Southampton v Reading (Friendly)

[Royalee]

...we passed the ball far better once Karacan was on - he HAS to start

Genuine question - are you still happy to have Karacan in the side after the individual performance yesterday as well as numerous dubious competitive performances in the past?

Yes, he was far better than Gunnarsson who makes Pearce look like Linford Christie. Karacan and Gunnarsson doesn't work as they're both defensive minded - you need Karacan plus one of Howard/Tabb, plus Sigurdsson. It also helps if you're playing with a striker who isn't dogshit.

[FiNeRaIn]

Gunnarson is twice the player karacan is. That is all.

[Royalee]

Gunnarson is twice the player karacan is. That is all.

No he isn't, he's been past it for the last 3 years.

[winchester_royal]

Both aren't good enough to start in a team which is supposed to be pushing for promotion.

[FiNeRaIn]

Both aren't good enough to start in a team which is supposed to be pushing for promotion.

Agreed, but id much rather gunnarson that karacan as he can actually pass, tackle and occasionally score. Karacan runs around like a healdess chicken, gives the ball away and nearly makes us concende ( that 4v1) and looks genuinely poor. The fact he was picked in front of tabb means either BMD is clueless or tabb was not fully fit.

[glass half full]

B McD is NOT clueless, so that answers half your question.

[winchester_royal]

Both aren't good enough to start in a team which is supposed to be pushing for promotion.

Agreed, but id much rather gunnarson that karacan as he can actually pass, tackle and occasionally score. Karacan runs around like a healdess chicken, gives the ball away and nearly makes us concende ( that 4v1) and looks genuinely poor. The fact he was picked in front of tabb means either BMD is clueless or tabb was not fully fit.

Karacan was poor yesterday...there's no denying that.

Gunnarson was fantastic for 10 minutes, but then ran out of steam. I honestly think we should consider playing him ahead of Pearce at CB next Saturday.

[Royalee]

Both aren't good enough to start in a team which is supposed to be pushing for promotion.

Agreed, but id much rather gunnarson that karacan as he can actually pass, tackle and occasionally score. Karacan runs around like a healdess chicken, gives the ball away and nearly makes us concende ( that 4v1) and looks genuinely poor. The fact he was picked in front of tabb means either BMD is clueless or tabb was not fully fit.

How can you blame Karacan for the 4 on 1 when he gave the ball away on the edge of the opposition box? What absolute tosh, we should have been well-organised and left men back.

Karacan tackles all the time and actually has the legs to get there, I lost count of the amount of times Gunnarsson was too slow yesterday and aimlessly hoofed the ball up the line. The fact that he's starting the first game of the season when we should have ditched him after we went down shows how far we've gone backwards.

[retro royal]

Sorry to bring this up again, but this might have a bit to do with the lack of coverage

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... uth-1.html

[handbags_harris]

Both aren't good enough to start in a team which is supposed to be pushing for promotion.

Agreed, but id much rather gunnarson that karacan as he can actually pass, tackle and occasionally score. Karacan runs around like a healdess chicken, gives the ball away and nearly makes us concende ( that 4v1) and looks genuinely poor. The fact he was picked in front of tabb means either BMD is clueless or tabb was not fully fit.

How can you blame Karacan for the 4 on 1 when he gave the ball away on the edge of the opposition box? What absolute tosh, we should have been well-organised and left men back.

Well he's not entirely blameless seeing as it was his woeful first touch from a simple pass that gave the ball away in the first place. Your counter-argument is entirely valid, and it worries me that it happened twice last season against Bristol City and Preston, and now against Scunthorpe. We've been lucky so far that we haven't conceded from any by hook or by crook, keep doing it and we will.

My own opinion fwiw is that Gunnarsson is better than Karacan. Yes, Karacan is snappy and has legs, but he doesn't have the guile and knowhow of Gunnarsson. In short, I'm much more worried when we have Karacan in the side than Gunnarsson. I still don't understand why we played those two though, Tabb and Howard is a much better partnership IMO.

[ZacNaloen]

Well he's not entirely blameless seeing as it was his woeful first touch from a simple pass that gave the ball away in the first place.

What?

He took the ball down, ran forward a few yards didn't see the pass to his right and got tackled trying to find a way through a defender.. nothing to do with his first touch

[Negative_Jeff]

This is all academic surely. It doesn`t matter if you play Fabregas or Robbie Savage in that midfield role, if the team are under instruction not to play any ten yard passes then you will keep losing the ball.
If we really are trying to emulate Watford under Graham Taylor ( and is there a Nigel Gibbs influence here?) then we need more physical players and certainly someone more mobile than Gunnarsson. His early attempts at pressing the play down near the corner against Scunny were quite amusing, you just knew he would run of puff. Even Taylor would have struggled to play this way with only one striker and I felt a bit sorry for Long trying to deal with all that direct stuff up against two brutes all afternoon.
Let`s get our full backs on the ball more, indulge in some link up play and find other ways to get the ball out wide, we all know that is where our strength lies.

[handbags_harris]

Well he's not entirely blameless seeing as it was his woeful first touch from a simple pass that gave the ball away in the first place.

What?

He took the ball down, ran forward a few yards didn't see the pass to his right and got tackled trying to find a way through a defender.. nothing to do with his first touch

I'm going by memory, but a short corner, McAnuff dribbles and passes to Karacan who (from my viewpoint in completely the opposite corner) took a spring-loaded first touch, was then struggling to catch up with the ball that he'd let get away from him with an opposition player heading towards him to take advantage of said poor touch, and got tackled. I distinctly remember the first touch getting well away from him and it was this that put him under pressure. Decent first touch he gets a pass or a shot away.

[Row Z Royal]

Well he's not entirely blameless seeing as it was his woeful first touch from a simple pass that gave the ball away in the first place.

What?

He took the ball down, ran forward a few yards didn't see the pass to his right and got tackled trying to find a way through a defender.. nothing to do with his first touch

I'm going by memory, but a short corner, McAnuff dribbles and passes to Karacan who (from my viewpoint in completely the opposite corner) took a spring-loaded first touch, was then struggling to catch up with the ball that he'd let get away from him with an opposition player heading towards him to take advantage of said poor touch, and got tackled. I distinctly remember the first touch getting well away from him and it was this that put him under pressure. Decent first touch he gets a pass or a shot away.

I think he was trying to get it out of his feet to let loose a Turkish Scud, but over-cooked it/under-estimated that speed of the on-rushing defenders.

[FiNeRaIn]

Well he's not entirely blameless seeing as it was his woeful first touch from a simple pass that gave the ball away in the first place. Your counter-argument is entirely valid, and it worries me that it happened twice last season against Bristol City and Preston, and now against Scunthorpe. We've been lucky so far that we haven't conceded from any by hook or by crook, keep doing it and we will.

My own opinion fwiw is that Gunnarsson is better than Karacan. Yes, Karacan is snappy and has legs, but he doesn't have the guile and knowhow of Gunnarsson. In short, I'm much more worried when we have Karacan in the side than Gunnarsson. I still don't understand why we played those two though, Tabb and Howard is a much better partnership IMO.

Great post, fully agreed. He did the same in the first half too, when he tried to go on a run down the left centre with one of our wingers waiting for an obvious pass and got tackled like a muppet. He's just not upto it. Gunnarrson is a better option.

[floyd__streete]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EgPgYVrJtE

[prostak]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EgPgYVrJtE

I like it when our players come around their box.

Something not right with this kid, but I don't wanna enter the minefield of speculation.

[parky]

Cannot believe I watched all of that!

[FiNeRaIn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EgPgYVrJtE

I like it when our players come around their box.

Something not right with this kid, but I don't wanna enter the minefield of speculation.

LMAO! I like how floyd links the video without adding any personal comment on the matter

He's on the verge of crying in this one, uncomfortable viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPuTovqPZr0

[prostak]

I was gonna mention that one... The single reference to his mum dying, that hints at some huge issues bubbling beneath the surface. I'd bet he's an emotional Krakatoa - my new Youtube hero.