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Post by Jamo on the wing on Apr 7, 2008 22:31:38 GMT
I haven't heard the interview as I was walking dejectedly home but I'm told TP has said Ric was on the bench because he wasn't fit but he asked him if he could give us 40 minutes.
What I want to know is how did we know how long Ric would last for? Would we not be better to start with Ric (who despite people saying it's Mama who dictates how we play it is CLEARLY him) and see how long he lasts. He might give us only 40 minutes but he might give us 60 minutes. We were the home side and had the misfortune of one of our two attacking players being out injured, so surely to Christ we should have started with the other instead of waiting until it was a lost cause?
To my mind it sounds like a load of crap, as noises from the local media all week suggested Ric would start on the bench despite his teammates saying how sharp he'd looked in training. I honestly believe we have gambled a whole seasons work tonight on a whim and its well and truly blown up in our faces. The three stand out things for me were:
1) Mama and Shola would NEVER work
2) Ric should always start even if he had a leg amputated.
3) If Cort is a better defender than Ryan I give up.
TP has done very well this season but there is always the niggling doubt with him that when the really big decisions have to be made, he often screws it up, especially when it comes to team selections. TP is at his best when he has his back to the wall with 11 players fit, he gets the best out of them and can perform miracles but when faced with a plethora of choices he tends to revert to type.
This isn't to say the players don't have a massive responsibility, TP may have picked them but he wasn't playing and for 60 minutes we were truly woeful. Credit to us for finally getting our arses in gear and having a real go for the last half hour, unfortunately the damage was already done.
I truly hope we still have a chance but this is a shattering blow to our hopes and the players confidence, we obviously need to win on Saturday to have any hope of going up as I honestly believe that at present any top six team would fancy us in the play-offs and given our "nasty" reputation that is most worrying.
On to Coventry, I'll be there, I just hope the players turn up before 4.15pm on Saturday.
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Post by stokeoptimist on Apr 7, 2008 22:42:13 GMT
I would probably agree with you normally but Fuller missed the best chance of the game!!
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Post by Jamo on the wing on Apr 7, 2008 22:45:34 GMT
That's no reason for him not to start though optimist is it?
He made the chance all by himself and the keeper made a decent save although perhaps he should have netted. The point is once he got onto the pitch we changed how we played totally and started to look threatening. Ameobi looked a different player by having a real striker alongside him as well.
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