Well where did that come from eh? I'd almost forgotten what it was like to win, the game today was as close to perfection as I've seen in at least the last two seasons. It was a complete team performance from us- and the performance today was absolutely everything we haven't been doing recently. We looked driven, determined and really up for it. The focus of my Preview was having a go- regardless of the end result, and we more than had a go.
The goals today were great, mind you any goal is- I've always liked Bodurov; and his finish today was top draw. He didn't have time to overthink the situation and went for it, and while thats not always a good thing to do- we've definitely been guilt of over-thinking things when it comes to attacking as of late. The second goal was almost the perfect goal from a "where we're at" perspective- Parker putting someone under pressure, winning the ball- charging forward and putting McCormack in; who put it back across for Woodrow with a free header. If I'm honest I thought we'd blown it when Parker put the ball in and it went a bit wider than I was hoping it would- but credit to McCormack for keeping the ball alive and getting the cross in for Woodrow.
I can't believe I'm going to say this given the goalscoring prowess that Derby do undoubtedly possess- but I genuinely can't remember Bettinelli having to make a save. That was the kind of performance we put in today, and that is all you can really say about Bettinelli's performance today. Two Clean Sheets out of our Last Three games should go some way to helping Bettinelli out confidence wise because he has had a few shaky moments, but a Clean Sheet against Top of the League is pretty much ideal.
In terms of defensive displays, it was the best I've seen in god knows how long. A lot of credit has to go to Stafylidis- he's come in for some criticism (deservedly) as of late, but he performed really well today. There was a few iffy moments, like when he misjudged where the ball was going to land in the first half to give Ince the chance to run onto it; but considering the threat Ince does pose I thought Stafylidis coped really well in general. Bodurov of course scored the goal, but he was also top quality today- I said in my Preview that I thought Hutchinson & Bodurov could keep Bent quiet, and so it did. Bodurov was mopping up everything at the back- and between him and Hutchinson it was definitely the most defensively sound we've looked in ages. The same praise can also be heaped onto Hutchinson- who as with Bodurov was absolutely top draw today and dealt with absolutely everything remarkably well. Jazz Richards put in a really solid display as well, the overall defensive performance was the best of the season by a mile.
Before Christensen was taken off I thought he was looking really good- the whole team were really up for it today, and Christensen was no exception. I'm just hoping the injury isn't yet another setback for him- because although he's been far from his best as of late, he is a player of huge potential and on the basis of his 40 Minutes today he was looking close to his best- although his injury did benefit us to an extent for the Second Half. Scott Parker is a limited player, I think even he'll admit that- but his performance today was as good as I've seen him play since his West Ham days, He was leading the charge for us today- he was going to win every ball he challenged for or die trying. I was really worried about him heading into half-time when it looked like he was injured- but the type of player he is he carried on in the Second Half, for a lot longer than I thought he would to be honest, and todays game showed why he is Captain. I've slated Tunnicliffe lately, but he was really solid today- the type of player he is was perfect for thee type of game found ourselves in, in that he's a really dogged and committed player; I thought he could have been Sent Off in the First Half- but thankfully he wasn't and all was good.
Bryan Ruiz Appreciation Society Time. He was amazing today, he put in one of the best shifts I've seen him do in a Fulham Shirt- he was fighting for the ball and tracking back; and looked really up for the fight today. He's the calm in the storm for us, sometimes a bit too much- like when he tried to take a few touches before getting rid of the ball on the edge of the box in the Second Half. However, he was great today- he only really made one mistake in the whole game; he kept the attacking shape for us crucially and while he wasn't directly involved in the goals he was a key player for us; and even the most ardent of Bryan detractors must recognise how key he is for us now. The win today also means the statistic continues for us of not winning a game without Bryan.
The Strikers were a mixed bag today. On the one hand we had Woodrow- who was really putting himself about today, and has more than put his flag in the ground for a Starting Role. He of course got the goal, but he was causing problems for Derby all day today- and his presence was definitely something we've been lacking in the team. While this was a great display- I'm not completely turned off to Hugo, because he's largely had to feed on scraps since Christmas; and its impossible to say how Hugo would have performed in a team that actually had some guts. Since Forest McCormack has looked really bad- just bad. I think you can sum up his performance today with him missing his One-on-One in the Second Half that he really should have buried. That said he wasn't completely useless- and he linked up the attacking play well- and he was battling away all game.
One of the Subs Kit made was enforced, but in a weird way it was the best thing that could have happened for us. Kavanagh coming on gave us more natural width- and also gave Stafylidis a bit more cover on the Left-Hand side. He gave us a great performance today- and between Kavanagh and Tunnicliffe really pressuring and pushing higher up we forced a lot of mistakes from Derby today, some of which we should really have capitalised on. It was good to see Hoogland come back into the team, it was great to see him come on for Parker because as I've been harping on about for a while, Hoogland is a DM and should be played as such. He didn't have much of an impact on the game- but in the very limited cameo he did have he showed a lot of defensive steel when it was required. I liked the look of Dembele today, he's bulked up a bit- and looked really hungry today; on another day he would have scored instead of hitting the bar, and in the last patch of the game when he came on his fresh legs and drive helped to see us over the line.
I said in my Preview that I don't mind the end result for the game today as long as we have a go and showed some guts. We have been gutless as of late, and this game was such a welcome relief- with the Millwall Result today we're now 8 Points above them, and Relegation. With 12 Games to go, and an 8 Point gap I'd like to think we will limp over the line this season relatively comfortably- especially with the way Millwall specifically have been playing lately, they couldn't even beat us!
On the way back from the game today I was trying to think of the last game that I've deemed a "complete performance"- I've got a reasonably good memory and I was struggling. Factoring opposition heading into the game I'd say it was our most complete performance in at least the last two seasons.
Thanks for reading as always, I said it would be a February miracle- and it indeed was. If we were playing like that since Christmas we would be looking up rather than down, if anything this game has frustrated me more so because its shown what we're capable of- and we can beat anyone in this League. Anyway, lets not get bogged down too much- and lets just bask in the prestige of being the Feature Game on the Football League Show.
Saturday 28 February 2015
Friday 27 February 2015
Fulham v Derby Preview: Lets Have a Go
Hello! I started my Derby Preview in August with "We will lose tomorrow"- and I think that statement is equally applicable tomorrow, but the one thing I do want to see us do is go for it tomorrow. With the fixtures this weekend of; Blackpool v Wigan, Bolton v Brighton and Rotherham v Millwall we will be losing ground in the Relegation Battle this weekend- so I think we should at least have a go and give the crowd something to be excited about, in the scenario we find ourselves in this weekend I'd rather we go for it and lose 5-3 than lose 2-0 and look abject (yet again).
The absolute worst case scenario come 5pm on Saturday is we're 2 Points above the Relegation Zone- while it would mean dropping down another place; Rotherham beating Millwall is imperative for us this weekend; both in terms of confidence for Millwall and the gap between us and Millwall. I think its accepted that Blackpool are down, but I think even Blackpool fans had acknowledged that before a ball was kicked. I don't want to rule out Wigan, just because they do have the players to get them out of the mess- and the last time I ruled someone as down before they were was Sunderland- and we all know how that turned out. On that basis there's two places still up for grabs with regard to Relegation and I'd say anyone from Charlton (16th) downwards could still realistically be relegated in those two positions. As we've seen with Leeds however, all it takes a mini win-streak and they're relatively safe after staring into the abyss less than a month ago.
With the team news thats came in from Kit today I think tomorrows game would be the perfect opportunity to implement the 4-4-1-1 I've been harping on about- specifically here (http://t.co/Jthqz0t9n0). So I'll be doing two separate line-ups today- with the other being the Diamond.
Of course Bettinelli will continue in goal, it is ludicrous for people to start getting on his back- yes he's had a few dodgy moments in the last month or so, but he's also saved us more times than I can count- I even saw someone on FriendsOfFulham suggesting we started Kiraly, which is the definition of insanity.
Jazz Richards' Loan has been extended until the End of the Season, and I can't see the statistic of us not winning a game since he was signed change anytime soon. However, with the extension Kit's put his flag in the ground with regard to our first choice Right-Back in my opinion- even with Hoogland coming back I think (or rather hope) he's going to be considered as a midfielder, that is of course at the expense of Grimmer; who I'm hoping we Loan Out for the rest of the season, because we do have Hoogland who can deputise at Right-Back should Richards get injured- and we could of course recall Grimmer like we did in November. As I've said with Kit, I've repeatedly put my flag in the ground with regard to Bodurov and where I see his position in the team- its a toss up between Burn, Hutchinson and Casasola for the other Centre-Back spot; on balance I'd keep Hutchinson- the Brighton game in November where we kept Darren Bent quiet for the most part is what I have in mind with regard to this selection, even though he scored it was deflected. That said the team surrounding Bent is a lot better this time around- so we'll be a lot more stretched. I think Kit sees Sean Kavanagh as a Midfielder, because should he see him as a Left-Back he'd have brought him on for Stafylidis on Tuesday.
Tim Hoogland must surely be on the precipice of a First Team return, he was on the bench for Tuesdays game and as I've said a few times before he played 90 Minutes against Chelsea last Thursday. Parker and Kacaniklic were "rested" for Tuesdays game so I would expect both to come back in to the Starting Eleven tomorrow. In the 4-4-1-1 Scenario I'd have Kacaniklic playing as the Right-Midfielder; with Parker and Hoogland as the Central-Midfielders and then playing Sean Kavanagh as the Left-Midfielder. That is at the expense of Tunnicliffe and Christensen, both of whom have been nowhere near good enough this Calendar Year- but as I've already said with regard to Christensen, I blame Kit for his dip in form. Should Hoogland not be fit enough yet, Christensen would be the one to come in without a doubt. I think Sean Kavanagh in the Left-Midfielder Role could be a masterstroke, he's shown he's good from an attacking perspective- but he is a Left-Back by trade and I think him playing could also get the best out of Stafylidis because he'll provide some extra cover. In the Diamond Formation I'd take out Kavanagh, and push Parker a bit further forward with Hoogland in the DM Role- because Parker is used to sitting in front of the Back Four, so he'll also be able to cover Stafylidis. The "must start" player is Bryan Ruiz, we can't even use the excuse that he isn't committed anymore because he completed 8 Tackles on Tuesday, which was the most out of anybody in the team- if it were up to me he'd be playing behind the Striker in a 4-4-1-1, but of course in the Diamond he'd be in the #10 Role.
With Rodallega's injury, the Striking situation is pretty straightforward- McCormack despite his recent dip in form will of course be in the Starting Eleven; so in the 4-4-1-1 that's that. In the Diamond McCormack needs a Partner; it came out in Steve Cotterill's Press Conference in the week that Matt Smith is back with us- as far as I can work out he isn't eligible for this game though, so whether or not Matt Smith is the answer is a moot point for this game. This leaves us with Woodrow and Dembele as seemingly our only options- even though I'd hope Kit has been looking at Adam Taggart as being worthy of at least a spot on the Bench given his Form in the U21s. It's pretty straightforward though with Woodrow coming in, in my opinion- although I wouldn't mind seeing us go a bit bolder playing Kacaniklic Up-Front as he has done on occasion in different teams, but realistically I can't see that happening.
Team(s) for Derby
(1) 4-4-1-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Kacaniklic, Hoogland, Parker, Kavanagh
Bryan
McCormack
(2) Diamond
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Kacaniklic, Hoogland, Parker
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
I honestly won't mind if we lose tomorrow, what I will mind is if we look completely gutless as we did against Wolves and largely against Millwall; and I really want to see us go for it tomorrow- regardless of the result, because even though Rotherham did blow it a few weeks ago against Derby they showed there is definitely some defensive frailties in the Derby team, and we'll need to really go at them to try and exploit it.
We've already played Derby twice this season, and lost 5-1 and 5-2; so this game tomorrow is a nailed on 5-3.
Thanks for reading as always, as I've repeatedly said- I won't mind if we lose tomorrow; but if we really have a go at Derby tomorrow and go for it, and look like a committed team I'll be walking back through Bishop's Park happy. Anyway, this is the Championship- anyone can beat anyone- right? So lets hope we get a February Miracle and get a really welcome result tomorrow.
The absolute worst case scenario come 5pm on Saturday is we're 2 Points above the Relegation Zone- while it would mean dropping down another place; Rotherham beating Millwall is imperative for us this weekend; both in terms of confidence for Millwall and the gap between us and Millwall. I think its accepted that Blackpool are down, but I think even Blackpool fans had acknowledged that before a ball was kicked. I don't want to rule out Wigan, just because they do have the players to get them out of the mess- and the last time I ruled someone as down before they were was Sunderland- and we all know how that turned out. On that basis there's two places still up for grabs with regard to Relegation and I'd say anyone from Charlton (16th) downwards could still realistically be relegated in those two positions. As we've seen with Leeds however, all it takes a mini win-streak and they're relatively safe after staring into the abyss less than a month ago.
With the team news thats came in from Kit today I think tomorrows game would be the perfect opportunity to implement the 4-4-1-1 I've been harping on about- specifically here (http://t.co/Jthqz0t9n0). So I'll be doing two separate line-ups today- with the other being the Diamond.
Of course Bettinelli will continue in goal, it is ludicrous for people to start getting on his back- yes he's had a few dodgy moments in the last month or so, but he's also saved us more times than I can count- I even saw someone on FriendsOfFulham suggesting we started Kiraly, which is the definition of insanity.
Jazz Richards' Loan has been extended until the End of the Season, and I can't see the statistic of us not winning a game since he was signed change anytime soon. However, with the extension Kit's put his flag in the ground with regard to our first choice Right-Back in my opinion- even with Hoogland coming back I think (or rather hope) he's going to be considered as a midfielder, that is of course at the expense of Grimmer; who I'm hoping we Loan Out for the rest of the season, because we do have Hoogland who can deputise at Right-Back should Richards get injured- and we could of course recall Grimmer like we did in November. As I've said with Kit, I've repeatedly put my flag in the ground with regard to Bodurov and where I see his position in the team- its a toss up between Burn, Hutchinson and Casasola for the other Centre-Back spot; on balance I'd keep Hutchinson- the Brighton game in November where we kept Darren Bent quiet for the most part is what I have in mind with regard to this selection, even though he scored it was deflected. That said the team surrounding Bent is a lot better this time around- so we'll be a lot more stretched. I think Kit sees Sean Kavanagh as a Midfielder, because should he see him as a Left-Back he'd have brought him on for Stafylidis on Tuesday.
Tim Hoogland must surely be on the precipice of a First Team return, he was on the bench for Tuesdays game and as I've said a few times before he played 90 Minutes against Chelsea last Thursday. Parker and Kacaniklic were "rested" for Tuesdays game so I would expect both to come back in to the Starting Eleven tomorrow. In the 4-4-1-1 Scenario I'd have Kacaniklic playing as the Right-Midfielder; with Parker and Hoogland as the Central-Midfielders and then playing Sean Kavanagh as the Left-Midfielder. That is at the expense of Tunnicliffe and Christensen, both of whom have been nowhere near good enough this Calendar Year- but as I've already said with regard to Christensen, I blame Kit for his dip in form. Should Hoogland not be fit enough yet, Christensen would be the one to come in without a doubt. I think Sean Kavanagh in the Left-Midfielder Role could be a masterstroke, he's shown he's good from an attacking perspective- but he is a Left-Back by trade and I think him playing could also get the best out of Stafylidis because he'll provide some extra cover. In the Diamond Formation I'd take out Kavanagh, and push Parker a bit further forward with Hoogland in the DM Role- because Parker is used to sitting in front of the Back Four, so he'll also be able to cover Stafylidis. The "must start" player is Bryan Ruiz, we can't even use the excuse that he isn't committed anymore because he completed 8 Tackles on Tuesday, which was the most out of anybody in the team- if it were up to me he'd be playing behind the Striker in a 4-4-1-1, but of course in the Diamond he'd be in the #10 Role.
With Rodallega's injury, the Striking situation is pretty straightforward- McCormack despite his recent dip in form will of course be in the Starting Eleven; so in the 4-4-1-1 that's that. In the Diamond McCormack needs a Partner; it came out in Steve Cotterill's Press Conference in the week that Matt Smith is back with us- as far as I can work out he isn't eligible for this game though, so whether or not Matt Smith is the answer is a moot point for this game. This leaves us with Woodrow and Dembele as seemingly our only options- even though I'd hope Kit has been looking at Adam Taggart as being worthy of at least a spot on the Bench given his Form in the U21s. It's pretty straightforward though with Woodrow coming in, in my opinion- although I wouldn't mind seeing us go a bit bolder playing Kacaniklic Up-Front as he has done on occasion in different teams, but realistically I can't see that happening.
Team(s) for Derby
(1) 4-4-1-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Kacaniklic, Hoogland, Parker, Kavanagh
Bryan
McCormack
(2) Diamond
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Kacaniklic, Hoogland, Parker
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
I honestly won't mind if we lose tomorrow, what I will mind is if we look completely gutless as we did against Wolves and largely against Millwall; and I really want to see us go for it tomorrow- regardless of the result, because even though Rotherham did blow it a few weeks ago against Derby they showed there is definitely some defensive frailties in the Derby team, and we'll need to really go at them to try and exploit it.
We've already played Derby twice this season, and lost 5-1 and 5-2; so this game tomorrow is a nailed on 5-3.
Thanks for reading as always, as I've repeatedly said- I won't mind if we lose tomorrow; but if we really have a go at Derby tomorrow and go for it, and look like a committed team I'll be walking back through Bishop's Park happy. Anyway, this is the Championship- anyone can beat anyone- right? So lets hope we get a February Miracle and get a really welcome result tomorrow.
Wednesday 25 February 2015
All About Me
Hello! We're just removed from the Oscars, and with all of my blogs trying to get as big an audience as possible you can equate those to Summer Blockbusters. This is my art-house project, my self-indulgent project that I know not as many people will be interested in. If you're reading this I hope you real the whole thing- because I've had one helluva life (but then again I'm biased). I'm going to try and get everything I want down, and I'll probably do it in chronological order- but I might end up jumping around a lot. There is a purpose to this however, I hope in a round-a-bout way it helps some of you to understands where I've been, where I'm coming from- and how I've ended up writing about Soccerball and indeed Wrasslin. This is somewhat of a Thank You Blog- because this has been my best month by quite a long way, and it really is humbling to see how this has been taken to- because it could have easily lead ballooned.
My life could have turned out so different to how it has. I could be deaf or dead. I don't have an amazing memory before you start questioning how I know the dates from ages ago- and I've had to look up a few because it was so long ago.
I can't exactly remember what the official term is, but when I was a toddler I was for want of a better word- deaf. My parents told me one time they took me and my Brother on a Fishing Trip and the guy who was taking us out on the boat was also deaf, and I suppose we felt an affinity toward one another and we sat together for the best part of two hours fishing by ourselves (quite successfully so I'm told). When I was in early Primary School i.e. Reception/Year 1 I was having appointments with an "Ear Specialist" for want of a better term and had grommets in my ears to sort out my hearing difficulties, so I could have ended up wearing hearing aids pretty feasibly.
In Primary School I was bullied a lot, I'll preface this by saying I don't know why I let it go on as long as I did- but for people who do know me I'm quite a laid-back person and don't get stressed out or angry easily so I just let it happen, and it got on top of me, and by the later stages of Primary School I let it define me- and my life was hell sometimes- it was a bizarre thing where I was friends with a group of (roughly) 6-8, and by friends I mean go out and play Football in the Playground; obviously I spoke to others. But those same "friends" were also the ones who were bullying me- you could pass it off as "banter" but at the same time I don't think they would have done it in the manner in which they did as often as they did. But as I said I let it happen- for as long as it did, so while they were obviously to blame for it, I allowed it by not doing anything.
My family had a dog before they had me, her name was Charley- and she really was a beautiful Chocolate Labrador, but the problem with dogs is their lifespan is short in the grand-scheme of things- and she had Arthritis, and I don't remember the dates; I just remember she collapsed one evening when she was trying to jump up on the sofa. I remember the day vividly- we were having our kitchen redeveloped at the time so the large majority of our house was a building site; so we just had to make her as comfortable as possible before we could get her to the vets, and- well, ya know. I like to think of myself as a relatively soft person- I'd never try and upset someone, or even have a go at someone unless I was really provoked, so as you might be able to guess that hit me quite hard.
The thing with life is, you just move on- or you get left behind. Eventually I moved on- and got over it; the best you can. Then I had another hit, My Grandma on my Mum's side had been ill for quite a long time; and she eventually passed away, roughly 6-8 Months after Charley. So it turned out that once I'd finally really got over it- and back on my feet I got knocked down again (I'm going to avoid Chumbawamba for the most part). I internalise quite a lot of stuff, to my detriment and that definitely affected me as I was transitioning into Secondary School which is a massive change of pace anyway.
I Pretty much had 1 Properly Good year in Secondary School (Year 8), where everything fell into place and it was a "Purple Patch" for me. Then we moved on to Year 9, someone made up a rumour saying I was hit by a bus (don't ask) but I was completely absent from school for around about 2 Months straight, I was hit by something called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome- that I'm not going to get into just because I've had to explain what it is so many times to so many people http://www.googleautobot.com/?q=Chronic+Fatigue+Syndrome. So that pretty much knocked me for six- and while I've gotten better at managing it, its not something you "get over" like the flu. I'm a fully mobile person, I'm not going to say which Teacher- just because I know a few of my friends could be reading this; but one of my teachers told me about his wife suffering from the same thing- and it had gotten to the point where she is wheelchair bound. To put it simply its not my place to name names. So you could say I was unlucky that I got it, but also lucky it didn't hit me as hard as it could have done.
Then when I was just starting to get on top of my CFS- My Parents decided to get divorced, I'd seen it coming if I'm perfectly honest but it still hits you hard when they officially announce it and your dad moves out. I have a habit of worrying about making other peoples problems my Problems- so you can imagine the amount of unnecessary stress I put myself under as a result of this.
Now onto some more things where I've been lucky, but also unlucky. There are specifically two moments I'll single out- where on another day I could have genuinely died. The first one was on the way back from a "Rugby Weekend" with my Dad. I was (and still am a London Wasps) - I've been all over Europe for them. It was the Heineken Cup Groups and we were playing Celtic Warriors, somewhere in Bridgend. That was a Friday Night game- I vaguely remember the game just because of how scrappy it was. That was a Friday Night game, so we decided to go to The Arms Park on the Saturday for Cardiff Blues v Biarritz (which was another scrappy game) and then do the long drive back after that. I remember we'd just gone over the Severn Bridge around 20 Minutes before- I was getting hungry so we were looking out for Service Station signs- as you do, and then (baring in mind this was on a Motorway) the car in front of us suddenly just stopped, which set off a chain of events involving our car plowing into the back of the car in front- and the car behind us doing the same. It was a pretty bad crash- the car was a write off, but I came out of it with whiplash (not even a really bad form of it) and nothing else. I remember asking my Dad if I could go in the back to sleep- but for some reason he wanted me in the front, and had he have said yes; Chances are I would have at the very least gotten a broken bone or two.
That was in early 2004, I've completely abandoned chronology at this point. Now lets move on to something a lot more recent- namely October last year. I remember this even more vividly. Real Madrid had comfortably dispatched Liverpool earlier in the evening I was just getting into my usual routine of American Dad, Family Guy etc. on FOX- when I got up; I don't know why it happened- the Doctors at Kingston Hospital have no idea why it happened, there wasn't anything obvious when they checked me. But I ended up passing out- with my head crashing into the TV, and my left side going through the glass table below it. For those of you reading this that know me, they'll know I'm quite a big unit. I've gotten a couple of scars on my arm- and one on my left ear. But given how it happened had I been an inch or two more centered with regard to the position of my TV I'd have probably ended up with a scar or two on my head- or perhaps something worse. They didn't have the Camera Technology in 2004 that they do now- so I managed to get this picture of the damage zone.
My life could have turned out so different to how it has. I could be deaf or dead. I don't have an amazing memory before you start questioning how I know the dates from ages ago- and I've had to look up a few because it was so long ago.
I can't exactly remember what the official term is, but when I was a toddler I was for want of a better word- deaf. My parents told me one time they took me and my Brother on a Fishing Trip and the guy who was taking us out on the boat was also deaf, and I suppose we felt an affinity toward one another and we sat together for the best part of two hours fishing by ourselves (quite successfully so I'm told). When I was in early Primary School i.e. Reception/Year 1 I was having appointments with an "Ear Specialist" for want of a better term and had grommets in my ears to sort out my hearing difficulties, so I could have ended up wearing hearing aids pretty feasibly.
In Primary School I was bullied a lot, I'll preface this by saying I don't know why I let it go on as long as I did- but for people who do know me I'm quite a laid-back person and don't get stressed out or angry easily so I just let it happen, and it got on top of me, and by the later stages of Primary School I let it define me- and my life was hell sometimes- it was a bizarre thing where I was friends with a group of (roughly) 6-8, and by friends I mean go out and play Football in the Playground; obviously I spoke to others. But those same "friends" were also the ones who were bullying me- you could pass it off as "banter" but at the same time I don't think they would have done it in the manner in which they did as often as they did. But as I said I let it happen- for as long as it did, so while they were obviously to blame for it, I allowed it by not doing anything.
My family had a dog before they had me, her name was Charley- and she really was a beautiful Chocolate Labrador, but the problem with dogs is their lifespan is short in the grand-scheme of things- and she had Arthritis, and I don't remember the dates; I just remember she collapsed one evening when she was trying to jump up on the sofa. I remember the day vividly- we were having our kitchen redeveloped at the time so the large majority of our house was a building site; so we just had to make her as comfortable as possible before we could get her to the vets, and- well, ya know. I like to think of myself as a relatively soft person- I'd never try and upset someone, or even have a go at someone unless I was really provoked, so as you might be able to guess that hit me quite hard.
The thing with life is, you just move on- or you get left behind. Eventually I moved on- and got over it; the best you can. Then I had another hit, My Grandma on my Mum's side had been ill for quite a long time; and she eventually passed away, roughly 6-8 Months after Charley. So it turned out that once I'd finally really got over it- and back on my feet I got knocked down again (I'm going to avoid Chumbawamba for the most part). I internalise quite a lot of stuff, to my detriment and that definitely affected me as I was transitioning into Secondary School which is a massive change of pace anyway.
I Pretty much had 1 Properly Good year in Secondary School (Year 8), where everything fell into place and it was a "Purple Patch" for me. Then we moved on to Year 9, someone made up a rumour saying I was hit by a bus (don't ask) but I was completely absent from school for around about 2 Months straight, I was hit by something called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome- that I'm not going to get into just because I've had to explain what it is so many times to so many people http://www.googleautobot.com/?q=Chronic+Fatigue+Syndrome. So that pretty much knocked me for six- and while I've gotten better at managing it, its not something you "get over" like the flu. I'm a fully mobile person, I'm not going to say which Teacher- just because I know a few of my friends could be reading this; but one of my teachers told me about his wife suffering from the same thing- and it had gotten to the point where she is wheelchair bound. To put it simply its not my place to name names. So you could say I was unlucky that I got it, but also lucky it didn't hit me as hard as it could have done.
Then when I was just starting to get on top of my CFS- My Parents decided to get divorced, I'd seen it coming if I'm perfectly honest but it still hits you hard when they officially announce it and your dad moves out. I have a habit of worrying about making other peoples problems my Problems- so you can imagine the amount of unnecessary stress I put myself under as a result of this.
Now onto some more things where I've been lucky, but also unlucky. There are specifically two moments I'll single out- where on another day I could have genuinely died. The first one was on the way back from a "Rugby Weekend" with my Dad. I was (and still am a London Wasps) - I've been all over Europe for them. It was the Heineken Cup Groups and we were playing Celtic Warriors, somewhere in Bridgend. That was a Friday Night game- I vaguely remember the game just because of how scrappy it was. That was a Friday Night game, so we decided to go to The Arms Park on the Saturday for Cardiff Blues v Biarritz (which was another scrappy game) and then do the long drive back after that. I remember we'd just gone over the Severn Bridge around 20 Minutes before- I was getting hungry so we were looking out for Service Station signs- as you do, and then (baring in mind this was on a Motorway) the car in front of us suddenly just stopped, which set off a chain of events involving our car plowing into the back of the car in front- and the car behind us doing the same. It was a pretty bad crash- the car was a write off, but I came out of it with whiplash (not even a really bad form of it) and nothing else. I remember asking my Dad if I could go in the back to sleep- but for some reason he wanted me in the front, and had he have said yes; Chances are I would have at the very least gotten a broken bone or two.
That was in early 2004, I've completely abandoned chronology at this point. Now lets move on to something a lot more recent- namely October last year. I remember this even more vividly. Real Madrid had comfortably dispatched Liverpool earlier in the evening I was just getting into my usual routine of American Dad, Family Guy etc. on FOX- when I got up; I don't know why it happened- the Doctors at Kingston Hospital have no idea why it happened, there wasn't anything obvious when they checked me. But I ended up passing out- with my head crashing into the TV, and my left side going through the glass table below it. For those of you reading this that know me, they'll know I'm quite a big unit. I've gotten a couple of scars on my arm- and one on my left ear. But given how it happened had I been an inch or two more centered with regard to the position of my TV I'd have probably ended up with a scar or two on my head- or perhaps something worse. They didn't have the Camera Technology in 2004 that they do now- so I managed to get this picture of the damage zone.
My Chronic Fatigue Syndrome played a big factor in why I left school early- but it also had a lot to do with me having enough of it all. I was just slumming around for a bit. I got horrendously overweight- I've now done a lot about that I've lost just over 4 and a Half Stone in 8 Months- which is weird considering I'm not getting out nearly as much as when I was steadily gaining weight while still going to school and I'm still on a positive trajectory in that respect. And all of this has lead me to where I am now. I can't pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with Football (specifically Fulham) and Wrestling- but I did, and through all of the pain and hurt, they've been the two constants; I originally started this blog as an outlet, and its turned into something thats just gotten to 2,000+ Views in a Single Month with days to spare.
I always end these with a "Thank You for Reading" but some people might see that as a generalised statement, but I truly mean it, it honestly means so much to me that people are taking the time to read the pieces I've written. While I'm obviously not going to be doing this for the rest of my life- I can honestly say this is the happiest I've been for the Longest I've been ever, and in a weird way; I have to thank the anonymous readers for that- So Really, From the Bottom of my Heart- Thank You.
Tuesday 24 February 2015
Wolves v Fulham Review: Symons Out?
"I'm not an ultimate pessimist as some Fulham fans have a tendency to be- and realistically barring an absolute horror run of results we won't go down this season"- Me, Birmingham Preview; 6th February- Famous Last Words.
We've got another Review, and another loss. I was borderline not going to do this because if the players don't care- why should I? I'll refer everyone reading this- if you haven't already to read the blog I did the day after Ipswich (http://soccerballandwrasslin.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/fulham-what-needs-changing.html) Where I outlined what I'd change tactics wise- because its as relevant as ever.
Lets get the positives out of the way; Wigan, Millwall and Rotherham all lost. That means we're still 5 Points clear of the Relegation Zone.
Now the positives are out of the way lets get on to the goals. When will we ever learn to defend corners? We had started quite well in my opinion- and then on Wolves' first real chance they converted from the corner. The Second Goal had a ridiculous number of passes leading up to it- and pretty much summed up where we are as a team, because we just let Wolves play and maneuver themselves into position and gave Sako pretty much as much time as he needed to line-up the shot and convert it. The third goal was ridiculous- the fact nobody took the ball of Sako was criminal, and the fact he managed to find the net with his shot was even more criminal- and that was game over.
Bizarrely considering we conceded three goals, Bettinelli had an alright game. He could have arguably done better for the third goal- but the other two, and indeed the third can also be equally attributed to poor defending. If it wasn't for some strong saves on the part of Bettinelli it'd have turned into a Chris Gayle v Zimbabwe scenario.
Unsurprisingly there'll be criticism for the defence off the back of todays game, but I think a lot of the criticism that'll be levelled at the defence has to fall at the feet of Kit. I want Kit to either say our defence is lazy and doesn't close people down enough- or he's told them to avoid physical contact at all cost, its one or the other. All of the defenders had a bad game today, so I'm not going to single any singular player out as playing specifically bad- unlike Ipswich where it was clear by quite a long way Stafylidis was at fault. I'm not going to suggest Dan Burn, instead I'll suggest someone who'll be high on confidence after he's won the South American Youth Cup Tiago Casasola. He's far from a finished article- but we need to break up the Bodurov & Hutchinson partnership ASAP- and I'm not sure we can wait for Amorebieta to get back to break up the partnership as I suggested after Ipswich. I wouldn't be rushing to extent Jazz Richards' Loan because he appears to be cursed- it was good to see Sean Kavanagh come back in today, but it looks like he'll still be used as a Left-Sided Midfielder.
I believe I used the words stagnant in relation to our Midfield less than a week ago. We started quite positively, with Bryan looking quite good- and Fofana looking lively; and that continued to an extent until we conceded the 2nd Goal. But on the whole we looked completely devoid of any ideas. We can only blame Kit for Christensen's recent dip- because he tried to fast-track him back in for ironically Wolves in the FA Cup; and thats hindered his development and set him back long-term for games that actually matter. I don't know how Tunnicliffe has kept his place in the team for tonight, its become clear he isn't suited for the "Parker" role- so if we were going to rest Parker we should have either changed formations (which is a must anyway) or played someone who can actually play as a Holding Mid. I don't even care if we played someone like Sol Sambou. It was good to see Hoogland back in the team (on the bench) and he would be my pick for Holding Midfielder on days Parker is being rested, even if he wasn't fully fit- he played 90 Minutes in the World Youth Cup thing against Chelsea, so I would find it hard to believe he couldn't have managed 60 Minutes in a role that's main requirement is to be able to read the game and mop up.
Matt Smith is not the answer. I remember just before Jol was sacked it seemed everyone wanted us to give Moussa Dembele a run in the team- and what do you know, he hasn't even managed to get a Goal in the Championship let alone the Premier League. I respect Matt Smith and his ability don't get me wrong- but the way we're set up to play doesn't suit Smith for a start, and we create so few clear cut chances in comparison to Bristol City he'd find it just as hard going. I highlighted McCormack's regression and that continued tonight- since Forest he's scored twice, but both have been gimme's and to match the trajectory of the team McCormack seems to have lost his spark. Rodallega is in the team to score goals, but when the team is giving him nothing- and he has to feed on scraps I'm not sure how much Rodallega is to blame.
As I've already said it was good to see Sean Kavanagh back in the team- albeit as a midfielder, but we need him to slot back into his natural Left-Back role as soon as possible. Woodrow coming on for Hugo was too late to make a real impact on the game both in terms of time and score- I was surprised we didn't start Woodrow tonight, especially considering we went down the supposed "resting" route tonight with Kacaniklic & Parker.
All we can do is turn our attention to Derby and pray for the best- Thanks for reading as always, I know its bleak and all. Stay Tuned for the Derby Preview, and it'll be interesting to see if Kit survives the week.
We've got another Review, and another loss. I was borderline not going to do this because if the players don't care- why should I? I'll refer everyone reading this- if you haven't already to read the blog I did the day after Ipswich (http://soccerballandwrasslin.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/fulham-what-needs-changing.html) Where I outlined what I'd change tactics wise- because its as relevant as ever.
Lets get the positives out of the way; Wigan, Millwall and Rotherham all lost. That means we're still 5 Points clear of the Relegation Zone.
Now the positives are out of the way lets get on to the goals. When will we ever learn to defend corners? We had started quite well in my opinion- and then on Wolves' first real chance they converted from the corner. The Second Goal had a ridiculous number of passes leading up to it- and pretty much summed up where we are as a team, because we just let Wolves play and maneuver themselves into position and gave Sako pretty much as much time as he needed to line-up the shot and convert it. The third goal was ridiculous- the fact nobody took the ball of Sako was criminal, and the fact he managed to find the net with his shot was even more criminal- and that was game over.
Bizarrely considering we conceded three goals, Bettinelli had an alright game. He could have arguably done better for the third goal- but the other two, and indeed the third can also be equally attributed to poor defending. If it wasn't for some strong saves on the part of Bettinelli it'd have turned into a Chris Gayle v Zimbabwe scenario.
Unsurprisingly there'll be criticism for the defence off the back of todays game, but I think a lot of the criticism that'll be levelled at the defence has to fall at the feet of Kit. I want Kit to either say our defence is lazy and doesn't close people down enough- or he's told them to avoid physical contact at all cost, its one or the other. All of the defenders had a bad game today, so I'm not going to single any singular player out as playing specifically bad- unlike Ipswich where it was clear by quite a long way Stafylidis was at fault. I'm not going to suggest Dan Burn, instead I'll suggest someone who'll be high on confidence after he's won the South American Youth Cup Tiago Casasola. He's far from a finished article- but we need to break up the Bodurov & Hutchinson partnership ASAP- and I'm not sure we can wait for Amorebieta to get back to break up the partnership as I suggested after Ipswich. I wouldn't be rushing to extent Jazz Richards' Loan because he appears to be cursed- it was good to see Sean Kavanagh come back in today, but it looks like he'll still be used as a Left-Sided Midfielder.
I believe I used the words stagnant in relation to our Midfield less than a week ago. We started quite positively, with Bryan looking quite good- and Fofana looking lively; and that continued to an extent until we conceded the 2nd Goal. But on the whole we looked completely devoid of any ideas. We can only blame Kit for Christensen's recent dip- because he tried to fast-track him back in for ironically Wolves in the FA Cup; and thats hindered his development and set him back long-term for games that actually matter. I don't know how Tunnicliffe has kept his place in the team for tonight, its become clear he isn't suited for the "Parker" role- so if we were going to rest Parker we should have either changed formations (which is a must anyway) or played someone who can actually play as a Holding Mid. I don't even care if we played someone like Sol Sambou. It was good to see Hoogland back in the team (on the bench) and he would be my pick for Holding Midfielder on days Parker is being rested, even if he wasn't fully fit- he played 90 Minutes in the World Youth Cup thing against Chelsea, so I would find it hard to believe he couldn't have managed 60 Minutes in a role that's main requirement is to be able to read the game and mop up.
Matt Smith is not the answer. I remember just before Jol was sacked it seemed everyone wanted us to give Moussa Dembele a run in the team- and what do you know, he hasn't even managed to get a Goal in the Championship let alone the Premier League. I respect Matt Smith and his ability don't get me wrong- but the way we're set up to play doesn't suit Smith for a start, and we create so few clear cut chances in comparison to Bristol City he'd find it just as hard going. I highlighted McCormack's regression and that continued tonight- since Forest he's scored twice, but both have been gimme's and to match the trajectory of the team McCormack seems to have lost his spark. Rodallega is in the team to score goals, but when the team is giving him nothing- and he has to feed on scraps I'm not sure how much Rodallega is to blame.
As I've already said it was good to see Sean Kavanagh back in the team- albeit as a midfielder, but we need him to slot back into his natural Left-Back role as soon as possible. Woodrow coming on for Hugo was too late to make a real impact on the game both in terms of time and score- I was surprised we didn't start Woodrow tonight, especially considering we went down the supposed "resting" route tonight with Kacaniklic & Parker.
All we can do is turn our attention to Derby and pray for the best- Thanks for reading as always, I know its bleak and all. Stay Tuned for the Derby Preview, and it'll be interesting to see if Kit survives the week.
RAW Review: 23rd February
Hello, welcome to another RAW Review- it was a weird scenario with two RAWs one day after the other, but hey WWE wanted to go for it; more power to them. After the underwhelming "PPV" we moved on to a RAW that was the first step on the now open path to Wrestlemania. But did it do much to build Wrestlemania, or much like Hideo Itami was it on the verge of sending us to sleep?
Randy Orton & The Authority Promo
It was a babyface Orton Promo, with no real "oomph" behind it- so it was pretty much exactly the same as every single Orton Promo in 2012 with the names switched out. Just when you thought the opening segment couldn't get even more repetitive and dull- we had The Authority in their 237th Opening Segment. The promos were probably good, but I've just disengaged completely to Opening Segments with The Authority featured- because once you've seen one; you've seen them all. The "Orton Position" angle is pretty much (in recent terms) the build Ryback got for Survivor Series- but they have longer to execute it.
Dolph Ziggler v Bad News Barrett
I like Dolph Ziggler, everyone with a brain-cell at least respects Dolph's in-ring work. But (albeit with shenanigans) was the guy who was pinned last night. Barrett was destroyed by Ambrose last night, he retained the belt because Ambrose just decided to kill him essentially which made him look bad enough. Then we get the guy who was pinned last night, pinning the guy who was already made to look weak last night clean. It looks like their angling for a Fatal 4-Way at Mania with Ambrose, Dolph, Truth and Barrett; which I'm not necessarily against in the grand scheme of things because it gives Ambrose & Dolph a spot on the card- not with 28 other guys in the same spotlight.
Seth Rollins, Randy Orton Backstage Promo
This was a more interesting dynamic, Rollins and Orton both knew how to sell the tension between them without saying much; a consequence of both guys being as experienced as they are. Stephanie having a go at Rollins was a bit of a dodgy development because when Orton inevitably turns it'll leave Rollins in a weaker spot to where he's started with regard to his standing in The Authority- and when they inevitably start backing him it'll seem weird because they in effect position Orton above Rollins.
Primetime Players v The Ascension
Let me get this straight in my head. The Ascension have come onto the Main Roster beaten Miz & Mizdow (former Tag Champs) on their debut- gone on to beat a load of jobbers before beating the New Aged Outlaws at their first PPV. Now they've lost to a team of Darren Young who's been injured for the best part of a year and Titus O'Neil who's lost every match he's been in since even before he turned on Darren. Way to build the NXT guys eh? Even though The Ascension got their own back- they lost their "streak" on a Random RAW that didn't mean anything, which was also what happened with Bo.
One thing I do want to see with regard to the Primetime Players is Slater trying to get into the group and doing an overly emphasised Black gimmick- lets face it; we've had Cryme Tyme.
Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan Promo
It was the "Lets have Daniel put Roman over" Promo, that literally nobody bought. Thankfully the Roman promo was kept short and sweet- and if WWE are smart they'll keep his words limited and just let the person "on the other side" do all the talking no matter who it is. I've already said my piece with regard to Roman in the Main Event on his own- so I'm going to move on; if it works out for them great, but if it doesn't its not like the warning signs weren't blatant.
Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns Promo
If anyone can get this feud to where WWE wants it to be, its Paul Heyman. You only have to gauge the crowd reaction when Heyman got into full flow to know Heyman can get Reigns over as the babyface. I was expecting some kind of interaction between Roman & Brock tonight because I thought he was advertised- but perhaps its best to keep the from interaction wherever possible because it'll be a fine balance to keep both guys "looking strong" at the same time.
The Uso's v KiddSaro- Tag Title Match
The match wasn't a touch on the previous nights RAW, but it was still pretty good. The finish was pretty much what I'd expected at the PPV but with Naomi and Nattie trading places and keeping the belts on The Uso's setting up a 6-Person Intergender for Mania- which still looks likely, just with the shoe on the other foot.
Mizdow Backstage Promo
It'll be interesting to see where this angle goes, just in terms of execution- the endgame is obvious but it seems like a jealousy angle is the way they're going- which I personally don't agree with because they should keep Miz on the front foot with regard to standing over Mizdow to work the gimmick.
Bray Wyatt Promo
As a longshot I tweeted last night if they'll go this whole feud without coming face to face (until Mania) now I go on the Dirtsheets and it seems thats the way they're going. The only thing I'll say is if anybody can pull it off Bray can.
Jack Swagger v Stardust
Nothing says "You Need to Re-Evaluate" like losing to Jack Swagger.
John Cena, Rusev Promo
There was a lot of Promos last night wasn't there, Jesus. This one was on the better end of the scale purely because its put Cena in the unusual position of having to chase someone headed into Mania. It'll be good for his character and the feud- and I'd hold off on "giving" Cena the match until the very last minute to give Cena's character an edge- and an air of desperation to it. It won't be completely new- but if as I suspect Cena will indeed win (LOL) they should keep Rusev on the front foot going into the match so it doesn't affect him too much.
The Bellas v Paige & Emma
When we did have matches they were "Blink and You'll Miss Them". I'm not quite sure how Nikki getting the better of Paige does anything for either when she had been the dastardly heel the night before- but I'm beyond caring with the Women by this point #GiveDivasAChance and all.
Ryback v Curtis Axel
AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA!
Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan v Randy Orton & Seth Rollins
I had completely disengaged by this point of the show. I was posting pictures of Pandas- and everything was going crazy. The swerve of this segment was the lack of a swerve, because I'm sure everybody was expecting it. I like them stringing this angle out a bit- because when we do get the payoff it'll mean more.
Thanks for reading as always, I hope these Reviews aren't as underwhelming as the show itself. The product is pretty uninspiring- but I truly do hope they pick it up soon. There are some good moments, its just the surrounding mediocrity that brings the whole show down. Anyway, I'll be soldiering on- so stay tuned for future reviews and the like. AXELMANIA 4 LIFE.
Randy Orton & The Authority Promo
It was a babyface Orton Promo, with no real "oomph" behind it- so it was pretty much exactly the same as every single Orton Promo in 2012 with the names switched out. Just when you thought the opening segment couldn't get even more repetitive and dull- we had The Authority in their 237th Opening Segment. The promos were probably good, but I've just disengaged completely to Opening Segments with The Authority featured- because once you've seen one; you've seen them all. The "Orton Position" angle is pretty much (in recent terms) the build Ryback got for Survivor Series- but they have longer to execute it.
Dolph Ziggler v Bad News Barrett
I like Dolph Ziggler, everyone with a brain-cell at least respects Dolph's in-ring work. But (albeit with shenanigans) was the guy who was pinned last night. Barrett was destroyed by Ambrose last night, he retained the belt because Ambrose just decided to kill him essentially which made him look bad enough. Then we get the guy who was pinned last night, pinning the guy who was already made to look weak last night clean. It looks like their angling for a Fatal 4-Way at Mania with Ambrose, Dolph, Truth and Barrett; which I'm not necessarily against in the grand scheme of things because it gives Ambrose & Dolph a spot on the card- not with 28 other guys in the same spotlight.
Seth Rollins, Randy Orton Backstage Promo
This was a more interesting dynamic, Rollins and Orton both knew how to sell the tension between them without saying much; a consequence of both guys being as experienced as they are. Stephanie having a go at Rollins was a bit of a dodgy development because when Orton inevitably turns it'll leave Rollins in a weaker spot to where he's started with regard to his standing in The Authority- and when they inevitably start backing him it'll seem weird because they in effect position Orton above Rollins.
Primetime Players v The Ascension
Let me get this straight in my head. The Ascension have come onto the Main Roster beaten Miz & Mizdow (former Tag Champs) on their debut- gone on to beat a load of jobbers before beating the New Aged Outlaws at their first PPV. Now they've lost to a team of Darren Young who's been injured for the best part of a year and Titus O'Neil who's lost every match he's been in since even before he turned on Darren. Way to build the NXT guys eh? Even though The Ascension got their own back- they lost their "streak" on a Random RAW that didn't mean anything, which was also what happened with Bo.
One thing I do want to see with regard to the Primetime Players is Slater trying to get into the group and doing an overly emphasised Black gimmick- lets face it; we've had Cryme Tyme.
Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan Promo
It was the "Lets have Daniel put Roman over" Promo, that literally nobody bought. Thankfully the Roman promo was kept short and sweet- and if WWE are smart they'll keep his words limited and just let the person "on the other side" do all the talking no matter who it is. I've already said my piece with regard to Roman in the Main Event on his own- so I'm going to move on; if it works out for them great, but if it doesn't its not like the warning signs weren't blatant.
Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns Promo
If anyone can get this feud to where WWE wants it to be, its Paul Heyman. You only have to gauge the crowd reaction when Heyman got into full flow to know Heyman can get Reigns over as the babyface. I was expecting some kind of interaction between Roman & Brock tonight because I thought he was advertised- but perhaps its best to keep the from interaction wherever possible because it'll be a fine balance to keep both guys "looking strong" at the same time.
The Uso's v KiddSaro- Tag Title Match
The match wasn't a touch on the previous nights RAW, but it was still pretty good. The finish was pretty much what I'd expected at the PPV but with Naomi and Nattie trading places and keeping the belts on The Uso's setting up a 6-Person Intergender for Mania- which still looks likely, just with the shoe on the other foot.
Mizdow Backstage Promo
It'll be interesting to see where this angle goes, just in terms of execution- the endgame is obvious but it seems like a jealousy angle is the way they're going- which I personally don't agree with because they should keep Miz on the front foot with regard to standing over Mizdow to work the gimmick.
Bray Wyatt Promo
As a longshot I tweeted last night if they'll go this whole feud without coming face to face (until Mania) now I go on the Dirtsheets and it seems thats the way they're going. The only thing I'll say is if anybody can pull it off Bray can.
Jack Swagger v Stardust
Nothing says "You Need to Re-Evaluate" like losing to Jack Swagger.
John Cena, Rusev Promo
There was a lot of Promos last night wasn't there, Jesus. This one was on the better end of the scale purely because its put Cena in the unusual position of having to chase someone headed into Mania. It'll be good for his character and the feud- and I'd hold off on "giving" Cena the match until the very last minute to give Cena's character an edge- and an air of desperation to it. It won't be completely new- but if as I suspect Cena will indeed win (LOL) they should keep Rusev on the front foot going into the match so it doesn't affect him too much.
The Bellas v Paige & Emma
When we did have matches they were "Blink and You'll Miss Them". I'm not quite sure how Nikki getting the better of Paige does anything for either when she had been the dastardly heel the night before- but I'm beyond caring with the Women by this point #GiveDivasAChance and all.
Ryback v Curtis Axel
AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA!
Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan v Randy Orton & Seth Rollins
I had completely disengaged by this point of the show. I was posting pictures of Pandas- and everything was going crazy. The swerve of this segment was the lack of a swerve, because I'm sure everybody was expecting it. I like them stringing this angle out a bit- because when we do get the payoff it'll mean more.
Thanks for reading as always, I hope these Reviews aren't as underwhelming as the show itself. The product is pretty uninspiring- but I truly do hope they pick it up soon. There are some good moments, its just the surrounding mediocrity that brings the whole show down. Anyway, I'll be soldiering on- so stay tuned for future reviews and the like. AXELMANIA 4 LIFE.
Monday 23 February 2015
WWE Fast Lane Review
Hello! Second Blog of the day we've already had the Soccerball- now time for the Wrasslin. I had high hopes for the PPV, I really did- it wasn't going to be perfect but I thought we'd see some real standout moments from some guys in an attempt to elevate themselves in the eyes of the crowd this close to Mania, but instead we got a pretty average episode of RAW.
Pre-Show
I didn't see the Pre-Show, it was more a convenience thing with the Oscars Red Carpet being on Sky Movies; but you can never go wrong with a Heyman Promo- ever, and Mizdow channeling his inner Raven so it would seem looked hilarious.
Seth Rollins, Kane and Big Show v Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan & Ryback
If you were following along on my Twitter commentary you'll know I had a surprisingly good night prediction wise last night. It was almost funny because almost every match on the card could have gone either way in my opinion. We started with the 6-Man Tag which pretty much meant there wouldn't be a turn in the match as I predicted- but what I definitely wasn't expecting was Big Show & Kane to come out of the match with the most polish left on them. I'd expected a turn resulting in Team Rollins winning, what I did expect was via Big Show shenanigans Kane would score the Pin with Rollins down and out- especially with Dolph being on the other end of said pin. It was a horrendous decision in my opinion.
The Return of Orton was somewhat cold in my opinion. It was acknowledged that Roman Reigns would be in the Main Event- with Bryan being questionable, so I'd have had Rollins, Kane, Big Show and others all beating up Reigns and Bryan in the Main Event segment tomorrow, with Orton coming in and cleaning house to end RAW- as opposed to having his big return coming 20 Minutes into a "Free PPV".
Goldust v Stardust
The promo before the match from Goldust did so much to build the match given the ridiculously short amount of time they had to build what is hopefully the first installment of the feud. You can tell Cody comes from a wrestling family because he really gets subtlety, perhaps I'm reading too much into it all- but the fact Stardust was wearing tights as opposed to his bodysuit with his mouth not being painted it highlights the slow transition back to Cody Rhodes. The "Cody" chants could start adding fuel to the fire so to speak- and depending on how long they're intending to keep this transition going they could have the "Cody" chants lead to more aggression on the part of Stardust to make the gimmick work. The match itself was pretty weak, but it was intentionally weak because of the story they wanted told so I'm not going to lay into it too much- and I'm sure when we get to Mania if they're given time we'll get a seriously great match from the two.
The Stardust/Cody Promo after was top draw stuff. It was by far and a way his best promo under the Stardust moniker- and his best promo since he was "fired" after losing to Orton in my opinion.
KiddSaro v The Uso's
If you factor everything in this was probably the best match of the night. I think it was quite telling that with the exception of Daniel Bryan (not even his match) the crowd were most into the Tag Match. It was far from a perfect match- but it delivered the highs and lows and what you expect in the match- in short it was good because it got all the fundamentals right and didn't try to over-complicate it. I'm really happy for KiddSaro winning, and the more than deserved a run with the belts because they've been a breath of fresh air in the Tag Division since they were formed.
I can see them holding off for the Rematch until the Pre-Show for Mania, although I can also see the Primetime Players in that spot to face KiddSaro.
Triple H, Sting Confrontation
I said in my Predictions that simplicity would be the key to this segment- and Sting not saying a single word was perfect. I liked the segment because it did a really good job setting the match up- and Sting getting the "first cut" so to speak was interesting, because I thought we'd see Triple H getting the upper-hand given the fact in Sting's Prior two appearances he's gotten one over on HHH. I'm not sure how many RAWs Sting'll be on between now and Mania but It'll be interesting to see when Sting does show up how many times HHH does get the upper-hand on him.
Nikki Bella v Paige
This match was standard Diva fare nothing more nothing less.
The ending leaves it open for a Rematch at Mania- although I can see it turning into a Triple Threat with A.J. depending on the situation the Defamation Lawsuit against Punk has had on their relationship- or a massive Diva match like last year just to get as many Total Divas on the card as possible.
Bad News Barrett v Dean Ambrose
This habit of jobbing out the IC Champion at seemingly every opportunity isn't doing anyone any favours. The sketchy finish was as expected, but I really didn't like the way it all played out- I would have preferred Ambrose's lunacy to cause him to get a roll-up loss so Barrett could say he outsmarted Ambrose before he got the beating.
Once again the finish has left it all open for Mania, but given the ridiculously one-sided way in which this feud has been built I'm not sure how much they can do to salvage Barrett's standing.
Bray Wyatt Promo
This was the best bit of the PPV by a country mile. If they'd had it in front of a crowd not channeling their inner empty-arena match it would've been a lot better. The image of Bray in the coffin is the lasting image from the PPV in my opinion- and while it wasn't his best promo in terms of how significant it was it was near perfect and it did the job perfectly. I would only assume Taker will be on RAW tonight & we'll see our first back and forth, but Bray could probably carry this feud on his own until the last RAW before Mania and it'd still be top draw stuff.
Rusev v John Cena
Anyone who doesn't think Cena can't put a 5* Match on is kidding themselves. Anyone who thinks Rusev can't put a quality match on is kidding themselves. Both of these guys given their size are freak athletes- but there is absolutely 0 Chemistry between them. Their styles are perhaps a bit too similar, so rather than merging it just turned into them bouncing off of each other and not properly getting going. The final couple of minutes did pick up, but the "passing out" finish has been done too many times with regard to Rusev now in my opinion- and I think Rusev going crazy and beating Cena to within an inch of his life in turn causing a DQ would've been much more effective.
The Finish has of course left it open for the Mania rematch, with Cena most likely overcoming the odds etc. but I'm hoping it doesn't affect Rusev too much and if they build it right between tonight and Mania the loss shouldn't affect Rusev too much.
Roman Reigns v Daniel Bryan
This match was just so "meh", for a spot in the Wrestlemania Main Event I was expecting carnage- even the Spanish Announce Desk lived to tell the tale. I said just before the match started that this really needed a stipulation to get the wheels turning for this match because of Reigns' limited skill set, and I think I was proven right. Granted the crowd were dead pretty much all night, but the crowd didn't really get into the match and they didn't really give them much to cheer about. It was probably to make Roman Look Strong- but we didn't have many false-finishes and when we did it didn't really mean much.
The Mania Main Event is now set in stone it would seem, and god help Brock & Heyman trying to get this over to the crowd, but if anyone can Heyman can. It looks unfortunately like Rollins will end up fighting Jon Stewart for Mania- which'll leave it open for "DZvDB" which is the most likely scenario I can see for Mania now.
Thanks for reading as always, the PPV was just ridiculously underwhelming from my point of view- which is a reflection on the product as a whole. Anyway I'll still be watching RAW- god knows why, so that review will be up tommorow- Stay Tuned for that, and lets just pray it gets better.
Pre-Show
I didn't see the Pre-Show, it was more a convenience thing with the Oscars Red Carpet being on Sky Movies; but you can never go wrong with a Heyman Promo- ever, and Mizdow channeling his inner Raven so it would seem looked hilarious.
Seth Rollins, Kane and Big Show v Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan & Ryback
If you were following along on my Twitter commentary you'll know I had a surprisingly good night prediction wise last night. It was almost funny because almost every match on the card could have gone either way in my opinion. We started with the 6-Man Tag which pretty much meant there wouldn't be a turn in the match as I predicted- but what I definitely wasn't expecting was Big Show & Kane to come out of the match with the most polish left on them. I'd expected a turn resulting in Team Rollins winning, what I did expect was via Big Show shenanigans Kane would score the Pin with Rollins down and out- especially with Dolph being on the other end of said pin. It was a horrendous decision in my opinion.
The Return of Orton was somewhat cold in my opinion. It was acknowledged that Roman Reigns would be in the Main Event- with Bryan being questionable, so I'd have had Rollins, Kane, Big Show and others all beating up Reigns and Bryan in the Main Event segment tomorrow, with Orton coming in and cleaning house to end RAW- as opposed to having his big return coming 20 Minutes into a "Free PPV".
Goldust v Stardust
The promo before the match from Goldust did so much to build the match given the ridiculously short amount of time they had to build what is hopefully the first installment of the feud. You can tell Cody comes from a wrestling family because he really gets subtlety, perhaps I'm reading too much into it all- but the fact Stardust was wearing tights as opposed to his bodysuit with his mouth not being painted it highlights the slow transition back to Cody Rhodes. The "Cody" chants could start adding fuel to the fire so to speak- and depending on how long they're intending to keep this transition going they could have the "Cody" chants lead to more aggression on the part of Stardust to make the gimmick work. The match itself was pretty weak, but it was intentionally weak because of the story they wanted told so I'm not going to lay into it too much- and I'm sure when we get to Mania if they're given time we'll get a seriously great match from the two.
The Stardust/Cody Promo after was top draw stuff. It was by far and a way his best promo under the Stardust moniker- and his best promo since he was "fired" after losing to Orton in my opinion.
KiddSaro v The Uso's
If you factor everything in this was probably the best match of the night. I think it was quite telling that with the exception of Daniel Bryan (not even his match) the crowd were most into the Tag Match. It was far from a perfect match- but it delivered the highs and lows and what you expect in the match- in short it was good because it got all the fundamentals right and didn't try to over-complicate it. I'm really happy for KiddSaro winning, and the more than deserved a run with the belts because they've been a breath of fresh air in the Tag Division since they were formed.
I can see them holding off for the Rematch until the Pre-Show for Mania, although I can also see the Primetime Players in that spot to face KiddSaro.
Triple H, Sting Confrontation
I said in my Predictions that simplicity would be the key to this segment- and Sting not saying a single word was perfect. I liked the segment because it did a really good job setting the match up- and Sting getting the "first cut" so to speak was interesting, because I thought we'd see Triple H getting the upper-hand given the fact in Sting's Prior two appearances he's gotten one over on HHH. I'm not sure how many RAWs Sting'll be on between now and Mania but It'll be interesting to see when Sting does show up how many times HHH does get the upper-hand on him.
Nikki Bella v Paige
This match was standard Diva fare nothing more nothing less.
The ending leaves it open for a Rematch at Mania- although I can see it turning into a Triple Threat with A.J. depending on the situation the Defamation Lawsuit against Punk has had on their relationship- or a massive Diva match like last year just to get as many Total Divas on the card as possible.
Bad News Barrett v Dean Ambrose
This habit of jobbing out the IC Champion at seemingly every opportunity isn't doing anyone any favours. The sketchy finish was as expected, but I really didn't like the way it all played out- I would have preferred Ambrose's lunacy to cause him to get a roll-up loss so Barrett could say he outsmarted Ambrose before he got the beating.
Once again the finish has left it all open for Mania, but given the ridiculously one-sided way in which this feud has been built I'm not sure how much they can do to salvage Barrett's standing.
Bray Wyatt Promo
This was the best bit of the PPV by a country mile. If they'd had it in front of a crowd not channeling their inner empty-arena match it would've been a lot better. The image of Bray in the coffin is the lasting image from the PPV in my opinion- and while it wasn't his best promo in terms of how significant it was it was near perfect and it did the job perfectly. I would only assume Taker will be on RAW tonight & we'll see our first back and forth, but Bray could probably carry this feud on his own until the last RAW before Mania and it'd still be top draw stuff.
Rusev v John Cena
Anyone who doesn't think Cena can't put a 5* Match on is kidding themselves. Anyone who thinks Rusev can't put a quality match on is kidding themselves. Both of these guys given their size are freak athletes- but there is absolutely 0 Chemistry between them. Their styles are perhaps a bit too similar, so rather than merging it just turned into them bouncing off of each other and not properly getting going. The final couple of minutes did pick up, but the "passing out" finish has been done too many times with regard to Rusev now in my opinion- and I think Rusev going crazy and beating Cena to within an inch of his life in turn causing a DQ would've been much more effective.
The Finish has of course left it open for the Mania rematch, with Cena most likely overcoming the odds etc. but I'm hoping it doesn't affect Rusev too much and if they build it right between tonight and Mania the loss shouldn't affect Rusev too much.
Roman Reigns v Daniel Bryan
This match was just so "meh", for a spot in the Wrestlemania Main Event I was expecting carnage- even the Spanish Announce Desk lived to tell the tale. I said just before the match started that this really needed a stipulation to get the wheels turning for this match because of Reigns' limited skill set, and I think I was proven right. Granted the crowd were dead pretty much all night, but the crowd didn't really get into the match and they didn't really give them much to cheer about. It was probably to make Roman Look Strong- but we didn't have many false-finishes and when we did it didn't really mean much.
The Mania Main Event is now set in stone it would seem, and god help Brock & Heyman trying to get this over to the crowd, but if anyone can Heyman can. It looks unfortunately like Rollins will end up fighting Jon Stewart for Mania- which'll leave it open for "DZvDB" which is the most likely scenario I can see for Mania now.
Thanks for reading as always, the PPV was just ridiculously underwhelming from my point of view- which is a reflection on the product as a whole. Anyway I'll still be watching RAW- god knows why, so that review will be up tommorow- Stay Tuned for that, and lets just pray it gets better.
Wolves v Fulham Preview: Up For the Fight?
Hello! We're here for yet another Preview, and we're headed to Molineux for the Second time this season- to face Wolves for the 4th time this season. So far we've had 2 Draws and a Loss within 90 Minutes against Wolves- and given the teams respective forms it'll take a minor miracle for us to level the scales with a win. Since our last win against Forest Wolves have picked up 2 Wins, 2 Draws and 2 Defeats but when you consider one of those losses was against the resurgent Norwich and then you look at the two wins they've picked up against Rotherham and Huddersfield in which they've torn them apart.
Contrast this with our League record since Forest of 2 Draws and 3 Losses scoring just 4 Goals in those 5 Games its hard to see a scenario where we leave Molineux not still on 36 Points. That said, if we get our team selection right and crucially get a more robust, perhaps defensive team on the pitch I think we could at the very least give Wolves a run for their money. With the congested run of fixtures we currently find ourselves in the middle of- rotation is key in my opinion and while we're likely to be on the end of a thrashing against Derby on the Weekend, the impetus should be on us to attack in that game given the fact we're the home team- meaning a defensive rotation should be coming in for tomorrows game.
Bettinelli continuing in goal is a given, his Clean Sheet at the weekend was his first in the League this side of Christmas so hopefully that'll give him a confidence boost because he's had a rough month or so with the goals he was at fault for against Bolton and Sunderland.
Kit's confirmed despite the statistic that we haven't won a game since we signed him that we're looking to extend the Jazz Richards Loan Deal. As such I can't see him being dropped in the near future, and will continue in the Back 4. I said it in my Millwall Review- the Hutchinson & Bodurov partnership is far from ideal, but I do think they redeemed themselves to an extent at the Weekend- with Bodurov in particular putting in a really good performance in my opinion. Stafylidis also looking infinitely better at the weekend than he has done recently- but it was against a team that didn't really put him under that much pressure; and Wolves will most definitely pull him in every single direction at the same time. As such I'd bring in Sean Kavanagh- who's far from an ideal candidate, but he's a lot calmer and aware and from a defensive standpoint that's what we need tomorrow.
The Midfield should also be seeing some rotation in my opinion. In my opinion Seko Fofana should be starting tomorrow, he's far from an ideal player for us but his energy is what we'll need tomorrow in my opinion- and his performance against Wolves in the Replay was definitely one of his best in a Fulham shirt. I'd bring him in for Tunnicliffe for tomorrows game- who's looked quite lethargic as of late. Tim Hoogland played 90 Minutes on Thursday, so perhaps it was a bit hasty to put him in the team for Saturday given his return to full fitness is still in its infancy- however he's had a couple more days to recover now and I'd be mindful of Scott Parker's fitness over the next 4 Games, as such I'd bring in Hoogland for the "Parker Role" of sitting in front of the Back 4. Christensen should continue in his midfield spot however, as I've highlighted in previous blogs it seems Fofana plays better when Christensen is starting in the team because of the type of players they are. I'm not sure what Bryan's fitness is like- but I'm going to assume he's going to restricted to the Sub role again tomorrow, meaning Kacaniklic starting in the #10 Role is pretty much a no-brainer.
I'd rest Hugo tomorrow, I'm mindful of the Woodrow double in the FA Cup Replay- and also considering the type of player we need at the minute. I like Hugo don't get me wrong, but we need to start getting a bit uglier in terms of our style of play in my opinion- especially in Away Games, which Hugo even on his best day isn't suited to. We'll have McCormack alongside him and hopefully the different dynamic will help to unlock the enigma that McCormack has become since Forest.
Team for Wolves
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Christensen, Hoogland, Fofana
Kacaniklic
Woodrow McCormack
As I've said from the outset, its highly unlikely we do end up getting something from tomorrows game; but I think the team I shown will give us a good balance between Common Sense and Energy with regard to the players involved. With the run of fixtures we have coming up from tomorrow onwards we're going to have to scratch and claw for every point- and we need to completely abandon the supposed "pretty" football and need to accept we aren't good enough to play possession football effectively.
Thanks for reading as always, the game tomorrow is the start of a horror run of fixtures for us- and with regard to our standing in the Relegation Battle it's largely out of our hands and we need to be reliant on other teams doing us a favour- specifically the teams facing Millwall. The Championship "Anyone can beat Anyone" mentality appears to have passed us by as of late, and we're very much in the Premier League mentality of beating the teams around us and chalking up facing the Top Teams to a learning curve with not much mind for a result. Anyway as I've said tomorrows game will be a battle from our perspective and we may come out on the wrong end of it- but if we really fight tomorrow we could pick something up. Unfortunately I have very little faith in Kit to motivate the players at the minute, but I hope to be proven wrong and it'll be a positive review tomorrow. Stay Tuned for that- and lets hope I'm wrong.
Contrast this with our League record since Forest of 2 Draws and 3 Losses scoring just 4 Goals in those 5 Games its hard to see a scenario where we leave Molineux not still on 36 Points. That said, if we get our team selection right and crucially get a more robust, perhaps defensive team on the pitch I think we could at the very least give Wolves a run for their money. With the congested run of fixtures we currently find ourselves in the middle of- rotation is key in my opinion and while we're likely to be on the end of a thrashing against Derby on the Weekend, the impetus should be on us to attack in that game given the fact we're the home team- meaning a defensive rotation should be coming in for tomorrows game.
Bettinelli continuing in goal is a given, his Clean Sheet at the weekend was his first in the League this side of Christmas so hopefully that'll give him a confidence boost because he's had a rough month or so with the goals he was at fault for against Bolton and Sunderland.
Kit's confirmed despite the statistic that we haven't won a game since we signed him that we're looking to extend the Jazz Richards Loan Deal. As such I can't see him being dropped in the near future, and will continue in the Back 4. I said it in my Millwall Review- the Hutchinson & Bodurov partnership is far from ideal, but I do think they redeemed themselves to an extent at the Weekend- with Bodurov in particular putting in a really good performance in my opinion. Stafylidis also looking infinitely better at the weekend than he has done recently- but it was against a team that didn't really put him under that much pressure; and Wolves will most definitely pull him in every single direction at the same time. As such I'd bring in Sean Kavanagh- who's far from an ideal candidate, but he's a lot calmer and aware and from a defensive standpoint that's what we need tomorrow.
The Midfield should also be seeing some rotation in my opinion. In my opinion Seko Fofana should be starting tomorrow, he's far from an ideal player for us but his energy is what we'll need tomorrow in my opinion- and his performance against Wolves in the Replay was definitely one of his best in a Fulham shirt. I'd bring him in for Tunnicliffe for tomorrows game- who's looked quite lethargic as of late. Tim Hoogland played 90 Minutes on Thursday, so perhaps it was a bit hasty to put him in the team for Saturday given his return to full fitness is still in its infancy- however he's had a couple more days to recover now and I'd be mindful of Scott Parker's fitness over the next 4 Games, as such I'd bring in Hoogland for the "Parker Role" of sitting in front of the Back 4. Christensen should continue in his midfield spot however, as I've highlighted in previous blogs it seems Fofana plays better when Christensen is starting in the team because of the type of players they are. I'm not sure what Bryan's fitness is like- but I'm going to assume he's going to restricted to the Sub role again tomorrow, meaning Kacaniklic starting in the #10 Role is pretty much a no-brainer.
I'd rest Hugo tomorrow, I'm mindful of the Woodrow double in the FA Cup Replay- and also considering the type of player we need at the minute. I like Hugo don't get me wrong, but we need to start getting a bit uglier in terms of our style of play in my opinion- especially in Away Games, which Hugo even on his best day isn't suited to. We'll have McCormack alongside him and hopefully the different dynamic will help to unlock the enigma that McCormack has become since Forest.
Team for Wolves
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Christensen, Hoogland, Fofana
Kacaniklic
Woodrow McCormack
As I've said from the outset, its highly unlikely we do end up getting something from tomorrows game; but I think the team I shown will give us a good balance between Common Sense and Energy with regard to the players involved. With the run of fixtures we have coming up from tomorrow onwards we're going to have to scratch and claw for every point- and we need to completely abandon the supposed "pretty" football and need to accept we aren't good enough to play possession football effectively.
Thanks for reading as always, the game tomorrow is the start of a horror run of fixtures for us- and with regard to our standing in the Relegation Battle it's largely out of our hands and we need to be reliant on other teams doing us a favour- specifically the teams facing Millwall. The Championship "Anyone can beat Anyone" mentality appears to have passed us by as of late, and we're very much in the Premier League mentality of beating the teams around us and chalking up facing the Top Teams to a learning curve with not much mind for a result. Anyway as I've said tomorrows game will be a battle from our perspective and we may come out on the wrong end of it- but if we really fight tomorrow we could pick something up. Unfortunately I have very little faith in Kit to motivate the players at the minute, but I hope to be proven wrong and it'll be a positive review tomorrow. Stay Tuned for that- and lets hope I'm wrong.
Sunday 22 February 2015
Fast Lane Predictions
Its WWE Fast Lane, which is on Oscar Night- one is a self-aggrandising spectacle used to satiate ego's- the other is the Oscars. Yes I'll be using that joke a lot.
This should be an interesting PPV, there are some good pairings in my opinion- and we could get some good matches. That said all of this will be for nothing if the outcome of the Main Event leads to another Nuclear reaction.
Anyway lets get predictin'.
As far as I'm aware the only thing slated for the Pre-Show is MizTV with Heyman so in turn there's no match to be predicted for- although I can see an impromptu match with Mizdow happening.
The Triple H, Sting stuff isn't a match- but its pretty clear what'll happen. HHH will come out and cut a promo- there'll be Sting related shenanigans, with him gaining control of the Arena Lights for the night with no Wyatt segment due (more later) with Sting in my opinion simply coming in- pointing to the Mania sign & then leaving. Simplicity will be the key to the success or failure of this segment.
The Uso's v Cesaro & Tyson Kidd- Tag Team Championship
The whole card is full of matches that could go either way- and this isn't an exception. On the one hand Cesaro & Kidd have been a breath of fresh air for the Tag Team Division (at least in my opinion). BUT I can't see them taking the belts off of The Uso's this close to Mania- as much as I would like it to happen so...
Winner: The Uso's
Nikki Bella v Paige- Divas Championship
This one is on balance one of the more straightforward ones. Similar to The Uso's I can't see the WWE taking the strap off of Nikki this close to Mania- but more so in Nikki's case because well, Cena. Unfortunately I can't see Nikki dropping the belt this side of Mania, however I can't see her having the belt for much longer after that- I have a really strange feeling Alicia Fox could be getting a Title Run soon as a transitional champion for one of Charlotte, Paige and Sasha Banks.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Goldust v Stardust
If you're following me on Twitter you'll know I've gone slightly left-field given Goldust has been on the receiving end of Stardust's Cosmic Wrath. But it is said Cosmic Wrath that'll mean Goldust picks up the win- via DQ in order to hold this angle over until Mania where Stardust, who I hope has reverted to Cody Rhodes by then will beat Goldust- who as a left-field shot I wish would wrestle as Dustin Rhodes in traditional trunks/tights.
Winner: Goldust via DQ
Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show v Dolph Ziggler, Ryback & Erick Rowan
The way I see this match- somebody is turning. The obvious thing to do given the build is to have another Big Show turn, with him turning on his team KO'ing both and leaving the other team to pick up the pinfall. While I haven't seen much to base this next statement off- I think WWE has more imagination than that- and I think we'll see Ziggler turning heel with Ryback being pinned. This will then through various circumstances give us a Throwaway Triple Threat at Mania- before a Heel Ziggler can move on to greater horizons (before they drop the ball on him again).
Winner: Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show
Bad News Barrett v Dean Ambrose- Intercontinental Championship
A lot of people are predicting Ambrose for this match, and while I understand why- I don't agree. I've said repeatedly with regard to the Titles that I can't see them changing the title holder this close to Mania. On balance this is the one of the three titles on the line that is most likely to change hands. I don't even know fully why I don't think Ambrose will lose to Bad News Barrett- call it the ridiculously one-sided build in Ambrose's favour.
Winner: Bad News Barrett
John Cena v Rusev
If you've noticed me putting the winner of each match first in my Match Title's (subtleties eh?) you might be groaning at this point- but its not what you think. I don't think we'll be seeing the Phenomenon known as Supercena making an appearance tonight, and I think Rusev will most definitely come out of the match looking the better of the two. I can see Rusev beating Cena to the point where he will get DQ'd, or a countout victory on Cena's part. This feud should in effect be the "What Should have been" between Cena & Bray last year, with Bray getting the memorable win at Mania- and Cena getting questionable wins either side so he's won on aggregate.
Winner: John Cena via DQ/Count Out
Roman Reigns v Daniel Bryan- #1 Contender Match
Now I've pointed out that "Putting the winner first" thing you're groaning even more now right? But again- its not what you think. This is a theory that 99% won't come true- BUT it would be gold on all levels in my opinion and get everyone where they need to be for the Mania build. I'll start by saying a Triple Threat is the most likely scenario now- I still think Roman will win, and depending on Brock's contract status they could turn it into an Elimination Triple-Threat and similar to Taz at Anarchy Rulz we'll have a new Champion guaranteed early on. Anyway how do we get to this scenario?
Remember when I said "more later" with regard to Bray Wyatt? Well... See where I'm going with this. We've had roughly a month of Promo's from Bray now- and I think he needs to have a presence at this PPV. Similar to the way Bray was reintroduced at Hell in a Cell and but it'll end the match in a Double DQ/No Contest. Everyone's Happy right? But as I've said- that isn't likely to happen, and I can see someone like Sheamus costing Bryan the match if they're going down the Reigns v Lesnar route. Or a basic No Contest, Both down for a 10 Count scenario- but my way is so much better right?
Winner: No Contest
I think this PPV could really deliver- but you should forgive me if I don't have much faith in WWE to deliver at the moment. Anyway, it remains to be seen- and I will approach it with an open mind. The fact its Free on Sky Sports 1 helps mind.
Thanks for reading as always, Unless this one completely lead balloons and doesn't get me 2 Reads this'll get me over the 2000 Mark viewership wise for February- so thanks to everyone who's been reading these, because its almost 6 Months to the day that I did my first Wrestling Blog- which coincidentally was also a PPV Prediction Blog. So as I said thank you for progressing my blog this far in such a short amount of time- I seriously wasn't expecting this to be anything more than an outlet. Its Oscar season, so if these types of blogs are Blockbusters trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible- one of my next blogs is going to be my Art-house project basically saying a lot more about me, and how I've come to wanting to write and Soccerball and indeed Wrasslin. So stay tuned for all of that- and I hope you join me on the Fast Lane (see what I did there) to Wrestlemania.
This should be an interesting PPV, there are some good pairings in my opinion- and we could get some good matches. That said all of this will be for nothing if the outcome of the Main Event leads to another Nuclear reaction.
Anyway lets get predictin'.
As far as I'm aware the only thing slated for the Pre-Show is MizTV with Heyman so in turn there's no match to be predicted for- although I can see an impromptu match with Mizdow happening.
The Triple H, Sting stuff isn't a match- but its pretty clear what'll happen. HHH will come out and cut a promo- there'll be Sting related shenanigans, with him gaining control of the Arena Lights for the night with no Wyatt segment due (more later) with Sting in my opinion simply coming in- pointing to the Mania sign & then leaving. Simplicity will be the key to the success or failure of this segment.
The Uso's v Cesaro & Tyson Kidd- Tag Team Championship
The whole card is full of matches that could go either way- and this isn't an exception. On the one hand Cesaro & Kidd have been a breath of fresh air for the Tag Team Division (at least in my opinion). BUT I can't see them taking the belts off of The Uso's this close to Mania- as much as I would like it to happen so...
Winner: The Uso's
Nikki Bella v Paige- Divas Championship
This one is on balance one of the more straightforward ones. Similar to The Uso's I can't see the WWE taking the strap off of Nikki this close to Mania- but more so in Nikki's case because well, Cena. Unfortunately I can't see Nikki dropping the belt this side of Mania, however I can't see her having the belt for much longer after that- I have a really strange feeling Alicia Fox could be getting a Title Run soon as a transitional champion for one of Charlotte, Paige and Sasha Banks.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Goldust v Stardust
If you're following me on Twitter you'll know I've gone slightly left-field given Goldust has been on the receiving end of Stardust's Cosmic Wrath. But it is said Cosmic Wrath that'll mean Goldust picks up the win- via DQ in order to hold this angle over until Mania where Stardust, who I hope has reverted to Cody Rhodes by then will beat Goldust- who as a left-field shot I wish would wrestle as Dustin Rhodes in traditional trunks/tights.
Winner: Goldust via DQ
Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show v Dolph Ziggler, Ryback & Erick Rowan
The way I see this match- somebody is turning. The obvious thing to do given the build is to have another Big Show turn, with him turning on his team KO'ing both and leaving the other team to pick up the pinfall. While I haven't seen much to base this next statement off- I think WWE has more imagination than that- and I think we'll see Ziggler turning heel with Ryback being pinned. This will then through various circumstances give us a Throwaway Triple Threat at Mania- before a Heel Ziggler can move on to greater horizons (before they drop the ball on him again).
Winner: Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show
Bad News Barrett v Dean Ambrose- Intercontinental Championship
A lot of people are predicting Ambrose for this match, and while I understand why- I don't agree. I've said repeatedly with regard to the Titles that I can't see them changing the title holder this close to Mania. On balance this is the one of the three titles on the line that is most likely to change hands. I don't even know fully why I don't think Ambrose will lose to Bad News Barrett- call it the ridiculously one-sided build in Ambrose's favour.
Winner: Bad News Barrett
John Cena v Rusev
If you've noticed me putting the winner of each match first in my Match Title's (subtleties eh?) you might be groaning at this point- but its not what you think. I don't think we'll be seeing the Phenomenon known as Supercena making an appearance tonight, and I think Rusev will most definitely come out of the match looking the better of the two. I can see Rusev beating Cena to the point where he will get DQ'd, or a countout victory on Cena's part. This feud should in effect be the "What Should have been" between Cena & Bray last year, with Bray getting the memorable win at Mania- and Cena getting questionable wins either side so he's won on aggregate.
Winner: John Cena via DQ/Count Out
Roman Reigns v Daniel Bryan- #1 Contender Match
Now I've pointed out that "Putting the winner first" thing you're groaning even more now right? But again- its not what you think. This is a theory that 99% won't come true- BUT it would be gold on all levels in my opinion and get everyone where they need to be for the Mania build. I'll start by saying a Triple Threat is the most likely scenario now- I still think Roman will win, and depending on Brock's contract status they could turn it into an Elimination Triple-Threat and similar to Taz at Anarchy Rulz we'll have a new Champion guaranteed early on. Anyway how do we get to this scenario?
Remember when I said "more later" with regard to Bray Wyatt? Well... See where I'm going with this. We've had roughly a month of Promo's from Bray now- and I think he needs to have a presence at this PPV. Similar to the way Bray was reintroduced at Hell in a Cell and but it'll end the match in a Double DQ/No Contest. Everyone's Happy right? But as I've said- that isn't likely to happen, and I can see someone like Sheamus costing Bryan the match if they're going down the Reigns v Lesnar route. Or a basic No Contest, Both down for a 10 Count scenario- but my way is so much better right?
Winner: No Contest
I think this PPV could really deliver- but you should forgive me if I don't have much faith in WWE to deliver at the moment. Anyway, it remains to be seen- and I will approach it with an open mind. The fact its Free on Sky Sports 1 helps mind.
Thanks for reading as always, Unless this one completely lead balloons and doesn't get me 2 Reads this'll get me over the 2000 Mark viewership wise for February- so thanks to everyone who's been reading these, because its almost 6 Months to the day that I did my first Wrestling Blog- which coincidentally was also a PPV Prediction Blog. So as I said thank you for progressing my blog this far in such a short amount of time- I seriously wasn't expecting this to be anything more than an outlet. Its Oscar season, so if these types of blogs are Blockbusters trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible- one of my next blogs is going to be my Art-house project basically saying a lot more about me, and how I've come to wanting to write and Soccerball and indeed Wrasslin. So stay tuned for all of that- and I hope you join me on the Fast Lane (see what I did there) to Wrestlemania.
Saturday 21 February 2015
Millwall v Fulham Review: Whole Lotta Nothing
I've already had one blog this season titled "The Definition of Meh" or that'd be going up in lights off the back of todays game. Today's game was really strange- in that there was a lot of endeavour from both sides, not just Fulham; but the lack of an end product on both sides was evident and went a long way to explaining the predicaments both teams are presently in.
There wasn't any goals to speak of, so prepare yourselves for some absolutely brilliant and insightful insight. We went into this game with a 5 Point gap separating us and Millwall in the "Top" Relegation Spot- and it was vital we kept that gap as a bare minimum, had we not I think Kit would've been sacked on the spot. The results today were far from ideal with Brighton winning- but the Rotherham thrashing at the hands of Wolves has aided our cause but more importantly we've kept that 5 Point Gap. Understandably some people are panicking, with "Wolves" and "Back to Back Relegations" being the key terms being banded around at the minute- I'm not quite on that boat, but with 4 Games in a row coming up where we don't have a hope of picking up points unless things start to change its not looking very good. That said Millwall are a very poor team and (trying my best not to jinx it) I can't see them making up that 5 Point gap in the next 4 Games (Sheff. Wednesday, H- Rotherham, A- Middlesborough, A- Norwich, H). This doesn't reflect well on us, but Millwall are looking pretty bad at the minute- their team simply doesn't like being able to score goals, and teams like Middlesborough and Norwich in particular should be able to systematically dismantle them. To put it succinctly- Between Blackpool, Wigan, Millwall and Rotherham we may have found teams bad enough to keep us in the Division- because we sure as hell don't look like doing it off our own backs.
Anyway onto other matters, like the game today- that is the point of this blog right?
Bettinelli had a largely indifferent game, but that was good from my point of view. I said in my Preview Bettinelli's confidence will be key to picking up any kind of points in our tricky run of games so from a Bettinelli perspective I'm happy.
Today's game was our first Clean Sheet in the League this side of Christmas, so naturally there'll be some praise for the defence. But as I've already said- Millwall didn't really look like scoring with the clear cut chance being messed up by Lee Gregory and Ricardo Fuller managing to volley over a two-tiered stand summing up Millwall's attacking prowess. That said with the number of crosses Millwall were pumping in- especially in the first half our Centre-Backs coped really well given their lack of height. This game if we were going to reintroduce Dan Burn was tailor made for him; so as far as I'm concerned until Amorebieta is back in the team the partnership of Bodurov & Hutchinson should be staying in place- as I've already said Millwall were toothless- but with that in mind I thought Bodurov who' come in for some criticism as of late had a really solid defensive display. I was a bit miffed that Stafylidis kept his place at Left-Back in the team after the horror show last week but there was definitely a marked improvement, and while the Rodallega goal was disallowed it would seem Stafylidis finally has his sighters in with regard to crossing. Richards had an indifferent game, but from a defensive standpoint indifference isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The current starting midfield is completely devoid of ideas and looks really stagnant. Christensen could have arguably converted a chance at around the 75-80 minute mark when Bryan set him up, and before Christmas I think he would have. That said Christensen did look a lot better than he has in some games recently, so perhaps he's on the right track after taking a while to get back on the rails after he was rushed back for in the grand scheme of things a meaningless FA Cup game. Parker is definitely key to the team, and today has proven it- with the exception of Bryan he's the only one who brings a calming influence to the team and while that isn't ideal when you're chasing a game as I've already said the priority was must not lose today so while it could have been different had Gregory converted his chance Parker's role was good today. Tunnicliffe is such a varied player, and today his performance fell under the indifferent category- although that is a fair reflection on the game as a whole. Kacaniklic was another indifferent player, he did look pretty good on the counter- and the trio of Kaca, McCormack and Hugo does look dangerous; but we just looked like we were lacking something from a Midfield perspective until Bryan came on and added the extra bit of quality he brings to the team.
When McCormack scored his Hat-Trick against Forest I thought he'd kick on and start scoring regualrly- adding to his game. Instead he's regressed immensely from my point of view- and he's had a string of indifferent games; and he's popped up with two goals since Forest, but both of those were gimme's- and I hope we shake something up with regard to McCormack because we've seen what he's capable of. Rodallega was a strange one today, the offside decision today was marginal at best- I thought he was on; and in Kit's Post Match Press-Conference he said it was the wrong decision- and presumably he's seen it from a "TV" angle. That said, we did look really toothless from an offensive standpoint across all areas- but I hold Hugo the least culpable because its not his job to fashion chances as much as it is to convert them.
The subs we made were good for a change. as I've already said Bryan coming on added the extra bit of quality the midfield was lacking prior; and we definitely looked more likely to make things happen and it isn't a coincidence we had our best offensive spell of the game once Bryan came on. The Fofana sub annoyed the hell out of me, I wasn't against the sub; but I felt the game last week needed Fofana coming on more than Roberts- and while Roberts was a far from ideal sub his pace and undoubted ability to aimlessly dribble which draws defenders would have perhaps given us the extra yard of space we needed.
The result of todays game was far from ideal, and the selection today surprised me because of the lack of changes- that said if we don't make any changes for Wolves on Tuesday I think Kit will be in a straitjacket by the end of the night.
Thanks for reading as always, You have to assume Bryan will be slotted into the first team soon enough- and while its far from likely we'll pick up points in our next 4 games; to give us the best chance we need to be starting him. Anyway thats for another day- I'll be back on in the build to the Wolves game, stay tuned for that and have a good weekend.
There wasn't any goals to speak of, so prepare yourselves for some absolutely brilliant and insightful insight. We went into this game with a 5 Point gap separating us and Millwall in the "Top" Relegation Spot- and it was vital we kept that gap as a bare minimum, had we not I think Kit would've been sacked on the spot. The results today were far from ideal with Brighton winning- but the Rotherham thrashing at the hands of Wolves has aided our cause but more importantly we've kept that 5 Point Gap. Understandably some people are panicking, with "Wolves" and "Back to Back Relegations" being the key terms being banded around at the minute- I'm not quite on that boat, but with 4 Games in a row coming up where we don't have a hope of picking up points unless things start to change its not looking very good. That said Millwall are a very poor team and (trying my best not to jinx it) I can't see them making up that 5 Point gap in the next 4 Games (Sheff. Wednesday, H- Rotherham, A- Middlesborough, A- Norwich, H). This doesn't reflect well on us, but Millwall are looking pretty bad at the minute- their team simply doesn't like being able to score goals, and teams like Middlesborough and Norwich in particular should be able to systematically dismantle them. To put it succinctly- Between Blackpool, Wigan, Millwall and Rotherham we may have found teams bad enough to keep us in the Division- because we sure as hell don't look like doing it off our own backs.
Anyway onto other matters, like the game today- that is the point of this blog right?
Bettinelli had a largely indifferent game, but that was good from my point of view. I said in my Preview Bettinelli's confidence will be key to picking up any kind of points in our tricky run of games so from a Bettinelli perspective I'm happy.
Today's game was our first Clean Sheet in the League this side of Christmas, so naturally there'll be some praise for the defence. But as I've already said- Millwall didn't really look like scoring with the clear cut chance being messed up by Lee Gregory and Ricardo Fuller managing to volley over a two-tiered stand summing up Millwall's attacking prowess. That said with the number of crosses Millwall were pumping in- especially in the first half our Centre-Backs coped really well given their lack of height. This game if we were going to reintroduce Dan Burn was tailor made for him; so as far as I'm concerned until Amorebieta is back in the team the partnership of Bodurov & Hutchinson should be staying in place- as I've already said Millwall were toothless- but with that in mind I thought Bodurov who' come in for some criticism as of late had a really solid defensive display. I was a bit miffed that Stafylidis kept his place at Left-Back in the team after the horror show last week but there was definitely a marked improvement, and while the Rodallega goal was disallowed it would seem Stafylidis finally has his sighters in with regard to crossing. Richards had an indifferent game, but from a defensive standpoint indifference isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The current starting midfield is completely devoid of ideas and looks really stagnant. Christensen could have arguably converted a chance at around the 75-80 minute mark when Bryan set him up, and before Christmas I think he would have. That said Christensen did look a lot better than he has in some games recently, so perhaps he's on the right track after taking a while to get back on the rails after he was rushed back for in the grand scheme of things a meaningless FA Cup game. Parker is definitely key to the team, and today has proven it- with the exception of Bryan he's the only one who brings a calming influence to the team and while that isn't ideal when you're chasing a game as I've already said the priority was must not lose today so while it could have been different had Gregory converted his chance Parker's role was good today. Tunnicliffe is such a varied player, and today his performance fell under the indifferent category- although that is a fair reflection on the game as a whole. Kacaniklic was another indifferent player, he did look pretty good on the counter- and the trio of Kaca, McCormack and Hugo does look dangerous; but we just looked like we were lacking something from a Midfield perspective until Bryan came on and added the extra bit of quality he brings to the team.
When McCormack scored his Hat-Trick against Forest I thought he'd kick on and start scoring regualrly- adding to his game. Instead he's regressed immensely from my point of view- and he's had a string of indifferent games; and he's popped up with two goals since Forest, but both of those were gimme's- and I hope we shake something up with regard to McCormack because we've seen what he's capable of. Rodallega was a strange one today, the offside decision today was marginal at best- I thought he was on; and in Kit's Post Match Press-Conference he said it was the wrong decision- and presumably he's seen it from a "TV" angle. That said, we did look really toothless from an offensive standpoint across all areas- but I hold Hugo the least culpable because its not his job to fashion chances as much as it is to convert them.
The subs we made were good for a change. as I've already said Bryan coming on added the extra bit of quality the midfield was lacking prior; and we definitely looked more likely to make things happen and it isn't a coincidence we had our best offensive spell of the game once Bryan came on. The Fofana sub annoyed the hell out of me, I wasn't against the sub; but I felt the game last week needed Fofana coming on more than Roberts- and while Roberts was a far from ideal sub his pace and undoubted ability to aimlessly dribble which draws defenders would have perhaps given us the extra yard of space we needed.
The result of todays game was far from ideal, and the selection today surprised me because of the lack of changes- that said if we don't make any changes for Wolves on Tuesday I think Kit will be in a straitjacket by the end of the night.
Thanks for reading as always, You have to assume Bryan will be slotted into the first team soon enough- and while its far from likely we'll pick up points in our next 4 games; to give us the best chance we need to be starting him. Anyway thats for another day- I'll be back on in the build to the Wolves game, stay tuned for that and have a good weekend.
Friday 20 February 2015
Millwall v Fulham Preview: Must. Not. Lose
Hello! We're here for another game- and this one is vital from a Fulham perspective. I'd say we're on the periphery with regard to the relegation battle at the minute, while we're 19th which would appear to be an insecure position the 5 Point Gap we have is a large one when you consider the fact the teams below us aren't there by chance and have picked up points across the whole season quite infrequently. That said, if we lose to Millwall the worst case scenario is we're 2 Points above the Relegation Zone- and on a bad run of form, and the best case is if Brighton lost meaning we'd be 4 above; but Brighton will pickup more points than Millwall between now and the end of the season in my opinion. One good thing that has come from Today is Charlton have comfortably beaten Wigan after Wigan's midweek exploits confirming they're not putting a run together- yet.
Now onto the game today, and as I've said while the game is must not lose- we really should be trying to win the game given all of the stats surrounding Millwall's home form, and form in general. Also judging from comments I've seen from Millwall fans with regard to the their lack of width could mean we won't look completely out of our depth when we play the Diamond; I've already given you my opinions with regard to Tactics here http://t.co/Jthqz0byvs and unless I see an indication Kit is going to change from the Diamond I'm going to stick to it in these Previews.
Of course Bettinelli will continue in goal- while he conceded against Ipswich I thought he had a pretty good game all-in-all and I think tomorrow is as good a chance as any to get him his first Clean Sheet since Sunderland (1)- and with the string of games we have coming up after it Bettinelli's confidence and assured-ness could be key to getting a very limited number of points we realistically can get in the 4 games coming up after tomorrows game.
The defensive selection is still relatively straightforward in my opinion, while Jack Grimmer started against Bolton- Richards came back in for Ipswich and with Kit saying we're looking into extending his loan from my point of view that was basically an admission that Richards is going to continue at Right-Back. Despite the Hutchinson head injury against Ipswich he's fine as per Kit's Press Conference, and while its far from ideal; Fernando Amorebieta is a bit of a way off yet, and I don't trust Dan Burn in a 2 Centre-Back formation when there isn't a really solid player to play next to him. This means for the time being I'd persist with the Bodurov & Hutchinson partnership. While there wasn't anything said of him in the Press Conference I'm working under the assumption Sean Kavanagh is fit given the injury he had and the time thats elapsed since that injury- and after Stafylidis' diabolical display against Ipswich if Kavanagh isn't fit, I'd just pull someone out of the crowd to play Left-Back.
As you'll know if you read my "What Needs Changing" blog I see Tim Hoogland as a midfielder and judging from Kits presser he is at least pretty close to Full-Fitness now and will most likely come in in my opinion because Kit will want to shake the midfield up in my opinion given how stagnant its looked since Forest. As I've said- I'm working under the assumption we're sticking to the diamond, and I can't see up dropping Parker; and if as I think Hoogland is coming in there's one midfield spot in the three- and that should go to Kacaniklic in my opinion. Hoogland and Parker is quite defensive, this means I have more confidence in giving Kacaniklic a bit of free reign while being part of the Midfield Three- and being a bit further back should mean Kacaniklic finds himself in more space. The player in the #10 Role should be the easiest selection all year- with Bryan Ruiz, the god, the messiah coming in to save us.
If Bryan's fitness isn't quite there yet- and given he's had a bug this week that wouldn't surprise me I'd push Kaca up to the #10 Role and bring in Stafylidis to play in the Midfield three- because while from a defensive standpoint he leaves a lot to be desired its not like he offers nothing to the team.
The striking situation is still straightforward in my opinion with McCormack and Hugo continuing up front. As you'll know from my "What Needs Changing" blog if it were fully up to me I'd be pushing McCormack out on the Left- but with the diamond likely to continue that isn't likely for the time being. Hugo is such an interesting player from my point of view- and while he's far from the perfect player he still more than merits his place in the team, and especially against the supposed "lesser" teams Hugo will be key for us, because we will create chances- and we need someone to convert them.
Team for Millwall
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Parker, Hoogland, Kacaniklic
Bryan
McCormack Rodallega
Alternative Selection (Bryans Fitness)
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Parker, Hoogland, Stafyldis
Kacaniklic
McCormack Rodallega
As I've already said, this game is arguably our most important of the season now- given the situation we're in. An 8 Point cushion, while its not likely to last with the 4 Games we have coming up, is a sizable cushion to have and it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances for an 8 Point gap to be overturned when there's just 12 Points available. On the other hand a 2 Point Gap will be made up in that 4 Games period without a shadow of a doubt- and should we lose tomorrow we'll be in a situation where we're low on confidence headed into the difficult run of games; and in my opinion could mean the end of Kit's tenure as manager- much in the way Rene Meulensteen was disposed of around this time last year.
Thanks for reading as always, and apologies for this being up later than usual; but I hope you still enjoyed reading- and as always feedback is appreciated. All I can say is I hope I'm doing my review tomorrow happy, because if I'm not a rant will be imminent- so if we lose retreat to the bunkers until the sirens have ceased- but lets hope it doesn't come to that.
Now onto the game today, and as I've said while the game is must not lose- we really should be trying to win the game given all of the stats surrounding Millwall's home form, and form in general. Also judging from comments I've seen from Millwall fans with regard to the their lack of width could mean we won't look completely out of our depth when we play the Diamond; I've already given you my opinions with regard to Tactics here http://t.co/Jthqz0byvs and unless I see an indication Kit is going to change from the Diamond I'm going to stick to it in these Previews.
Of course Bettinelli will continue in goal- while he conceded against Ipswich I thought he had a pretty good game all-in-all and I think tomorrow is as good a chance as any to get him his first Clean Sheet since Sunderland (1)- and with the string of games we have coming up after it Bettinelli's confidence and assured-ness could be key to getting a very limited number of points we realistically can get in the 4 games coming up after tomorrows game.
The defensive selection is still relatively straightforward in my opinion, while Jack Grimmer started against Bolton- Richards came back in for Ipswich and with Kit saying we're looking into extending his loan from my point of view that was basically an admission that Richards is going to continue at Right-Back. Despite the Hutchinson head injury against Ipswich he's fine as per Kit's Press Conference, and while its far from ideal; Fernando Amorebieta is a bit of a way off yet, and I don't trust Dan Burn in a 2 Centre-Back formation when there isn't a really solid player to play next to him. This means for the time being I'd persist with the Bodurov & Hutchinson partnership. While there wasn't anything said of him in the Press Conference I'm working under the assumption Sean Kavanagh is fit given the injury he had and the time thats elapsed since that injury- and after Stafylidis' diabolical display against Ipswich if Kavanagh isn't fit, I'd just pull someone out of the crowd to play Left-Back.
As you'll know if you read my "What Needs Changing" blog I see Tim Hoogland as a midfielder and judging from Kits presser he is at least pretty close to Full-Fitness now and will most likely come in in my opinion because Kit will want to shake the midfield up in my opinion given how stagnant its looked since Forest. As I've said- I'm working under the assumption we're sticking to the diamond, and I can't see up dropping Parker; and if as I think Hoogland is coming in there's one midfield spot in the three- and that should go to Kacaniklic in my opinion. Hoogland and Parker is quite defensive, this means I have more confidence in giving Kacaniklic a bit of free reign while being part of the Midfield Three- and being a bit further back should mean Kacaniklic finds himself in more space. The player in the #10 Role should be the easiest selection all year- with Bryan Ruiz, the god, the messiah coming in to save us.
If Bryan's fitness isn't quite there yet- and given he's had a bug this week that wouldn't surprise me I'd push Kaca up to the #10 Role and bring in Stafylidis to play in the Midfield three- because while from a defensive standpoint he leaves a lot to be desired its not like he offers nothing to the team.
The striking situation is still straightforward in my opinion with McCormack and Hugo continuing up front. As you'll know from my "What Needs Changing" blog if it were fully up to me I'd be pushing McCormack out on the Left- but with the diamond likely to continue that isn't likely for the time being. Hugo is such an interesting player from my point of view- and while he's far from the perfect player he still more than merits his place in the team, and especially against the supposed "lesser" teams Hugo will be key for us, because we will create chances- and we need someone to convert them.
Team for Millwall
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Parker, Hoogland, Kacaniklic
Bryan
McCormack Rodallega
Alternative Selection (Bryans Fitness)
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Parker, Hoogland, Stafyldis
Kacaniklic
McCormack Rodallega
As I've already said, this game is arguably our most important of the season now- given the situation we're in. An 8 Point cushion, while its not likely to last with the 4 Games we have coming up, is a sizable cushion to have and it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances for an 8 Point gap to be overturned when there's just 12 Points available. On the other hand a 2 Point Gap will be made up in that 4 Games period without a shadow of a doubt- and should we lose tomorrow we'll be in a situation where we're low on confidence headed into the difficult run of games; and in my opinion could mean the end of Kit's tenure as manager- much in the way Rene Meulensteen was disposed of around this time last year.
Thanks for reading as always, and apologies for this being up later than usual; but I hope you still enjoyed reading- and as always feedback is appreciated. All I can say is I hope I'm doing my review tomorrow happy, because if I'm not a rant will be imminent- so if we lose retreat to the bunkers until the sirens have ceased- but lets hope it doesn't come to that.
Tuesday 17 February 2015
RAW Review- 16th February
Hello! We're here for another RAW Review, and it was the last RAW before Fast Lane, so this was WWE's last opportunity to entice people to watch the PPV at no cost whatsoever. For once this RAW review will actually be new for everyone because I didn't put down my thoughts on Twitter last night in favour of being a Roman Reigns mark and saying I Am Groot in about 50 Different languages- so for once I don't have the frame for my Review, so this'll be fun.
John Cena, Rusev w/ Lana Promo
The Cena Promo was- well a Cena Promo, although there was a distinct lack of Chumbawamba which was very disappointing. I do like the crux of the Cena promo was centered around the US Title, between the way they've had Ambrose chase Barrett and Cena going after Rusev they're really elevating the "secondary" belts- its taken over a year for them to realise the secondary belts need to mean something now there's only 1 Main Belt. You do have to respect the resolve of the Cena haters to boo on cue. The Lana promo was good- if not a bit generic, but it still got the message across and sold the feud well from a Heel perspective. I don't have a problem with Cena looking strong on RAW- provided Rusev looks strong (not wins via a demon child after taking out a whole destructive faction). I wouldn't even mind if Cena wins on Sunday as long as Rusev kills him for 19:57 of a 20:00 match.
Dean Ambrose- Newsreader
This was quite funny, I'd have had him do "DNZ" and had him report on ridiculous "news" in a matter of fact tone before he got the part with BNB, the contract etc.- but thats just me.
Dean Ambrose v Luke Harper
I thought this match was really good. One good thing from a fans point of view is that Ambrose's perceived lack of a major push at the minute has lead to him being paired with a lot of the guys who also deserve better- and they're wrestling matches to prove that point. Considering in the grand scheme of things it was a nothing match I thought it was handled really well- and really delivered. Again in a Fantasy Booking scenario I'd have had Ambrose get DQ'd by repeatedly hitting Harper with the IC Title contract, especially with what happened later on making him look the better of the two anyway.
Triple H, Kane & Big Show Backstage Promo
MAY 19TH, MAY 19TH.
Bray Wyatt (Part 1)
This was like the opening chapter of the story, this part was very cryptic- but I think it was meant to be given although we didn't know it at the time we were getting two more parts to the Promo- and everything became clearer.
Goldust, Stardust & Polkadust Backstage Segment
We all knew the family reconciliation thing wasn't going to last- but they did a decent enough job selling the reconcile at the time.
The New Day v The Dusts
The New Day are frustrating me, because Woods & Kingston in particular are capable of so much more than what they're currently doing- and there matches are becoming quite stagnant. The same can be said for The Dusts- but at least it seems they're going somewhere now. Stardust doing the Cross Rhodes was a nice touch- because we'll be seeing little parts of Cody Rhodes being filtered through in the next few weeks, it wouldn't surprise me to see him win a match via a Disaster Kick soon.
Roman Reigns Promo
Ugh.
Roman Reigns v Kane
I'm not exactly sure why they felt the need to protect Kane by giving Roman the count-out victory, but there we go. The many "Yes" chants were just a bit annoying in my opinion- it was just quite annoying, and although he'll never admit it; it wouldn't surprise me if he was sending a message to Vince about the standard of Roman matches. The dueling "You Can't Wrestle, Yes He Can" chants were pretty funny, and it'll probably turn into the new "Lets Go Cena, Cena Sucks".
Bray Wyatt (Part 2)
The Hammer part of the promo was the middle chapter- and just set the whole thing up for the finale.
Paige v Summer Rae
The Bellas have resorted to even more childish antics in order to let them be taken seriously. Between the Fake Tan spraying and putting Itching Powder in her clothes they stole her clothes. This lead the absolute hilarity of Paige having to wrestle in a Fairy costume- the banter levels were off the charts. How coincidental was it the Rosebud also wore Doc Martens by the way? The match was alright- it wasn't anything special, but it was a main roster Divas match so I don't know what else was expected. The promo's after were formulaic and did the job- nothing more, nothing less.
Dolph Ziggler v Seth Rollins
Ah isn't it funny when they do inside jokes in promos? The Rollins promo was quite good in all honesty- the emphasis on the people poking into his business was as close to Rollins acknowledging what happened in the last week. The match was pretty good as well, if they were going to go for the DQ Finish I would have rather J&J came in after a Fame-asser or a Superkick to give you the "Dolph could have won" as opposed to "Dolph was going to win". I said the match was pretty good- but given who was involved is that really a surprise? J&J are the perfect foils for Rollins, because of their size they're perfect to take the beatings from Ryback & Rowan- and while it isn't locked in; if Bryan does show up in the Reigns v Lesnar mix it would appear they're angling toward a 6-Man for Mania. I would have preferred they had Rollins or Dolph win the Andre Battle Royal- but thats just me.
Triple H, Ric Flair Promo
It was Ric Flair coming out to warn Terra Ryzing about Sting- in 2015, PROGRESS. I'm going to preface this by saying I understand why they did what they did, but they need to slow it down a bit, they've already brought out one of/if not Stings greatest rival and we're still over a month away from Mania, I just hope they're not letting the horse bolt too early which'll make the feud become stagnant before we even get to Mania. We've already seen HHH flip the switch so to speak when he turned on Flair- and we haven't even had the match being officially made yet.
Darren Young & Norv Fernum (I Wish) v The Ascension
The jobber guy actually had a decent look, and he took the beating pretty well in all fairness so I hope he's down in the performance center. The Primetime Players coming back is welcome to me, we're on the brink of losing The Dusts- and I've always thought the PTP never really got a fair crack with all the AW Stuff, and seemingly every PPV everyone would be saying this is the time the PTP will win the belts- and they lost to Team Hell No predominantly every single time. I'm not really sure where The Ascension are on the pecking order with regard to the PTP- but I hope they aren't tossed aside because with their age it would be hard for them to rebuild fully before they're "past it".
Bad News Barrett v Mizdow
The many different ways to distract Mizdow are starting to wear thin, and while they could stretch this out until Mania I'm not sure where they'd be able to fit it in all honesty- the Dusts feud has more traction, and more legs in terms of a feud in my opinion; and then if you look at what I think looks like the current card of Bryan v Reigns v Lesnar, Wyatt v Taker, Sting v HHH, Cody Rhodes v Goldust (I Hope he's Dustin Rhodes), Rollins & J&J v Dolph, Rowan and Ryback, Token Divas Match, Presumably something with The Uso's and maybe the Andre Battle Royal. Even if they were to take this feud through until Mania it would get an infinitesimal amount of time and wouldn't give us a good payoff.
50 Shades of Ambrose
This was really funny in a bizarre way, the way BNB sold it made the segment in my opinion. Not to take away from Ambrose because he's one of very few who could actually make the segment work without it being cheesy/rapey. Although it fits his character- didn't Miz say he would help BNB, while this could lead to something I highly doubt it, and it'll join the many loose ends WWE have yet to tie up.
Naomi & Whatever Uso wanted his turn with her this week v Tyson Kidd & Natalya
So this whole feud stemmed from a double date- by the way Cesaro as a wingman would be heavenly. Kidd hiding behind Natalya is glorious, although it would never happen in a million years I'd love Cesaro to start running interference in Nattie's matches and start swinging Naomi.
I Can't remember exactly when the third part of the Wyatt Promo's were, so here's that. For those of you who've seen "The Prestige" you'll know what I'm talking about here- and for those of you that haven't, what are you doing with your lives?! There's three parts to a magic trick, The Pledge, The Turn & The Prestige-and these three promos followed that formula- as did the film itself. It culminating with Bray banging a nail into a proverbial coffin gave us the biggest hint yet at The Undertaker- but it can also be interpreted as Bray opening Pandoras Box.
Big Show v Daniel Bryan
Roman was a lot more creative in his distraction techniques you have to say, I'm not sure how much of it was a work with regard to who was positioned around ringside for him to sign stuff etc. but it was still pretty funny from my point of view to see the people in the background looking on enviously. Its these types of matches that make you fully understand when people say working Big Show, Kane etc. is easy, the match never really got out of 1st Gear, but like with the Kane match I'm not sure why they felt the need to protect Big Show by giving him the DQ win.
Reigns, Bryan Brawl
This really sold the match in my opinion. I saw some people who are supposed experts saying "Don't give them too much now"- but the PPV is for free anyway, so why wait and give them a reason to tune in on Sunday much in the way they should do in a TV Scenario. Anyway, what do I know right?
Thanks for reading as always, as I said before I didn't have the frame for this review- so if I was rambling in places let me know. Anyway, I'll be back with the Wrasslin in preparation for Fast Lane, so stay tuned for those predictions and all of that other good stuff. I know this was a longer than usual review- but WWE gave us so many segments to contend with.
Sunday 15 February 2015
Fulham- What Needs Changing?
Its a simple question, and one that needs answering sooner rather than later with our next 5 Games being tricky for different reasons. Possibly the most vital is the Millwall game we have coming up next week- because it could open up an 8 Point gap between us and the Relegation Zone, or it could suck us right into it with a 2 Point Gap.
The fact is, with the exception of the First Half against Forest we simply haven't been good enough since Christmas. The way I see it we have three key areas we need to vastly improve in- Defence, Midfield and Attack. Its more frustrating than anything to see how we've regressed as a team since Christmas- and we've fallen into the same trap we did under "him" with trying to play ridiculously fancy football, but having no end product to show for it. I'd rather we had 25% possession and won, than had 65% possession and lost- as I'm sure every single person associated with Fulham apart from Kit would agree with.
The facts are what the facts are, and the Diamond simply doesn't work for us- other teams have cottoned on to how we play and have realised there's very little protection for the Full-Backs and have exploited that. You only have to look at how players like Saidy Janko have had field days against us to see this. As such I think we need to go to a traditional "4-4" formation to give the Full-Backs some protection- that with respect, they need. The current back-line needs breaking up as soon as possible, Stafylidis, Bodurov, Hutchinson, ? is getting more leaky as every game goes on, and more holes are starting to be exposed. I still rate Bodurov as our best Defender despite having a rough couple of weeks- as such I'd be keeping him in the team. While Hutchinson has improved vastly, he's not calm enough in my opinion- especially when we have relatively inexperienced Full-Backs. I'm not sure how far off Fernando Amorebieta is from a First Team Return- but when he does, I'd bring him in as our Left-Sided Centre-Back with Bodurov playing on the Right. I don't see much value in keeping Stafyldis at Left-Back because to put it bluntly from a defensive standpoint his performances are too varied, this would mean Sean Kavanagh coming in at Left-Back and he'll be a lot more solid defensively.
As I've already said, In my opinion we should be going for traditional "4-4" formation- and that means playing with a Right-Winger and a Left-Winger. The Right-Winger should be Kacaniklic in my opinion, I think we've slowly progressed him into a Right-Sided player since his return from Loan, and with him cutting in on his Left Foot. The Left-Winger is more interesting from my Point of View- and it'll be solely dependant on who we're playing. In the immediate term- i.e. Millwall, I'd be playing McCormack as a Left-Mid. While thats far from ideal from a selection point of view, his Work Rate means he can be suited to the role- and I think his offensive talents will be able to shine through coming off the wing, because with the other selections I think he'll get more space. Scott Parker is a limited midfielder- make no mistake about it, that said he is still a quality player- and more than deserves his place in the team. The other Central-Midfielder is another interesting debate. I'm not sure what Tim Hoogland's fitness is like, but I can only assume given he was being touted as close to a return before Ipswich- and with another week passing; especially in the Midfield Enforcer role I'd be having him play I think he'd be good for 60 minutes. This will mean dropping Lasse Vigen Christensen- and while anybody who reads these blogs will know I'm a big fan of LVC he hasn't been good enough since he's come back into the team in my opinion.
I personally think we should be playing a 4-4-1-1, this'll mean Bryan Ruiz coming in and playing behind the Striker. This is the role he plays for Costa Rica and its a role we know he can flourish in, in a Fulham shirt as well- you only have to look at the Midfield we were playing at the back end of the 11/12 season of Duff, Diarra, Dembele, Kacaniklic; Bryan in the 4-4-1-1. In my opinion- and I think even the most hardened of Bryan detractors have to admit this by now, Bryan is key to the success or failure of the team- therefore we should build our team around him, because getting the best out of him will be getting the best out of the team. The Striker playing in front of Bryan is pretty straightforward- with Rodallega coming in.
Team (1)- 4-4-1-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Kavanagh
Kacaniklic, Hoogland, Parker, McCormack
Bryan
Rodallega
This formation can easily be converted into a 4-2-3-1.
Team (2)- 4-2-3-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Kavanagh
Hoogland, Parker
Kacaniklic, Bryan, McCormack
Rodallega
If Bryan's fitness isn't quite there yet- this selection gets even more straightforward in my opinion.
Team (3)- 4-4-1-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Kavanagh
Kacaniklic, Hoogland, Parker, Stafylidis
McCormack
Rodallega
However, key to Championship success is being able to rotate- and having different options. For example if we are going to go more defensive I'd be playing this;
Team (4)- 4-4-1-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Kavanagh
Tunnicliffe, Hoogland, Parker, Stafylidis
Bryan
McCormack
and then if we wanted to go more offensive we could change the 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 into a 4-3-3 with Kacaniklic and McCormack going further up and having their resting position more up with Rodallega.
While there isn't a defined formula to winning and success, the 4 Teams I've laid out would definitely be more capable of picking up points- and would give us a balance I simply didn't see against Ipswich yesterday. For me Hoogland and Parker will be key to the success of this team- we've played far too narrowly as of late, but I think the combination of Hoogland and Parker have enough about them so players around them don't get sucked into the Centre-Circle as a consequence of being overrun.
While I'm not on the "Kit Out" bandwagon, if we lose to Millwall we'll be firmly in the Relegation Battle- and similar to the Rene Meulensteen sacking around this time last year while I wasn't necessarily on board with it, when you look at the results you do understand why it might have been seen that way. So if Kit does get sacked- consider this my job application, I'll be holding my first Press Conference soon.
Thanks for reading as always, what I've said in this blog isn't rocket science- I'm sure if I can see where we need to improve someone who's being paid to do just that shouldn't be struggling too much. While I accept this is from an outsider looking in's perspective I don't foresee anything that would be immediately an issue. Anyway I'll happily listen to anyone with differing opinions, and feel free to give me them- thanks again for reading- and lets hope we see a marked improvement at the New Den.
The fact is, with the exception of the First Half against Forest we simply haven't been good enough since Christmas. The way I see it we have three key areas we need to vastly improve in- Defence, Midfield and Attack. Its more frustrating than anything to see how we've regressed as a team since Christmas- and we've fallen into the same trap we did under "him" with trying to play ridiculously fancy football, but having no end product to show for it. I'd rather we had 25% possession and won, than had 65% possession and lost- as I'm sure every single person associated with Fulham apart from Kit would agree with.
The facts are what the facts are, and the Diamond simply doesn't work for us- other teams have cottoned on to how we play and have realised there's very little protection for the Full-Backs and have exploited that. You only have to look at how players like Saidy Janko have had field days against us to see this. As such I think we need to go to a traditional "4-4" formation to give the Full-Backs some protection- that with respect, they need. The current back-line needs breaking up as soon as possible, Stafylidis, Bodurov, Hutchinson, ? is getting more leaky as every game goes on, and more holes are starting to be exposed. I still rate Bodurov as our best Defender despite having a rough couple of weeks- as such I'd be keeping him in the team. While Hutchinson has improved vastly, he's not calm enough in my opinion- especially when we have relatively inexperienced Full-Backs. I'm not sure how far off Fernando Amorebieta is from a First Team Return- but when he does, I'd bring him in as our Left-Sided Centre-Back with Bodurov playing on the Right. I don't see much value in keeping Stafyldis at Left-Back because to put it bluntly from a defensive standpoint his performances are too varied, this would mean Sean Kavanagh coming in at Left-Back and he'll be a lot more solid defensively.
As I've already said, In my opinion we should be going for traditional "4-4" formation- and that means playing with a Right-Winger and a Left-Winger. The Right-Winger should be Kacaniklic in my opinion, I think we've slowly progressed him into a Right-Sided player since his return from Loan, and with him cutting in on his Left Foot. The Left-Winger is more interesting from my Point of View- and it'll be solely dependant on who we're playing. In the immediate term- i.e. Millwall, I'd be playing McCormack as a Left-Mid. While thats far from ideal from a selection point of view, his Work Rate means he can be suited to the role- and I think his offensive talents will be able to shine through coming off the wing, because with the other selections I think he'll get more space. Scott Parker is a limited midfielder- make no mistake about it, that said he is still a quality player- and more than deserves his place in the team. The other Central-Midfielder is another interesting debate. I'm not sure what Tim Hoogland's fitness is like, but I can only assume given he was being touted as close to a return before Ipswich- and with another week passing; especially in the Midfield Enforcer role I'd be having him play I think he'd be good for 60 minutes. This will mean dropping Lasse Vigen Christensen- and while anybody who reads these blogs will know I'm a big fan of LVC he hasn't been good enough since he's come back into the team in my opinion.
I personally think we should be playing a 4-4-1-1, this'll mean Bryan Ruiz coming in and playing behind the Striker. This is the role he plays for Costa Rica and its a role we know he can flourish in, in a Fulham shirt as well- you only have to look at the Midfield we were playing at the back end of the 11/12 season of Duff, Diarra, Dembele, Kacaniklic; Bryan in the 4-4-1-1. In my opinion- and I think even the most hardened of Bryan detractors have to admit this by now, Bryan is key to the success or failure of the team- therefore we should build our team around him, because getting the best out of him will be getting the best out of the team. The Striker playing in front of Bryan is pretty straightforward- with Rodallega coming in.
Team (1)- 4-4-1-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Kavanagh
Kacaniklic, Hoogland, Parker, McCormack
Bryan
Rodallega
This formation can easily be converted into a 4-2-3-1.
Team (2)- 4-2-3-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Kavanagh
Hoogland, Parker
Kacaniklic, Bryan, McCormack
Rodallega
If Bryan's fitness isn't quite there yet- this selection gets even more straightforward in my opinion.
Team (3)- 4-4-1-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Kavanagh
Kacaniklic, Hoogland, Parker, Stafylidis
McCormack
Rodallega
However, key to Championship success is being able to rotate- and having different options. For example if we are going to go more defensive I'd be playing this;
Team (4)- 4-4-1-1
Bettinelli
Richards, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Kavanagh
Tunnicliffe, Hoogland, Parker, Stafylidis
Bryan
McCormack
and then if we wanted to go more offensive we could change the 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 into a 4-3-3 with Kacaniklic and McCormack going further up and having their resting position more up with Rodallega.
While there isn't a defined formula to winning and success, the 4 Teams I've laid out would definitely be more capable of picking up points- and would give us a balance I simply didn't see against Ipswich yesterday. For me Hoogland and Parker will be key to the success of this team- we've played far too narrowly as of late, but I think the combination of Hoogland and Parker have enough about them so players around them don't get sucked into the Centre-Circle as a consequence of being overrun.
While I'm not on the "Kit Out" bandwagon, if we lose to Millwall we'll be firmly in the Relegation Battle- and similar to the Rene Meulensteen sacking around this time last year while I wasn't necessarily on board with it, when you look at the results you do understand why it might have been seen that way. So if Kit does get sacked- consider this my job application, I'll be holding my first Press Conference soon.
Thanks for reading as always, what I've said in this blog isn't rocket science- I'm sure if I can see where we need to improve someone who's being paid to do just that shouldn't be struggling too much. While I accept this is from an outsider looking in's perspective I don't foresee anything that would be immediately an issue. Anyway I'll happily listen to anyone with differing opinions, and feel free to give me them- thanks again for reading- and lets hope we see a marked improvement at the New Den.
Saturday 14 February 2015
Fulham v Ipswich Review: Definition of Mediocrity
mediocrity
miːdɪˈɒkrɪti/
noun
- the quality or state of being mediocre."the team suddenly came good after years of mediocrity"
synonyms: ordinariness, commonplaceness, lack of inspiration, passableness,adequacy, indifference; More
Todays game was beyond frustrating- and I'll preface this by saying Ipswich deserved the win, but they were poor today. Had we showed up we could have very feasibly gotten a point from the game, but we didn't. Since the Sheffield Wednesday game, with the exception of the First Half against Forest we've been almost universally poor- and had "he" been in charge for those games the fans would be going nuclear.
All The goals today were poor from a defensive standpoint. Firstly, the corner for the first goal shouldn't even have been a corner- Bettinelli should have came and collected the ball rather than staying on his line and that led to Hutchinson booting it out. Then the goal itself was a catalogue of errors, eventually ending up with Stafylidis slicing what should have been a routine clearance. The second, between Stafylidis and Bodurov we should have closed down Murphy- even a little bit to put him under some pressure so he didn't have enough time to work out his angles take a few touches and place it in the Right Corner, leaving Bettinelli no chance. I'm not sure who messed up the clearance from Stafylidis' cross- but the only way we were going to get a goal today was through a defensive error, and thankfully McCormack was on the end of the mistake to convert it.
Bettinelli was helpless for both of the goals, and I thought he had a pretty good game in all honesty. He kept us in the hunt at stages of the game- and it was good to see him put in some of the saves he did, especially one around the 85th Minute mark when I was convinced they were going to score. I've already said my piece with regard to the first goal- and me thinking Bettinelli should have come for the cross prior to the Corner, but that isn't exactly a mistake- as opposed to poor decision making and Hutchinson's urgency is good to an extent; but he could have put it out for a throw/given it to Richards had he no panicked.
Its funny, around a Month ago (give or take) we couldn't score to save our lives- now a month on we can't defend to save our lives. I've already said my piece for the goals, but all of our defenders- and especially Bodurov looked really panicky on the ball today; and while Ipswich were pressing to an extent its not like they were constantly on the defences shoulders and its quite uncharacteristic of Bodurov who I've thought has generally looked quite calm on the ball- which has been one of his major pluses. Stafylidis is a strange player, I hold him culpable for both goals, for different reasons and he looked really unsure of himself in the first half- in all honesty he couldn't have been worse in the Second Half, but I thought he improved and from an attacking standpoint he looked dangerous; and he also improved defensively which was characterised by him doing a much harder block at around the 80 Minute mark than the one in the First Half when it resulted in a goal. Hutchinson had a pretty indifferent game, the defence as a whole looked really shaky today; and Hutchinson isn't the calmest of players anyway- that said there was people playing a helluva lot worse. Richards was another one who was remarkably unremarkable today- the only thing I have to say with regard to Richards was what the hell happened between him and Tabb (?) for both of them to end up on the deck in the First Half.
The midfield was largely abject today. Tunnicliffe was frustrating today- and he can rightfully feel frustrated because when he tried to kick on and push up, making runs etc. he wasn't picked out in favour of a 5 Yard Sideways pass. Parkers return was welcome by me, but he didn't look at the races today- while he's never the most dynamic of players he usually has enough urgency about him to give us a bit of a kick; but he slowed it down a lot today unnecessarily and he didn't offer much today when he's usually the one shifting the play around and indirectly speeding the play up. Christensen was pretty indifferent today, which now I'm looking back is a common theme, its more frustrating to see Christensen putting in indifferent performances because we've seen what he is capable of on numerous occasions- and he's looked overwhelmed since he's come back in the Starting XI. I hope Kit trying to rush him back for the Wolves FA Cup (Home) game hasn't had an adverse long-term effect. Kacaniklic was indifferent as well (shock), he's had such varied performances since he's come back into the team- and this was definitely one of his worse ones. Kacaniklic performs better when the players around him are also playing well- because that in turn generates more space for him which he needs. The problem with that is when we're poor as we were today Kacaniklic is exposed to an extent, and his flaws become apparent.
I'm not going to dig at Hugo today, yes he was quiet- but when he has almost zero service and has to feed off scraps I'm not sure how much of that you can put on Hugo. Hugo is played in the most forward role of the team- but the problem with that is Hugo almost universally gets dominated by the opposing Centre-Backs and I don't think he even won a single header today, but again that isn't Hugo's fault- you can't turn around and tell him to grow; its just a fundamental flaw with the tactics we're employing. McCormack was quite similar to Hugo in his generally indifferent game- yes he scored, but had he not more questions would have been asked. McCormack showed his poacher side today, which makes me more determined to see him play a further forward role.
The Subs Kit made were mixed in my opinion. Woodrow for Christensen was the right move in my opinion, I've already said that Christensen had an indifferent game today- and it was right to bring him off when we did; if not a bit earlier than we had done. Woodrow coming on was a good offensive move, which makes me question why we didn't do it earlier when it was clear we weren't really up to much. Bryan coming on was a welcome sight- he brought a level of composure with him that every single other player in a white (and grey with orange bits) shirt lacked, and you could tell just by his presence it gave the players a lift- and while the goal was what energised us, Bryan was definitely a contributing factor in my opinion. I've said it before and I'll say it again- Patrick Roberts is not ready. I'm not sure how many different ways I can phrase that. While Fofana is far from perfect he brings a definite energy to the team- and in the situation we were in when he had to feed on scraps- his energy would have been useful. The only thing Patrick Roberts did was get outmuscled by the opposing Right-Back when he tried to get the ball passed him.
This was a game I'd rather forget, it was 75 Minutes of mediocrity- with a good finish, and while that is alright when we defend well; when we defend like we did today we don't have a hope in hell of getting anything- especially against teams such as Ipswich who are really resolute and difficult to break down.
Thanks for reading as always, we're off to The New Den next week- and given the situation we find ourselves in the game next week is most definitely a "must not lose". While we should be aiming to win the game- we can't afford to lose under any circumstances, because if we do we'll be right in the Relegation Battle when I'd argue we're on the periphery at the minute. One of the things I've noticed on things like 606 is people calling in saying "X" should be sacked- and the next question is always, who would you bring in? So on that basis I'll have another blog up sooner rather than later saying what in my opinion we need to change, in terms of Tactics and Player choice; but thats for another time- stay tuned for that, and thanks again for reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)