BFTG , Hull.

[windermereROYAL]

Well that was pretty decent stuff, not to get carried away because Hull were pants. but it was everything we haven`t been up till now.
Very impressed with the Iranian lad, a good shield in front of the defence and looked very tidy on the ball.
Not sure if O shea lost a single header before his dismissal. well worth more appearances on the showing after his suspension.
Aggressive and passion in the middle of the park and Bacuna looked much better in a more advanced row until he dropped back after the Iranian`s withdrawal.
Need to repeat against better teams and more consistently but a very encouraging display and can have a happy Saturday evening for the 2nd time in two weeks.
Onwards and upwards.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Hard to argue with that.

Having Eza sit deep really allowed Kelly and Bacuna to get forward, press and support Bod. Was very nice to see.

[Westwood52]

Wow that was great. I cannot remember when I last felt so good after leaving the Madstad.

Apart from Hull being very poor; I felt the difference today was the sheer effort the wide players especially put in. Take a bow, Sims, Baldock, Yiadom and Ilori.
While everybody must have thought we were playing three at the back(inc Nige)-Ilori filled in at RB, with the usual 4-3-3.
Hull had a chance either side of HT, and I thought Barrow should have come on earlier; but the 2nd goal just killed them.
IMHO:

Walker 7: A couple of really good saves-the jerseys his for the foreseeable future.

Ilori 7: One outstanding tackle saving the day 2nd half. Not really an FB though-lets hope we get our LBs back soon.But please no Gunter.
Yiadom 8 : Absolutely the best of him today MOM
Moore 7 : Very solid, if not at his absolute best.
O Shea 6 : His age caught up with him a couple of times (and the red card was spot on ), but he held the defence together really well.
Bacuna 6: Still blew a bit hot and cold-but the addition of Said gives him license to run with the ball .
Kelly 5: Very poor 1st half-then showed a lot of quality 2nd half (as he did on Wednesday).

Said (?) 6: We might have the missing link here. Good passer, good in the air and likes a tackle. Will get better.

Baldock 7: Ran himself into the ground and every now and again showed some real quality.

Bod 7 : Has to be a starter every week. Just gives us a focus when attacking.

Sims 7 : Again ran his socks off. Always a threat, again has to be a starter.


Barrow : Hugely influential on the 2nd and 3rd goal.

Swift : Looks class when he is not pressed.

Gunts: Solid, better than of late.


Ref: Hmm, better than of late; some strange decisions; but spot on when it mattered.


I am not sure we have turned the corner-next Saturday will tell.

[Lower West]

Credit to Clement today. All round team performance . O'Shea was like having a manager on the pitch. Was expecting 3 at the back with wing backs when team news was announced. Instead a 4-1-4-1.

During first half Yiadom was upfield. Baldock dropped back to fill in at full back. Sums up the attitude of the players. on the pitch.

[Snowflake Royal]

Hull - not even a football team.

Walker - one good save at least, clean sheet - 7
Ilori - absolutely fine - 7
Yiadom - defended well, got forward well, scored - 8
Moore - solid - 7
O'Shea - not as slow as I expected, composed and aware, cynical when needed (and when not Mr Red card) - 7
Ezatolahi - tidy and composed, lacking stamina, errors in him - 7
Kelly - bust his gut for the side, some wayward long balls but nothing wrong with that, well involved - 7
Bacuna - drove us forward playing the Williams role I'd thought he had in him - 8
Sims - tricksy, positive and direct, worked hard too - 8
Baldock - worked hard, scored a goal, heavily involved going forward and tackled back - 8
Bodvarsson - tireless, brought players in, worked the defence and scored - 9 my MotM

Swift - wrong end for me to see much positive he was doing, but involved so at least - 7
Barrow - helped stretch the game again when we'd started to flag - 7
Gunter - did everything needed of him at very short notice - 7

That's more like it. More urgency and drive. Though we'll play very few teams who give us as much space and time as that.

South Stand, not enough for critical mass and struggled a bit mid half, but an absolute joy to be in today.

If the silver haired gent who came up to me after the game is a nobber, that certainly is what we want it to try to be like. Just need a few more wins and people.

[Snowflake Royal]

O'Shea was in Yiadom's ear intently before one of Bacuna's set pieces, really good to see him passing on his experience and leading.

[Ascotexgunner]

Hull were utterly awful. Wonder how many times the word "reflect" will come up in Nige's interview tonight. New bloke did OK......looks like he needs games......pleased we got 3 points, but nothing changes for me.
There are still massive problems.
Anyone know what the attendance was?

P.S. Warnock looks like he maybe available soon (joke?)

[windermereROYAL]

There are still massive problems.

Care to go into more detail?

[Lower West]

Anyone know what the attendance was?

12,409

587 from Hull

[SCIAG]

Very pleased with that.

Only thing to add that might be controversial is that while O'Shea was immense in the air, Hull really played into his hands - the two times they ran at him he went in the book. Think he'd be a big liability against a better team. But we have to work with the players we have.

[Hound]

Not too much to add over the above ratings. About right

Was very impressed with Baldock first half, thought he was excellent. Him, Bod, Bacuna and Sims worked exceptionally hard and pressed superbly. Complete opposite to Norwich first half where they just ran around aimlessly

Walker is better than Mannone isn’t he?

Feel that against better teams we may get exposed down the flanks though. Ilori almost got caught out a couple of times and Yiadom is not a LB. Happy with O’Sheas performance, but feel all 3 are temp fixes. Again, if only Obita was fit and firing

Midfield actually dominated the game more than I’ve seen for absolutely ages first half. Proper controlled it until Eza tired

There’s work to be done but we’ve stopped the immediate rot. 2 wins out of 3 should help the confidence

PC should go forward with today’s squad, bin off Aluko altogether for Harriott or McCleary add Rinomhota and Blackett to the group and dump the rest imo. Tell them they are all going in Jan. Make up any gaps from the U23

[Royality creeps In]

I thought Tiago was immense.
Having O Shea sort of let the handbrake off and he really showed what he was capable off.
Wont criticise anyone (Not even O Shea) who was terrific before that red thingy.

Mind you having said that Hull were terrible.

Cheers lads (and Ladies)

[Henley Royal 1]

Good win much needed three points .Not sure Hull were up to much but nice to see us without that diabolical combination on the right hand side .

[NewCorkSeth]

Ok. Good performance from the lads. Terrible opposition but we did well anyway. We still had some serious lapses in concentration and a better team (any team) would have punished us.

Walker - 7 - Looked comfortable. Nervy at moments in the first half and his distribution needs some work. He seems a very decent keeper.
Ilori - 7 - Did well out of position. Much better than Gunter but I repeat, he should start centrally.
O'Shea - 5 - Harsh maybe but he did get sent off. It was a stupid challenge for the first yellow and his pace showed him up.
Moore - 7 - He did what he does.
Yiadom - 9 - MOTM. He did incredibly despite being right footed. Beautiful runs up the wing, won several headers and tackles. I was delighted to see him score.
Ezatolahi - 6 - Started really well but lost concentration as the match went on. Having a deeper player who isn't Meyler really helped us.
Kelly - 6 - Too many Hollywood passes again. He just doesn't offer as much as Swift imo. He was pushed off the ball far too easily.
Bacuna - 8 - Great set piece delivery and fantastic movement both on and off the ball.
Baldock - 7 - Good to see him scoring where earlier in the season he missed. Did great work on the wing tracking back but Barrow showed again why he should start.
Sims - 7 - Good movement, good defensive work and showed a lot of passion. Should start next game.
Bodvarson - 8 - Good work ethic and scored. He would have gotten a 9 if he WON A oxf*rd HEADER EVERY NOW AND AGAIN! But seriously it's so frustrating watching him lose almost every ball sent his way by Walker.

Subs:
Swift - 6 - He's better than Kelly..
Barrow - 7 - Deadly in attack. Created that goal so easily.
Gunter - N/A. I hope he doesn't come straight back in next game.

[Denver Royal]

Very pleased with that.

Only thing to add that might be controversial is that while O'Shea was immense in the air, Hull really played into his hands - the two times they ran at him he went in the book. Think he'd be a big liability against a better team. But we have to work with the players we have.

Yep, think you're right. Hull played to his strengths.
That said, think we could use more aerial dominance in central defence in this league.
And, prolly most players in general looked better today on account of opposition.

[Ascotexgunner]

There are still massive problems.

Care to go into more detail?

Was referring more to off the pitch....sh+t attendance, empty boxes etc......you know..the usual.
I probably should have said.."this win won't change anything off the pitch"

[Ascotexgunner]

Anyone know what the attendance was?

12,409



587 from Hull

Yeah looked similar to Norwich......that really is poor.

[Zip]

When I saw the line up I was disappointed O’Shea and Kelly were in the side but they both played well.
I wanted to see the team start fast and that is exactly what they did. It was great to see.
The shape was so much better and with O’Shea and Ezatolahi we had more physical presence and won more aerial challenges than usual.

Walker 6 One good save but otherwise untested
Ilori 7 I thought he did well playing out of position. One great tackle in the second half
O’Shea 7 Constantly talking to Ilori and solid. Took one for the team. Very good in the air
Moore 7 Solid throughout
Yiadom 7 Had his hands full with Bowen. Took his goal well
Ezatolahi 6 Started superbly but a few misplaced passes thereafter but he looks promising
Bacuna 6 Some poor passes but did ok
Kelly 7 Much much better. Worked really hard and better passing
Sims 7 He is a real nuisance for the opposition. Worked tirelessly
Baldock 8 MoTM Thought he was superb. Clever touches, worked really hard including tracking back and scored
Bodvarsson 8 So pleased for him. Took his goal well and worked incredibly hard. Great attitude.

Barrow 7 Made a difference when he came in as we looked a little flat
Swift 6 Got involved. Did ok
Gunter 6 Did nothing wrong in his brief time on the pitch

Now let’s kick on from here.

[Zip]

Hull - not even a football team.

Walker - one good save at least, clean sheet - 7
Ilori - absolutely fine - 7
Yiadom - defended well, got forward well, scored - 8
Moore - solid - 7
O'Shea - not as slow as I expected, composed and aware, cynical when needed (and when not Mr Red card) - 7
Ezatolahi - tidy and composed, lacking stamina, errors in him - 7
Kelly - bust his gut for the side, some wayward long balls but nothing wrong with that, well involved - 7
Bacuna - drove us forward playing the Williams role I'd thought he had in him - 8
Sims - tricksy, positive and direct, worked hard too - 8
Baldock - worked hard, scored a goal, heavily involved going forward and tackled back - 8
Bodvarsson - tireless, brought players in, worked the defence and scored - 9 my MotM

Swift - wrong end for me to see much positive he was doing, but involved so at least - 7
Barrow - helped stretch the game again when we'd started to flag - 7
Gunter - did everything needed of him at very short notice - 7

That's more like it. More urgency and drive. Though we'll play very few teams who give us as much space and time as that.

South Stand, not enough for critical mass and struggled a bit mid half, but an absolute joy to be in today.

If the silver haired gent who came up to me after the game is a nobber, that certainly is what we want it to try to be like. Just need a few more wins and people.

Club 1871 much better today. A bit quiet in the early stages of the second half but otherwise I heard you lot singing/chanting regularly throughout the game

[Hound]

Very pleased with that.

Only thing to add that might be controversial is that while O'Shea was immense in the air, Hull really played into his hands - the two times they ran at him he went in the book. Think he'd be a big liability against a better team. But we have to work with the players we have.

Yep, think you're right. Hull played to his strengths.
That said, think we could use more aerial dominance in central defence in this league.
And, prolly most players in general looked better today on account of opposition.

Do you think they played to his strengths as the front 4/5 were pressing so well?

That’s how I watched it. Made them resort to long balls which Tiago, Moore and O Shea are going to deal with all day