BFTG Blackpool.

[Hound]

that Puscas chance is really how we should be playing for him. It was utterly simple, but he made an excellent run, and had the pace and strength to get in behind.

Shame that was about the only time we tried it all night

[Millsy]

Is it coincidence that yet again Puscas goes off and we concede?+-

He seems to play as a defensive forward - constantly chasing down every ball, harassing the defenders, the keeper, works his socks off. He might not've physically scored the first but it was basically 99% his goal, as he pressurised their back line and keeper and won the ball. Giving them something to think about all game. And he almost scored himself later by pressurising the back line.

Take him off for a floaty young winger who doesn't press as much and as we have seen before the opposition is delighted! They play with no fear anymore and can just all push forward.

I dunno, but it does seem quite odd to me how the game changes so much when he goes off.

[Norfolk Royal]

Is it coincidence that yet again Puscas goes off and we concede?+-

He seems to play as a defensive forward - constantly chasing down every ball, harassing the defenders, the keeper, works his socks off. He might not've physically scored the first but it was basically 99% his goal, as he pressurised their back line and keeper and won the ball. Giving them something to think about all game. And he almost scored himself later by pressurising the back line.

Take him off for a floaty young winger who doesn't press as much and as we have seen before the opposition is delighted! They play with no fear anymore and can just all push forward.

I dunno, but it does seem quite odd to me how the game changes so much when he goes off.

Fair points on the face of it but those Blackpool goals were coming all game. They could easily have scored two in the first half.

[Mr Angry]

There is a time for trying to play it out from inside your own penalty area, and there are time not to do that; doing that when the opponent is doing a high press en masse (not just a lone striker) is a recipe for disaster. As much as the management might want us to play as if we were a silky skilled Spanish team full of Galactico's, the fact is we aren't, and we need to have leaders on the pitch to step up and change it when it is clearly causing problems.

Have a shouting match in the changing room afterwards guys - sometimes players need to take responsibility and do what is right, not just what the coach wants them to do.........

[LWJ]

Also agree with others about Puscas. The amount of times he was making a run tonight which was totally wasted as our players refused to play the ball early.

Isn’t this exactly what Baldock was getting criticised for on a weekly basis last season (including yourself)? Running around, movement in behind but not being found and not really contributing overall. That’s now 800 minutes of football this season and 0 goals

Made the 2nd tbf, could have been selfish and shot after winning it back. Laid it off to Laurent who slotted Tom Dele

[Stranded]

Is it coincidence that yet again Puscas goes off and we concede?+-

He seems to play as a defensive forward - constantly chasing down every ball, harassing the defenders, the keeper, works his socks off. He might not've physically scored the first but it was basically 99% his goal, as he pressurised their back line and keeper and won the ball. Giving them something to think about all game. And he almost scored himself later by pressurising the back line.

Take him off for a floaty young winger who doesn't press as much and as we have seen before the opposition is delighted! They play with no fear anymore and can just all push forward.

I dunno, but it does seem quite odd to me how the game changes so much when he goes off.

Coincidence - yesterday absolutely. Their opener came from a lucky corner, a half clearance and a deflection off Dann's head. Taking Puscas off had no effect on that at all. Tide had already well and truly turned toward Blackpool before the goal any way.

[Millsy]

Is it coincidence that yet again Puscas goes off and we concede?+-

He seems to play as a defensive forward - constantly chasing down every ball, harassing the defenders, the keeper, works his socks off. He might not've physically scored the first but it was basically 99% his goal, as he pressurised their back line and keeper and won the ball. Giving them something to think about all game. And he almost scored himself later by pressurising the back line.

Take him off for a floaty young winger who doesn't press as much and as we have seen before the opposition is delighted! They play with no fear anymore and can just all push forward.

I dunno, but it does seem quite odd to me how the game changes so much when he goes off.

Coincidence - yesterday absolutely. Their opener came from a lucky corner, a half clearance and a deflection off Dann's head. Taking Puscas off had no effect on that at all. Tide had already well and truly turned toward Blackpool before the goal any way.

For all 3 goals? Tide was always generally with Blackpool yes, we were shite, but we shipped 3 straight after he went off. How did they get that corner? By bombarding us. A goal seemed inevitable. Thats' my point. Just generally weaker, inviting attacks and corners etc

Attack is the best form of defence and shit as he may be at scoring he sure pressurises a lot.

[karbota]

What was the attendance?, apologise if this has already been mentioned elsewhere.

[Zip]

What was the attendance?, apologise if this has already been mentioned elsewhere.

Not seen it anywhere but guessing at around 11,000 ish. More Blackpool fans than there were Barnsley but less hone fans than on Saturday.

[karbota]

What was the attendance?, apologise if this has already been mentioned elsewhere.

Not seen it anywhere but guessing at around 11,000 ish. More Blackpool fans than there were Barnsley but less hone fans than on Saturday.

Surprised at 11K looked more like under 10k on the tv, the weather and being a mid week game were factors but i think many thousands of fans are not returning because of the political gesture of taking the BLM knee. Good to see Puscas and others now refusing.
I won't be returning to the Mad Stad until this nonsense stops.

[South Coast Royal]

Not quite as caught up with the emotion on here as I was a red-button viewer last night.

When Puscas missed his one and only chance I had that dreadful feeling that it was going to matter.
Bournemouth played at home to Blackpool early on in the season and cruised into a 2-0 half-time lead.
My son-in-law who went to the game said the second half was all Blackpool and they deservedly came away with a 2-2 draw and, looking at the league table this morning, they are just 1 point behind us.
So at 2-0 did we, like Bournemouth, underestimate them?

After the Cardiff game Hound posted that the players looked leggy and I disagreed and felt that only Yiadom looked leggy.
Last night from the start of the 2nd half they all looked leggy and that after having just one game after 2 weeks off.
Maybe some are having to play with injuries and unfortunately we had nothing on the bench that would make too much of a difference.

These are the only players that we have until the New Year so as our players take so long to return from injury the manager has to manage as best as he can and it is difficult.

Just on Puscas, his 2 contributions were helping to create a goal and missing the one-on-one.
For the rest of the game he never retained the ball at all when played up to him-he just hasn't got the strength or skill to play with his back to goal.
Admittedly, watching on TV, you do not see or appreciate runs off the ball and for all his limitations what else can the manager do other than keep on playing him until Joao is back?

Lastly, some of our intricate passing was top drawer and in playing that way we now have an identity even if it proves scary at the back (ironically our 2nd goal came about through Blackpool overplaying at the back) and our goals are more likely to come from intricate passing once we get in and around the box.
To do that we need a Joao but we haven't got a Joao for the foreseeable future so a variation on that way of playing is necessary as we create so few chances and, because we make so few, Puscas probably looks even worse than he is-Solanke or Mitrovic don't have to rely on just the one chance per game.

Reactions after Saturday were OTT positively, maybe fans are being OTT negatively after last night and we just have to grin and bear it and hope for the best as there are a lot of games for our very thin squad to play in the coming weeks.

[NathStPaul]

What was the attendance?, apologise if this has already been mentioned elsewhere.

Not seen it anywhere but guessing at around 11,000 ish. More Blackpool fans than there were Barnsley but less hone fans than on Saturday.

I won't be returning to the Mad Stad until this nonsense stops.

Thank goodness for the BLM movement!

[Snowflake Royal]

Very poor.

Decent first half where we were in control, aware and making decent decisions about where to plat intricate and where to play safe.

Followed by a second half that was an abject failure for the entire midfield and particularly the side's two leaders, dugout and on the pitch.

Neither did anything to spot and address the increasing problems. Namely the midfield playing like they were in a low stakes exhibition game against non-league opposition.

We let in a goal and it's increasingly panic stations. All from Moore, who'd rather stand off and throw himself left, right and centre heroically than organise anything or defend properly in the first place.

Where was the call to hold the ball? Play it simple. Stop the tricks. Clear the lines. Form the defensive shape. Press the ball as a unit. No where. That's where. Where was the change to counter the threat? No where.

Drinkwater looks a cut above, but was abysmal. Constantly losing the ball.

Southwood the only one with much credit. Though Puscas, miss aside, was good. Pauno is so rigid. Has to take Puscas off at around 65 minutes regardless of game state.

Really really poor. I'm not convinced it was a pen, but Yiadom plays like an absolute plum in the box sometimes.

[windermereROYAL]

Blackpool were sent out for the 2nd half a good 3 minutes before us, obvious got a right bollocking, should have seen it coming really.

[Zip]

Blackpool were sent out for the 2nd half a good 3 minutes before us, obvious got a right bollocking, should have seen it coming really.

They were out early but not sure it was because they had been bollocked. They played well in the first half. I think they knew they were still very much in the game and wanted to get straight back out.

[Pat Butchers Ring]

Not seen it anywhere but guessing at around 11,000 ish. More Blackpool fans than there were Barnsley but less hone fans than on Saturday.

I won't be returning to the Mad Stad until this nonsense stops.

Thank goodness for the BLM movement!

Why are you thanking goodness?

[Coppells Lost Coat]

that Puscas chance is really how we should be playing for him. It was utterly simple, but he made an excellent run, and had the pace and strength to get in behind.

Shame that was about the only time we tried it all night

I make it to be 1 pass to play him through...... in 4 games now!!! I will defend him as he is definitely making the runs a lone striker should be making.He is absolutely wasted + wasting his time. He may as well just join in the midfielders 45yard sideways passing, from last nights showing doesn't really matter if they come off or not these days.
Azeez was totally the wrong sub at the wrong time. I know we are not blessed with options right now but as soon as he went off we completely lost what ever shape we had and it was fully taken advantage of.

Fair Play to Blackpool. They knew exactly what to do and kept up the pressing, rattling us to continue with mistake after mistake. It was a fantastic performance from them and got the result they deserved.

[NathStPaul]

I won't be returning to the Mad Stad until this nonsense stops.

Thank goodness for the BLM movement!

Why are you thanking goodness?

I do not believe in a god so why would I thank one?

[Millsy]

that Puscas chance is really how we should be playing for him. It was utterly simple, but he made an excellent run, and had the pace and strength to get in behind.

Shame that was about the only time we tried it all night

I make it to be 1 pass to play him through...... in 4 games now!!! I will defend him as he is definitely making the runs a lone striker should be making.He is absolutely wasted + wasting his time. He may as well just join in the midfielders 45yard sideways passing, from last nights showing doesn't really matter if they come off or not these days.
Azeez was totally the wrong sub at the wrong time. I know we are not blessed with options right now but as soon as he went off we completely lost what ever shape we had and it was fully taken advantage of.

Yep my point above - Puscas adds things we don't see and we seem to mysteriously lose shape when he goes. The sort of player you miss when he goes. Chases everything.

Your point about only 1 throughball for him in 4 games - yeah that's shocking. Mick and Tim commented at one point that noone seemed to be wanting to pass to him a few games back. When he did have another good pass it was too late so offside, he was expecting it much sooner and had a go at whomever it was. We're not Milan sadly.

But one thing that stood out for me, probably wrongly, is that he didn't take the knee. Whatever you may think of it, if most/all your other team mates are then it might rub them up the wrong way if you don't show some solidarity with them if nothign else. I'm purely speculating but I wonder he there's some tension, I don't know. He's another player who doens't smile much but then we know he's had a tough time away from home in a cold miserable poor resource-lacking brexity shithole of a country on his own so we can't blame him. I wonder how much he gets on with the rest of them though. You're more likely to pass to your mates I guess than someone who doesn't engage much? Probably reading too much into it but I did find it quite odd!

[Orion1871]

What was the attendance?, apologise if this has already been mentioned elsewhere.

Not seen it anywhere but guessing at around 11,000 ish. More Blackpool fans than there were Barnsley but less hone fans than on Saturday.

I won't be returning to the Mad Stad until this nonsense stops.

Bit of a long way for you to come from Australia anyway isn't it, Semtex?