Quote from: sickbeggar on September 22, 2020, 10:53:44 AMPeople forget we were a superb save from being behind last night. In that scenario its highly unlikely we would have got any more than a draw against 10 men on what we created as it was.People forget we were a sending off offence from being in front early on. These ifs and buts are fairly meaningless, we were the better team before and after the red card.
People forget we were a superb save from being behind last night. In that scenario its highly unlikely we would have got any more than a draw against 10 men on what we created as it was.
Quote from: Drummond on September 22, 2020, 10:54:19 AMWe won. That's what we set out to do.We controlled the game and, penalty aside, they never looked like scoring. (To be fair, even with the penalty their fans were convinced they'd miss).Room for improvement for sure, but for a first game, we got plenty of practice at playing the ball around and keeping possession, we just need more of a spark. Hopefully, Traore and AN Other will help to provide it. And I agree with LeeB again, Davis, Watkins and Traore with Luiz, Grealish and McGinn (or AN Other) would be good. I'm still not convinced McGinn is back to fitness, or maybe he is but we're becoming better and he doesn't stand out as much any more.Goal aside though, neither did we look like scoring. Two shots on target all game, against ten men.
We won. That's what we set out to do.We controlled the game and, penalty aside, they never looked like scoring. (To be fair, even with the penalty their fans were convinced they'd miss).Room for improvement for sure, but for a first game, we got plenty of practice at playing the ball around and keeping possession, we just need more of a spark. Hopefully, Traore and AN Other will help to provide it. And I agree with LeeB again, Davis, Watkins and Traore with Luiz, Grealish and McGinn (or AN Other) would be good. I'm still not convinced McGinn is back to fitness, or maybe he is but we're becoming better and he doesn't stand out as much any more.
There were so many opportunities for us to shoot from outside the box but Luiz, Grealish and Conor were all sitting 10 yards to deep to really have a go. Instead we played it across time after time, from one side to the other 30 yards out. It was completely pointless given how packed the Sheffield box was and how easily they dealt with our crosses into the box.
To be honest I agree with you that its unfair to judge much on a 1st game as it was clearly apparent some players weren't up to speed, and i would have took a draw beforehand tbf.But the criticism is still relevant after last season. We had something like 16 shots on goal and managed 2 on target last night. Yes they parked the entire bus station, but you just have to look at us last season. What was it 6/7 games we scored 2 goals in? Basically if you score against us you've got a very good chance of at least a draw. If you manage 2 then we're not gonna win...Watkins had the sending off and his curled shot last night and both of those chances he made out of nothing. Grealish was having one of his don't pass nights - indeed I think Watkins set him up a few times, so the lack of creativity and the fact we probably will not face such a defensive team again who will allow us so much possession is a bit worrying imo.
Quote from: Risso on September 22, 2020, 11:08:28 AMQuote from: Drummond on September 22, 2020, 10:54:19 AMWe won. That's what we set out to do.We controlled the game and, penalty aside, they never looked like scoring. (To be fair, even with the penalty their fans were convinced they'd miss).Room for improvement for sure, but for a first game, we got plenty of practice at playing the ball around and keeping possession, we just need more of a spark. Hopefully, Traore and AN Other will help to provide it. And I agree with LeeB again, Davis, Watkins and Traore with Luiz, Grealish and McGinn (or AN Other) would be good. I'm still not convinced McGinn is back to fitness, or maybe he is but we're becoming better and he doesn't stand out as much any more.Goal aside though, neither did we look like scoring. Two shots on target all game, against ten men. There were so many opportunities for us to shoot from outside the box but Luiz, Grealish and Conor were all sitting 10 yards to deep to really have a go. Instead we played it across time after time, from one side to the other 30 yards out. It was completely pointless given how packed the Sheffield box was and how easily they dealt with our crosses into the box.
Quote from: sickbeggar on September 22, 2020, 11:33:19 AMTo be honest I agree with you that its unfair to judge much on a 1st game as it was clearly apparent some players weren't up to speed, and i would have took a draw beforehand tbf.But the criticism is still relevant after last season. We had something like 16 shots on goal and managed 2 on target last night. Yes they parked the entire bus station, but you just have to look at us last season. What was it 6/7 games we scored 2 goals in? Basically if you score against us you've got a very good chance of at least a draw. If you manage 2 then we're not gonna win...Watkins had the sending off and his curled shot last night and both of those chances he made out of nothing. Grealish was having one of his don't pass nights - indeed I think Watkins set him up a few times, so the lack of creativity and the fact we probably will not face such a defensive team again who will allow us so much possession is a bit worrying imo.Shots on target isn’t a particularly great metric to measure dominance/performance by. I’d argue that the two of Grealish’s chances that went just wide when better than Luiz’s header on target for instance.
Quote from: Rudy Can't Fail on September 22, 2020, 12:31:54 PMThere were so many opportunities for us to shoot from outside the box but Luiz, Grealish and Conor were all sitting 10 yards to deep to really have a go. Instead we played it across time after time, from one side to the other 30 yards out. It was completely pointless given how packed the Sheffield box was and how easily they dealt with our crosses into the box.I agree, I wish we'd had more shots as we've players in midfield who can all strike the ball well. However, we kept possession and I guess that's half of the point, we kept the ball moving, retained possession and got some practice in.And we beat them, hahahaha! I love that Wilder started ranting afterwards!
Shots on target isn’t a particularly great metric to measure dominance/performance by.
Quote from: Risso on September 22, 2020, 10:07:44 AMPersonally I like the fact that despite the win, most people weren't overly happy with the performance and can see that we didn't play that well. It means we're not settling for making up the numbers and actually want to do something this season.I'm not sure what else were were meant to do against a team that just sat back and defended once they went down to 10 men. We had 72% of the possession and yes, we could have done better with it at times but it wasn't a dreadful performance by any means.
Personally I like the fact that despite the win, most people weren't overly happy with the performance and can see that we didn't play that well. It means we're not settling for making up the numbers and actually want to do something this season.