To be fair to Abbott, he should be out on loan, but the club wants to protect the record of having an academy player in every squad rather than develop and support the players.
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You're probably right, except why start him out of position at full back in a key premier league game if he's just there for the stats?
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Morato costs us a goal or two each time he starts, its guaranteed. If Cunha is worse then I would like to see it. I’d also question why the fuck we didn’t get a CB in January.
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We tried but failed
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Dunk was a weird player to go for though (was he the only one?). Why would Brighton’s ever present captain have come here as back up?
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Quite. It was never going to work. I don’t recall us being in for anyone else.
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Wasn't Edu renowned at Arsenal for not landing targets?
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I think the issue for me was the length of time it took to make changes. We can argue the toss about what the starting eleven should have been with the benefit of hindsight. I think it's clear the selection was wrong but can see why Dyche went that way, however it was obvious from the first 15 minutes that it wasn't working. Yes, the goals were piss-poor to concede but Leeds were all over us at that point.
I saw most of their trip to Everton recently and the first half in that game was very similar to last night. However at half-time, with his side a goal down, Moyes made changes and matched up Leeds in terms of formation. They were nowhere near as dominant in the second half and the changes gave Everton a foothold in the game - they equalised and earned a point (probably finishing the stronger).
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Let's not forget we had a new goalkeeper as well, behind a makeshift defence. That always takes time to build confidence/trust. Could Ortega have done better with the actual goal finishes? Probably not. Could he have done better with organising the defence and commanding his area (particulary the six-yard box)? Most definitely.
I also think Angus Gunn has been treated pretty shabbily by the club. Lied to when he signed.
Then (admittedly under a different manager) he comes on and keeps a clean sheet, so we go out and sign someone else.
If he looks that bad in training, why didn't we get rid in January and why is he in the Europa League squad ahead of Ortega? -
Presumably he's in the Europa squad because we can only make 3 changes and we prioritised outfield options in a defender, Hutchinson and Lucca over a change in keeper.
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Ortega could have done better with the first goal. If he'd come out, he could, at least, have made it harder for Bogle.
Gunn is in the Europa squad because we didn't want to use a switch on him when Dyche clearly hates Boly. If Sels is seriously injured we can still swap him for Ortega.
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They did around me. Quite a few boos and rude gestures at half time. And not surprisingly our end emptied as the second half wore on. We left at 85 mins. First time for years. Missed the consolation goal too. Long drive there in the rain, long walk to the ground in the rain, queued for entry in the rain, long drive home etc etc. What a waste of time, money and hope.
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I could just about understand the choice of defence. I thought it wasn't a good choice, further disrupting a disrupted defence, but I understood it. What I didn't understand was that he didn't change it at half time when we were clearly all over the place. And suddenly 3 down. Unforgiveable.
The players are due some criticism as well. Absolutely the worst I've seen Dominguez play. Aina off the boil.
Positives, Hutchinson remains a positive game changer. Pizza Crouch looks to have a good first touch and possibly some vision for bringing others into play. NDoye seems toughened up and being positive.
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I read on Twatter earlier that Okafor hadn't scored in 16 games and Bogle since 2024.
Charity FC.
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Good work
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Can't claim the work as my own, sadly.
