MCLF Match Blog: the Mighty vs Reading

How do we think it compared with the Wigan performance?

Reading may be poor but they beat Bolton last week. They seem to have a home side and an away side though. Same as us.
 
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voyeur said:
How do we think it compared with the Wigan performance?

Reading may be poor but they beat Bolton last week. They seem to have a home side and an away side though.
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I don't know really. We bossed the game more, we put more consistent pressure on - if we'd have kept the first half performance up, we'd have scored 5 or 6.

Wigan were a better side though.
 
"Some character. Some misfits who fit together and make each other better. That's us. That's Blackpool. I think we might have just seen an actual, verifiable masterclass."

🧡🧡
 
As always, brilliantly written. You have a real talent.

Yesterday is what football is about. Going into it some of us were hopeful but many were despairing. And then Boom! Man City fans don't get to experience these sorts of emotions anymore and are poorer for it.

Thank you to the Football Gods for a timely reminder as to why we watch The Beautiful Game.
 
One of your best - and you set a high bar.

I think deep down we all know what this team is capable of, and I suppose that’s the frustrating thing.
 
Love it!

Summary of the front 4 (come on sooner or later you will all agree with me that we played 3-3-4) was quality.
 
Apter is 2 months older than Kouassi and technically better, I would suggest. So presumably Critch's doubts are about physicality.
 
A wonderful piece of writing which took those of us unlucky enough not to have been at Bloomfield yesterday, on to the terraces and feeling the emotions and hearing the chanting. If you're not a professional journalist then you should be.
 
voyeur said:
Apter is 2 months older than Kouassi and technically better, I would suggest. So presumably Critch's doubts are about physicality.
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I'd also wonder about positional discipline. He's been really cautious about using Dembele.
 
td53 said:
I'd also wonder about positional discipline. He's been really cautious about using Dembele.
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Surely you can have one gifted player who shouldn't have to worry about positional discipline. How predictable do we want to be?

But that may well be a factor, yes!
 
voyeur said:
Surely you can have one gifted player who shouldn't have to worry about positional discipline. How predictable do we want to be?

But that may well be a factor, yes!
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Where though?

In this side, you'd either have the partner to the big lad or one of the midfield three. You're never going to drop Rhodes and that midfield three worked a treat.

You can't have a free roaming wing back cos you can only do the Bowler thing with a full back behind.

I'm not sure where you fit him. I don't think Critch is either.
 
td53 said:
Where though?

In this side, you'd either have the partner to the big lad or one of the midfield three. You're never going to drop Rhodes and that midfield three worked a treat.

You can't have a free roaming wing back cos you can only do the Bowler thing with a full back behind.

I'm not sure where you fit him. I don't think Critch is either.
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Is it impossible? No! 😀

Apter/Dembele can both play wide either side, or as an 8/10 supporting the front two. Will Dembele get loaned out to L2 too? No. He won't!
 
voyeur said:
Is it impossible? No! 😀

Apter/Dembele can both play wide either side, or as an 8/10 supporting the front two. Will Dembele get loaned out to L2 too? No. He won't!
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It's not impossible. Who knows anything for certain in the mystical world of cryptic Critch and his newly rediscovered roulette wheel?
 
td53 said:
It's not impossible. Who knows anything for certain in the mystical world of cryptic Critch and his newly rediscovered roulette wheel?
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I think I'd respect him if he did a glitzy lottery ball thing before each game with the lads.

Even if it was rigged.
 
td53 said:
I'd also wonder about positional discipline. He's been really cautious about using Dembele.
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I'm not ITK about this and I never like to be openly critical about our young pro's so this is just pure speculation but based on other peoples speculation from sometime back.
I just wonder if there is an attitude problem with Rob ??
I know he's technically a relatively gifted footballer but he's not getting minutes on the pitch from a variety of Managers.
Why???
Edit.
Reminds me of Rowan Roache.
 
Phil_bfc deux said:
Dembele won't play much as he's an out and out winger and we dont play with them

Bizarre signing
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I'm not sure he is just a pure winger. His eye for a through ball is remarkable. When I've seen him play (i.e. barrow, a bit of last week and 5 mins this) he just appears to roam like fuck and back himself to receive the ball wherever.

I love that kind of player though I imagine such a talent with such an idiosyncratic style is bringing Critch out in a cold sweat of contradictory thoughts.
 
Critch has talked in the past about having 9 players who are disciplined and make us hard to beat and a couple of creative players that make stuff happen.

Or something like that!

Bowler was a waste of space in terms of pressing and defensive work and wasn't terribly disciplined positionally either. I think?
 
voyeur said:
Critch has talked in the past about having 9 players who are disciplined and make us hard to beat and a couple of creative players that make stuff happen.

Or something like that!

Bowler was a waste of space in terms of pressing and defensive work and wasn't terribly disciplined positionally either. I think?
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No, but you knew what you were getting with him to a degree so could drill everyone. Dembele kept coming into the 6 role to recieve the ball, then he'd be on the wing, then he'd be at full back, then he'd be off the shoulder of the striker. I can imagine Critch furiously trying to turn 'fill in for Dembele' into a training session and thinking 'where the fuck do I begin with this lad?'
 
td53 said:
No, but you knew what you were getting with him to a degree so could drill everyone. Dembele kept coming into the 6 role to recieve the ball, then he'd be on the wing, then he'd be at full back, then he'd be off the shoulder of the striker. I can imagine Critch furiously trying to turn 'fill in for Dembele' into a training session and thinking 'where the fuck do I begin with this lad?'
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Ha. Yes. True.

I guess he'll try to find a compromise or something. Get a bit more discipline into him, and do Karamoko awareness training with the rest of the squad!

One loose cannon isn't a major risk if it causes the opposition a lot of damage.
 
The response to the goal is curiously muted compared to the usual. I don't really know why.
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I said the same - unless it's very late on in a game, there is always a sort of false victory in scoring a penalty!
 
Wee_Bob said:
I said the same - unless it's very late on in a game, there is always a sort of false victory in scoring a penalty!
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I'd seen that reaction as relief. Scoring the first goal is so vital for our fragile confidence.
Great summary of our forward line btw. And for much part it was a four.
 
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Great read, as always, loved this bit "He leaps, like a spring loaded fridge launching into the air then crashing into some empty boxes." Brilliant 👍
 
I think that's only the second one I've read but it was a bluddy good read!

It will become a regular read I think.

Top drawer!!
 
Excellent as always.


“Where's Jerry?' is my first thought. Jordan instead is on the spot. He doesn't strike me as a sniper. More a sporty accountant who likes a round of golf. Appearances deceive though, because he's got literally hundreds of kills to his name. He doesn't go for the headshot, instead, slitting the neck of the keeper with a papercut, a low placed effort that sneaks inside the post via the palm of David Button who looks rueful as he berates his bad luck in failing to stop it.”

Love this 😂
 
Thankyou for the nice comments. I'm not very good at acknowledging them but I appreciate it very much.

I enjoyed writing this one and I'm glad it worked for some who read it. 👍
 
Pun_1 said:
Excellent as always.


“Where's Jerry?' is my first thought. Jordan instead is on the spot. He doesn't strike me as a sniper. More a sporty accountant who likes a round of golf. Appearances deceive though, because he's got literally hundreds of kills to his name. He doesn't go for the headshot, instead, slitting the neck of the keeper with a papercut, a low placed effort that sneaks inside the post via the palm of David Button who looks rueful as he berates his bad luck in failing to stop it.”

Love this 😂
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"He doesn't go for the headshot, instead, slitting the neck of the keeper with a papercut" is a great line.
 
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