The USA Tour Thread

[puppyfeat]

All down to Menchies for a frozen yoghurt then!

[paul_e]

Grealish looked a level above anyone else on the pitch when he got the ball. We need to be careful with him but there is a very good player in there.

[PeterWithesShin]

Shit game and performance but we won. Which is nice. Been awhile since i've seen us win 3 in a row.

[richl]

Superb quality stream on youtube

[Olneythelonely]

Grealish was so clearly a cut above anyone else it was scary. He didn't play particularly well either.

Poor overall. But I can't imagine either 11 is how we'll start against Stoke.

[PeterWithesShin]

I'd imagine it is nailed on Steer won't start. A fair few of the others will be looking to though. Grealish really does look a player it has to be said.

[Toronto Villa]

two games in four days played in heat approximating the surface temperature of the sun. We looked good in spells, mediocre in spells and sloppy at times, the latter often caused by just looking exhausted. That said, we still very much need that creative player to come through or join the club or we'll look as one dimensional as did last season. Bent is limited without any supply, Weimann huffs and puffs, and Gabby no longer looks the player he once was. We need a player or two to not only break up the opposition but also one that has the confidence and ability to bring it forward and see runs that others are making. Grealish is the closest thing to it right now but it's not fair to put that on him yet.

Let's hope the next couple of weeks sees Delph and Vlaar sorted out with new deals and some money being spent. The season is less than 3 weeks away.

[Steve R]

Pretty crap game in truth. The first half team with Delph/Amahdi in midfield looke dworryingly threadbare

Grealish is a big plus. I dunno if it is a good sign that Hutton has played well again.

[JD]

Agree Steve.
We looked better when Richardson came on. The movement up front in the first half was non existent.

Hutton did look good (worryingly), as did Grealish.

Still it was a pre-season game played in very difficult conditions so we shouldn't complain.

What was with the ads when a corner was being taken though? Very annoying.

[ciggiesnbeer]

All down to Menchies for a frozen yoghurt then!

Fucking gagging for one me, after all those ads.

[Matt Collins]

Just watching on YouTube as can't sleep. They look tired and it looks really hot and humid. I hope that explains the performance as we look awful. Really substandard.

The 3412 in the first half hasn't worked at all. 4 of the back 5 just aren't good enough for premier league football. I really like Lowton and I want him to do well but I think you'd have to start Hutton ahead of him at the moment. Senderos isn't great but he's much better than baker or herd.

With ball retention as bad as ours has been playing this formation just leaves Delph and KEA looking too light. The front three didn't do much at all and we looked too narrow up front

All in all there's a lot of reasons not to read too much into the game but it hasn't done much to convince me we're going to do anything other than really struggle. I might give up football for September given our fixtures

[Matt Collins]

Second half was better and the back four worked much better than the three. Hutton was our best player :-|

interesting we've barely seen Richardson at left back. I'd assumed that's where he'd play. And he might. If he's not going to play there we'll need another left back. Bennett or Stevens can't be trusted

Grealish does look to have more quality than most of our players. He's lovely to watch. But I've not seen him really hurt teams that much on this tour - though he's had a couple of close through balls where he waited a little too long. Weimann, n'zogbia, gabby and bent haven't been great but they all have hurt teams. Hopefully that comes but you do just wonder about his lack of pace.

Bent's hold up play was hopeless.

Gardner did well again I thought. Looks much sharper than last pre season. Would love to see him make it. Bacuna has been shit so far this pre season

I see lambert has been eulogising about the performance. I hope Keane is going to say to him, 'look Paul that was shit', when relevant. I never know if lambert believes his own hype or if he's just doing it for players' confidence. We've sure had a lot of 'world class' performances for a team that's been battling relegation for two years

[Ron Manager]

Watched it this morning. Not much to say really. Played better in the second half in a poor match and both Grealish and Hutton performed well.

Im glad I didn't stay up. Those who did deserve a round of applause.

[PaulWinch again]

Anyone heard anything on Okore's knee injury? I'm hoping it's not too serious.

[Mister E]

I realise that it's a sideshow, but I really don't get why anyone thinks Herd is a CB ... and why do they keep playing him there when we need a solid CMF player. Herd could actually have a role to play in CMF - albeit as a squad player - but has no chance as a CB.


Re Hutton, I'm not surprised that he looks better than Lowton and other options: he is, after all, an experienced international fullback. Lowton, meantime, was a promising FB who spent most of last season - a key season in his development - arguing with the club about stuff.