AFC Bournemouth v Norwich City - Fourth Round League Cup (EFL)

Also, I agree that Ibe needs to work harder. Ok, the team may have been disjointed but in his position you would at least try to show endeavour and commitment ( as a minimum ) even if overall the performance wasn’t clicking. He also doesn’t appear to be learning or improving. He has plenty of natural skill but is unable to use it effectively. Definitely felt that when he got subbed, it was a sign that his nine lives may finally have been exhausted ! Will be interesting to see if he gets near another matchday bench anytime soon.
 
I thought Fraser was superb when he came on, full of skill and pace, created numerous chances, there’s a guy at the very top of his game.

As others have said, Pugh was terrific.

Thought Franno and Cooky were good in defence.

Very impressed with Norwich, played some lovely stuff, got through us several times.

Boruc looked sharp, one point blank match saving stop.

Oh how we missed L Cook and Lerma in midfield.

Very enjoyable second half.

Rhodes should have taken it to pens but he missed. Thought it was in.

Stanislas’s strike the difference between the sides. Clinical.

Another home match under the lights please, love it!
 
thegazzyb said:
Frustrating. On the one hand a lot of these players get the one chance to impress but at the same time it‘s hard to impress if you make a great pass or run and your team mates totally don‘t expect it and we end up losing possession or not creating a clear cut chance. It‘s only a fair chance for these peripheral players to impress if the team as a whole has the right understanding. Not sure what the answer is, we lack competitive fixtures to bed in our cup selections. And as has been mentioned, if by some fluke we reach the final one season, would Eddie then play a full strength team to win the silverware or would we persevere with our skin of the teeth selection ? I suspect the latter, since it would be unfair to deprive the cup team of their chance for glory right at the death and Eddie values fairness pretty highly.
I think cup competitions were a lot easier when we were in the lower leagues. Success in the cups was a real ambition back then whereas now the cups create multiple dilemmas for Eddie and his staff and we as fans get frustrated by the selections and performances but at the same time can understand why they do what they do. Pretty sure our “reserves” are not too happy about the situation either. All in all it’s pretty unsatisfactory but at least we scraped through to the next round and hopefully a further chance for this team to impress and improve.
Click to expand...

I reckon that post is a damn good stab at assessing the situation!

The individual players will have their own thoughts and ambitions (or not)..separate from Eddie...we can only guess and much of the time many of us getting it wrong I suppose?
 
That Norwich goal came after about 30 consecutive passes - not a tackle in sight from our lot. Got to tell it like it is - our midfield was shocking. Surman stumbling, Gosling a headless chicken, Ibe playing a different sport.

It's one thing to play a "cup side", giving the squad players their chance. But if most of them fall flat, as they did tonight, Eddie should draw the conclusion and play the first team for the QFs.

Good on Norwich: if they keep that up they're certs for at least the playoffs. Kept their shape, played lots of neat, short balls and challenged for everything. We were soooo lucky tonight.
 
Just seen the post-match interviews on the club website - at least some honesty from Eddie, Junior and Steve Cook. All congratulated Norwich and looked sheepish about our showing. All picked out Pugh as top performer. All thought there needs to be a hard-headed assessment of a very thin performance.
 
I think Eddie and JT have to take the blame for this performance.
Team selection was all wrong. Two left backs, Ibe playing wing back, Pugh playing in the middle, One up front. Charlie or Rico should of been left back with Pugh further forward on the left. Simpson should of been in the back line with Cook and Francis. We only had one player Gosling who can tackle in midfield. Ibe should of been played further forward with Defoe. The tactics were all wrong. No idea what Eddie was thinking.
 
Kenya Cherrie said:
I think Eddie and JT have to take the blame for this performance.
Team selection was all wrong. Two left backs, Ibe playing wing back, Pugh playing in the middle, One up front. Charlie or Rico should of been left back with Pugh further forward on the left. Simpson should of been in the back line with Cook and Francis. We only had one player Gosling who can tackle in midfield. Ibe should of been played further forward with Defoe. The tactics were all wrong. No idea what Eddie was thinking.
Click to expand...

Eddie was thinking ,it’ll be nice if we get through and I’ve promised these guys a game but I don’t really give a sh*t one way or another .
 
Apologies anyone that was anticipating of reading a report tonight. Unfortunately I've just arrived home so I won't be able to get it done tonight, so it'll be delayed until the morning.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DJ
The only conclusion we can draw from last night is that our squad isn't as deep as we like to think it is, and/or lack of competitive match practice is allowing rust to set in. Hard for the likes of Surman, Rico, and even Ibe, to simply turn up and turn it on. But credit to Pugh because he managed it. As Eddie summed it up - we're through, let's move on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

;