An exciting game of football with poor defending and poor passing by both sides. Before the game I hoped for a back 3 of Cook, Ake and Mings but yet again Eddie sprang a surprise. We got away with it but ongoing I still feel that is a strong option giving the team more height and "grit".
Match Report and MOm v Watford
- Thread starter Neil Dawson
- Start date
rgb
Star Player
You are, completely wrong. He made some duff passes - not too surprised by that, given he said a couple of weeks ago he wouldn't be back 'til the BHA game - and there is no way his tackle, was a red-card offence. As DJ said on another thread, a couple of years ago, that tackle wouldn't have even merited a booking.
Gosling was playing to provide some steel in the middle and is the reason we owned the midfield last night.
Kenya Cherrie
UTC Legend
Yes but you mentioned the "relegation word" thats going over the top a bit don't you think. Check at the bottom of the table, can you really see any of those teams getting more than 33 points this season.
I think the defensive display in the first half can be mitigated somewhat by the fact that we were once again trying out a new setup to cope with our current injury situation. As the game progressed we seemed to be coping better defensively and getting the necessary cover back when needed. I was thinking last night that it is doubly unfortunate that we have an injury crisis at the back at this precise moment in time. Because the games are coming so thick and fast, Eddie has very little time to work on defensive shape with any new lineup he is considering. Normally I would expect the players to learn their new roles within a game or two but the lack of time for serious coaching sessions between games right now is not exactly helpful when you are trying to find solutions.
I only had the audio stream to listen to but it seemed as though we created enough chances in the second half to have won the game 6-3 and only amazing saves by Foster prevented this from happening. Bar the odd rapid counter attack we seemed to keep Watford pretty quiet.
Encouraging for me was the following :
a) great team spirit once again and showed real fight to come back from a disappointing first half hour.
b) the beginnings of a return to form of some key players who have been struggling of late. Stanislas looked good once he adapted to his new position, King got more involved in the game and had some good moments and Wee Man was back to his "kid who ate too many Smarties" high energy best.
c) in the second half overall we seemed to click offensively in a way which has been lacking in recent games, where we have really struggled to create many clear cut chances. If our defence is showing ( understandable in the light of the injury situation ) weakness we really need our offensive unit to click to give us a chance in games ( at least until we have discovered a defensive unit that is reasonably solid ).
Hopefully we can rest a few players in the cup game and give some of the fringe players an opportunity. Smithy could be back next month, so if we can weather the storm we should have some more options pretty soon. No need to panic in this transfer window, in my opinion. The good thing is that the current situation may have finally made Eddie aware of how close our squad is to a serious lack of defensive cover and how expensive that can be in the Premier League. Hopefully that will see us seriously target strengthening this area in the Summer window, which is absolutely necessary in the medium term - we can't go on hoping nobody gets injured. A cobbled together defensive unit is always likely to get torn to shreds in the Premier League and we need dependable cover for injuries ( primarily at RB when you consider that we have Mings and Simpson to cover CB and LB if required ).
Overall the second half last night left me feeling very positive going forward and an aggregate victory of 7-3 over two games is not to be sniffed at.
I only had the audio stream to listen to but it seemed as though we created enough chances in the second half to have won the game 6-3 and only amazing saves by Foster prevented this from happening. Bar the odd rapid counter attack we seemed to keep Watford pretty quiet.
Encouraging for me was the following :
a) great team spirit once again and showed real fight to come back from a disappointing first half hour.
b) the beginnings of a return to form of some key players who have been struggling of late. Stanislas looked good once he adapted to his new position, King got more involved in the game and had some good moments and Wee Man was back to his "kid who ate too many Smarties" high energy best.
c) in the second half overall we seemed to click offensively in a way which has been lacking in recent games, where we have really struggled to create many clear cut chances. If our defence is showing ( understandable in the light of the injury situation ) weakness we really need our offensive unit to click to give us a chance in games ( at least until we have discovered a defensive unit that is reasonably solid ).
Hopefully we can rest a few players in the cup game and give some of the fringe players an opportunity. Smithy could be back next month, so if we can weather the storm we should have some more options pretty soon. No need to panic in this transfer window, in my opinion. The good thing is that the current situation may have finally made Eddie aware of how close our squad is to a serious lack of defensive cover and how expensive that can be in the Premier League. Hopefully that will see us seriously target strengthening this area in the Summer window, which is absolutely necessary in the medium term - we can't go on hoping nobody gets injured. A cobbled together defensive unit is always likely to get torn to shreds in the Premier League and we need dependable cover for injuries ( primarily at RB when you consider that we have Mings and Simpson to cover CB and LB if required ).
Overall the second half last night left me feeling very positive going forward and an aggregate victory of 7-3 over two games is not to be sniffed at.
davygravy
Fans' Favourite
Eddie is usually very clever in these moments. He would have been aware if Gosling had some less good parts during the game but he also knows that he came back after injury and gave it everything for 90 minutes. That alone deserves a gentle bit of credit, good management
NWCherries98
Fans' Favourite
Begovic 5 - He didn't make a single save, and his positioning for the first two goals was pretty poor. Pretty good aerially though.
Stanislas 8 - Excellent performance in an unfamiliar role, good assist and not at fault for any of the goals really.
Cook 7 - Wasn't bad at all first half from an individual perspective, but him and Ake were poor for the first two goals. Excellent second half.
Ake 6 - Similar to Cook, but a slightly less impressive second half.
Daniels 5 - An improvement, but still giving the ball away far too often and didn't really deal with their No12 effectively.
Fraser 8 - Probably his best performance in months. Some poor decision making at times, but I'll give him props for surviving the evening.
Lerma 7 - Different performance; far more restrained, but still very effective. Poor passing and shooting at times.
Gosling 6 - Seemed to take on a more aggressive role, which was a smart move by EH; perhaps to protect Lerma a bit? Impressive for his first 90 minutes since returning from injury. A bit poor on the ball.
Brooks 8 MOM - Far and away the best player on the pitch in terms of creative output and skill. Always brave on the ball.
Wilson 6 - Absolutely fantastic header for the second goal, but otherwise a little bit quiet.
King 7 - Much better, a hardworking display of holding the ball up and moving it on effectively. Deserved a goal.
Subs:
Mousset 6 - Thought he looked really bright with some clever passes and movement, but a few stupid fouls near the end.
Ibe 5 - Didn't really get on the ball too much, certainly wasn't "bad", just didn't have much of an impact.
Stanislas 8 - Excellent performance in an unfamiliar role, good assist and not at fault for any of the goals really.
Cook 7 - Wasn't bad at all first half from an individual perspective, but him and Ake were poor for the first two goals. Excellent second half.
Ake 6 - Similar to Cook, but a slightly less impressive second half.
Daniels 5 - An improvement, but still giving the ball away far too often and didn't really deal with their No12 effectively.
Fraser 8 - Probably his best performance in months. Some poor decision making at times, but I'll give him props for surviving the evening.
Lerma 7 - Different performance; far more restrained, but still very effective. Poor passing and shooting at times.
Gosling 6 - Seemed to take on a more aggressive role, which was a smart move by EH; perhaps to protect Lerma a bit? Impressive for his first 90 minutes since returning from injury. A bit poor on the ball.
Brooks 8 MOM - Far and away the best player on the pitch in terms of creative output and skill. Always brave on the ball.
Wilson 6 - Absolutely fantastic header for the second goal, but otherwise a little bit quiet.
King 7 - Much better, a hardworking display of holding the ball up and moving it on effectively. Deserved a goal.
Subs:
Mousset 6 - Thought he looked really bright with some clever passes and movement, but a few stupid fouls near the end.
Ibe 5 - Didn't really get on the ball too much, certainly wasn't "bad", just didn't have much of an impact.
In All Departments
First Team
The "average position" graphic basically showed us playing 244 with Stan and Charlie pushed on most of the time. We were commenting last night how well Wee Man played... but also at the amount of space between him and Charlie. The third goal never happens if Stan sits tight and Wee Man doesn't play like the third forward.
Our midfield two had 7 or 8 goal attempts between them with Lerma, our "holding" midfielder having at least half of them.
Of course I'd like to see greater stability at the back and I think Ake and Cook are immense in the circumstances but it's in our/Eddie's DNA to play like we do. I think Van Dijk would have his work cut out at times.
Although different in many ways last night reminded me of the Everton 3-3 which, it turned out, had greater significance than a single point when things were not going our way. Our players continue to be incredibly brave with the ball at these times even when mistakes occur.
As it says on Callum's Twitter page "Hold the vision. Trust the process". A few fans would do well to follow his example.
UTCIAD
Our midfield two had 7 or 8 goal attempts between them with Lerma, our "holding" midfielder having at least half of them.
Of course I'd like to see greater stability at the back and I think Ake and Cook are immense in the circumstances but it's in our/Eddie's DNA to play like we do. I think Van Dijk would have his work cut out at times.
Although different in many ways last night reminded me of the Everton 3-3 which, it turned out, had greater significance than a single point when things were not going our way. Our players continue to be incredibly brave with the ball at these times even when mistakes occur.
As it says on Callum's Twitter page "Hold the vision. Trust the process". A few fans would do well to follow his example.
UTCIAD
EverHopeful
First Team
I agree with you, rgb. One poor pass aside, I thought Gosling had an excellent match, he adds bite to the midfield. Second half we were back to our best, controlled the midfield in a way we didn’t against Huddersfield and BHA, for example. Gosling played a key role in this, alongside Jeff of course. I like the two of them togerher, makes us more combative.
Rodmorg
First Team
Agree with most of that there but Gosling was far beyond aggressive... he probably gave the ball away more times than the whole team combined. A 5 for me. I thought Chaz did well, linking well with Fraser on the left and pushed up whenever the opportunity was given. And Cook was poor for the second goal? I think "severely unlucky" is a much more suitable term...
Tinpot Club
Star Player
I enjoyed seeing most of the play in the opposition half after the break as it’s been a while! Everything just seemed a little rushed though. Almost as if we were trying to hard to score rather than relaxing and showing a bit more composure in and around their box. Understandable given our form though.
I was slightly surprised Surman didn’t come on for Gosling. The increased physicality argument goes out the window after Dan’s booking and Surman might just have provided the calmness we needed.
I was slightly surprised Surman didn’t come on for Gosling. The increased physicality argument goes out the window after Dan’s booking and Surman might just have provided the calmness we needed.
S
smhinto
Guest
Regarding Gosling, you must take into account his lack of game time of late. He was probably a bit rusty having been out for a while.
northstandmark
UTC Legend
Agree re Surman, the game was crying out for some calmness and someone to put their foot on the ball. Watford brought on Will Hughes for exactly that. We should have done likewise with Surman. Mousset and Ibe were more of the same, energy and pace yes, but control no absolutely not.
To this end - IMHO Neil slightly under scores Lerma. Yes he had two good shooting chances that were badly fluffed, and a few of his passes went astray, but he was crucial to what foothold we did earn in the game. Gosling was wildly erratic and variable. Lerma was in contrast a more steadying presence in a massively chaotic midfield, managing to stay away from all the cynical challenges.
At times when the defence was rocking, being pressed hard, Lerma always found pockets of space to offer himself as an easy outlet to move the ball forward. It would have been easy for him to get sucked into the nasty side of the match, and I don't doubt Watford had that in mind for him. Impressive stuff from Jeff.
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NWCherries98
Fans' Favourite
I suppose I took Goslings rustiness into account a bit; I think he’s worth a 6, but I wouldn’t begrudge a lower score. Have to disagree on Daniels, his offence threat for me wasn’t good enough to make up for what was largely a pants defensive display barring a few moments. And Cook was completely at sea for the second goal and went to ground far too quickly for me. All a bit desperate. It was unlucky the way it bobbled but he was very shaky first half, for me personally.
All an opinions game
Good report Neil. I agree with your markings.
I thought Cookie, who was captain last night, led by example and gave Deeney as good as he got. His successful last ditch tackle in the box in the second half was for me the 'tackle of the season.'
Watford were very thugish and I would hate to watch them every week. Doucoure's tackle on Fraser was a straight red.
I thought Cookie, who was captain last night, led by example and gave Deeney as good as he got. His successful last ditch tackle in the box in the second half was for me the 'tackle of the season.'
Watford were very thugish and I would hate to watch them every week. Doucoure's tackle on Fraser was a straight red.
Tinpot Club
Star Player
A lot of our defenders seem to have this problem. Obviously it’s a well good defenders stay on their feet unless they have to.
However, another thing the best players have is balance and composure. Apart from Aké and Smith, all our defenders seem a bit cumbersome. This causes problems when quick and skilful players run at our defence.
Topfarrier
UTC Legend
I can see the reasoning behind playing Goso last night tbf....if Surman had played there is no way Lerma would have avoided a booking.
bournemouthsufc
Reserves
Will remember that game for a long time ... Could really kick start our season again. If only we had Deeney, he dominated for them, Wilson has massively improved in the air but was showed how to hold up the ball by his opposite number.
Tinpot Club
Star Player
Don’t really agree. Players like Deeney can look good in one off games against specific opponents. And that specific opponent isn’t always us. In the past our defence has dominated big target men like Carroll, Benteke, Zlatan and Crouch.
Last night was a good performance for Deeney. Obviously another poor one defensively for us but we expect that anyway. I prefer more dynamic players than lumps. If we need to hold the ball up, I’d rather it be Brooks in the half spaces than a one off game from a target man.
So 'Jeff' did get a booking after all.
