Pre-Season Friendlies

[eamonn]

Result doesn't matter but performance does. Are we just going through the motions again.

Going through the motions in someone else's car
and I think we missed our turning back there

[ozzjim]

Yes it was pre season friendly and yes the result didn't matter and yes it's all about getting fit but BUT how often have we said that in the past 6 seasons? Every season is my guess and look where we have ended up😟

Wolves have won against much better opposition. I bet their fans have a bit more optimism than we do right now.  I get the fitness thing but as said above, shit pre season performances have not been turned into decent league ones

[Three Spires Villa]

Boring, turgid, disappointing a normal Steve Bruce team

[willenhall villa]

Just spun through the YouTube vids of the games and I think JV has looked the most impressive midfielder. Still a lack of service to our forward players and has Hogan touched the ball? Thought Davis did well when he came on.

[Ads]

Championship football is about functional game management and making fewer mistakes than the opposition. You need to abandon any other mind set and acclimatise to the league.

Newcastle had such a good away record because they found a way to pinch goals and squeeze the life from the game. Brighton had Sidwell and Dale Stephens as their central midfield with one outlet ball.

Huddersfield away typified this; we cut them open a few times in the first half, very even thereafter but switch off for a couple of seconds from a corner and that's all she wrote.

Boring, turgid, functional is exactly what you need; Newcastle, Brighton, Burnley, Boro et al have all shown how it's done.

[curlytailavfc]

I think were in cant be arsed mode again

[Risso]

The result is meaningless in itself, but what would be really nice would be to see the merest glint of hope that this season is going to be better than last.  We've only got one new player so far, so it isn't like Bruce is having to get lots of new players bonding, but yesterday was the same witless, lumpen rubbish we had to endure for most of last season under him.  No movement, no pace, no guile, and being outpassed.  Utter rubbish, in other words.  I just want to see something from the pre-season games that shows Bruce is the man to get us up this season.

[Clampy]

It was a disappointing performance but the result doesn't matter too much, just as long as it's not carried on into the season.

[AV82EC]

Championship football is about functional game management and making fewer mistakes than the opposition. You need to abandon any other mind set and acclimatise to the league.

Newcastle had such a good away record because they found a way to pinch goals and squeeze the life from the game. Brighton had Sidwell and Dale Stephens as their central midfield with one outlet ball.

Huddersfield away typified this; we cut them open a few times in the first half, very even thereafter but switch off for a couple of seconds from a corner and that's all she wrote.

Boring, turgid, functional is exactly what you need; Newcastle, Brighton, Burnley, Boro et al have all shown how it's done.

I agree with this. The flaw is we can't even do that properly but as others have said it's a pre season friendly. I'll become worried if we get to the end of August and it hasn't changed.

[SoccerHQ]

Reading the reports the most disappointing thing for me is that Hogan and McCormack as a combination were pretty anonymous.

Steve Bruce will be in big trouble if he tries to brush away a poor start to the season by waiting for Kodjia to get fit, that could be 6 weeks after the season starts at which point we'd have played pretty much 10 league games so a decent chunk of the season.

Of course I accept the midfield set up isn't helping but surely for 25m combined those two should be capable of dangerous moments even from speculative balls.

From all the highlights videos of him at Fulham he was a striker who can create goals out of nothing....25 yard shots into the top corner, ridiculous long range free kicks which has seemed to evaporate here.

Hogan's a little different because it's obvious he's a 6 yard poacher but from what I saw of him last year v QPR and Reading he has little body strength as he was incapable of holding the ball up against the CBs and lost it everytime.

Kodjia is still our number one striker by a country mile and with the speculative forward game we play we need an unpredictable striker who can create chances and goals out of little.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Championship football is about functional game management and making fewer mistakes than the opposition. You need to abandon any other mind set and acclimatise to the league.

Newcastle had such a good away record because they found a way to pinch goals and squeeze the life from the game. Brighton had Sidwell and Dale Stephens as their central midfield with one outlet ball.

Huddersfield away typified this; we cut them open a few times in the first half, very even thereafter but switch off for a couple of seconds from a corner and that's all she wrote.

Boring, turgid, functional is exactly what you need; Newcastle, Brighton, Burnley, Boro et al have all shown how it's done.

I agree with this. The flaw is we can't even do that properly but as others have said it's a pre season friendly. I'll become worried if we get to the end of August and it hasn't changed.

I would argue Newcastle went into every game believing they will win. We haven't done that for a long time. Our players think they could probably win.

[SoccerHQ]

Newcastle simply had a much better mentality away from home than we did.

I don't think their home record was much better than ours, fairly sure they lost more at home than us.

[wittonwarrior]

Normally wouldn't blink an eyelid but the total lack of ball skill out there yesterday was worrying. The team itself as it is set up more suited to rdm. As for jt a cut above the rest and stuck out looking like peaches and cream

[sirlordbaltimore]

It wasn't great yesterday that's for sure. The only player to show any sparkle for me was Green, and Lyden at least showed some intent to get at em in his very brief cameo as well. I didn't think Veretout showed anything unlike some people did, the midfield in general was absolutely awful. And more proof (if needed) that we just can't play with a two man central midfield. We've tried variations and it never seems to work. So why not stick to the three that 'does'? at least in some fashion

Can anyone tell me when Micah Richards got so fat? people went on and on about McCormack and Gabby looking beefy last season but Micah takes the absolute biscuit. By the packet apparently. Absolutely disgusting condition for a professional footballer

[Matt Collins]

Got a stinking cold so watching the first half now

Poor passing - as soon as we got into a tight position we give it away - main culprits Thor (time and time again - like every time I see him) McCormack,  plus sometimes hogan and hourihane

Tend to agree the midfield two doesn't work -  but we might need to find a way to make it work. I much prefer the starting back four to a back three and I think Bruce is probably right that we need to play two strikers, or one up and one off. Hourihane and Lansbury both seem pretty powderpuff though

Hogan makes good runs but I think he'll be much better if playing the channels with proper creative players behind him. He was definitely brighter than McCormack

Thought green was ok but some of the praise overdone - edit: in fact he's given it away quite a lot (admittedly playing tucked in on the right which isn't his position)

Overall, id be more worried if we're turning in performances  like his in two or three games time. There's still very little discernible pattern of play; and sorting that has to be the big priority. I guess we've only had about three weeks of pre season

But it would be nice if supporting villa wasn't so relentlessly disappointing