I know i'm fickle but....

Sluffy wrote:As long as we have Knight and Wheater as first choice centre backs we are going to have to play defensive midfielders to shore them up and protect them and thus play at least one attacking midfielder less.

It's not rocket science really.

Their goal came from the player running past Knight as though he was not there and laid it on a plate for a tap in from Johnson.

We can't keep conceding goals and expect to score at least two to win games.

As I say it isn't rocket science.

Thanks Owen for resigning Knight on a two year contract.

Brilliant move.

Hill (who must be almost 60) actually went past Baptiste (not Knight) like he was stood in concrete and Johnson got between Wheater and the ball to score. Wheater is a bigger liability than Knight.

bwfc1874 wrote:This thread must be a wind up, lee and Ream were the only positives from today, especially Ream. I thought the diamond was a good use of the players at Dougies disposal.

I agree. Without genuinely creative midfielders available, a diamond makes some sense, but we were getting murdered on the wings which isn't good when they have the likes of Andy Johnson in the middle. Ream was excellent though and he looked far more comfortable there than at the back.
Like all systems, something gets sacrificed so I would have liked Dougie to have been a bit more proactive when QPR started to get the upper hand and perhaps changed it before they scored. After all it was coming and everyone could see it.
When he did change it around, we looked better especially at the end and we had chances. Moritz looked good on the ball and if Dougie had been a bit bolder, he might have started him seeing as Eagles was out and Mavies & Holden aren't available. Hall was great.

I was surprised at the diamond TBH. There were good and bad points about it, but it got me thinking that Dougie might wish to mix it up by trying a 4141 with
Ream
lee or eagles spearing moritz hall
Striker

However Dougie seems set on a different path ATM.
What I did notice was that when QPR broke, they piled forward in numbers, whereas we defended deeper and left our strikers slightly isolated again. In that respect we missed Pratley who was getting up with the strikers until he was banned. Ream was naturally more defensive-minded and that's fine if the FBs push on. At the beginning they did, but Tierney's crossing was woeful and a lot of effort was wasted as a result. It's demoralising if you make a long run from midfield to get into the box only to see the cross sailing high and wide or straight into the goalie's hands.

waynagain wrote:Hill (who must be almost 60) actually went past Baptiste (not Knight) like he was stood in concrete and Johnson got between Wheater and the ball to score. Wheater is a bigger liability than Knight.

The goal came from a quick wall pass given by Hill which made Baptise turn and thus was able to beat him easily.

Knight on the other hand had a clear run to cover for Baptise and stop the cross coming in by blocking it or tackling Hill.

If you watch the clip of the goal again (see the VIDEO thread I posted) you will see that Knight had once again switched off seconds before the goal by wandering off from the player he was marking (as well as not covering for the full back as he was being turned).

IF Knight had stayed close to the man he should have been marking the wall pass would probably not even been attempted!

Christ I learned basic stuff like this 50 years ago!

To be fair to Wheater (who I also don't rate) there's not much he could do once the cross was coming in and he was running back facing the centre of his own goal. He simply could not get to the ball to clear it quickly enough and the scorer actually came from behind Wheater, not in front of him as you say.

I honestly cannot understand why Knight as played so often for us under three different managers?

Knight could be on the bench (which won't happen with Freedman in charge) and people would still blame him for other defender mistakes. Time to stop putting the blame on Coyle and move on. Freedman has signed enough players to NOT play any of the players Coyle signed and yet he still picks them, so he obviously thinks they are better than players he has signed.

Am I missing something?

Freedman's signed kids and first teamers. The first teamers, Baptise, Tierney, Spearing, Beckford, Davies and Moritz ALL played!

The kids didn't apart from Hall who did!

Freedman as got rid of Sordell, Andrews Alonso and Kevin Davies all of whom Coyle signed or resigned

What more could he do with the finical resources at his disposal?

I'm sure he would dearly love to replace Knight, Wheater, Mills and Ream if he could too.

I still hold out hope for ream, amazingly.

Michael Bolton wrote:Come and support Chelsea with me, I know some may find that offensive but seriously watching and following bolton is a bore. Come and support a club that has world class players, an awesome manager, wins trophies. Supporting a team like bolton is just depressing.

Michael, I bet your that Chelsea geezer, who brushes his teeth at home games, especially, as you've probably munched your way through 35 donna kebabs.
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Sluffy wrote:Am I missing something?

Freedman's signed kids and first teamers.  The first teamers, Baptise, Tierney, Spearing, Beckford, Davies and Moritz ALL played!

The kids didn't apart from Hall who did!

Freedman as got rid of Sordell, Andrews Alonso and Kevin Davies all of whom Coyle signed or resigned

What more could he do with the finical resources at his disposal?

I'm sure he would dearly love to replace Knight, Wheater, Mills and Ream if he could too.

Alonso was not 'got rid of' he turned down Freedman. SKD was not got rid of, his contract expired, so he was a free agent, but Freedman and Gartside didn't do themselves any favours in the way they handled a fan favourite. He obviously thought Coyle did a good thing in bringing in Spearing as he said signing him was his main priority'. What has Freedman done to convince you that he would 'dearly love to replace Knight', is it picking him every week, is it making him team captain? Do you think he'll pick Knight or Pratley next week? Do you say 'thanks Owen' when Pratley scores or do you say 'thanks Dougie' when Beckford doesn't?

waynagain wrote:Alonso was not 'got rid of' he turned down Freedman. SKD was not got rid of, his contract expired, so he was a free agent, but Freedman and Gartside didn't do themselves any favours in the way they handled a fan favourite. He obviously thought Coyle did a good thing in bringing in Spearing as he said signing him was his main priority'. What has Freedman done to convince you that he would 'dearly love to replace Knight', is it picking him every week, is it making him team captain? Do you think he'll pick Knight or Pratley next week? Do you say 'thanks Owen' when Pratley scores or do you say 'thanks Dougie' when Beckford doesn't?

SKD was not offered a new contract, effectively that's getting rid of him.

How did Freedman not handle the situation well? He made a brave decision which most fans agreed with, he never lied in the press or to Davies by the sounds of it.

Sluffy wrote:As long as we have Knight and Wheater as first choice centre backs we are going to have to play defensive midfielders to shore them up and protect them and thus play at least one attacking midfielder less.

It's not rocket science really.

Their goal came from the player running past Knight as though he was not there and laid it on a plate for a tap in from Johnson.

We can't keep conceding goals and expect to score at least two to win games.

As I say it isn't rocket science.

Thanks Owen for resigning Knight on a two year contract.

Brilliant move.

You are right there Sluffy, not rocket science. We are shite and Freedman is left polishing a turd with a kitty of 15/6d!!

Sluffy wrote:As long as we have Knight and Wheater as first choice centre backs we are going to have to play defensive midfielders to shore them up and protect them and thus play at least one attacking midfielder less.

It's not rocket science really.

Their goal came from the player running past Knight as though he was not there and laid it on a plate for a tap in from Johnson.

Thanks Owen for resigning Knight on a two year contract.

Brilliant move.

 

bwfc71 wrote:

Sluffy wrote:As long as we have Knight and Wheater as first choice centre backs we are going to have to play defensive midfielders to shore them up and protect them and thus play at least one attacking midfielder less.

It's not rocket science really.

Their goal came from the player running past Knight as though he was not there and laid it on a plate for a tap in from Johnson.

Thanks Owen for resigning Knight on a two year contract.

Brilliant move.

 

It was Baptiste - not Knight - but Knight could have been sitting in the stands and certain people would have still blamed him.
Just think we should all say 'thanks Dougie' for signing Baptiste.

Baptiste followed the ball and not Hill, so he has to take some of the blame, but he also needed more support from the midfield to track Hill's run. Knight's positioning is awful though, as I've said on another thread he either needed to read the one two and drop to cover the cross or get tighter to Austin and stop him from setting Hill up.

To be honest I don't give a shit about this 'Thanks Owen' 'Thanks Dougie' nonsense, it's irrelevant who's fault it is they're here, what's important is that they are and we need to find a way of getting the best out of them.