out of position on several occasions.
As for the goal Hegazi could/should have done better.
Then again he wouldn't have found himself in bother had Tosin acquitted himself better in the first instance.
https://www.skysports.com/efl/championship/video/11530771/wigan-1-0-west-brom
Agree almost entirely regarding the cretinous fkwhit entrusted with the whistle.
However, I thought Livermore's second yellow was a bit harsh given the general leeway extended to Wigan throughout.
Very niggly team that's very much in the mould of their manager when he was player.
Capable of some really good football and 'blessed' with a working knowledge of the darker side of the game.
Tosin left me less than impressed to be honest.
Casual in possession, weak in the challenge and out of position on several occasions.
As for the goal Hegazi could/should have done better.
Then again he wouldn't have found himself in bother had Tosin acquitted himself better in the first instance.
https://www.skysports.com/efl/championship/video/11530771/wigan-1-0-west-brom
Agree almost entirely regarding the cretinous fkwhit entrusted with the whistle.
However, I thought Livermore's second yellow was a bit harsh given the general leeway extended to Wigan throughout.
Very niggly team that's very much in the mould of their manager when he was player.
Capable of some really good football and 'blessed' with a working knowledge of the darker side of the game.
I thought all 3 defenders had a hand in conceding that. I mean, with 3 CH's you shouldn't be conceding a long ball from the keeper for a start. Tosin should have done better with the header, Hegazi did the right thing dropping back when he realising he wouldn't get there, but Bartley should have been dropping to help Hegazi out rather than watch him in a 1v1. Hegazi should also have done better there.
Fully agree with your post Atomic.
Thought Tosin and Mears could/should have done better and dealt with the situation.
Think it highlights the need for better cover for Phillips in January.
It also shows for me we are still light in the CB position, when I have seen Tosin he doesn't strike me as someone who's going to be playing at the highest level (granted its early in his career and he is still young).