TM did the right thing last night and got the result too. Great management imo. What we saw in the first half will have confirmed what we all know.
Burke - never again
Gardner - only if essential
Longello- will only ever be a back up
Bielik - can’t play without Sunjic
Donovan - great promise but not just yet
Anderson - needs to regain match fitness
Loads of positives on the pitch but the catering staff forget to turn the boiler on so there was no hot drinks at half time in the kop. 😕🤣🤣🤣🤣
I would put Gardner and Longelo in the ‘never again’ category
Liam of BrumLoads of positives on the pitch but the catering staff forget to turn the boiler on so there was no hot drinks at half time in the kop. 😕🤣🤣🤣🤣
There were hot drinks available at the outlet at the back of The Kop nearest the Gil Merrick.
Service was pretty quick and the food was very hot.
Mowbray said he used the game to see as many players from the squad as possible.
He'll be getting an idea on which players are 'sponges' as he likes to call them and which ones aren't.
Need players to be fit so we have better options on the bench
Burke actually made some decent runs last night and was found on most occasions. Not saying he’s Bale in reincarnate but he wasn’t all that bad.
Think the lack of striker on the pitch was quite telling as there was a lack of urgency to get in the box. I could tell the crowd was getting frustrated as we were in behind on a few occasions but there was no support in the box.
yes he made a run and was found, what did he do with the ball once he had it ? Absolutley nothing. I can;t remember anything of note he created. I don't quetion his effort or commitment but all he has is pace and an bility to jump quite high for a long time for headers.
Well he nearly set Longelo up who was well saved by the keeper and on the other occasions had no one in the box to square it too, hence the point made about having no striker in the box to be on the end of it.
On the radio it sounded like Longelo was getting good crosses in for fun.
He's not a left back, he could develop into a good winger. Needs a loan next season and we sign a proper competition left back.
Nikola ZigicOn the radio it sounded like Longelo was getting good crosses in for fun.
He's not a left back, he could develop into a good winger. Needs a loan next season and we sign a proper competition left back.
I know i'm going to get slaughtered for this , but , i would like to see Longelo given a shot at the striker spot we so desperately need to fill , don't ask me why coz i don't know but i just get a feeling he could work there
dorkNikola ZigicOn the radio it sounded like Longelo was getting good crosses in for fun.
He's not a left back, he could develop into a good winger. Needs a loan next season and we sign a proper competition left back.
I know i'm going to get slaughtered for this , but , i would like to see Longelo given a shot at the striker spot we so desperately need to fill , don't ask me why coz i don't know but i just get a feeling he could work there
Living up to your name there...
I don't get this anti-Longelo stuff. It sounded like he was cheered off. I thought he played well, bar a couple of poor passes in the final third.
He's good enough as a back up for the level.
As for Burke, i've said before, I don't rate him but there is a place for him in the squad. He does stretch the play, and is an outball. Last night he put a couple of decent crosses in.
Burke and Anderson were shown up by the subs, the difference was night and day in terms of what Bacuna and Miyoshi were able to come up with on the right hand side of the pitch
Stansfield helped with this also tbf
Longelo was playing in a makeshift backline against a makeshift team.
You can't fairly judge a player's potential on that.
I thought he was ok. Better going forward.
Burke
I wasn't sure where he was playing. Sometimes up front (when we didn't have the ball)
Sometimes it looked like he was right WB in a 5 (though we seemed to be playing with 4 art the back in the first half).
I find it amazing someone paid £12m for him to join rather than leave. It was a few years ago as well. Equivalent to £15m+ now.
I can't see him being anything more than a fringe player for the rest of his loan.
He has all the attributes to be better, but he isn't. Maybe Mowbray will get something out of him.
Other lessons
Playing without a recognised forward makes it difficult for us to attack.
Late goals
Change everything. People have gone home happy on Saturday and last night because we've change the result in our favour right at the end of the game.
Persistence and a bit of luck.
I'm not sure how much influence the manager had over either goal, except that the team was still playing right to the end.
That didn't happen so much under Rooney. Maybe it's just a bit of luck but it makes a massive difference to how people (including me) feel about things.
Mowbray has now had a good start.