There was so much to take from the win at Swansea and I am under no illusions that the Wales outfit are a poor side!
But then so were Hull and we were a million times better than against them
The one thing that pleased me above all else was that despite Dimi Payet having one of his poorer games again, we looked for the most part a TEAM again rather than a one man band.
From back to front this was our best performance of the season and for most of it – great corner for Winston Reid’s goal excepted – Dimi was rarely involved.
And given the emphasis and publicity we have had to live with about his importance to the team etc it was great that we should show show the sort of team ethic we have been screaming out for.
Both Slav and Mark Noble have admitted in the past that the team have to help him and stop relying on his magic and yesterday (Mon) that happened and we came up trumps.
Don’t get me wrong. We need Dimi Payet in our squad but what we saw yesterday was a team of players who have rediscovered themselves.
There was a lot to admire:
O Andy Carroll playing as well as I’ve ever seen;
O Havard Nortveidt showing he may just be the answer after all in that troublesome right back spot
O Andrew Ayew scoring and doing his best to get back to real form;
O The decision to go to a back four with Kouyate pushed forward
O the enthusiasm of Feghouli to make an impact in the few minutes he was on the pitch
O and the wholehearted determination of the team as a whole to turn things around.
All of that is down to Bilic – a man who was under serious pressure four games ago but who is showing he has the ability to manage a crisis and that the dressing room couldn’t be more behind him.
So we move on having taken ten points from 12 to Leicester and a match which is there for the taking. Caution is the watchword but I genuinely believe we are now on our way again.
COYI
Great result yesterday, massive improvement on previous games but still room to get better. There were still too many passes going to the opposition, better teams than Swansea will punish us. Noble was in my opinion off the pace and did indeed give away too much possession but he wasn’t alone there. As much as I love what he has done and means to the club I think it wouldn’t hurt to rest him and give someone else a go. Who though? I like Fernandes but would like to see Kouyatè alongside him as the experience.
Come on bubbles,tell us what you really think of Noble.Theres no point sitting on the fence 😁😁
Great to see Fernandez doing the business again.
His stats showd 100% pass completion rate for second game in a row. 13 good passes in 15 minutes.
Also showed he is versatile enough to play in the Dim role where he showed great creative skills.
Who need Dimi anyway? lol
Noble needs benching, needs a break and time for career reflection. He has never been plessed with pace and on these bigger modern pitches he never seems to get his tackles in. Quite simply with these bigger pitches he ends up being bypassed before he arrives. Need to look at faster midfielders, how long before Oxford is ready to play again.
To call our great captain Nobes a disgrace is very disrespectful I think. But I must admit he was poor yesterday. Although I think that Nordtveit is a good player he is not a right back.
Don’t say that , we got him thinking he is. lol
We need him there.
Shame about Capt. Terrrible . Another dismal performance waddling around in midfield achieving nothing . Too late to help in breakaways for or against us , constantly getting caught in possession and spraying short sideways passes to the oppostion . He is truely terrible and a disgrace to the colours . Yesterdays hero … todays waste of space .