Crofts ready for next test (From The Argus)

2 points a game from the final 10 should see a play off place.

The comments made by Crofts suggest a sense of acceptance that it's ok to create many chances and not score.

If it were just the odd game thta this happened in I would agree but it isn't.
Yesterday we ceated enough chances to win the game, last tuesday we didn't even have a shot.
Two matches, on the back of all the draws this season, one not attempts and one no finishing, this can't be good.

Yesterday was not a good result and creating 21 chances to score and netting zero is not a good performance, compare it to what we managed at Cardiff, that was a good result and performance.

Our team need not take to the pitch next tuesday thinking, well if we play as well as we did at Bolton we will win, they need to know that they must perform better than they did at Bolton.

This might sound harsh but it's how I see it.

The problem as I see it is that we can really only play one way,possession for the majority of a match does not always mean a win especially when we have no predatory strikers or clinical finishers.
I would occasionally like us to have the option to play different tactically, more urgency especially at home and perhaps more direct, try playing 2 wingers just for once Gus and lets see players not afraid to shoot,too many times players have relented from shooting,particularl
y Dicker when he plays, a ppass is too easy an option sometimes. All teams know how we play,so lets vary it for the last 10 games and go for it.

Players aren't afraid to shoot: we had 21 shots yesterday.

Cannot agree with VegasSeagull's idea that taking a positive attitude from this good performance / disappointing result, into the next game is "acceptance that it's ok to create chances and not score". When you play sport, you have to remain positive and look forward to putting right what went wrong last time. I think you make a mean and unjust comment.

Cory and Trevor wrote:
Players aren't afraid to shoot: we had 21 shots yesterday. Cannot agree with VegasSeagull's idea that taking a positive attitude from this good performance / disappointing result, into the next game is "acceptance that it's ok to create chances and not score". When you play sport, you have to remain positive and look forward to putting right what went wrong last time. I think you make a mean and unjust comment.

Cory I am not putting the team down, and I am not saying they should not remain positive.

As Crofts say, 'we had a lot more shots and a lot more crosses,' that right there is the point I am trying to make.

Go into tuesday game with confidence but also with a realisation that we created many chances and didn't score, that side of our performance is reminicent of a couple of months ago, pre Ulloa.
Back then we were saying how we needed to score from the amount of chances we were creating, and Gus was, 'bored,' saying the same old thing every week.

I am not being mean, I am being honest in what I think.

Just for the record..the BBC report on the Bristol City game mentions a shot by Orlandi that was comfortable saved by their keeper .... i guess the shot counter had gone for a pee ! Frankly the stats do not always reflect what you actually witnessed watching the game. You can't beat actually being there and seeing it. All the reports I have seen from Bolton have said we were unlucky not to come away with something and you have to take something positive out of that.

The question is whether Gus can find a loan striker before Tuesday's game.

Losing Hoskins and CMS was bad enough, but to lose Barnes too could be a knockout blow.

It's asking too much of Ulloa to play as a lone striker two or three games in a row.

Where is LuaLua while all this is going on I wonder? His fresh legs could really give the team a lift but either he has an injury we don't know about or he's out of favour with Gus.

This game against Barnsley is pivotal. Win and we're back in the play-off positions. Lose and Palace will smell blood on Sunday.

VegasSeagull wrote:
The comments made by Crofts suggest a sense of acceptance that it's ok to create many chances and not score.

If it were just the odd game thta this happened in I would agree but it isn't.
Yesterday we ceated enough chances to win the game, last tuesday we didn't even have a shot.
Two matches, on the back of all the draws this season, one not attempts and one no finishing, this can't be good.

Yesterday was not a good result and creating 21 chances to score and netting zero is not a good performance, compare it to what we managed at Cardiff, that was a good result and performance.

Our team need not take to the pitch next tuesday thinking, well if we play as well as we did at Bolton we will win, they need to know that they must perform better than they did at Bolton.

This might sound harsh but it's how I see it.

Compare to what we managed at Cardiff.
OK, at Cardiff we underperformed and got the points, it was not a good performance but great result. At Bolton we played well and got nothing out of it, a good performance, but a bad result.

I want them to play like they did against Bolton, but get the result they got against Cardiff.
I hear what you say about it being too often the case that we play well but get only a draw or sometimes even beat, but if we keep trying to play attractive football, and dominate like we did in both games with Bolton, we will find the way to win more often, and look good doing it.
I am with Crofts.
Imagine you take a trip back to blighty though, and go to a game, would you rather see a scrappy win or a dominant, silky performance whilst drawing? I ask because, selfishly, if I am not at the game I am happier to take the points however they come, but if I am there I want to see good football above all else.

bruce beckett wrote:
The question is whether Gus can find a loan striker before Tuesday's game.

Losing Hoskins and CMS was bad enough, but to lose Barnes too could be a knockout blow.

It's asking too much of Ulloa to play as a lone striker two or three games in a row.

Where is LuaLua while all this is going on I wonder? His fresh legs could really give the team a lift but either he has an injury we don't know about or he's out of favour with Gus.

This game against Barnsley is pivotal. Win and we're back in the play-off positions. Lose and Palace will smell blood on Sunday.

I think with LuaLua it's very much on how he trains. I can only presume that is letting him down.

bruce beckett wrote:
The question is whether Gus can find a loan striker before Tuesday's game.

Losing Hoskins and CMS was bad enough, but to lose Barnes too could be a knockout blow.

It's asking too much of Ulloa to play as a lone striker two or three games in a row.

Where is LuaLua while all this is going on I wonder? His fresh legs could really give the team a lift but either he has an injury we don't know about or he's out of favour with Gus.

This game against Barnsley is pivotal. Win and we're back in the play-off positions. Lose and Palace will smell blood on Sunday.

I would have thought Bruce, that if it was an injury, the manager would say so. It must be as Old Scrote has posted.
Will Barnsley be another game where LuaLua does not make the bench, despite the long term absence of other strikers?

bruce beckett wrote:
The question is whether Gus can find a loan striker before Tuesday's game.

Losing Hoskins and CMS was bad enough, but to lose Barnes too could be a knockout blow.

It's asking too much of Ulloa to play as a lone striker two or three games in a row.

Where is LuaLua while all this is going on I wonder? His fresh legs could really give the team a lift but either he has an injury we don't know about or he's out of favour with Gus.

This game against Barnsley is pivotal. Win and we're back in the play-off positions. Lose and Palace will smell blood on Sunday.

Anyone know how come Gus fails to see what the vast majority of the fans does re Lua Lua?

There must be more to it than meets the eye?

A player who invariably, when he comes on create a good chance or two for others (or as at Charlton and the game before that, scores)

UTA!!

Anyone care to play pick a squad fo Tuesday?

I think the following;

TK
BS,AE,MU,WB
AO,LB,VR,DL
KLL,WB

Sub Ulloa in on 60 give him some of the rest he needs, course Vicente could play were KLL is with Crofts or Dicker in midfield instead.

Gus made a comment a few weeks ago about needing to be brave now and take a few more risks.

He was right and we won a few games.. It was a no brainer as far as i was concerned and certainly a long time coming.

This in my eyes and imho is where the problems at the moment lay. Gus has gone back to pre bravery comment, lineups and tactics and because of this we have taken the smallest of steps backwards.
Unfortunately that tiny step has been enough to take us back to the frustrating dropping points when we deserved more phase.

I really hope Gus is braver on Tuesday and plays some pace from the start.
Its no coincidence to me that Mr Freedman said we put them under the cosh towards the end when Buckley had joined the action

Subject to the above i think we will be sat in 5th on Tuesday evening after our game in hand. I think Cardiff will do us a favour and beat Leicester.

We really do have a massive opportunity to open up some daylight between us and the other playoff contenders in the next few games.

Uta

VegasSeagull wrote:
The comments made by Crofts suggest a sense of acceptance that it's ok to create many chances and not score.

If it were just the odd game thta this happened in I would agree but it isn't.
Yesterday we ceated enough chances to win the game, last tuesday we didn't even have a shot.
Two matches, on the back of all the draws this season, one not attempts and one no finishing, this can't be good.

Yesterday was not a good result and creating 21 chances to score and netting zero is not a good performance, compare it to what we managed at Cardiff, that was a good result and performance.

Our team need not take to the pitch next tuesday thinking, well if we play as well as we did at Bolton we will win, they need to know that they must perform better than they did at Bolton.

This might sound harsh but it's how I see it.

Top post Vegas.End of the day Bolton had 5 shots on target and we had 6.They had 5 shots off target and we had 9.But it means nothing.They did the job their manager told them to do.They got the only goal and won the game.Plus they also stopped Brighton from scoreing.We could have had 50 shots off target that don't hurt teams lol.We did the same thing to Cardiff but thats different then ha lol.

I was at the Millwall game today Vegas.Almost everyone did admit that Brighton can play some nice football at times.But almost everyone said you just don't have the strikers for it.The Millwall fans loved Chris Wood,but understand their club didn't have the money to buy him.But like so many pointed out with him and Murray Brighton would have 100% been a prem-league team next season.

Old Scrote of the Amex wrote:

bruce beckett wrote:
The question is whether Gus can find a loan striker before Tuesday's game.

Losing Hoskins and CMS was bad enough, but to lose Barnes too could be a knockout blow.

It's asking too much of Ulloa to play as a lone striker two or three games in a row.

Where is LuaLua while all this is going on I wonder? His fresh legs could really give the team a lift but either he has an injury we don't know about or he's out of favour with Gus.

This game against Barnsley is pivotal. Win and we're back in the play-off positions. Lose and Palace will smell blood on Sunday.

I think with LuaLua it's very much on how he trains. I can only presume that is letting him down.

Your most open minded post yet.

Freeloaders wrote:

Old Scrote of the Amex wrote:

bruce beckett wrote:
The question is whether Gus can find a loan striker before Tuesday's game.

Losing Hoskins and CMS was bad enough, but to lose Barnes too could be a knockout blow.

It's asking too much of Ulloa to play as a lone striker two or three games in a row.

Where is LuaLua while all this is going on I wonder? His fresh legs could really give the team a lift but either he has an injury we don't know about or he's out of favour with Gus.

This game against Barnsley is pivotal. Win and we're back in the play-off positions. Lose and Palace will smell blood on Sunday.

I think with LuaLua it's very much on how he trains. I can only presume that is letting him down.

Your most open minded post yet.

Apart from my two post a few weeks ago that you described as 'outstanding posts'.

Through injury and off-the-pitch issues LuaLua has yet to blossom into the player we all think he can be. I was at the Derby game last season and, with Vicente, he ripped them to shreds, but performances of that note have become fewer and further between. He has to start running at full-backs, terrorising them. I miss that.

But you have kind of got your own anser there my friend.If Gus plays him sometimes for 20 or 25 mins but don't see what you are asking about.Why should Gus start with him in the next game then?Yes the guy can run,and yes the guy has lots of pace.But the team needs a bit more than that from him my friend.Please understand Gus and his staff get to see a lot more of the players in training everyday than the fans do.

SMF20 says...
11:15pm Sun 10 Mar 13

Gus made a comment a few weeks ago about needing to be brave now and take a few more risks.

Problem is SMF that Gus doesn't really have the personnel at his disposal now to take risks. He has only one striker at his disposal, which makes a 4-5-1 formation almost inevitable. The "risk" would have been pairing Ulloa with either CMS, Barnes or Hoskins.

bruce beckett wrote:
SMF20 says...
11:15pm Sun 10 Mar 13

Gus made a comment a few weeks ago about needing to be brave now and take a few more risks.

Problem is SMF that Gus doesn't really have the personnel at his disposal now to take risks. He has only one striker at his disposal, which makes a 4-5-1 formation almost inevitable. The "risk" would have been pairing Ulloa with either CMS, Barnes or Hoskins.

A 'risk' could also mean playing with two wingers, or playing with the same players as before but with a more attacking intent, or playing someone out of position to change the shape of the team...

Freeloaders wrote:
But you have kind of got your own anser there my friend.If Gus plays him sometimes for 20 or 25 mins but don't see what you are asking about.Why should Gus start with him in the next game then?Yes the guy can run,and yes the guy has lots of pace.But the team needs a bit more than that from him my friend.Please understand Gus and his staff get to see a lot more of the players in training everyday than the fans do.

Of course Gus sees more of the players that we do, that usually MY argument against all the fans who think their favourite should be starting week in week out.

Re the Lua Lua sitution I can confirm he was on coach that left for Barnsley this lunch time,suspect on the bench tmrw,assuming match not snowed off.