Post by PASTIE on Sept 15, 2009 22:20:16 GMT -1
Well, no, I don't think it was. Read Luggy's interview on the OS and I have to say I agree with every word.
Our back four was a liability - yes!
Our strikers created chance after chance and really should have scored but the Watford keeper was man of the match by a mile. The bastard. At least two of those saves were just world class, three of the others were comfortably brilliant. The bastard.
Another source of comfort is that Watford were rubbish. They had a goal from our usual sleepy defence from a corner but offered nothing else. Their collection of oversized thugs that greeted us in recent years seems to have been replaced with a swarm of fairly athletic dwarves who were unambitious and offered little. QPR were unimpressive, Wednesday were poor. OK, they beat us, but the good news is that there seems to be little to fear in the poor man's end of the division if we ever pick ourselves up.
The other positives were that the effort levels were good and whilst the crowd was dismal and silent in large parts of the game at least lots of us stayed behind to applaud the efforts - hopefully at least emphasising the fact that we are all on the same side as opposed to the morons who booed as Rory Fallon came on the pitch. Like that would help.
That said, were we to sack Sturrock in the morning, what woudl a newcomer do? We're in a state. We thoroughly deserve to be bottom of the league. We have promise and misfortune up front but a lack of options and some woeful inadequacies everywhere else. Here are my verdicts on the players just as a discussion point so taht I can keep myself company with a beer (and possibly a chaser )
1. Larrieu - nothing he could do about the goal but hardly anything else to do. Too quiet again and his kicking does my head in - either skied or into touch...
2. Sawyer - looks less and less like a Championship player everytime I see him. No confidence, but naive and full of errors
3. McNamee - Looked like an amateur getting a game in a professional club courtesy of a 70s Jimmy Saville TV programme. Slow, error prone and played other players into trouble time after time. When he rescued the ball on the half way line, leaving it for a Watford player to trot off with whilst he fell in to the dug out I actually wanted him breathalised.
4. Timar - you have to love him, but he looks a shadow of the player that Hollowords signed. Was he always so desperately slow? How many free headers on goal did he miss?
5. Arnason - a grafter but surely out of position. He looked a fish out of water and I'd like to see him in a position he likes
6. Duguid - What exactly is he for? How did he miss that header? Why is it always him who finds himself in useful positions on the edge of the box yet he couldn't hit Simon Walton's ego with a lumphammer?
7. Fletcher - the debate in the car coming home is that perhaps he is taking on too much and trying too hard? So many errors and the ball given away so often; but then the occasional moment of vision...
8. Clarke - I thought he did well. Good to see him back. Covered some serious distance when he was on and his commitment was a breath of fresh air after the Wednesday game
9. Mackie - I hope he stays with us long enough to learn his trade and become an Argyle legend. Just as likely to shin it into the crowd as create anything but he finds the energy to be in the game five times more than anybody else and his tracking back is superb. Shame he can't defend a corner
10. Sheridan - looks a player. Winning the headers was easy and on another day with another keeper he'd have easily had two goals
11. Gow - Disappointing today, I thought - quiet and probably out of position playing wide.
Subs -
12. Judge - why didn't he start? Ran around like a nutter but little impact once on, I thought. Really looked unimpressed to be on the bench
13. Wright-Phillips - impressed me when he was on - chasing back and being brave in the tackle was not what I expected. Some nice touches to Mackie too.
14. Fallon - I knew that Sturrock would switch him with Sheridan as a last ditch piece of desperation. I was livid when he was booed and nobody wanted to see him play less than me. Sheridan was doing well in the air and was actually considering where the ball might go when he nodded it on. Poor old Rory came on and just got in the way.
15. Luggy? I wouldn't sack him after tonight or after Newcastle on Saturday - mainly because I just don't see what another person could achieve with this group of players. Come January that could be another story, so long as we're not cut adrift by then. Seip has been poor but we needed him today. With johnson unfit our unused subs were Patterson and Folly and until Barker gets fit (if he is able to do that) there was nothing to replace the defence. Unless we bring a player manager who fancies a stab at centre half I see no solution. Watford were crap. Newcastle could score ten.
We deserve to be bottom. Dark days ahead, but I'd choose to be bottom now rather than April; I just hope we're not ten points adrift by Christmas.
This one post occupied two beers.
Our back four was a liability - yes!
Our strikers created chance after chance and really should have scored but the Watford keeper was man of the match by a mile. The bastard. At least two of those saves were just world class, three of the others were comfortably brilliant. The bastard.
Another source of comfort is that Watford were rubbish. They had a goal from our usual sleepy defence from a corner but offered nothing else. Their collection of oversized thugs that greeted us in recent years seems to have been replaced with a swarm of fairly athletic dwarves who were unambitious and offered little. QPR were unimpressive, Wednesday were poor. OK, they beat us, but the good news is that there seems to be little to fear in the poor man's end of the division if we ever pick ourselves up.
The other positives were that the effort levels were good and whilst the crowd was dismal and silent in large parts of the game at least lots of us stayed behind to applaud the efforts - hopefully at least emphasising the fact that we are all on the same side as opposed to the morons who booed as Rory Fallon came on the pitch. Like that would help.
That said, were we to sack Sturrock in the morning, what woudl a newcomer do? We're in a state. We thoroughly deserve to be bottom of the league. We have promise and misfortune up front but a lack of options and some woeful inadequacies everywhere else. Here are my verdicts on the players just as a discussion point so taht I can keep myself company with a beer (and possibly a chaser )
1. Larrieu - nothing he could do about the goal but hardly anything else to do. Too quiet again and his kicking does my head in - either skied or into touch...
2. Sawyer - looks less and less like a Championship player everytime I see him. No confidence, but naive and full of errors
3. McNamee - Looked like an amateur getting a game in a professional club courtesy of a 70s Jimmy Saville TV programme. Slow, error prone and played other players into trouble time after time. When he rescued the ball on the half way line, leaving it for a Watford player to trot off with whilst he fell in to the dug out I actually wanted him breathalised.
4. Timar - you have to love him, but he looks a shadow of the player that Hollowords signed. Was he always so desperately slow? How many free headers on goal did he miss?
5. Arnason - a grafter but surely out of position. He looked a fish out of water and I'd like to see him in a position he likes
6. Duguid - What exactly is he for? How did he miss that header? Why is it always him who finds himself in useful positions on the edge of the box yet he couldn't hit Simon Walton's ego with a lumphammer?
7. Fletcher - the debate in the car coming home is that perhaps he is taking on too much and trying too hard? So many errors and the ball given away so often; but then the occasional moment of vision...
8. Clarke - I thought he did well. Good to see him back. Covered some serious distance when he was on and his commitment was a breath of fresh air after the Wednesday game
9. Mackie - I hope he stays with us long enough to learn his trade and become an Argyle legend. Just as likely to shin it into the crowd as create anything but he finds the energy to be in the game five times more than anybody else and his tracking back is superb. Shame he can't defend a corner
10. Sheridan - looks a player. Winning the headers was easy and on another day with another keeper he'd have easily had two goals
11. Gow - Disappointing today, I thought - quiet and probably out of position playing wide.
Subs -
12. Judge - why didn't he start? Ran around like a nutter but little impact once on, I thought. Really looked unimpressed to be on the bench
13. Wright-Phillips - impressed me when he was on - chasing back and being brave in the tackle was not what I expected. Some nice touches to Mackie too.
14. Fallon - I knew that Sturrock would switch him with Sheridan as a last ditch piece of desperation. I was livid when he was booed and nobody wanted to see him play less than me. Sheridan was doing well in the air and was actually considering where the ball might go when he nodded it on. Poor old Rory came on and just got in the way.
15. Luggy? I wouldn't sack him after tonight or after Newcastle on Saturday - mainly because I just don't see what another person could achieve with this group of players. Come January that could be another story, so long as we're not cut adrift by then. Seip has been poor but we needed him today. With johnson unfit our unused subs were Patterson and Folly and until Barker gets fit (if he is able to do that) there was nothing to replace the defence. Unless we bring a player manager who fancies a stab at centre half I see no solution. Watford were crap. Newcastle could score ten.
We deserve to be bottom. Dark days ahead, but I'd choose to be bottom now rather than April; I just hope we're not ten points adrift by Christmas.
This one post occupied two beers.