[Albion] Genuinely what would you have done/do?

[Bold Seagull]

So what are you saying, try it again - fair comment I suppose because I don't think there were many other options!

Put it this way, we’ve gone from playing Webster up front last week to not playing him when we’re massively short of defensive players. Whether going to a 3 or trying VH in middle, I don’t think it’s hindsight to suggest there will have been few that didn’t fear something like this happening at KO.

 

[Weststander]

Games are won and lost in CM.

Hinshelwood, Gruda and MO’R to at least give us a chance.

One against a well known CM trio was a footballing suicide note.

 

[Berty23]

But we only shipped three goals with one half fit teenager in midfield, we shipped four with a conventional central midfield set up in the second half, which suggests to me that the formation wasn't the main issue, of which there were many.

We were chasing that game by then though. It had gone. It was crazy selection.

 

[Forster's Armband]

I suppose we could have played all three CMs and tried to defend out a point but it's not our style. Fab thought he'd try something, it didn't work, he won't try it again.

We're obviously not going to sack him, we are going to be patient, because patience is what is needed at this stage of the manager and players and clubs development.

Obviously many many fans are not patient nor prepared to be, so there will be quite of lot of angst I guess.

I think fans are entitled to throw toys out of the pram after that.

 

[Reddleman]

I don’t think any of us had an issue with the back four or goalkeeper starting. You CANNOT go away to the City ground playing a team looking to bounce back from a shock defeat and who have been flying all season with a half fit teenager as your ONLY midfielder when there were two international midfielders on the bench.

Inexcusable and indefensible.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

I think I probably would have spent the season to date coaching the team some kind of basic shape and structure, and the importance of solidity. Then, when you're faced with a selection dilemma like today you at least have a defensive framework to go off of.

Sometimes you have to grind out results. People slagged off Everton and asked how they could enjoy watching their performance. Does anyone think the Everton fans would have preferred watching their team play 'football' like we did today and lose 7-0 or the 'anti-football' they played last week and 1-0 win?

 

[METALMICKY]

I'd have taken a look at our depleted squad and set up to be difficult to beat and perhaps nick one on the counter.

Is probably the correct answer. It's anti football but maybe today it was required.

 

[Dibdab]

But we only shipped three goals with one half fit teenager in midfield, we shipped four with a conventional central midfield set up in the second half, which suggests to me that the formation wasn't the main issue, of which there were many.

Once you are 3 down you have no choice but to attack and leave space behind so impossible to compare the situations.

 

[Screaming J]

I'm no expert but given the absence of so many midfielders for whatever reason I'd have had Veltman with Hinsh in midfield and then either Webster or McConville coming in to back 4. Doesn't leave us with a recognised RB but if Veltman plays on that side it helps a bit for whoever is behind him.

Not saying we'd have won with my suggested changes but I bet it wouldn't have been 7-0!

 

[Triggaaar]

Genuinely what would you have done/do?

Line them up and execute every tenth man.

 

[METALMICKY]

I don’t think any of us had an issue with the back four or goalkeeper starting. You CANNOT go away to the City ground playing a team looking to bounce back from a shock defeat and who have been flying all season with a half fit teenager as your ONLY midfielder when there were two international midfielders on the bench.

Inexcusable and indefensible.

Hmm You say that about Bart but his consistent errors leading to goals should not be going under the radar. In the context of today's game it didn't matter but he keeps doing it.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I think I probably would have spent the season to date coaching the team some kind of basic shape and structure, and the importance of solidity. Then, when you're faced with a selection dilemma like today you at least have a defensive framework to go off of.

Sometimes you have to grind out results. People slagged off Everton and asked how they could enjoy watching their performance. Does anyone think the Everton fans would have preferred watching their team play 'football' like we did today and lose 7-0 or the 'anti-football' they played last week and 1-0 win?

Time and a place isn’t there. Rather than this being a result we can accept circumstances went against us, instead a situation was surely made worse by the manager’s decisions. I mean it could have been 9-2 it was that crazy.

 

[Ozymandias86]

The only thing I think we could have done was after the opening 20 minutes and at 2-0 we should have made changes there, maybe gone to 3 in midfield to provide proper support for Hinshelwood to shore things up and see how the game develops from there, or possibly gone to 3 at the back with Webster on and moving one of the CBs forward into midfield

This - I think a few of us were probably screaming at the TV at that point. Can’t say I was a fan of the lineup but genuinely was In Fab We Trust, but the failure to then react to the reality of what happened in that first 20 mins at 2-0 turned what was an arguably easy and forgivable mistake to make into something more serious. So, what I would have done (and what I would expect any PL level manager to do) would have been to react to decisions that clearly haven’t gone quite right

 

[Bold Seagull]

Hmm You say that about Bart but his consistent errors leading to goals should not be going under the radar. In the context of today's game it didn't matter but he keeps doing it.

Yep. He’s a lucky boy so many other things going wrong he’s not been under the spotlight.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Time and a place isn’t there. Rather than this being a result we can accept circumstances went against us, instead a situation was surely made worse by the manager’s decisions. I mean it could have been 9-2 it was that crazy.

Yeah, very much this. Which is a problem when the coach's job is to help the team. Not make it even more difficult.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Yeah, very much this. Which is a problem when the coach's job is to help the team. Not make it even more difficult.

As I just said to a mate, this is worse that just a defeat, this will have shaken that dressing room and it’s not going to have helped players having 100% trust in their managers decisions. Time will tell whether there is further hurt from this one, or we bounce back and recover well.

 

[Balders]

As I just said to a mate, this is worse that just a defeat, this will have shaken that dressing room and it’s not going to have helped players having 100% trust in their managers decisions. Time will tell whether there is further hurt from this one, or we bounce back and recover well.

Getting dicked 5-0 at Bournemouth last week appeared to have the completely opposite effect for Forest today?

 

[Bold Seagull]

Getting dicked 5-0 at Bournemouth last week appeared to have the completely opposite effect for Forest today?

For some reason they seem to have bought into what their manager wants from them.

 

[Brian Munich]

I'm not sure that stacking the midfield with O'Riley, Gomez and Hinshelwood would've been much better. It's hard enough that we're having to start Hinsh after having played only 15 mins since early November, so I doubt putting two attack-minded players who have barely played PL football alongside him would've made us any harder to score against.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

As I just said to a mate, this is worse that just a defeat, this will have shaken that dressing room and it’s not going to have helped players having 100% trust in their managers decisions. Time will tell whether there is further hurt from this one, or we bounce back and recover well.

Yeah, it's genuinely concerning. Defeats happen, whallopings happen but you can deal with them when it's just a shit day at the office. This feels a bit more than just a bad day.

BUT, we'll find out soon enough if lessons have been learned.