Dare I say it but, on the whole, they did play well though yesterday

Especially in the first half. Judge and Chalobah have the ability to threaten, aside from the defensive catastrophe at the start Pennington had a decent game. They stopped us from playing for long periods - it really is a lack of finishing and a lack of defensive responsibility at the back that lets them down.

Chalobah could have been sent off for kicking Vrancic in the head. If they had been down to ten men, I suspect that they’d have been a stronger side because part of their problem when defending is that every player thinks someone else will take responsibility. A red card may have forced these players to take more individuality responsibility. They’re capable and experienced players but they lack confidence and they could take a lot of positives from yesterday.

Posted By: tim berry, Feb 11, 08:54:35