I've just got back this evening (stayed in Southampton after the game for a friends birthday) and rather than plough through everything and give opinions on different players etc thought Id just start a new post with my thoughts.
First and foremost - What a load of rubbish.
The players looked a yard off the pace, our passing was rubbish (although Brizzol fans seem to think we passed it well) and we had nothing up front.
Kuipers did okay. He made a great save as you'll have seen just before they scored. He didn't appear as commanding as usual though.
Santos did well. He showed good experience and made some very smart tackles which made their forwards look like fools.
Lynch was kicked out of the game. They went to work on him and he had to be subbed. I think he was also at fault with a dodgy pass which let City in on goal but they messed it up.
El-Abd did okay at left back. He made some good blocks but you never felt very comfortable with him in that position.
Apparantly Reid played..
In midfield Cox did quite well, got stuck in and always looked to take the game to City. Carpenter was okay and Hammond was in and out of the game as has been the trend.
Frutos and Loft in the wide positions didn't work at all. Neither offered anything positive and its no wonder we switched to 4-4-2. They were possibly the problem in this game.
My gut feeling is that neither is cut out for that role. Frutos is better, in my opinion, from a deeper position. He then has space to run into. I can see the thinking behind Loft. With Hart out he would be the guy to work hard and keep pressure on their backline.
It didn't work out for Loft in that respect but thats a dual role shared with Revell - both looked off the pace. I can understand Revell maybe being tired as its his first league season in a few years and has worked very hard so far.
So,
Kuipers - 6, Reid 5, Santos 7, Lynch 6 (Rents 6), El-Abd 6, Carpenter 6, Hammond 5, Cox 7, Loft 6 (Stokes 5), Frutos 5 (Robinson 6), Revell 5.
In terms of the result, I wasn't too disapointed, I expected to lose. The performance did concern me though. Their was no zip, we never got our foot on the ball and constructed anything decent. We badly missed Harty up front and ultimatly it really was a load of rubbish.
First and foremost - What a load of rubbish.
The players looked a yard off the pace, our passing was rubbish (although Brizzol fans seem to think we passed it well) and we had nothing up front.
Kuipers did okay. He made a great save as you'll have seen just before they scored. He didn't appear as commanding as usual though.
Santos did well. He showed good experience and made some very smart tackles which made their forwards look like fools.
Lynch was kicked out of the game. They went to work on him and he had to be subbed. I think he was also at fault with a dodgy pass which let City in on goal but they messed it up.
El-Abd did okay at left back. He made some good blocks but you never felt very comfortable with him in that position.
Apparantly Reid played..
In midfield Cox did quite well, got stuck in and always looked to take the game to City. Carpenter was okay and Hammond was in and out of the game as has been the trend.
Frutos and Loft in the wide positions didn't work at all. Neither offered anything positive and its no wonder we switched to 4-4-2. They were possibly the problem in this game.
My gut feeling is that neither is cut out for that role. Frutos is better, in my opinion, from a deeper position. He then has space to run into. I can see the thinking behind Loft. With Hart out he would be the guy to work hard and keep pressure on their backline.
It didn't work out for Loft in that respect but thats a dual role shared with Revell - both looked off the pace. I can understand Revell maybe being tired as its his first league season in a few years and has worked very hard so far.
So,
Kuipers - 6, Reid 5, Santos 7, Lynch 6 (Rents 6), El-Abd 6, Carpenter 6, Hammond 5, Cox 7, Loft 6 (Stokes 5), Frutos 5 (Robinson 6), Revell 5.
In terms of the result, I wasn't too disapointed, I expected to lose. The performance did concern me though. Their was no zip, we never got our foot on the ball and constructed anything decent. We badly missed Harty up front and ultimatly it really was a load of rubbish.
hello turkey