decidedly average

[oafc1955]

I thought both teams were poor tonight, but to say leeds were better??????? i thought they were really poor tonight, us not much better!!

 

out of any team in the playoffs, id have leeds as we'd take em easy on tonights showing along with our victory over them at ellenad road earlier this season!!

 

Don't agree with that....Leeds were the better of two poor teams but Grayson will get them organised and will be a big threat come May.

 

They definitely have more quality in the key areas and always looked more likely to score last night!

 

We were the home team and should have dominated but didn't...Leeds had a few players out with injury and when at full strength will be the team to beat in the playoffs.

 

[edhunteruk]

i think in fairness it was a poor game and a point each was probably the right outcome.

 

both teams showed at times why we are were we are,and not second or running leicster close at the top.

 

taylor looked frightened and wouldnt run at them....niether would smalley,however i think he played most of the game injured after he got clattered.

 

thought greegan was solid at the back without doing anything fancy,kept beckford quite most of the time.

 

maher had a decent game as well,in fact i dont think anybody had a real shocker so to speak,but it was just another average home game played out in typical latics fashion.

 

had to laugh at the commentators,commenting that latics were going for it now as andy liddell was coming on....take a 24 four year old with bags of pace off for a 35 year old who cant run anymore,but considering smalley had a knock understandable.

 

the ground looked good with all the pink on show,but what happened to drummer boy the atmoshopere maker....only heard him 4 or 5 times.

[Zorrro]

You've just aged the poor lad 4 years, Ed. (Not Liddell, obviously.)

 

I thought we were poor last night. Too many aimless long balls forward, not enough pressure on Leeds when they had the ball, and a general lack of confidence. Leeds looked assured, bright and very hungry, and can consider themselves unlucky, on the balance of play, not to come away with three points.

 

Funnily enough, though, I thought only Hazell had a bit of a 'mare. Maybe Taylor, too. Gregan, Jones, Maher, Smalley, Fleming and Kabba all had good games.

 

A very good point for us, all things considered.

[singe]

Theres a lot of comments on here I agree with.

I don;t think that Taylor had a great game, but no one seems to have pointed at that at one point Taylor had 3 players closing him down, and walways two of them on him.

It snuffed us out.

We did not exploit the fact their rightback was about 17th choice.

I agree with those that said we controlled it for large parts up to the final 1/3rd, but lacked something up front.

Our set prices are still pretty average.

But,a s others have said 2 games 3 days and 4 points from 6 from Millwall and Leeds is not bad going.

Just got a feeling we have to up the workrate a bit and we will hammer someone.

Edited March 3, 2009 by singe

[johnny punkster]

glad i'm not the only one pi$$ed off with the display again last night.

 

HOOF!

 

mom -jones-excellent shift.

like what kabba brought too,

taylor was shocking.

[BigfinLatic]

It may be fair to say that for Taylor, although I still thought he was poor. Smalley was plain garbage though - he looked like a rabbit trapped in the headlights everytime he got the ball. He's has done well recently though and I'm sure he will do better next game.....

 

Nah, sorry, not having that... he was pap in the first half when all the rest of the players were too... however in the secont half he started to rip parker a new arsehole... was the only one of our team commiting thier defenders.... now, fair enough, he took a nock, however 2 minutes before he got subbed he did the best run of the game... and then Liddell* came on and that was the end of any type of threat... injured my arse...

 

Was the game i was expecting really, no-one looked like winning it IMO... there was two clear differences in quality between us and them though for me... firstly - set pieces, thier delivery was absolutely superb... secondly (and slightly related) - Kilkenny, was the only bit of quality on the pitch, just flashes, but a couple of through balls in the second half were quality. Allott and Maher didnt do bad.. Maher was the better of the two and Allotts distribution was woeful, however most of thier time was taken scrapping and creating nowt...

 

I'll take a point, type of game you are going to get between the top teams at this stage of the season....

 

 

 

 

* ing ing awful. Awful awful terribleness. I'm losing words to describe how bad he is. Now, i know it was only 15 minutes, but it destroyed our shape, lost the ball every time he got it and was just embarrasing. Anyone who thinks he should play behind the front two maybe you shot take a look at his two attenmpted shots... the first he miscontrolled and passed to the CB, the second he hit the corner flag. Pathetic. As I say, Embarrasing. Give it up Andy and Shez.

Edited March 3, 2009 by BigfinLatic

[outoftheblue]

Just proves once more that everyone sees it differently (Yet some on here still maintain that you know nothing about football if you don't see it their way )

There's no doubt we could have been sharper / more alert and more commited, and that Leeds shaded the game, but I certainly don't see where Smalley deserved to be labelled 'garbage'.

Deano won the lions share of 50/50 headers, and outpaced their defence on many occasions. He was clearly carrying a couple of knocks but still put 95% in.

Taylor struggled against two men again, but didn't help his cause by trying to hold on to the ball too long.

Hazell has been much better this season than he was last night - perhaps the opponents were of better quality (Though Gregan seemed to handle them ok).

Allott had a decent game on the whole, but went missing for a while in the second half, Maher was the most effective midfielder.

Kabba looked strong, active and useful for 65 minutes, then started to lose concentration. Probably knackered.

Hughes looked on form and scored from a really tight angle, but also frustrates when he wants an extra touch before shooting.

Jones had a very steady game, and it was good to see Eardley making self available to receive the ball more often.

On the whole I thought a little more anticipation, movement and commitment was needed, but I overheard people saying we were dire - those people clearly didn't see that 2nd half performance against Brizzle, THAT was dire.

[leezyverpunk]

Leeds by were the better team easily. They should have won it with the chances they had

 

Were has the football gone? too many useless lumped balls up field

Disagree 100%. 1st half both teams cancelled each other out so was a bit dull. Second half we really had a go and looked like the only team to go on and win it UNTIL - we got knackered at the end and were hangin on a bit - not a bad performance by us at all but disagree 100% that Leeds were better.

[einstein]

Disagree 100%. 1st half both teams cancelled each other out so was a bit dull. Second half we really had a go and looked like the only team to go on and win it UNTIL - we got knackered at the end and were hangin on a bit - not a bad performance by us at all but disagree 100% that Leeds were better.

I can't agree that Leeds were better. Very dirty maybe, got away with it, Becchio should have been off for that first dreadful tackle and yet the ref bottled out after Becchio's first yellow card. As somebody who doesn't see the blues that often I was a bit surprised that the ball was in the air so often, but that's often down to how the opposition play it too. Perhaps too much at stake for both teams.

[Lags]

The game itself was very scrappy and Latics just couldn't string together any consistent pressure in the final third. For me too many lofted balls. Possibly down to lack of movement from the players without the ball creating a pass or space. All season long we've had this problem from throw ins where the thrower doesn't have anyone to throw it to which leads to us giving up the ball....needs sorting does that. Leeds had the better chances and created more than Latics but overall neither side did enough to win for me. Latics nor Leeds showered themselves in glory for the sky camera's but the commontators repeatedly gave them the excuse that the wind was playing it's part in that........................................ what wind? Maybe something in the pitch that's creating our below par performances at BP though as the Leeds skipper commented on the uneven hard surface.

[LaticsPete]

Just proves once more that everyone sees it differently (Yet some on here still maintain that you know nothing about football if you don't see it their way )

There's no doubt we could have been sharper / more alert and more commited, and that Leeds shaded the game, but I certainly don't see where Smalley deserved to be labelled 'garbage'.

Deano won the lions share of 50/50 headers, and outpaced their defence on many occasions. He was clearly carrying a couple of knocks but still put 95% in.

Taylor struggled against two men again, but didn't help his cause by trying to hold on to the ball too long.

Hazell has been much better this season than he was last night - perhaps the opponents were of better quality (Though Gregan seemed to handle them ok).

Allott had a decent game on the whole, but went missing for a while in the second half, Maher was the most effective midfielder.

Kabba looked strong, active and useful for 65 minutes, then started to lose concentration. Probably knackered.

Hughes looked on form and scored from a really tight angle, but also frustrates when he wants an extra touch before shooting.

Jones had a very steady game, and it was good to see Eardley making self available to receive the ball more often.

On the whole I thought a little more anticipation, movement and commitment was needed, but I overheard people saying we were dire - those people clearly didn't see that 2nd half performance against Brizzle, THAT was dire.

 

Pretty much how I saw it. First half Leeds looked sharper, closed us down well but after the break Allott & Maher got to grips and used the ball well. Hughes looked hungry, esp in secondhalf, and both Kabba and Alessandra gave them problems.

 

Jones was very good, esp defensively, and that tackle in the first half when he was faced with three Leeds attackers was as good as a goal. Fleming confident, Greegs good - yet again- etc.

 

For them - KK spots the ball to play, still want him back. Beckford lots of off ball running, and Marques solid at the back.

 

Listened to Radio Leeds on way home!! Some of the callers slag off nearly everyone in their team but still say they will go up automaticallY.

 

[bluehobbit]

surprised at some of the negativity on here to be honest. Leeds are a big strong team and we dealt with them OK.

They only started to look a decent side going forward as we tired late in the game and Maher and Allot started to sit deep. allowing KK and Delph to get thier heads up to play passes through us up untill the hour mark it was pretty even game and i dont think there was much to choose between us. I think the 2 games in 48 hours effected us more than them.

We needed a little more composure on the ball at times but we didnt get it partly because of lack of movement partly because we have some players who arent great dealing with the ball under pressure.

Taylor wasnt great did anyone think he looked knackerd towards the early in the 2nd half and never really recoverd?.

 

To me Leeds looked a lot like us give them room to play and they wil beat you 9 times out of 10 - pressure them and hustle the midfield and they struggle with some more aggression i think we could have bullied KK and Delph a little.

 

Leeds are good going forward - shaky at the back

[Lags]

surprised at some of the negativity on here to be honest. Leeds are a big strong team and we dealt with them OK.

They only started to look a decent side going forward as we tired late in the game and Maher and Allot started to sit deep. allowing KK and Delph to get thier heads up to play passes through us up untill the hour mark it was pretty even game and i dont think there was much to choose between us. I think the 2 games in 48 hours effected us more than them.

We needed a little more composure on the ball at times but we didnt get it partly because of lack of movement partly because we have some players who arent great dealing with the ball under pressure.

Taylor wasnt great did anyone think he looked knackerd towards the early in the 2nd half and never really recoverd?.

 

To me Leeds looked a lot like us give them room to play and they wil beat you 9 times out of 10 - pressure them and hustle the midfield and they struggle with some more aggression i think we could have bullied KK and Delph a little.

 

Leeds are good going forward - shaky at the back

 

 

Could that have anything to do with his busted nose? hard congealed blood like concrete up both nostrols tends to restrict breathing!!

[bluehobbit]

Could that have anything to do with his busted nose? hard congealed blood like concrete up both nostrols tends to restrict breathing!!

 

 

ah i didnt see that - when did that happen? he was holding his face in the 1st half when he hit the bar with the header from the coner (the ref blew up for something or other) was this it?

[Lags]

ah i didnt see that - when did that happen? he was holding his face in the 1st half when he hit the bar with the header from the coner (the ref blew up for something or other) was this it?

 

No prior to that. Copped a ball blasted full on into his snotter. Was off the pitch for a while whilst the blood stopped and he came round. Possibly broken...but don't know that for sure.

[BP1960]

As somebody who doesn't see the blues that often I was a bit surprised that the ball was in the air so often.

No surprise to the regulars though.

[Stitch_KTF]

I'm not one to easily criticise players but I really thought Smalley was poor, even worse than Taylor, and I blame this for the poor performance all round. However in the face of a lot of criticism of my opinion I could well be wrong I suppose. However I will say he was often obscured by a pillar.

 

I saw a nervous and hesitant player making bad decisions followed by bad touches. For a player with his pace he hardly ever beat his fullback, despite often having plenty of space to run into, and on the small handfull of occasions when he did his cross was pathetic. The few headers he 'won' were aimless. I'm not faulting his effort but both Leeds fullbacks had very comfortable evenings...which is a bit of an issue when your midfield pairing is Allot and Maher.

 

Anyway, being an anorak I'll probably watch it again tonight and will be open to changing my mind.

[Diego_Sideburns]

Anyway, being an anorak I'll probably watch it again tonight and will be open to changing my mind.

 

No, you were corrrect first time. It was not one of Deane's better games.

[edhunteruk]

I'm not one to easily criticise players but I really thought Smalley was poor, even worse than Taylor, and I blame this for the poor performance all round. However in the face of a lot of criticism of my opinion I could well be wrong I suppose. However I will say he was often obscured by a pillar.

 

I saw a nervous and hesitant player making bad decisions followed by bad touches. For a player with his pace he hardly ever beat his fullback, despite often having plenty of space to run into, and on the small handfull of occasions when he did his cross was pathetic. The few headers he 'won' were aimless. I'm not faulting his effort but both Leeds fullbacks had very comfortable evenings...which is a bit of an issue when your midfield pairing is Allot and Maher.

 

Anyway, being an anorak I'll probably watch it again tonight and will be open to changing my mind.

 

i dont think you can single out taylor and smalley for the overall team performance,there are 9 other players on the pitch.

 

taylor getting smashed in the face,not a clue where he was for 5 mins then did nothing....we dont have the luxury for a like for like replacement,and i think the effects of that were evident...he tried to switch wings in the first half but it never really came off.

 

smalley was doing some pretty good runs,had the fullbacks beaten fo pace but didnt use it correctly for some reason...

i would have liked to have seen them swap wings in the second half and let smalley have a run at douglas,but it didnt happen.

 

my own opinion was that once liddell came on shez had settled for a point,then windass was an un-neccessary sub.

 

one thing i did pick up on was the constant reference to the howling swirling wind....was it really that bad.

[OldhamSheridan]

Don't know the subs, but wasn't the Chelsea lad (a like for like replacement) there?

 

[dkenyonqfc2]

I'm not one to easily criticise players but I really thought Smalley was poor, even worse than Taylor, and I blame this for the poor performance all round. However in the face of a lot of criticism of my opinion I could well be wrong I suppose. However I will say he was often obscured by a pillar.

 

I saw a nervous and hesitant player making bad decisions followed by bad touches. For a player with his pace he hardly ever beat his fullback, despite often having plenty of space to run into, and on the small handfull of occasions when he did his cross was pathetic. The few headers he 'won' were aimless. I'm not faulting his effort but both Leeds fullbacks had very comfortable evenings...which is a bit of an issue when your midfield pairing is Allot and Maher.

 

Anyway, being an anorak I'll probably watch it again tonight and will be open to changing my mind.

totally agree

[Stitch_KTF]

i dont think you can single out taylor and smalley for the overall team performance,there are 9 other players on the pitch.

 

 

one thing i did pick up on was the constant reference to the howling swirling wind....was it really that bad.

 

The system we deployed last night (the same one we usually do) is 100% dependant on the two wingers. If they don't play then Latics don't play, hence why we created zero decent chances last night.

 

 

To be fair the conditions were worse than I had realised for much of the game. I only realised when I went down to the front of the Chaddy for the last minute just how windy it had become.

[slystallone]

I'm not one to easily criticise players but I really thought Smalley was poor, .........

 

, and on the small handfull of occasions when he did his cross was pathetic. The few headers he 'won' were aimless. I'm not faulting his effort but both Leeds fullbacks had very comfortable evenings...

 

Anyway, being an anorak I'll probably watch it again tonight and will be open to changing my mind.

 

 

 

Hmmm, interesting.

 

Its all about opinions isn't it; but yours is wrong!

 

Hope you've had chance to watch it back now & seen Smalley setting up our goal & providing one of the only real threats we had going forward in the 2nd half.

He beat the LB (Parker) 3 or 4 times to set up attacks & re-watching it back when i got in after the game, Don Goodman commenting said Smalley was a standout in the 2 nd half & i agree with him.

 

I'm not just arguing for the sake of it - but when you say that the main reason we played as average as we did wasdown to Smalley then i have to disagree.

 

The Smalley / Eardley /<insert any Latics youngster or loan players name> bashing that goes on at times on here & and games is laugable

Edited March 4, 2009 by slystallone

[Stitch_KTF]

Hmmm, interesting.

 

Its all about opinions isn't it; but yours is wrong! Well, that's like your opinion, man

 

Hope you've had chance to watch it back now & seen Smalley setting up our goal & providing one of the only real threats we had going forward in the 2nd half. It's a wingers job to provide a 'threat' and also to turn this threat into some damage. Despite good effort he didn't. I have watched parts of it again and will say that Hughesy must wish he had 'service' like that all the time....

 

He beat the LB (Parker) 3 or 4 times to set up attacks & re-watching it back when i got in after the game, Don Goodman commenting said Smalley was a standout in the 2 nd half & i agree with him. These phantom attacks must have petered out.....seeing as we didn't create a decent chance all night. Anyway, 3 or 4 times is nowhere near enough. When he plays well he beats numerous players numerous times.

 

I'm not just arguing for the sake of it - but when you say that the main reason we played as average as we did wasdown to Smalley then i have to disagree. Smalley and Taylor, more so Smalley because he had much more opportunity than Taylor did. What (in your opinon) was the primary cause of our poor performance?

 

The Smalley / Eardley /<insert any Latics youngster or loan players name> bashing that goes on at times on here & and games is laugable. Agreed, although it's fair to highlight when they don't perform.

 

Not sure why you only quoted part of my post.

[Zorrro]

Could you use a better colour next time, Stitch? My eyes