I don't normally watch Match o't Day when we've lost, but I had to watch our match up until McNeil's beauty of a goal.

It looks a bit soft to me for our normally great Sir Tom.

Anything over the wall is never easy. It was a beauty from their point but what was Tarks thinking?

There’s only one place it’s going in. Baffling to me that keepers are coached to take up a position to tempt the kick taker to pick out the near top corner. At this level they do so quite often.

There must be statistics to back up that this reduces the kick takers chance of a goal but I find that hard to believe.

Good goal, can't blame keeper.

Can't blame Heaton. Perfect free kick.

Maddison was on Football Focus a few weeks ago showing us exactly how he takes a free kick with that ex Basturds full back in goal.

Not really. Cracking FK perfectly placed.

He looks to get a (soft) hand to it, which I didn't see on t'Turf.

Bin Ont Turf wrote:I don't normally watch Match o't Day when we've lost, but I had to watch our match up until McNeil's beauty of a goal.

It looks a bit soft to me for our normally great Sir Tom.

No. Was a great free kick. Was it in the corner? No. But he got it up and over the wall very quickly from relatively close range in poor conditions.

Bin Ont Turf wrote:I don't normally watch Match o't Day when we've lost, but I had to watch our match up until McNeil's beauty of a goal.

It looks a bit soft to me for our normally great Sir Tom.

I to thought Tom should have saved it at first but then we have to consider that he has a wall of players in front of him so he doesn’t see the ball till late.

An almost exact goal in the other game from the same position.

No. Heaton should not have done better. But he could have done better. A small difference.

Compare it to the one half an hour earlier - going in the very top corner and Schmeical kept it out. Match turning moments.

P.s. I only realised on MOTD that Oliver got in the way of our player for both their goal and ours (luckily the latter didn’t matter). Tarky had to do a virtual lap of honour to get past him, without that Heaton may not have had a save to make. Horrendous refereeing. These youngsters nowadays are far too close to the play.

What should have happened is for Tarkowski to do what he is paid to do and that is defend. He is a liability and being chosen for England again (how the hell did that happen) only caresses his ego more which he thinks turns him into this Beckenbauer/Bobby Moore player who can stroll through games.

Huge fan of Tom’s but I think he could’ve done better on both goals. I must say, with him rooted to the spot for the Morgan goal, had Hart been in that position (as he often takes up) there would’ve been a lot more talk about it on here tonight. Pope punches those away to safety all the team and is by far the most commanding of our three keepers.

It’s so dangerous giving free kicks away around the box in the Prem. Just about every team has a quality set piece taker and they invariably hit the target.

In a word YES

Hart would have saved the free kick and we would have only lost 7-1!!!

CrosspoolClarets wrote:No. Heaton should not have done better. But he could have done better. A small difference.

Compare it to the one half an hour earlier - going in the very top corner and Schmeical kept it out. Match turning moments.

P.s. I only realised on MOTD that Oliver got in the way of our player for both their goal and ours (luckily the latter didn’t matter). Tarky had to do a virtual lap of honour to get past him, without that Heaton may not have had a save to make. Horrendous refereeing. These youngsters nowadays are far too close to the play.

Have to agree. They constantly seem to be in the bloody way. Ha e noticed and mentioned it myself

Great free kick why didn't we go in for Madison while he was at Norwich.Hes a class act.

No. It was a good hit.

Hart would of been slated for what Heaton did yesterday, made an impact in those 8 games but been poor last 3/4 time for our best keeper back in Pope

Not much different to one on Boxing Day.

We’re all blaming Tarkowski, yet he was on the only one prepared to put a boot, everyone else just stood around.

And it was the same all afternoon. At least force them out wide if you’re not going to tell them like a lumberjack.

No way Heaton's fault, just an excellent free kick, but Tarkowski chasing around giving the free kick away in the first place was just daft.

Dark Cloud wrote:No way Heaton's fault, just an excellent free kick, but Tarkowski chasing around giving the free kick away in the first place was just daft.

Tarkowski was awfull, have faith in your fellow defenders don't try to rectify your own stupid mistake.
We have that game away with amateurish bits of defending.

Idiotic free kick to give away in the first place by Tarkowski who, ultimately, is seriously at fault with both goals.

ClaretTony wrote:Idiotic free kick to give away in the first place by Tarkowski who, ultimately, is seriously at fault with both goals.

Agreed, and aided and abetted by Brady on the second one!

May be wrong but Tom does not seem to be the same keeper in the last 4 games-ever since the first wonder goal went in v Newcastle

Just seen it on Match of the Day thought he should have done better with the free kick. What on earth was Tarkowski doing for their winner? Didn’t even get off the ground.

No fault with the free kick but he should have come for their second

Hart would have been getting absolute pelters for both, particularly being rooted to his line for the winner.

Tom was at fault once from a similar fk a while back, Snodgrass I think, for Hull.
Gave him to much to aim at.
Not yesterday though.
Sometimes you've just got to admire a great effort against us.
That was just too good.

jrgbfc wrote:Hart would have been getting absolute pelters for both, particularly being rooted to his line for the winner.

Really surprised you seem to think Heaton was at fault for conceding an excellent free kick. Not convinced he should have come for the second either. Tarkowski should've have dealt with it much better. In fact it was him that was at fault for both goals.

taio wrote:Really surprised you seem to think Heaton was at fault for conceding an excellent free kick. Not convinced he should have come for the second either. Tarkowski should've have dealt with it much better. In fact it was him that was at fault for both goals.

I don't think Heaton could have done much with either really, just trying to imagine the stick Hart would have got for conceding them!

Dark Cloud wrote:Agreed, and aided and abetted by Brady on the second one!

you say aided and abetted by Brady but after Brady had not kicked the ball out, Mee missed the ball, got a block in for a corner. Westwood failed to pick up the headed clearance and then Tarkowski stood rooted while Morgan headed it in. Too much happened after to point fingers at Brady.

It was certainly saveable. But not a mistake as such, it wa well struck.

I think he should be doing better with the free kick. Nowhere near the corner, gets a full hand to it.

Heaton blameless for both goals

Yes, he gets his palm to it. If you get your palm to something you should be keeping it out for me.

ClaretTony wrote:you say aided and abetted by Brady but after Brady had not kicked the ball out, Mee missed the ball, got a block in for a corner. Westwood failed to pick up the headed clearance and then Tarkowski stood rooted while Morgan headed it in. Too much happened after to point fingers at Brady.

Mee missed the ball because it was a shocking pass from Brady

deanothedino wrote:Mee missed the ball because it was a shocking pass from Brady

Have you seen it again? It's maybe not what Brady should be doing, but it is not a shocking pass. And in any case, that danger was averted.

It was a shocking pass in so much as Mee was absolutely startled and like the entire crowd tbh, he really wasn't expecting it. I sit in row Q of the JHU and was directly in line and if Brady had thumped it as hard as he could he could have hit me and I wouldn't have cared less, as that's what it needed, but fannying about like he did allowed Leicester to keep the ball alive.

Conceding poor goals has been the difference between this season and last. First one yesterday was a stupid foul by Tarks followed by a weak effort by Heaton. Second was just a mess with Brady, Mee and Tarks all having assists plus Heaton doing his statue impression. Add yesterdays 2 to the 3 we gifted Liverpool and you have the main ( not only) reason why we look likely to take the big drop.

ClaretTony wrote:Have you seen it again? It's maybe not what Brady should be doing, but it is not a shocking pass. And in any case, that danger was averted.

I have, rewatched it right before writing that comment. It's a shocking pass. No one would be expecting him to do that. That danger wasn't averted because it directly lead to the next danger. It piled the pressure on us and we crumbled.

Indefensible for me.

Peach of a goal nothing Heaton could do he was textbook postition . Maddison did well to not only beat the huge wall but it had great power too .

Their 2nd was wobbly defending but again Heaton was 100% correct in staying on his line for an outswinging corner that was high and long in torrid conditions , utter suicide if he’d gone for that . If you see the replay you’ll see that he wouldn’t have made it either .

There’s a slight naïveté with people thinking that every high ball “ Pope would have got it “ NP uses his height very well indeed but the unpredictable modern ball has totally changed keeper coaching when it comes to “50/50 “ high balls , you can either punch , help it on its way or leave it .