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..and his top flight record of 11 away games without a point really fxxcked us. For this reason, I'm prepared to cut Chris Ramsey plenty of slack. He inherited a team that was low on confidence, lacking in direction and with no apparent game plan, certainly no plan B, who played terribly away. You can't turn this kind of situation around in a few games. Nevertheless, I thought, certainly first half, we looked good against a really top class side; we were in their faces, disrupted their attempt to play their game and gave them plenty of scares. To go in 0-0 half time was an achievement in itself I thought.
CR has also inherited a team with only one proven striker - a situation that has haunted us for 2 years, and again, it's hard to remedy this. He's also been unlucky with injuries - Leroy Fer in particular. We really miss him. Plus J. Barton esq. red card, meant he had no choice but to play Sandro from the start, though he clearly lacks match fitness. Those elements cost us last night, since he really had only Kranjcar to call on when Sandro inevitably tired.
As has been said elsewhere, his unwillingness to play Vargas is a bit of a mystery, but perhaps having to sub Nedum forced his hand, in that he only had 2 subs left and he probably knew Sandro would be next. And Hoilett was a shoo-in not to last as well. Had Nedum not gone off, we may well have seen Vargas or Zarate. Either way, I enjoyed watching us play, we gave it a real good go, and that's all we can ask at this point.
If Chris Ramsey can take a relegation bound team and keep us up, it will be quite a feat. That's why I don't think we should place the burden of expectation on his shoulders, but give him our support, because he feels like a breath of fresh air after the staleness of our last incumbent. Let's see what happens. It's still all to play for.
CR has also inherited a team with only one proven striker - a situation that has haunted us for 2 years, and again, it's hard to remedy this. He's also been unlucky with injuries - Leroy Fer in particular. We really miss him. Plus J. Barton esq. red card, meant he had no choice but to play Sandro from the start, though he clearly lacks match fitness. Those elements cost us last night, since he really had only Kranjcar to call on when Sandro inevitably tired.
As has been said elsewhere, his unwillingness to play Vargas is a bit of a mystery, but perhaps having to sub Nedum forced his hand, in that he only had 2 subs left and he probably knew Sandro would be next. And Hoilett was a shoo-in not to last as well. Had Nedum not gone off, we may well have seen Vargas or Zarate. Either way, I enjoyed watching us play, we gave it a real good go, and that's all we can ask at this point.
If Chris Ramsey can take a relegation bound team and keep us up, it will be quite a feat. That's why I don't think we should place the burden of expectation on his shoulders, but give him our support, because he feels like a breath of fresh air after the staleness of our last incumbent. Let's see what happens. It's still all to play for.
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