Thanks 3R

Exactly as I saw it Ramdini. I would have loved to see how the game had panned out with eleven men because I thought we started really well and the whole balance of the team seemed different. With Holmes and Knight playing as narrow wide midfielders we seemed to have many more options than usual and there was promise from the front two early on until Waghorn had to be moved to the right of midfield after the sending off.

It'll be tough to play with the same energy again on Thursday but hopefully the Rooney effect and this win will lift the crowd (who were very good last night) and the players.

Good summary 3R, as usual.

I thought Bielik was a tad unlucky to get a straight red card. It was a very poor tackle and I really wasn't surprised the ref gave him a ref (especially after the theatricals that we saw from the Charlton player - who repeated the play acting several times in the game) but it wasn't a 2 footed tackle, the studs were down and the contact was minimal. One of those "orange card" tackles!

With 10 men for so much of the game, I thought we controlled it superbly. Waggy was immense, Marriott never stopped running, Knight and Bird were full of energy but, for me, Holmes was MOTM. Energy, tackling and great creativity at times as well. One of the most dynamic performances I've seen from him.

This was a game we won in midfield - its been a while since I've felt that. We outfought them right across the central areas and deserved the win.

Yes I meant to mention in my review how Gallagher rolled and writhed in agony with occasional looks at the ref to see if he was going to send Bielik off. It was a disgusting performance worthy of an Oscar. It made our win all the sweeter though.

I had Holmes as my MOTM but it was Knight's goals that clinched it and I've no complaints - It could perhaps have been split between the two.

Holmes played like a latter day Archie Gemmill last night. 👍

Later in the match Gallagher did a similar thing in front of where I sit. I felt compelled to offer a few observations about his conduct on the pitch and general defects of character to which he smirked.

Concur Vidal. The guy was a dikhead.

Struggling with the narrow wide midfielders bit though......

I had a dream the other night that I was playing for England alongside Mason Mount in the centre of midfield. We were playing England Ladies as it happens. Gareth Southgate was using the match to unveil a revolutionary new formation with inverted full backs. None of us in the team really knew what this meant.

comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 2 minutes ago
I had a dream the other night that I was playing for England alongside Mason Mount in the centre of midfield. We were playing England Ladies as it happens. Gareth Southgate was using the match to unveil a revolutionary new formation with inverted full backs. None of us in the team really knew what this meant.
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Neither do we.

Is that the Royal We Scouse?

comment by HebridesRam (U2909)
posted 25 minutes ago
Struggling with the narrow wide midfielders bit though......
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Did Cocu describe them as "narrow wide midfielders"? I'm a bit on the wide side myself, so if I played narrow in midfield, could be called "narrow and wide" at the same time.

Oh, and I forgot to say but the champagne moment was Clarke rolling the ball in defence to take 2 Charlton players out of the game and, at the same time, avoid the need to pass back to Hamer.
Igor-esque that was!

It was me. What I meant was that Holmes started off on the right of midfield and Knight on the left, but that they weren't hugging the touchline, hence playing relatively narrow rather than as true wide players.

Thanks Ramdini.
A Happy New Year to you and here's to many more 'For Thoses...' in the 2020s.

The whole team had a great night Peeder and Fozzie never to "grace" the centre-half position again please Phil.

I wonder what will happen to Bogle as on Thursday night we just need to drop Wassa into the hole left by Bielik.

Happy New Year to you And and to all Rams fans everywhere. Scouse, I was just wondering how Fosste could have played so well on his return and so badly ever after, when his passing has been disastrous so many times?

I had thought Fossie was to be our Keogh replacement

comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 1 hour, 35 minutes ago
It was me. What I meant was that Holmes started off on the right of midfield and Knight on the left, but that they weren't hugging the touchline, hence playing relatively narrow rather than as true wide players.
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Proper "wide" players (like the Tin Man) only really work if you can get the ball to them and they can beat a man down the line. We don't really have any of them. With Bielik off, they had to pull in to the middle to cover the gap anyway and that allowed our youngsters and D-Wayne to play their natural game. Luckily for Cocu but max credit to the boys.

Blimey, Peeder talking some sense.

If you play wide, unless the wide player can beat his man or can combine for 1-2s with another player then attacking options are limited. Playing narrow means that the midfielders can constantly change the direction of play thus wrong footing the defenders. We used to have players who could do both a few seasons ago.

We had players who could do that last night Spart, celebrate the performance.

Who of our wide players is good enough or fast enough to beat their marker?

Thank you Ramdini, one of your best reports.

Charlton were terrible and when we went to 10 men we were still better. I was pleased to see the way our team played, much better than recently. It shows that Lawrence is not only not missed, we are better without him. I hope he leaves because I don't want to see the idle coward in our team ever again.

I thought Wisdom was better than Bogle, take the money. Clarke made a real difference. The young pair had brilliant games, how nice to see academy players doing well. Hamer gives the team more confidence than Roos and goes about his game in a quiet manner, with 2 excellent saves at the end.

How anyone can argue with Bielik's sending off I don't know, it was a definite red and Wisdom was lucky according to our old friend Bent. I thought Gallagher was a good player, he nearly got his leg broken twice so I don't blame him getting stroppy. He was their only decent player.

Roll on Rooney day and I hope the players play like they did last night. All this talk of tiredness makes me laugh, they haven't got a job to go to, plenty of time for rest when they retire.

UTR

I agree about Bogle and Wisdom VC. I suppose there is a potential problem with cover at right back if Bogle is sold. Whether our win would have been more emphatic had Lawrence played we will never know. I bemoaned our lack of creative players earlier in the week but last night it was huge collective improvement rather than individuality that shone through. A good team can beat a team with good individuals. Having both is even better. If the rest can play like that every week then adding Rooney will see us climbing the table.

I enjoyed last nights game, first one this season. Although I don't want to take anything away from the players & performance, I do think a stronger side would have over run our midfield & would have given us a good seeing too. But it's a good step in the right direction.