Good win | Page 2 | Vital Football

Good win

James was excellent tonight. When he starts to time his crosses better the assists will come. Best I've seen from him so far.

Kipre was really poor, fortunately they didn't capitalize on his mistakes. Worst I've seen him play. Was pulled out of position often and made some errors. I'm sure he'll bounce back against Bristol.

Robinson also had a bad game, misplaced passes and weak defensively.

Morsy's goal was brilliant. Jacobs was very good as well. Changing to 4-3-3 when Gibson came on helped us press the ball and gave us more control of the game. Was an excellent decision by Cook.

Don't rate Windlass from all the game's I've seen him play so far. Never gives the ball away but does very little with it, either goes backwards or is very quite for long spells. Hopefully his performances improve in the near future as he clearly has the technical ability but doesn't look like a winger. I used to say the same about Jacobs and he's improved drastically since then.
 
We made hard work of that but it's the result that matters and we got it. Huge win for us that keeps us in a very healthy spot and keeps Hull down in the relegation scrap.

We started slow with Hull trying to high press and force our back line into pumping it long in the knowledge that is not to our strengths. But we eventually found our composure and started playing our own way and looked a much superior side. It seemed Hull were out of it until their goal came put of nothing and gave them a second wind. Second half their attempts to make is panic and lose composure on the ball started to work as we just couldn't keep posession or hold the ball. But Cook made the excellent calls to push Nick up front and bring Gibson into central midfield and we regained our grip and even could've got another few goals on the break.

We tried to do the high press to Brentford to force long balls like Hull did to us tonight, while it caused us problems - Brentford were too clever for us with their movement and too cool to be panicked into giving away posession. I suspect most teams will try and play this way against us now as as it does put us off our game so we are going to have to work on trying to keep calm under pressure. Easier said than done but Brentfords movement off the ball is probably a good thing for us to study in that regard.

Walton - very assured performance, couple of decent saves and tool pressure off by coming to collect high balls.

Robinson - not quite as attack minded as normal but defended well and still boosted us on the overlap when he could.

James - another solid game, he's so assured for such a yoing lad. He's going to be a futute England player for sure. Some hit and miss crosses but could've easy had a couple of assists if his team mates would've converted his best balls.

Dunkley - think he's growing into this division, another good game for him. Maybe a little lucky Dicko didn't go down when he had his arms on him for a pen in the first half.

Kipre - overall did ok but seemed to fire a fair few of his heads quite short and back into danger rather than getting the height and distance a standard defensive header should. Not his best day at the office but still did enough.

Jacobs being back in the side made a huge difference we missed his willingness to run at players so badly.

Morsy has always needed to shoot more, he's got a great strike on him but often looks for a pass when there is an opening. Great to see him get a goal hope this encourages him to be more willing to let fly in the future. Strong overall.

Evans classy as always. Except those couple of strange corners that hit the first man, not sure what he was trying there.

Powell - magnificent and seems to be taking on more and more responsibility going from a player last season who drifted in and out to the maestro pulling all the strings.

Windass - I'm getting concerned now thought he was poor again except his goal, seems unwilling to take anyone on and too often looks to pass to others when he has an opening himself. Thought his goal would get his confidence going and we'd see him improve but he was barely in the game. I know it's still early days and too soon to write anyone off but we need a lot more from him.

Grigg - very intelligent play against bigger and stronger opponents to hold them off and link up with the others. But sometimes when a ball is fired accross the face i do expect Grigg to be running in and he sometimes seems like he's not anticipating the ball coming in and making those runs for the tap ins.

Naismith - didn't have long or see much of the ball but his little dribble and pass for Jacobs was brilliant and would've been a worthy assist. Hopefully that is a sign of more to come.

Gibson - made a real impact helping us win back midfield at a time we were losing it. I can see why he was regarded so highly at Everton under Moyes playing the same role. Very calming influence.

Vaughan - he's a trier but he's not a target man. Got to stop pumping high balls at him and expecting anything but to lose posession. Suprised Garner not given a run out as late sub. Hopefully it's not another player who signs but for whatever reason get on much.

Overall great result, lets hope we can follow it up on Friday with another big win. Also at least one of the Chinese consortium was there, anyone eknow if he was on his own or if anyone else was there?
 
Just watched highlights and I don't think Windass was offside. Very well timed run and header for a good goal for me.
 
hindleymonwafc said:
Good 3 points...I do believe there's something to look at playing Sam Evans and Gibson in the same starting 11 with Powell up top especially away from home. It's another option and it adds a bit more muscle in the middle.
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I was thinking the same Hindley. It would stop us getting overrun in midfield. It would be a shame though to drop Grigg.
 
Oscarbon said:
Just watched highlights and I don't think Windass was offside. Very well timed run and header for a good goal for me.
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I must say the first thing I did was to stand and look at the linesman before celebrating as he looked suspiciously off. A good decision however - as Will says a yard onside from the highlights.
 
A good workmanlike display and good to see Morsy bounce back from his sending off at Brentford that shows professionalism.
good 3 points in the bag which we will need to fall back on when we meet stronger opposition.
 
Just studied the goal for Windass, when Evans crosses he is 100% onside.

The ball comes very close to Griggs head if it brushes him then Windass is offisde, if it doesn't it's a goal. In real time i thought it was offside but after watching the reply i think the linesman was spot on. We've had some rancid decisions this season and i think this was a tough call but the linesman got it right - absolute credit where it's due.

Also the ref played an excellent advantage the the Morsy goal, so while he missed some obvious fouls elsewhere in the game credit to him for that.
 
The referee did seem to have an issue with Powell. It looks like word has got round that he spends too much time looking for free kicks. A couple of times early on he went to ground too easily, then later in the game when he was being wrestled all over the show the ref refused to give anything. Yet it happened once to Evans and he blew for a free kick straight away. Maybe it's time for Powell to just concentrate on playing. When he did last night they couldn't handle him.
 
The Chet said:
The referee did seem to have an issue with Powell. It looks like word has got round that he spends too much time looking for free kicks. A couple of times early on he went to ground too easily, then later in the game when he was being wrestled all over the show the ref refused to give anything. Yet it happened once to Evans and he blew for a free kick straight away. Maybe it's time for Powell to just concentrate on playing. When he did last night they couldn't handle him.
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While i agree I think that the s--- housing is part of his game and he does it to wind up the opposition and get in their heads. If Nick thinks that is what works then i'm not going to tell him to stop as plenty of others do it against us, but i would say are are some occasions where Nick goes down for a free kick when there is a much better chance of doing damage by staying on his feet. There was a couple yesterday when he beat his man and then left his leg in to get a free kick where if he'd have just carried on he'd have had a great chance to play a killer pass or have a decent site of goal rather than allowing them to get everyone back to defend a set piece. I dont want him to change just maybe be a little bit more selective when he decides to trail a leg in a challenge he could ride.
 
Victor Moses ;) said:
James was excellent tonight. When he starts to time his crosses better the assists will come. Best I've seen from him so far.

Kipre was really poor, fortunately they didn't capitalize on his mistakes. Worst I've seen him play. Was pulled out of position often and made some errors. I'm sure he'll bounce back against Bristol.

Robinson also had a bad game, misplaced passes and weak defensively.

Morsy's goal was brilliant. Jacobs was very good as well. Changing to 4-3-3 when Gibson came on helped us press the ball and gave us more control of the game. Was an excellent decision by Cook.

Don't rate Windlass from all the game's I've seen him play so far. Never gives the ball away but does very little with it, either goes backwards or is very quite for long spells. Hopefully his performances improve in the near future as he clearly has the technical ability but doesn't look like a winger. I used to say the same about Jacobs and he's improved drastically since then.
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It’s not about James timing his crosses, his crosses are fine. It’s about Grigg gambling and getting in front of his man. It’s the most infuriating part of his game that he never does it. Compare that with Windass who gambled with his run and got a goal as a result. Fully agree with Studds that I can see him being our first choice striker by the end of the season. It’s obvious his position is a number 10 or 9.

When James plays games for Chelsea in years to come with world class strikers gambling and getting on the end of his crosses, he’s going to get lauded by everyone. He plays like Andy Robertson at Liverpool.

Had to laugh at Nick Powell holding the ball up on his own up top and keeping it compared to James Vaughan when he came on. It’s literally comparing a Ferrari to a Corsa.

Credit to Cook for getting the subs right, especially Gibson. Our defence struggled badly until he came on and sat in front him. An experienced head ordering them around and protecting them was exactly what we needed and Kipre improved massively after he came on. Overall a good win against a team like Rotherham that we needed to be beating at home as they’ll be around the bottom three in May. Big test on Friday now.
 
Although I agree with the plaudits for Gibson, the difference for me was pushing Morsy a little further forward allowing us to press the game and cut off the attacks at source.
 
C_Latic said:
It’s not about James timing his crosses, his crosses are fine. It’s about Grigg gambling and getting in front of his man. It’s the most infuriating part of his game that he never does it. Compare that with Windass who gambled with his run and got a goal as a result. Fully agree with Studds that I can see him being our first choice striker by the end of the season. It’s obvious his position is a number 10 or 9.

When James plays games for Chelsea in years to come with world class strikers gambling and getting on the end of his crosses, he’s going to get lauded by everyone. He plays like Andy Robertson at Liverpool.
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I've always said his crosses were good since seeing him play against Rangers. But there's a big difference between a good cross and a timed cross. For example, a player who is ahead of the play puts in a perfect cross. The quality of the cross is irreverent because the attacking team don't have any players in position to attack the ball.

The timing of the final ball is more important than the movement, quality of the ball ect. Because after the ball leaves that player it gives the next player a chance of connecting with the pass.

Perfect example against Brentford, almost every pass they play in the final third is timed excellently. Giving the receiving player more time on the ball.

Sometimes timing a pass can be difficult when under pressure, but he had a lot of time and space on several occasions and whilst the ball in was often very good he rushed it. Which is the difference between an assist and nothing.

But to his credit he was more ambitious with the ball, taking on players, using some nice skill. Looked more like a fullback then he has done in the past.

*Forgot to mention, his timing in general play is very good. So i'm sure his cross timing will improve. Trying to judge when a player will be open within a split second is a difficult task but it will become a reflex response for almost every situation once he gains more experience.
 
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Three points despite not reallly playing that well is a bonus. Hull won a lot of second balls and I thought they shaded us in midfield until Gibson came on. He quickly organised the players around him and we looked more controlled as a result. A better team would certainly have taken advantage of our defensive mistakes, but we won and I think we will step up a notch or two on Friday against a decent Bristol City team.
 
Victor Moses ;) said:
I've always said his crosses were good since seeing him play against Rangers. But there's a big difference between a good cross and a timed cross. For example, a player who is ahead of the play puts in a perfect cross. The quality of the cross is irreverent because the attacking team don't have any players in position to attack the ball.

The timing of the final ball is more important than the movement, quality of the ball ect. Because after the ball leaves that player it gives the next player a chance of connecting with the pass.

Perfect example against Brentford, almost every pass they play in the final third is timed excellently. Giving the receiving player more time on the ball.

Sometimes timing a pass can be difficult when under pressure, but he had a lot of time and space on several occasions and whilst the ball in was often very good he rushed it. Which is the difference between an assist and nothing.

But to his credit he was more ambitious with the ball, taking on players, using some nice skill. Looked more like a fullback then he has done in the past.

*Forgot to mention, his timing in general play is very good. So i'm sure his cross timing will improve. Trying to judge when a player will be open within a split second is a difficult task but it will become a reflex response for almost every situation once he gains more experience.
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The difference is that the players are still getting used to how each other thinks and plays, as Windass said in his interview, he missed a few previously but now he knows how Evans thinks he was able to get on the end of one last night
 
The Chet said:
The referee did seem to have an issue with Powell. It looks like word has got round that he spends too much time looking for free kicks. A couple of times early on he went to ground too easily, then later in the game when he was being wrestled all over the show the ref refused to give anything. Yet it happened once to Evans and he blew for a free kick straight away. Maybe it's time for Powell to just concentrate on playing. When he did last night they couldn't handle him.
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The stats show for the Championship season so far:-
Most fouled
1 Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) 37
2 Harvey Barnes (West Brom) 24
3 Nick Powell (Wigan) 22
4 Eberechi Eze (QPR) 21

BUT:-
Most fouls committed
1 Britt Assombalonga (Middlesbrough), Oliver McBurnie (Swansea) 19
3 Markus Henriksen (Hull), Atedhe Nuhiu (Sheff Wed), Nick Powell (Wigan) 18
6 Frazier Campbell (Hull), Gwion Edwards (Ipswich) Josh Magennis (Bolton), Sam Morsy (Wigan) Kalvin Phillips (Bolton) 17
 
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