How would you feel....

[eastie]

Very good post that gareth.

[sirlordbaltimore]

He does not look to hit his players in the box or those coming in late, he just knocks it into the space where he thinks a player should be.  You compare him with someone like Valencia and he finds his players wherever they are in the box because he is aware of their positions before he gets in a position to cross and finally looks before he plays the ball.  Albrighton has not improved since he first broke into the team and the opposition have worked him out which means he is less effective.

I don't get the above TBH

A wingers job is to get the ball into the danger area, it's then the striker or whoever else is coming in to get on the end of it surely?. You don't have to drop the ball right on a standing players head, you stick it in the danger zone and expect them to make an effort to get on the end of it. Ask Andy Gray, from an era when that was the strikers job

Plus ..

Wasn't it Albrighton's corner in the first half that led to one of the Palace players knocking it over their own bar ?

Wasn't it Albrighton that played that wonderful disguised through ball to Lowton for the cross Weimann hoofed over the bar ?

Apart from Guzan he was the only player that came out of the match with any credit to my eyes. And maybe Lowton in the attacking sense

[ozzjim]

He was the only player who looked like he could do something that would fashion a chance for sure. There were a couple of occasions where he did not hit a man when he had loads of times to cross which was frustrating though.

[Steve kirk]

That brilliant disguised pass to Lowton showed that Albrighton has ability,  he has just been lacking confidence so lets stick with him.

[Matt Collins]

The passing and movement from the two or three early games this season seem like a lifetime ago now, how can all the players ( even KEA ) be at the top of their game together, then a few months down the line all be playing like strangers.

I don't recall that much passing and movement in any game this season. Maybe bits of the Arsenal game. But against Chelsea we couldn't keep the ball for the first forty minutes and then went quite direct. Against Liverpool we did have a fair amount of the ball but that's because Liverpool dropped off.

The deterioration in our passing and movement from last season is the biggest issue for me this year. I remember even the Man U away game last year thinking 'our defence is shit, but we look really dangerous going forwards, great movement, all on the deck, two touch and one touch passing'.

For all the criticism about the players not being good enough, we had a sustained period last year when Westwood, Weimann, Lowton, Benteke, Gabby, Vlaar, Guzan,  and even at times Sylla, N'Zogbia, and occasionally even Bennett and Baker absolutely were good enough. I'm prepared to accept that the last lot just aren't up to it on a consistent basis (though I'd bloody love N'Zogbia to be an option now). But I'm not ready to give up on that first lot. I saw enough to think they can be good enough.

The problem as we all know is that becsuse we're absolutely reliant on Guzan, Vlaar and Benteke, and because we can't carry dips in form from the others I mention, we really struggle when others are out of form.

I don't feel at all positive about today's game. But I imagine that around half of the clubs in the premier league have had spells this season when the fans have been in absolute despair as we are now (Sunderland, Cardiff, West Ham, Norwich, Newcastle, Fulham, Palace, West Brom, Stoke). Those clubs aren't all going down, but I suspect fans of all those clubs plus us have had spells this season where teh consensus has been, 'we're doomed'.

Still think we'll lose today unfortunately though!

[supertom]

I've been pleased with Albrighton since he came back in the side. He's the one creative spark we appear to have this minute. But I think its the sorry state of Lamberts squad to be honest. Though I like Alby and think he's playing well, I'm still not convinced the lad is Premiership quality in the long term. This is the level of the majority of our squad and why we're still in trouble.

[JUAN PABLO]

I think Albrighton's been one of the plus points in the last few games.

He has , and I like Marc but he isnt a Prem player  , shows how backwards we have gone . He was never in Lamberts plans.

[aj2k77]

Great post above from Gareth.

As for Albrighton, he is just being Albrighton.
The odd flash of a bit of quality (Man U) and then absolute mediocrity. He is never a premier league player.
He did not suddenly become a top quality player whilst away on loan, and when he did go, most weren't too concerned to see him go.

It sums up our desperation that Marc Albrighton is brought back into the fold more in hope than any expectation.

When Herd and Albrighton are dragged out again you know you are in real trouble.

[supertom]

In terms of performances on the pitch there's few sides as dog shit as we are right now. Poyet has got Sunderland looking more competitive. Fulham look a better outfit under the new guy. Pulis has done well at Palace. Stoke are quite solid under Hughes, West Ham are still struggling, but a center forward could change their fortunes.
The baggies and Cardiff are in a bit of a mess but both could make the right appointment.

Something needs to happen fast. We can't keep playing so poorly. Eventually, as we've seen from going 5 unbeaten, to losing 4 on the spin, the results start to match what you're doing on the pitch. We could very easily find ourselves propping the lot up by the time January has ended.

[Steve kirk]

Just checked the 94/95 season, Big Ron was sacked following a terrible period when he lost 8 games out of 9 picking up a point in the other game, Deadly was known for having a twitchy trigger finger but think he was pretty patient in that horror run, Lambert has picked up 9 points from the last 9 games, I think we will have to fall a lot further before Lerner acts if at all.

[aj2k77]

In terms of performances on the pitch there's few sides as dog shit as we are right now. Poyet has got Sunderland looking more competitive. Fulham look a better outfit under the new guy. Pulis has done well at Palace. Stoke are quite solid under Hughes, West Ham are still struggling, but a center forward could change their fortunes.
The baggies and Cardiff are in a bit of a mess but both could make the right appointment.

Something needs to happen fast. We can't keep playing so poorly. Eventually, as we've seen from going 5 unbeaten, to losing 4 on the spin, the results start to match what you're doing on the pitch. We could very easily find ourselves propping the lot up by the time January has ended.

Spot on. We were complacent because we were getting results.

There was no way you can continue getting results when the opposition have the ball and you can't pass it. Eventually the luck runs out.

So what if we were 11th and were on a decent run, it's a blessing if you are getting the results whilst not putting in the performances. Try to fix the problems before they become real big problems. We haven't, we just pointed to the league table.

[Gareth]

Very good post that gareth.

cheers

[Gareth]

Just checked the 94/95 season, Big Ron was sacked following a terrible period when he lost 8 games out of 9 picking up a point in the other game, Deadly was known for having a twitchy trigger finger but think he was pretty patient in that horror run, Lambert has picked up 9 points from the last 9 games, I think we will have to fall a lot further before Lerner acts if at all.

The biggest difference is we didn't have transfer windows then so if Lerner wants to protect his Premiership income & feels Lambert isn't the man he will have to act earlier

[paul_e]

In terms of performances on the pitch there's few sides as dog shit as we are right now. Poyet has got Sunderland looking more competitive. Fulham look a better outfit under the new guy. Pulis has done well at Palace. Stoke are quite solid under Hughes, West Ham are still struggling, but a center forward could change their fortunes.
The baggies and Cardiff are in a bit of a mess but both could make the right appointment.

Something needs to happen fast. We can't keep playing so poorly. Eventually, as we've seen from going 5 unbeaten, to losing 4 on the spin, the results start to match what you're doing on the pitch. We could very easily find ourselves propping the lot up by the time January has ended.

Spot on. We were complacent because we were getting results.

There was no way you can continue getting results when the opposition have the ball and you can't pass it. Eventually the luck runs out.

So what if we were 11th and were on a decent run, it's a blessing if you are getting the results whilst not putting in the performances. Try to fix the problems before they become real big problems. We haven't, we just pointed to the league table.

The fans just pointed to the league table because that's all we can do.  We have to trust the manager, coaches and players to see that there are problems and work on them.  As I said at the time (when we were 11th) if we're going to play shit I'll accept shit with points because I don't think we'll be shit for the rest of the season and the points we earned were enough of a base that we should've been safe.  What we have now is poor performances and bad results, which means turning things around needs to come sooner.  I'll happily take 3 points and a shit performance today though.

[supertom]

Just checked the 94/95 season, Big Ron was sacked following a terrible period when he lost 8 games out of 9 picking up a point in the other game, Deadly was known for having a twitchy trigger finger but think he was pretty patient in that horror run, Lambert has picked up 9 points from the last 9 games, I think we will have to fall a lot further before Lerner acts if at all.

Even some of the best managers eventually get found out and it starts going a bit wrong. In Rons case I think the Prem was leaving him behind, but the worrying think with Lambert is how quickly he's been found out. We had an effective Feb-May (which was still just mid-table form) but teams have been setting up to stop us this season and thus far he's had no answer. Managers like Hughes, Pulis etc have out thought Lambert with relative ease in recent games, and I think it's shown him up for what he is. Tactically nowhere near Premiership level.
Honestly even McLeish had more of an idea about an efficient game plan. That may well have been to absolutely ruin games, and it did fall apart when we had injuries, but there was some kind of a plan, as fuck ugly as it was. And lets face it, what Eck has achieved in the management game is largely what Lambert, at this point could only dream of. I'm not saying we lost a good manager by any means. He was bloody awful, but whilst people still say Lambert deserves time, by the same token we never really afforded McLeish a manager with a little more nous (a little), that same time. Neither Randy or the fans. He got the can because we couldn't hack any more of it.
But that's our level right now. We need a genuinely considered manager. Someone who's more effective in taking the talk, and putting the words into action. Something a little better than "We go again..." Then just send out the side doing exactly the same things.
Essentially Lambert's game plan is to treat his players like pound shop toys. You pull the chord on their back, or wind them up, release them and let them whizz around until they've run out of energy, hoping, often in vein, that they might outscore the opposition.
Even at our best under Lambert it was a bit 100mph, and a little like organised chaos.