I’d like to say a good team manages to win even when they play poorly….not sure we are and yes we did.

KTBFFH

We make hard work of holding onto a lead

Better second half , Neto and Guiu making the difference 

Caceido good throughout, Palmer in glimpses

Back in the top four … now for some FA Cup glory

 

There you go, a win as expected.

As ive always said you gotta stay positive.

Keep the faith.

Edited February 3, 20251 yr by axman2526

Today had a bit of luck come the teams way with the deflected winner. Better second half, better subs, and luckily better final score. 
If Maresca can combine todays 2nd half w the recent 1st half performances he could be onto something 😏

 

Palmer needs to play on the right

Who was responsible for that wild back pass on like minute 95-ish?

Willian resigning for Fulham. Almost suspected he was coming back to us.

I thought it was a poor game ( from both sides), and we were a bit fortunate to get away with 3 points, but not going to complain. My main take outs are: Neto is a better option on the right, just has a better all round game than Mandueke.  Even Guiu was almost non-existent as a striker, still offers a bit more than Jackson. When you dont play an insane Gk, the defence just looked a bit more solid. For once Maresca made his changes a bit early than usual, and paid off.

1 minute ago, POCH OUT said:

Palmer needs to play on the right

He needs freedom more than anything. Let him roam.

Just now, POCH OUT said:

Palmer needs to play on the right

You build this team around Palmer. Let him do what he wants. 

The mistake Maresca has made up to now is to put too much focus on trying to make Fernandez the main man and worth the money. 

1 minute ago, Sexyfootball said:

You build this team around Palmer. Let him do what he wants. 

The mistake Maresca has made up to now is to put too much focus on trying to make Fernandez the main man and worth the money. 

Enzo was pretty good today

3 minutes ago, POCH OUT said:

Palmer needs to play on the right

Yep, he won't do it though. 

1 minute ago, Sexyfootball said:

You build this team around Palmer. Let him do what he wants. 

The mistake Maresca has made up to now is to put too much focus on trying to make Fernandez the main man and worth the money. 

Absolutely. You've nailed it. 

4 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

I thought it was a poor game ( from both sides), and we were a bit fortunate to get away with 3 points, but not going to complain. My main take outs are: Neto is a better option on the right, just has a better all round game than Mandueke.  Even Guiu was almost non-existent as a striker, still offers a bit more than Jackson. When you dont play an insane Gk, the defence just looked a bit more solid. For once Maresca made his changes a bit early than usual, and paid off.

It really doesn't matter who you play there out of Madueke and Neto, it's a guess on which one will perform better. They are both struggling and todays performance won't suddenly make me believe Neto on the right is the answer, especially seeing as he played there throughout the majority of our poor run of form and was sh*te in every game.

Edited February 3, 20251 yr by Scott Harris

5 minutes ago, Term_X said:

Who was responsible for that wild back pass on like minute 95-ish?

Fernandez 

Just now, WhiteWall said:

Fernandez 

Of course 😅

Surprised that the Manager's subs made a difference. Neto has to start before Madueke/Anchor. Giui offers something different to Palmer - give him minutes. Palmer is less effective playing more central.

Caicedo strong as always and also kudos to Enzo trying to drive the game forward.

So we lost 4 players today

Chilwell, Felix, Disasi and Chucky

6 minutes ago, Term_X said:

Who was responsible for that wild back pass on like minute 95-ish?

Enzo

1 minute ago, POCH OUT said:

So we lost 4 players today

Chilwell, Felix, Disasi and Chucky

Could well be 5 depending on Guius injury 

For me the only player the consistently performed by doing their job competently throughout tonight was Caicedo.

3 points was all that mattered.

 

2 minutes ago, POCH OUT said:

So we lost 4 players today

Chilwell, Felix, Disasi and Chucky

And none of them were close to starting under Maresca 

glad to hear Neto and Cucurella talking about winning trophies - wasn't sure we were actually focused on that

Just now, 19seventyone said:

3 points was all that mattered.

 

No, I disagree,  but it was the mandatory requirement. As a minimum we should be winning this game, but if we have any aspirations (and I wonder about that) our football should be more dynamic,  more forceful.  We shouldn't be clawing our way back into a lead and then trying to squeeze the life out of the game rather than putting them to the sword.