When Are We Going To Acknowledge?

Dike Muff · Post by **Dike Muff** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 4:51 pm

That we are in a real slump. For all our early season heroics, we are in true relegation form.

bartons baggage · Post by **bartons baggage** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 4:52 pm

Dike Muff wrote:That we are in a real slump. For all our early season heroics, we are in true relegation form.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Bore off.

Wexford_Claret · Post by **Wexford_Claret** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 4:54 pm

If we lose to Southampton. That’s when I’ll acknowledge it. We drew with City a week ago. This is still a glorious season as far as I’m aware.

IndigoLake · Post by **IndigoLake** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 4:54 pm

I'm very happy we picked up all those points early on in the season. We're in very poor form and turning in some poor performances. We have absolutely no clue whatsoever how to attack.

Dike Muff · Post by **Dike Muff** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 4:57 pm

What’s really boring is our inability to get a win in the past ten games. Dyche’s new contract hasnt brought the bounce one might have hoped. The way we’re going, we may well not even finish in the top half. That would be a real disappointment after the start we had, and may well have an effect on our attractiveness when recruiting in summer.

CnBtruntru · Post by **CnBtruntru** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 4:59 pm

MACCA · Post by **MACCA** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:00 pm

Quite possibly the poorest tactical display and game of football I've witnessed in a very long time.
I couldn't see the plan other than try and keep it nil.
The keeper made 1 extremely routine save all afternoon, and we never asked any questions of their back line.

I'm extremely p1ssed off having wasted my time watching it, I feel so much for those poor souls who have wasted their hard earned cash and time on that "performance"

Press conference bingo anyone...

MACCA · Post by **MACCA** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:01 pm

Dike Muff wrote:What’s really boring is our inability to get a win in the past ten games. Dyche’s new contract hasnt brought the bounce one might have hoped. The way we’re going, we may well not even finish in the top half. That would be a real disappointment after the start we had, and may well have an effect on our attractiveness when recruiting in summer.

No team has ever managed to do that having had the start we had, it isn't quite that bad yet, but it aint half sh1te to watch.

Blackrod · Post by **Blackrod** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:03 pm

A great start to the season but at the moment we look completely toothless up front. I predicted 1-0. We never look like scoring many and just don't look like winning games. We never really impose ourselves on the other team. Newcastle and Swansea are bang average for the PL.

ClaretAL · Post by **ClaretAL** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:03 pm

Be careful what you say. You will get your thoughts deleted on a so called forum for thoughts from Clarets fans.

cutsy123 · Post by **cutsy123** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:04 pm

Lookin 4ward to.wood back

morpheus2 · Post by **morpheus2** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:07 pm

Best thing about this thread is the OPs username

BOYSIE31 · Post by **BOYSIE31** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:10 pm

MACCA wrote:Quite possibly the poorest tactical display and game of football I've witnessed in a very long time.
I couldn't see the plan other than try and keep it nil.
The keeper made 1 extremely routine save all afternoon, and we never asked any questions of their back line.

I'm extremely p1ssed off having wasted my time watching it, I feel so much for those poor souls who have wasted their hard earned cash and time on that "performance"

Press conference bingo anyone...

of

Long ball hoofball to nothing and then back again

Erasmus · Post by **Erasmus** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:11 pm

It's surely a factor that we now have six of our best first team missing: Wood, Brady, Defour, Tarkowski, Ward and Heaton. It's hardly surprising that we are having a dip in fortune, and we aren't the sort of team that can attract backups of equivalent status to cover for injuries. We have to take the season as a whole, smooth and rough.

evensteadiereddie · Post by **evensteadiereddie** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:19 pm

I said ages ago that Brady's injury would upset the team's balance and that the resulting blip would probably postpone our guaranteed safety until March.
Those other five, yes five, injuries - four of them regular international players - has merely compounded the problem. If we have to do it by scratching the odd draw so be it.
If we can grab a win even better.
We have to remember our first objective was to ensure safety - we've damn near accomplished that.
Anything beyond that, given our depleted squad is pure bonus.

Indecisive · Post by **Indecisive** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:21 pm

Erasmus wrote:It's surely a factor that we now have six of our best first team missing: Wood, Brady, Defour, Tarkowski, Ward and Heaton. It's hardly surprising that we are having a dip in fortune, and we aren't the sort of team that can attract backups of equivalent status to cover for injuries. We have to take the season as a whole, smooth and rough.

Way too sensible for the shower that are dominating this messageboard to comprehend.

claretgimmer · Post by **claretgimmer** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:23 pm

IMO we still have options that are better than the ones we are currently employing and Dyches reluctant to change things round or try something different highlights his shortcomings as a top manager, but at least we can probably relax when a managerial vacancy arises for the time being.

Rightfoot · Post by **Rightfoot** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:23 pm

People need to acknowledge our injurys first and foremost

jojomk1 · Post by **jojomk1** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:25 pm

We may have a number of injuries but when you set up the team with a midfield 4 away from home you are asking for trouble
Tactically poor today

biggles · Post by **biggles** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:28 pm

all our injuries obviously contribute to our recent poor form but we aren't the only ones with injuries, are we? how many first team players were swansea missing, for example? just said on bbc that palace had 10 missing today!

evensteadiereddie · Post by **evensteadiereddie** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:31 pm

biggles wrote:all our injuries obviously contribute to our recent poor form but we aren't the only ones with injuries, are we? how many first team players were swansea missing, for example? just said on bbc that palace had 10 missing today!

Aye and they, with a bigger squad and much more brass, got tonked by............. Everton.

MrClaretandBlue · Post by **MrClaretandBlue** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:35 pm

biggles wrote:all our injuries obviously contribute to our recent poor form but we aren't the only ones with injuries, are we? how many first team players were swansea missing, for example? just said on bbc that palace had 10 missing today!

Yeah and Palace got smashed by Everton.

biggles · Post by **biggles** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:35 pm

but 10 missing is the point

Paul Waine · Post by **Paul Waine** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:41 pm

How many threads have we got going on the same theme? Will it help if we ask the mods to merge them all?

Anyway, we've all got a two week break from following the Clarets. It may do us all some good.

piston broke · Post by **piston broke** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:04 pm

It is obvious that Taylor is jinxed. He has been very good and improving but he still has a mistake in him. Their goal came from us having a two on one by our corner flag. He never should have got out from there.
Stephen Ward back in next match.
I think we now know that Lennon and KGNK are not miracle workers. Barnes and Vokes are not PL goalscorers, good workhorses but that's it.

Still smiling though. We are safe.

Murger · Post by **Murger** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:20 pm

We didn't lose because of Taylor. We lost because the manager likes to bore everyone to sleep.

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:21 pm

Murger wrote:We didn't lose because of Taylor. We lost because the manager likes to bore everyone to sleep.

What do you suggest? A new manager?

Murger · Post by **Murger** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:26 pm

No. A different approach to games. Like actually trying to win them.

Heaton's Gloves · Post by **Heaton's Gloves** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:37 pm

It is what it is. Roll on next season when we have our first eleven fit. We do need to replace or championship strikers though, if we are to move on to the next level. Hell, that might even prompt some excitement on match day!

GDK · Post by **GDK** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:58 pm

I suspect this would be happening even without the injuries. I know you can't reduce football to statistics but to some extent we're just seeing a regression to the mean. We were never genuinely playing well enough to be clearly the 7th best team in the league. But overall we're certainly too good to be a bottom 3 side, even now.

A much needed break before what looks like a more reasonable run of fixtures should see things improve.

Milltown1882 · Post by **Milltown1882** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 7:03 pm

We’ve scored the same amount of goals as the team bottom of the league, that’s where the problem is. Teams have found us out like they did last season and were crying out for a goal scorer up front. Wish Wood and Wells would’ve been wood and a striker who actually plays and scores.

hampsteadclaret · Post by **hampsteadclaret** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 7:10 pm

City winning 4-1.
We will stay 7th and it’s February.
- we have a pile of injuries.

Another ‘barely a Claret’ having a dig.

bfcjg · Post by **bfcjg** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 7:25 pm

If we had gone ten without a win with Wood Ward Brady Defour Tarks Heaton etc playing I would be concerned.

Lord Beamish · Post by **Lord Beamish** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:53 am

I don’t think this two week break could’ve come at a more opportune time. The Players need a rest and fallen skittles need righting.
Still plenty of season left for an upturn in form.

BOYSIE31 · Post by **BOYSIE31** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 10:15 am

It's also noticeable that today was the first time dyche brought up the injury list today after the match - pressure maybe mounting

Dyched · Post by **Dyched** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 10:20 am

Heaton
Lowton
Ward
Tarks
Defour
Brady
Wood

7 first 11 been/are out for a few months. If Man City had that amount out they wouldn’t be 16 clear. Excuses or not thats massive for us.

evensteadiereddie · Post by **evensteadiereddie** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 10:28 am

Not so sure the pressure is mounting, maybe he's thought it's about time the reason for our slowdown should be aired. He's neither an excuses or blame merchant where he and his players are concerned and if he'd cocked up, I think he'd accept that.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 11:59 am

Lord Beamish wrote:I don’t think this two week break could’ve come at a more opportune time. The Players need a rest and fallen skittles need righting.
Still plenty of season left for an upturn in form.

Exactly if we can get Wood,Ward and Tarks available for the Southampton game the whole team looks much more balanced and carries a greater attacking threat.Additionally any heavy legs can now be rested hopefully we can get back to a high-tempo pressing style again,win the next match the rest of the season will look much brighter.

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:16 pm

Milltown1882 wrote:Teams have found us out like they did last season

If we'd been found out last season how come we started this season so well up to Christmas?

Surely we should be rock bottom, alongside WBA if that was the case.

ElectroClaret · Post by **ElectroClaret** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:36 pm

Teams may well have "found us out" last season, but lots of them, particularly
the ones around the bottom ten or so, didn't have the guile or players of sufficient ability
to exploit or use what they found.

This was ably demonstrated by the comfortable margin we stayed up by.

Quality wise, when the squad is fully fit, I don't think some fans
realise how talented our lot are.

Steve1956 · Post by **Steve1956** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 1:54 pm

Massive season in our History,will go down as a good un,I can remember when we had a kick about on the Longside and the football on the terrace was better than it was on the pitch, the crowd of about 5,550 was watching the terrace game as well,some people are just never satisfied

IanMcL · Post by **IanMcL** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:25 pm

I agree with the poster.
Before the injuries we were Champions League.
We have slumped to Europa Cup, after losing half a team!

CnBtruntru · Post by **CnBtruntru** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:35 pm

Dunno

dsr · Post by **dsr** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:35 pm

Dike Muff wrote:That we are in a real slump. For all our early season heroics, we are in true relegation form.

Not until it becomes true, certainly. 4 points from 6 away games isn't relegation form. That would make 13 points for the season, and none of last year's relegation clubs got more than 10.

So it's the home form you're complaining about. A narrow defeat by Man U, a last second defeat by Liverpool, a draw with Man City, and a bit of a bashing by Tottenham and the diving Alli. Is that really so bad? Do you honestly believe that a side that plays like we have in the last 4home game,s deserves to go down? Not me.

Pstotto · Post by **Pstotto** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 5:50 pm

Nor sure what the OP expects and what he expects to follow on from his expectations.

KRBFC · Post by **KRBFC** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:00 pm

Milltown1882 wrote:We’ve scored the same amount of goals as the team bottom of the league, that’s where the problem is. Teams have found us out like they did last season and were crying out for a goal scorer up front. Wish Wood and Wells would’ve been wood and a striker who actually plays and scores.

Do you really think it matters who we have upfront? we could've had Messi and Ronaldo instead of Vokes and Barnes, we still wouldn't have had a serious shot on target. If we had Messi upfront, we'd still be hoofing it towards him. The team is set up so deep it completely isolates the strikers and starves them of any service. The most creative players aren't given freedom to create, they're back on the edge of our box playing like fullbacks. Dyche subbed off Lennon because he wasn't tracking back, kind of says it all about the negative mentality. Dyche's negative football/tactics is rubbing off on the team, the negativity is contagious and has us stuck in a slump, Dyche will struggle to turn around our form IMO.

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:06 pm

KRBFC wrote:Do you really think it matters who we have upfront? we could've had Messi and Ronaldo instead of Vokes and Barnes, we still wouldn't have had a serious shot on target. If we had Messi upfront, we'd still be hoofing it towards him. The team is set up so deep it completely isolates the strikers and starves them of any service. The most creative players aren't given freedom to create, they're back on the edge of our box playing like fullbacks. Dyche subbed off Lennon because he wasn't tracking back, kind of says it all about the negative mentality. Dyche's negative football/tactics is rubbing off on the team, the negativity is contagious and has us stuck in a slump, Dyche will struggle to turn around our form IMO.

Struggle to turn around our form? You mean like at the end of last season when we got 10 points from the last 15 matches?

That slump that allowed us to briefly challenge the Champions league places this season?

If he hadn't turned it around we would now be sitting at the bottom of the division.

Right_winger · Post by **Right_winger** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:08 pm

KRBFC wrote:Do you really think it matters who we have upfront? we could've had Messi and Ronaldo instead of Vokes and Barnes, we still wouldn't have had a serious shot on target. If we had Messi upfront, we'd still be hoofing it towards him. The team is set up so deep it completely isolates the strikers and starves them of any service. The most creative players aren't given freedom to create, they're back on the edge of our box playing like fullbacks. Dyche subbed off Lennon because he wasn't tracking back, kind of says it all about the negative mentality. Dyche's negative football/tactics is rubbing off on the team, the negativity is contagious and has us stuck in a slump, Dyche will struggle to turn around our form IMO.

I would generally agree with the sentiments of this. For all the good work Dyche has done he hasn't shown that he can or is willing to deviate from the framework. I'm sure our form will improve but it won't be by changing anything to make this happen. We will catch a team on an off day or knick a goal.

Id be hoping for some serious upgrades in the summer but I don't know who from the championship would improve us, considering that's our main market place.

KRBFC · Post by **KRBFC** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:17 pm

Spijed wrote:Struggle to turn around our form? You mean like at the end of last season when we got 10 points from the last 15 matches?

That slump that allowed us to briefly challenge the Champions league places this season?

If he hadn't turned it around we would now be sitting at the bottom of the division.

Yes like last season when he couldn't turn it around and we finished poorly. Season to season is different, we bought players in the summer to turn it around. Unless you think we can buy players from now until the end of the season?

Paul Waine · Post by **Paul Waine** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:23 pm

KRBFC wrote:Do you really think it matters who we have upfront? we could've had Messi and Ronaldo instead of Vokes and Barnes, we still wouldn't have had a serious shot on target. If we had Messi upfront, we'd still be hoofing it towards him. The team is set up so deep it completely isolates the strikers and starves them of any service. The most creative players aren't given freedom to create, they're back on the edge of our box playing like fullbacks. Dyche subbed off Lennon because he wasn't tracking back, kind of says it all about the negative mentality. Dyche's negative football/tactics is rubbing off on the team, the negativity is contagious and has us stuck in a slump, Dyche will struggle to turn around our form IMO.

Hi KRBFC, who are our "most creative players" - amongst those that are currently fit?

Sean Dyche has worked out that the strongest part of our team is the defence; maybe that's because he was a defender, maybe it's because we've managed to gather more good defenders that premier league attacking players, maybe because a team that concedes very few goals has a better chance of succeeding than a team that attacks a lot, but concedes a lot. (Anyone remember Eddie Howe's Burnley team? Or Owen Coyle's?).

But, how many passes did we put together when Jeff Hendrick scored at Everton? Where did that come from? And, what went wrong when we went 3 up at Stamford Bridge, or 2 up at OT?

Maybe SD saw that Lennon was tiring yesterday, or just wasn't having the impact that was hoped (I can't offer any more, I wasn't there).

Just a thought, KRBFC, have you played football yourself?