Keep Calm & Carry On
Updated: 15 hours ago
Were we really that bad last night?
It wasn't bad as some fans are making out, IMO, especially in the first half when we reacted well to going a goal down inside three minutes and took the play to Coventry.
We dominated possession, played some decent football, and created chances.
Had one those chances gone in I'm pretty sure that Coventry would have gone on the back foot and defended deep as they did when we pulled a goal back.
That isn't to say I wouldn't have made changes at HT, replacing Willock and Murphy and also possibly Botman, bringing on Osula, Jo and Burn and pushing Pardo out to RW.
The real issue in the first half for me was that on the odd occasion Coventry got into our half they always looked like scoring, mostly because our midfield wasn't tracking back with any pressing or aggression leaving the defence exposed.
We were like the better boxer who keeps leaving his chin exposed to a knock out punch.
That's why at HT I made the comment that I wouldn't be surprised if Coventry got an early second half goal - and of course they did.
That calmed the nerves in their crowd, got them roaring, and Coventry for the first time started to string passes together - 2-0 up at home doesn't make you short of confidence.
But...
We didn't cave in or panic.
We kept playing passes and even at 2-0 I thought we might still get at least a draw as Coventry were still there for the taking.
After Botman's goal I thought here we go... until Hall dawdled on the ball, as did Jo, and bang it's 3-1 and all of our momentum was sucked out of us and passed to Coventry
Their fourth was another great strike and whilst Hornicek was at fault for the penalty he didn't have much chance of saving either of the other three goals.
So in summary...
We created chances and dominated early doors - as we should have done - against a poor Coventry team and didn't drop our heads when conceding an early goal.
But, we missed those chances and the defensive weaknesses of the players in the 4231 yet again led to chances for the oppo and unlike us, they took them.
Some fans didn't see any improvement in our general play last night, but I actually did.
Jaissle said he didn't start with Osula, Jo and Burn because they are just back in training and short of minutes and you can't really argue with that - I'd rather they played for another dozen games or more than start too early and end up back in the treatment room.
That's why I'm not pressing the panic button yet.
I want to see what team and what system Jaissle plays when he has Osula, Jo, Burn, Tino, Elanga and even Schar available to start.
The squad he has had to choose from in every game this season has been missing all or some of those players and each one - unlike some of those who have started - have PL experience, a physical presence and importantly leadership qualities.
It's a cliche...
But a workman is only as good as his tools.
And Jaissle hasn't had a full set to work with so far.
He might have a few more sharp tools to work with against Villa.
Let's see if he can carve out a better starting eleven, performance and result.
Until then don't panic..
STAY CALM & CARRY ON!
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It's not too bad, come on.
After all Coventry had already scored 1 goal in their last five games, ok they scored 4, it could've been, say, 6 :)
Just kidding folks, I hear what you're saying. It's only the beginning, give them time.
And the 8 goal thumping was by mega teams Leeds and Coventry, this kind of thing can happen against teams of this calibre ;)
I have often wondered over the last few seasons, why Newcastle players seem to want to score from inside the 6 yard box instead of taking shots from further out. For shit's sake lads, put your foot through it rather than try to walk it into goal. Try it a few times. It can't get worse results than what we're getting now.
Colin well said. I’m appalled at some of the comments that were made after this loss. It’s still early days. New players, new manager and injuries. So give it a chance and time to work.
This is some comment from the current Manager of Manchester City given everything that is going on at the minute!
" Enzo Maresca has admitted he would describe Manchester City as “cheats” if he were a Manchester United or Arsenal fan.
The manager’s comments came as he suggested it had been harder for City’s supporters to deal with the scandal surrounding the club than it had been for him or the players."
Maresca says he would describe Manchester City as 'cheats' if he were a United fan