barry'sboots Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 We were the better side first half because: 1. Fulham were crap. 2. Petrov at least had some legs, ditto the Zog. They were the better side 2nd half. Ratings for me: Given - 8 - Did well closing angles although I would have been disappointed with him if he had let any of those in. Young - 7 - Very solid. Dunne - 6.5 - Looked back to his best. Collins - 5 - Drawn out of position quite a bit and still hasn't worked out that his diagonal balls always get intercepted - how stupid is he?? Warncok - 6 - Decent effort but still getting caught out of possession a few times. Petrov - 5 - Poor. What does he bring?? Needs replacing desperately to allow Makoun or Delph the freedom to play. Delph - 7 - Excellent display. Got bogged down second half because his partner went missing. NZogbia - 7 - Very good in spells BUT needs to get his fitness back. This will come and he will be a threat. Gabby - 6 - Played well but he is not a left winger. As a winger, his main asset is his pace BUT if he does this on the left wing he has to check back on to his right which gives the FB a chance to get back. Heskey - 5 - Worked his socks off BUT he is not an ACM. Bent - 5 - Worked his socks off but no support. McLeish - 4 - Poor selection - very unbalanced team. Poor subs - didn't address the unbalance or Petrov's legs having gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelboyVilla Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Must admit when I saw the starting line up I spat my coffee out but during the game I have never seen such an attacking side create so few chances?? Poor team selection by McLeish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelboyVilla Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Plus has Gabby now taken up the position of team Whinger now AY has gone?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjshare Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 to all of you criticising my post - 2 points: i'm not defending him any more than i would any other manager in his first match in charge. i'm not a huge fan of his or anything and i have no reason to be over defensive about him. he is stuck between a rock and a hard place with some of you. if he had come out with seven forwards on the pitch and gone for a spectacular win, only to lose heroically the first official protest against him would be already planned for the blackburn match due to his clueless tactics and dismal start. i'm not asking anyone to like him but i just hate seeing us turn so many seasons into comedy soap operas because of constant protesting. fortunately newcastle are usually there to draw away some of the attentionwith their award winning dramatics. all i'm saying is have a bit of patience and at least let the bloke f*ck it up on a level playing field because he is damned if he does, damned if he doesnt by some fans at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilS Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Well, I said I would be happy to escape with a point before the game, so no complaints from me. I didn't see the game as I was at a Wedding all day on Saturday, and missed MotD, and to be honest I don't think I'll bother looking for highlights after reading the reviews on here. That said, it is the first game of the season and we shouldn't be too downhearted just yet. I remember plenty of slow starts that have gone on to be great seasons, and vice versa so we shouldn't read too much into the first game result and performance. I would be happier though if we could do some late deals in the window to strengthen the first team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 What could we possibly have to be downhearted about?! We've just drawn away from home against Fulham - the home specialists, with new manager Martin Jol, a very, very tough team, our first away win in 25 games and it looks like our defensive troubles from last season are behind us. Really can't understand some of the people on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Actually thought we'd loose this game so more than happy with a point but it is painfully clear that we need more quality in the team. One point gained another thirtynine to make sure we're safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaCas Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Actually thought we'd loose this game so more than happy with a point but it is painfully clear that we need more quality in the team. One point gained another thirtynine to make sure we're safe. The way McDull has got it planned we should be ok for another 37 points at least. We're playing for 12th place - Utter tripe!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjshare Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Actually thought we'd loose this game so more than happy with a point but it is painfully clear that we need more quality in the team. One point gained another thirtynine to make sure we're safe. The way McDull has got it planned we should be ok for another 37 points at least. We're playing for 12th place - Utter tripe!!!! grow a pair ffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedge Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Actually thought we'd loose this game so more than happy with a point but it is painfully clear that we need more quality in the team. One point gained another thirtynine to make sure we're safe. The way McDull has got it planned we should be ok for another 37 points at least. We're playing for 12th place - Utter tripe!!!! You're a bit McDull yourself Cas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 What could we possibly have to be downhearted about?! Did you see the game?? Good result, yes, but a poor performance. ..... defensive troubles from last season are behind us. If Risse and Co. had had their finishing boots on it could have easily been 3 or 4 nil. Equally, we were poor offensively with Schwarzer not having to make a save. McLeish's first selection looked horribly unbalanced as well. There were a few bright spots and 30 minutes in I was thinking that his selections were working much better than I had expected. However, the second half was a different picture. NZogbia will improve undoubtedly with match fitness BUT Stan will not get fitter/better and Heskey will not learn how to be an attacking CM'er/link striker. I really hope that Big Eck learns from that outing or I think we could be closer to the bottom than the top of the PL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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