quizzer

Firstly, let's get the bad out of the way - I never want to see Lionel in an ICT shirt ever again (tho the gawdy shellsuits I've seen him wearing in Tesco also leave a lot to be desired...) as this was possibly the worst 45 min performance I've seen in an ICT shirt in the last 10 years. No positional or marking awareness, trotted about vaguely after the ball and caught in no man's land on several occasions, passing diabolical couldn't put a foot right and was guilty of several stupid fouls in quick succession. However, I will say that he put in a few decent and well timed tackles on the sideline, always best to find a positive they say! Delighted to see Hastings at ht.

Latvian lad - as said previously - had a very no-nonsense performance. Struggled to find our players with passes but stopped pretty much everything going his way. Athletic looking (pretty slim), tall and looked very aware right through match, concentration and positioning looked pretty much spot on. Don't think he committed a single foul but overall it was a well-played game.

Was delighted by the other 2 new signings, the reports here sparked fear but they were quickly allayed. Obvioulsy Morais' 2 goals speak for them themselves (seeing them on tv tonight gave a somewhat less generous viewpoint tho!) but he was full of tricks, turns and confidence and there was no evidence of lack of match fitness. Gathuessi went into midfield and for the short time he played, he seemed certainly more of a midfielder than a defender - again, he was keen to take players on.

Is today the start of a new, multi-national era one wonders. It was an absolute joy to come out with a win and a smile on my face, obviously lots of talking points with 3 debutants but few if any who went there today could have failed to have come out feeling positive.

I've spoken to Mike Smith in the past about this but it was basically met with a polite shrug of shoulders.  Incidentally, today there was nearly a fight between 2 different hospitality groups sitting in front of us.  One guy, who appeared hammered from the moment he got to his seat and couldn't keep his backside on it - became very vocal about away fans in hospitality in main stand.  Ok, fair point, but his language was totally unacceptable so the guy behind pulled him up on it.  Lo and behold, what happens, but he turns on him. 

Yes, hospitality is a nice jolly for those who are the recipients but it is certainly not fun for those of us who are nearby and have to tolerate them.  They are often away fans, they are inevitably late and have lost the ability to follow a-z and 1-99 to find their correct seat and thus cause chaos and ruin our view, 1 of them at the very least is way way too drunk and - the old favourite - once they finally get their seat and the match has started, they have to phone their friend in away (ok, occasionally north stand) and stand up and wave their arms for about 5 mins with mobile glued to their ear until their pal finally spots them!

I dunno, maybe something could be done to cut down the alcohol involved prior to the game and let them go crazy after if they wanted.  The state that some of these people appear to get themselves into in the couple of hours before the game can be ridiculous and can make life unpleasant for those who have to tolerate them for the next couple of hours!

Ok so they are not the most exciting of signings, but given that Charlie brought in a total of zero defenders in the 8 months since Dods announced his departure and Brewster has brought in 2 in under a week, I'd be hard pushed to criticise.  Its well known how difficult it is to persuade players to move up here in the first place so to get in 3 - albeit one of them on a return visit - is fair enough in that tie frame.  We needed defenders, we've got them now.  I absolutely agree that Proctor is only in as cover, but at least both of them have experience at this level.

I've very rarely gone to reserve matches, but the last one I was at, omg, I couldn't believe what a shocker Rory had.  His attitude (anger/despondency/frustration??) is frightening and is in danger of obliterating his footballing ability.  His continued international callups/first team squad places show that he obviously has the talent but for whatever reason, doesn't show it when he gets the first team opportunities.

His team mates talk of their frustration at how he is so impressive in training and just can't re-create it on the pitch - and I don't mean anger-type frustration, I mean frustration for his sake.  I would love him to show off the ability that he so obviously has, both for his sake and ours.  For so many coaches/managers to give him so many chances, there has to be something there. 

As for a loan, I really don't know what to make of it.  On one hand I think it might do him the world of good to play at a (slightly) lower level and bang the goals in without the pressure, on the other hand I fear he is low enough and it would be a total rejection or slap in the face.  Who knows what's for the best - that would be why others are managers and I'm not!

Incidentally, the very small snippets I've seen of Wood have impressed me.

hey, you try being a civil servant and getting time off in the summer!!!

From all accounts that I've heard, all is well and its just a matter of time.  Impressively enough, apparently the lad speaks 6 different languages.  Trivial maybe, but impressed me!

Charlie has stated he is not a fan of loan deals so can't see that happening.