Lotus

Thought Miley was a complete non event if I’m being honest. I believe he has a high ceiling but for whatever reason he didn’t seem to do anything to affect the game in either direction.

Actually thought he hadn’t aimed to push him in the head but the other bloke ducked down so the contact was definitely there. Oh well. Doubt it would’ve affected the final. Gives Barnes a chance if EH fancies giving him a start on the left.

Think he seems better suited to controlling the ball and passing it, probing for openings but that’s not really our game. When our midfielders get the ball the forwards run away from the ball, always hoping for a Hollywood pass. They rarely come off as that is the nature of such high reward/low probability of success passes. He seems a bit more reluctant to just bang it forward and hope than some of our other players so that’s why I think it looks like he’s slowing it down a bit. Because a good clean pass is not on.

Think his game is better suited to a team who look to hold onto the ball a little more. Always seems to me we’re looking to bang it forward at every opportunity whether the ball is on or not. Think Bruno’s natural game is to play passes that have better percentages. Thus he can get caught ‘dawdling’.

He’s a big lad and he’s played a lot of football and he always leaves everything on the pitch. I think he’s looked fatigued for a while now. I think he’d benefit greatly from a few weeks off. Probs won’t happen because Botman may not be fit and also EH doesn’t favour rotation much, even with players available. Hope he gets a 2nd wind and can continue his great form from up to the Wolves game (that’s when I thought he started to look leggy).

Hope he’s ready to be used more during the last 3 months of the season. I think we need to find out how good he really is in a match day environment, not just in training.

Looked like he enjoyed that kind of chaotic football. He has he brain and technique to move the ball very quickly so I doubt he felt the pressure some of our players did.

Great cross field pass to Murphy. Think he’s probably a better passer of the ball than we see most of the time because as a team we tend towards progressive running over progressive passing.

Surely the bad publicity that will accrue if a bookie doesn’t pay out is bad for business? Is there a widely read publication/zine that they can be listed in?

Really shocked at that. It's a gamble for both sides so the idea that a bookie will restrict or ban you if you have a good streak seems outrageous given how they're almost certain to win out in the end.

Help me out here, are you saying if you’re good at gambling bookies will block or ban you? Genuine question (I’ve never placed a bet).

Was odd, the positions he took up would've been ideal for Hall!

Love JL but if Miley had been playing like him for the past few games he would've dropped for today. Can't imagine either WIllock or Miley would've done worse. But, all coaches have favourites even when it's not working and EH is no exception. We're a streaky team so I hope if we get a result against Arsenal we'll pick up again. But either JL or Bruno need a game or two out. Look knackered and their timing is off.

Tripping. Also, the attitude comment. It's probably Willock's most commendable trait.

Lazy??

I'm not convinced EH would use a squad much. He had options today and there's been players who've looked like they could do with a game or two out but it's the same 11 again.

Agree with all except the need for transfers. We have more than enough in the squad to match Bournemouth and Fulham but couldn't on the day. Sport innit.

Thing that's bothered me for a while is that we rarely can keep controlled possession. It's always bang it up there at the first opportunity. Even when the forward is outnumbered. Never just move the ball forward and start probing for openings. Just first time ball or a touch and then a speculative pass. When they come off we're dangerous but more often they don't and we're a team that's quite easy to play on the transition against. Even with Tonali, he can't defend the midfield on his own (nor should he have to). Another thing, EH doesn't seem to make changes when things are going wrong or we're starting to fall off a bit. He waits until it's gone completely wrong and all momentum is with the opposition e.g. scoring. I'm sure there's clear reasons but I wonder what it would look like if he was more proactive and less reactive. Anyway, Fulham were the better team today. Marco Silva is a very good coach who has got a small club punching way above their weight. Hopefully we'll be better against Arsenal.

Re: Arsenal, It was studs up and onto the players leg above the ankle. Can’t complain if that’s a red.

A few things surprised me about Khusanov. It wasn’t his timing or his mistakes, people can get flustered, yeah he flapped a bit a player can overcome that. He really doesn’t look tall enough to play CB. Unless he’s got an incredible jump on him I think that’s going to be an issue. Also, for a player that’s a bit on the short side he didn’t look nearly quick enough to make up for it. The only thing I saw that I thought was impressive is that he looks like he strikes the ball very well. You can see it in his passes. No matter to whom those passes went…

Watched Frankfurt last week. Ekitike looked like an Isak lite. Can see why we were interested and I think it would be a good project signing for Arsenal too. Wouldn’t break the bank and in a year or 2 he could be the striker they need. Also, if rumours are true then Frankfurt are looking at signing Wahi so they might be open to Ekitike leaving for the right price.

You could absolutely drop Burn after Bournemouth. His timing was off and I put it down to fatigue. Still, Botman must not be quite ready so Schar - Burn is good enough until he is.

Seeds of that performance were sprouting against Wolves. I had a tiny thought in the back of my mind that Gordon might go off the boil a bit as soon as Barnes was injured. Shame coz I’d brought Barnes on for both games. Think we were leggy. If you’re a fraction behind at this level you like mugs. I honestly think we could learn a thing or 2 off Bournemouth. They’re very very well coached. Chin up, everyone. We might be having a dip but we’ll bounce back. Got a week to R&R and get some patterns back into our play.

Put them under sustained pressure and they will make a mistake. Whether we capitalise though…..

He’s been half asleep so far.