BladesPod - The Sheffield United Podcast

Home Discomforts - QPR Recap

Ben and Andrew lament the Blades letting a first home league win since December slip through their fingers, as a 2-0 lead isn't enough during a bizarrely passive second half. We discuss the joy of watching Hamer and O'Hare, some poor/non-existent game management, and a curious choice of goalkeeper. One day we'll win at the Lane again, eh?

Thanks for listening, and UTB!

Duration:: 52m
Broadcast on:: 21 Aug 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

[Music] Hello and welcome to Blades Potter. It is Wednesday the 21st of August. My name is Ben and joining me as always, it's Andrew. How are you doing today, mate? I'm not too bad, mate, are you? I'm all good, thank you. The wait for a home win in the league goes on, mate. I think when was that Brentford game that was like December, was it? Yeah, December. We have one on the ship, yes. Yeah, I saw a QPR fan say they've not won at home all year and I was like, that's wrong because I thought, oh no, I didn't. I was in that league cup game, obviously, yeah. Yeah, 9th of December would be Brentford 1-0. And I thought this was it. I thought we were coasting to a second league win. Obviously it would have been three wins in eight days or whatever with the Rexum Cup game thrown in. But not to be a two-year-old role with QPR. A quick pop quiz for you, mate, right off the bat. What are these teams having common? And I'll give you a clear, it's in chronological order if that helps you out. Aston Villa, Luton Town, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Fulham, Manchester United, Newcastle, Forest and QPR. Last teams to come back from Toodles at night. You're on the right lines. They're all teams and bear in mind that we're not a good team in the majority of those games. They're all teams we've had the leading and not Villa like 95th minute, Luton Town, we were 2-1 up at on Boxing Day and they lost the game despite them not having another shot. Palace, I think we took the lead twice away from home, I think that's right. Yes, right. Yeah, 2-1 up after about 10 minutes. Bournemouth, we were 2-0 up, Fulham, we were 3-1 up. Man United, we took the lead twice in, Newcastle, all right, we were relegated and they're miles better than us, but we did score first in that game. Forest who took the lead in, QPR win a two-goal lead in. Those are all games. And my cut off there is wilder coming back. Now we weren't really good enough underhacking bottom to take the lead very often as evidenced by the points Hall that led to him being sacked. He has just turned up at Preston as well yesterday by the way, just a small footnote. That's a lot of games under wilder in which we have taken the lead and not won the game. We've obviously won two games in that period, three games, excuse me, including the Preston game last Friday night. That's kind of alarming, right? And I think this is my biggest sort of frustration takeaway from this QPR game specifically is in game management, like when are you going to show me that you're bringing some value to the table wilder in this second spell, the Sheffield United Manager? Because I appreciate I'm coming in off the top rope with a hot take here. It's not that hot a take, but this is like something, get it clipped and get it on some aggregating social media channel. But like, show me the value of you as a manager during these games, because I'm not feeling it. I'm not feeling it at all in a lot of these situations. And this QPR one was a game that we allowed to get away from us, and we should never have allowed it to get away from us. I think while the massive credit and pre-season, I think you were fantastic with the wheeling and dealing he's done. He's obviously sold the club to players better than probably aching button could have done. I would have thought better than any manager in our lifetime, maybe maybe one, not cut out now. But you know, he sold these players have chosen us above other clubs, and it's not been purely about one. I think he's had a great pre-season wilder. I think he spoke completely well. You'd really well, I think everything he did sort of off the field so far this season has been excellent. I think his interviews have been good, everything he said, I sort of agreed with. But yeah, I think we're, I can't remember the last time he influenced the game in-game management. I can't remember the last time he influenced a game in-game with his management. I'll caveat that by saying last season, I don't think it could have really influenced much because we didn't have the options on the bench. But at the same time, those things that he just read out, it doesn't paint a pretty picture. I think one of the big reasons for me, and I noticed this on Saturday, even in the first half, we're nowhere near, well, we're not, we're not, we're not, we're not close to it off the ball as we were in our successful seasons under wrecking bottom hand wilder. What, what I felt went missing, oh, got missed under wrecking bottom is that how good we were off the ball. Like, I think that hecking bottom team sees that game out in the most boring fashion imaginable, and everyone will come out of that game going, we should have gone for three or four, but we've got the three points. I don't think we're there yet, and that's understandable, you know, it's a new team, and I think wild is, I'm glad we don't do this straight after a game, by the way, because I'd be, you know, ranting and craving about what's he doing? But I might actually have thought, think about it, and listen to it, and yeah, there is new players there, and it is going to take time to get a team together. Even that fantastic team that we had in league one, the first five, six games, even the games we were winning early door, if you weren't fantastic, and then we sort of built up and everyone got to know the role, so you're hoping that's going to come, but I can't, I don't think anyone can really disagree with you that since he's come back, he's not done anything within a game that's seen as win a game, or get a point or a positive result in a game. Yeah, and this, so I completely get, I agree with everything you just said there, particularly about like, it is, you know, we're not expecting this team to win every game and steamroll everyone, and yes, it is a new, you know, it's kind of the kickoff, do you know, welcome, welcome new signing, welcome new signing when it's written on our team news. So that's, you know, we're not going to, it's not going to click straight away, but this is a situation we found ourselves in, where we were absolutely coasting against a very mediocre opponent, I would imagine, you know, they're probably not going to be in a relegation battle this season, but I'd be very surprised if this team is much above mid table at QPR. Well, I said to you, I take you at half time, saying these remind me of us in the Premier League, where even when they had the ball, I think you know, we're really good enough, certainly in that first 20 minutes, I really thought we were far better than we were against Preston for that first 20 minutes, and I were sat there going like, wow, you know, we're going to be, and this is going to be a fun season, and it's all, you know, very much could be, but I did think that QPR slightly got back into it, I thought, in the end of the second half, but I thought they were that poor, I wasn't worried whatsoever, because I thought these aren't going to do anything, and we're probably getting another goal, you know, we were creating a couple of more chances and stuff, and we let them get back in it, we let them get back in it with a terrible goal, again, off a set piece, which is so frustrating. Two pretty crap goals concert, when you look at like how good our two goals were, if you like, you know, we sort of put together a couple of really nice bits of play to score goals, and then we just cancel it out with just really crap concessions, yeah, and I think we panicked, and I think we did panic, and I think the lack of leaders thing is something that, I mean, look, leaders might grow into this team, I know Burroughs are captain at Peterborough, you know, it was a captain, I know he's been a captain, I'm sure that's key for me. Well, this is bad to say actually, I don't know if you noticed this, but when it went to 2-2, he was the only one key for more going, come on, you know, trying to rally him up, everyone else, heads down, trot him back, you know, he can look back at that, I saw it, you know, live, and I'm not expecting people like Andrei Brooks to be, you know, GM people up, or even oh air, because it's his first, you know, own game or whatever, but that team that were really under wild, and like I say, captains might develop in this team, but that team under wild, if that had happened, you had Bassham, you had Bulldog, you had Norwood, you had Billy Sharp, you had my Goldrick, you know, these are people who have kept their heads, Egan, yes, oh, of course, yeah, and Henderson, you know, these have been the people, and we're going, come on, look, that team did throw the Villa game 3-3 infamous game, that team did throw leads away, but I always felt confident that they wouldn't let the heads go, if you know what I mean, I think you happened once under wilder, and I think that were at that Villa game where we did panic, this team's still a little, well, not even a little bit, it still seems scarred from last season, I saw Ranelle and Robinson, like, heads down, sort of, you know, going east like a year, we go again, you know, we have another two goals at that end of the pitch, because it's always the second half that we've seen do you see? Yeah, yeah. And it was just very similar to last season where you were, and I came out after actually, and I said, I'm sick of coming out of this ground in a bad mood, I want to go out in the lack of a good move, please. It'd be nice, I just want it, it'd be really nice to leave for this one. Yeah, give me something, and I think that's, I think the lack of leaders is a big thing, and I think the fact that, understandably, we're not quite to grip for the tactics, yeah, is also a big thing to why we, you know, why we let it slip. Yeah, but, you know, the reason this game wasn't a win is because they changed stuff, and we didn't, or what we did change was a, I don't know, either poor or baffling reaction, so they made a half-time substitution, Colbach comes on for a Varano, just in terrible for them, and Colbach got on, you know, he helped them, he completely negated our, like, high press, basically, because we, I don't know, we just, we did, we just didn't get close to him, I don't really know, like, it was kind of baffling that nobody was just, you know, like, Sousa, for example, like, assigned to just stop him getting the ball, like, just standing in his passing lane, basically, but yeah, that changed it, and I think they moved Dembele more into the middle as well. That was the biggest, I thought that was the biggest thing, because I thought, yeah, I thought Dembele going central just changed, I think Colbach changed everything in terms of their shape and stuff, but in going central, and it was so obvious that he kept getting the ball, you know, running forward and running forward and running forward, and I thought we were so far apart from defence midfield and key for more, and then he just had seen to have the freedom of that, you know, because I think in the first half, Var, Blaster and Sousa were pushing up to sort of, you know, to do, like, a high press and it were working, but once he came on, we couldn't really do that, because he were getting in behind, do you know what I mean? So we couldn't, Sousa and Arblaster couldn't both go, because you were like, hang on, this guy's behind, but he was still getting in behind, so we were sort of in this, like, no man's land, and look, I've seen people say, well, you can't take aim of an OA or OA or because they, you know, they're going to produce something, I disagree, I think, I think, I think they would need both, I understand that both of them at the sort of player can get the ball and do something at nothing and win you're a gamer, probably what Wilder we're thinking is, while every, it's like a basketball game, which is what it was, we've probably got the better players to, you know, to get a third, and I quite, you know, respect that, you know, Kevin Keegan style, you know, you go forward, but we weren't creating anything. No, exactly, that wasn't how the game was going, wasn't it? I think after about, I mean, it had gone to 2-1 at this point, and probably about 70 minutes gone, I think I said to my dad, I was like, I'm not sure I've stood up this off, like, you know, attacking the cop, but it's not normal, I think there was 1-0 hair chance, maybe at 2, just after they scored, where he almost got in on goal and like the keeper just sort of snuffed it out, and well, that's the only time I've left my seat this off, I thought it would be, you know, crushing these, essentially, and yeah, it wasn't to be at all, and I just, I know our squad, our strength in depth is not there yet, we still need a bunch more players, particularly on front, obviously, which is a game where that did become quite glaring, but like, yeah, you use your bench man, I mean, so they'd made, by the time we made, our first sub was in the 77th minute, which was suitor on for Gilchrist, that's not like a, you know, that's fine, but it's not, that's not going to change the flow of the game, is it, it's not like bringing on a, you know, a midfielder with lots of energy or a striker to run in behind or something, by the time that we made that theoretical kind of substitution, which was slalmani and and Peck, it was the 85th minute, and they'd made four substitutions at that point, so you got like four sets of fresh legs running at us, and we're into like the, you know, Sousa run a booking as well, which I think massively affected him. Yeah, Hamers were really good. First off, now I thought Sousa were really good, I'd not forget a bad game, overall, but second off, he, people, I think, say, disappeared, I don't think he did, I think he had to watch himself, because that referee had lost a block by that point as well, so. That's a little bit, yeah, just like, you've got five subs, make use, other teams are not afraid to use it clearly, and that is a big factor in getting back in the game is particularly this early stage of the season, bringing on, you know, four players who can just go hell for leather at you for 10, 15 minutes or whatever, and we, I mean, it wasn't even reactive at that point, we just sort of sat there watching it happen, we were asleep really, you know, from a point of view, and then, sorry, I'm coming, coming in super negative here, we've got, you know, we've taken four points from our side together. We'll end on a positive, we'll go backwards, we'll do the match backwards. Yeah, but, you know, while I'm sort of in this latter stages, you can't bring on Slomani and Brewster in this, in a game where you're trying to turn, you know, when you're trying to flip the flow of a game, these are two players that have no idea where to be or what to do with the ball, everything I've seen from Slomani is, he basically is, to me, he is Brewster in midfield, like, he just runs around, and you hope it sort of comes to him in the right place, but there's no real indication that he's going to do anything positive within, and Brewster's the same, I just, I think they're really baffling players to bring on in this situation. I think there's two players you can absolutely bring on if you lose it in, and you've got all the ball, last moment, to be fair, in the, in the final, you know, when QPR equalising, it were obviously all those for those last eight minutes or in your time or whatever. Yeah, I can see that, I can see, you know, they're both fairly skillful, Brewster, you know, just, it is like a belly really hard. Yeah, I sort of get that, but when we were two on, up and they, again, it were almost like Kevin Keegan style, basketball, you know, we'll throw two around, I don't know if he's player players of the right turn, but you know, two of our more attacking players are, I didn't get it, I mean, I thought Burroughs had a really, really poor second off, but he got no help whatsoever from Aema, because Aema's obviously playing, he's not really playing on the left, he's coming in. I mean, I don't know, I know, Wilder said Raxacki wasn't fit to play more than 10 minutes. I'll take him at his word for that, fair enough, if that's the case, well, you could have put Brewster on that side or Samani on that side and put Brooks, who has played on the left hand side for a majority of his 21s career. Yeah, he is left footed. Yeah, and he's more, he's more like to get up and down, just to give Burroughs a little bit more protection, but we didn't, we left sort of Aema in our hair on and then put two more attacking players on, which is fantastic in terms of, you know, exactly, like always bringing all these strikers on, but we're two one up. And this is what I mean with the Eckenbottom team, I think they'd have seen that out in a really, really dark manner, but we'd have been sat here with four points now. Yeah, I know it's early days and it's only two games, but it does seem slightly odd that we've signed Burroughs, who is an attacking Winkle, and we're using him as a very orthodox left back and we're asking him to do a lot of defending, which he wasn't particularly good at in League One. Now, this is what I don't get because all the people reviews, look, I've not seen a lot of the time, I'm not an expert on him, but just pure the one that people have found for saying is, if you're expecting him to defend, forget about it, if you're expecting him to attack, you've got a player on your hands and he's going to get a lot of one-on-ones against him this season, you would have thought just by the way. Well, in this one, with two-on-one, especially if a player named him down that side, he's not a great defender, he's also that we're giving him no protection as well. If you had a more solid left winger down that side, I'm not saying drop aim, obviously, or anything like that, I'm just talking about in terms of the balance of the team, then I could sort of see it because they could sort of cover for him, come back, and he goes forward. I don't know, I mean, I'm intrigued, look, I'm not going to say, that's it, rip it all up, let's go through it at the back. We have to see how the world has also got a plan in place, and I'm really, really intrigued to see what that plan is because at the moment, defensively, I'm really confused about what we're trying to do. Unless, yeah, I still feel like this is a 3-5-2 team, as much as I want to get away from that. I know. You've brought in a good wing, you know, really good wing back theoretically, you've got some good centre backs now in Souter, and Gil Chris is more of a centre back, I think, as we saw again in this one. Yeah, right, right, centre back, yeah. Yeah, we have to sign another right, we have to sign a right back at a right wing by a level. We absolutely need to sign a right back. I mean, I've seen that weeks ago, isn't reaction to seeing Gil, I don't understand this sort of, I don't know, I mean, I've seen people say, well, I'll sit now, we're done, and again, not Einstein, I'm thinking, you're not a right back, what do you mean? And we have one striker who's 32 years old. I don't care, Bruce, they're just for the record, and Rakshaki is more of a wide forward, you're not playing him up through the middle. Yeah, it would be, I'm believably negligent to be done now, and I also think we'll sell an L as well, and there are a room. Yeah, I agree. I think if that's the case, you bring a right back in, I think you've got, if you're playing four at the back, you've got Souter, you've got Gil Chris to that side. You know, the two long plays that we brought into play, and Gil Chris is not at the best start, I thought we were really good, actually, against Preston, but in the last two, he's struggled. But again, a lot of people I think going over the top with that sort of, like, he's not good enough, get him out, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I remember, you know, loads, there's so many faculties, the most recent example of a player in his first season in professional football, who looked absolutely awful in those early days, and then all of a sudden became, arguably, one of all, second most important player behind, then die. I'm not going to write him off or anything like that, but he probably does need to sort of ease his way into the team, and we could do with someone there was a bit more experience, just to play him right back. I mean, one thing we have not mentioned yet is, of course, we were two, one up against 10 men, when Jack Goldback got a double yellow card for Descent, essentially. He got booked twice for Descent in the space of four minutes, which is... Is that twice in a row? We've QPR's got an nine to ten men against us, and we've, well, I don't know if we didn't lose this one, but we've not managed to just come short did it on the wrecking bottom. Yeah, we lost one now. Yeah, you might be right, actually. Yeah, I forgot they had a red card in that game. And yeah, we still lost all our shape and managed to concede a late equalizer from Open Play, from Linden Dijks and all that. When you come on Linden Dijks, I thought, well, they're just going to start oofing it up to him or whatever, but understandably. But to let him score a goal like that, I can say it now because we're not playing him again for ages. He's not a good football. You know, many a time, for Scotland and even in the championship and stuff, and he shouldn't be having that much space from there when I'll score from there. Yeah, and obviously it comes from a diagonal ball that... Well, it's in transition, isn't it? We have an attack, and I think Keith and more is a judge to have fouled, basically, inside the six-year box, and they take that free kick really quickly. And three seconds later, it's like got launched diagonally between... Robinson, I think he pushes up and misses it and... Yeah, it's terrible. Burrows has kind of tucked inside, so he's not in like his normal position, so they're both looking at each other, like you're supposed to get this, and yeah, the winger, the Japanese winger they brought on Saito, I think it was, it eventually comes to Daleks on the edge of the box, and he sweeps it in. Yeah, not a good goal at all, and I think you can... You know, this is probably a game, maybe in a month, you're like, ah, whatever, you know, it's just an early season game. You never win all your games, you know, as we talked about in the last episode, we don't even win our first two games very often at all. But at the same time, this is a game... You know, I don't want to dismiss this as like, this is a game we should have won, like... Absolutely, it's two times top. With 10 men, like, we should accuse this game, and we didn't, and that, that needs, you know, to be a cause for a look in the mirror, I think, which is... Yeah, it's not like we were tuning all down and we came back, if the match had been reversed, would have been this part of being completely different, you know, but to be that in control, and I do hope, I hope, because it'd be the easiest thing to solve is, it's just players getting used to a new system, they don't really know each other that well yet, and we took the foot off the pedal, because they're two things that are easy to, because it was... At our time, I thought it was that easy, you know, even, even though I don't think we were fantastic for the entirety of the first half, I just thought we were so in control, I know worries whatsoever, and then we just let it slip, and I don't know if it was just, you know, sloppiness or what it was, but by the end of that game, if QPR had 11 men, you wouldn't have put it past us to lose that game. Yeah, yeah, probably not, yeah, because they obviously went into what we have, we hold mode, having equalised, and yeah, just let us throw whatever we add at them, which wasn't a great deal, was it? There was one sort of Brewster turn and shot that was blocked, Raxaki, we got him, like, we got him on the pitch with, in the shot, and it was, you know, you could see what he's got, just running at people, I actually thought Brooks was decent in this game, but you brought him up last week about his end products and stuff, and I thought we saw a little bit of that again, I thought it was good, really good, but I thought we were Raxaki, he just looks like a proper winger ready for the level, but it based on five minutes or whatever it was that he played at. Yeah, yeah. Now I thought Brooks was good as well, and I thought he was good off the ball, actually, as well as on it, picking that first off. Yeah, absolutely agree, I think putting him on that left hand side would have, man, I'm not solved anything, he might have just, you know, I could have been studying now saying, like, yo, why do we do that? You know, I understand that's what happens in football, but I thought he was the best player off the ball in an attacking sense in terms of pressing and everything, putting him on that left, and then maybe bringing Raxaki on a little bit earlier, no, he said he couldn't play ten minutes, I'm not sure, you know, whatever, or even Slomani down that, that, like, just give Burroughs a little bit of protection basically. Yeah, everything I've seen of Brooks makes me think that he's a pretty smart cookie, like as a footballer, which I think is a great quality to have, particularly is when you are, you know, still right at the start of your career has not gone and played 30 games in League 2 or League 1 or whatever. Yeah, he really does look like he knows where he's supposed to be in different situations. Yeah, he sounds like a nothing thing, but you just talk about Slomani and Brewster. I don't think Souza has that, like knowing where to be, I think he is good at tackling and he is a good athlete, but I don't, this is a situation where, and I don't, you know, I don't particularly mean to pile on him here, even, you know, I've made my views on Souza fairly well, I never suppose, but like, this is where you want your defensive midfielder to stop the flow of the game coming against us so much, and I don't, I don't think he's good at that, like, he doesn't get into passing lanes or, you know, get tight to like a dangerman or act, you know, Norwood was like a fantastic sort of safety blanket, sort of last line of defence almost, not the last line of defence, because he was in front of the defence, but he would always be in the right place, and that's why he's- He's sniled a little with a fantastic, absolutely fantastic, and you can't expect to have a lesser to be that yet, obviously, but again, he's another game where you think, and I'm probably looking at this through rows, tinted glasses, you know, nostalgic glasses, so, you know, there's another one on that pitch, I don't know if they get that sort of freedom, just purely because there's positional sense, but- Maybe 2024, I don't know what they're doing, but- I'd like to say, not that, not, yeah, sorry, unless we should have kept on, but I'm talking about the, the people I would, yeah, yeah, yeah, for enough, yeah, so it's a game that we, it's a game we should have seen out, as I say, against mediocre opposition, and yeah, very frustrating not to see my team win again, because it's been- There were positives though, I thought. There were, there were, but first off, I was, yeah, like you were half-towers, like this is amazing, like the championship is the best league ever, it's just so enjoyable, there's no VAR, we've scored two lovely goals, Hamer and O'Hare are buzzing about all over the place, our blasters getting on the ball loads, yeah, that first off was a joy to behold, yeah, I just wish- Really enjoyed it, we were starting like a joke, we're so back, you know what I mean? We are one place is brilliant, and, and I also think like, I see some people like Chris as the, the crowd and stuff, and I, I still think, because I were one of them, I saw that the crowd's very sort of, even though that first off or that first off or whatever, were really, really good, you're sort of still waiting for the sucker punish that we actually got, I think it's going to take a while for this, for the crowd to trust this team again, and I know there's a lot of new plays and stuff, but I was sort of, is it, are we actually, are we this good, are we brilliant, but the same, and even though I was so comfortable and so confident, I'm still sort of not, the, the wilder team of, you know, what got promoted, I was so comfortable and confident in them, as, as a squab. I'm the hecky one for me, like, I'm the hecky one, yeah, I'm so defensively solid. Yeah, I never thought in the promotion season, well, not even in that second season wrecking bottom, a two goal lead away, I'm sure people could bring them up when I pressed them along by that, we're very early into his, his reign, but I'm not comfortable with this team yet, and, but I don't want that to be sound like they should be ready now, they should be, you know, everyone should be on the same page, it's going to take time, and I can't be an hypocrite, I said we'd start this season slowly, and we've got, well, we should have got four points from two games, you know, but it's only two obviously, it's not being a bad start, it's been a better start, probably, than I thought it would be, certainly, the second half at presses and the first half at QPR, there's a little bit of supply there, you're on the first, like say, first half an hour, I was thinking the less rest of the league must be watching this, thinking God, these are going to take some stopping, and then you watch the second half, and you think, rest of the league are going to be thinking, we can get a D, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, face really, really early, and I think it's summed up brilliantly by Wednesday, actually, you know, 1-0 first game, and then lose 4-0, it's brilliant, the championship, it may, I don't think you can look at the league until eight, eight, 10 games in, and if we're in around the top six by that point, you would presume we're only going to get better, but there is a lot to iron out. Yeah, yeah, quite, yeah, I'm not really interested in a discussion about crowd noise or anything like that, but, you know, it's nine months since all of us have seen the team win at bromelain in the league, so yeah, I think there's every cause to be apprehensive until we finally squeak over the line in one of these games, particularly, as I said, because I was surprised when I looked up all those teams that we've dropped points to from winning positions, so I was like flipping out, there's at least three teams I've completely forgotten we've taken the lead against, but they must be, you know, I imagine a lot of fans must also be aware of that, or at least subconsciously of like, yeah, we're ahead, that doesn't always end well for us, and there's a lot, I mean, I've seen many United teams like that before in the past where you go on and open your thing. Yeah, this team's, yeah, it's not there yet, it's early days, but this is definitely a game we should have, we should have seen now even, even playing badly as we did in that second half, we should have been able to stop the flow from. Another thing I think what happened as well is that they were pressing much better in the second half, and we just panicked and started, they would know me field, I didn't think it was. Yeah, but this is where you get the sort of youthful naivety, and our blaster, I think, of like, he should have gone much closer to the centre-back, so I think it got the, he just didn't get on the ball enough in the second half. I thought every time he got on the ball, I thought it was fantastic, particularly in the first half, obviously, but yeah, there was, yeah, I guess as you were about to say, there was a lot of like, centre-back, to centre-back, to right-back, to centre-back, to centre-back, to left-back, to launch, to keep it more. To launch, to keep it more, who I thought, he would nack it after about 70 minutes, keep it more. But there's no one on the bench, absolutely no one on the bench, I mean, no, see, some people say put Bruce wrong, so he can get me in behind, I do get that, because he weren't working, I understand that, but I don't think, I still don't think Bruce has shown enough to say he's a viable option, hopefully he does, you know, in a couple of weeks or months or whatever, Campbell's obviously not fit, I don't even know if he, he might play as a central striker, I'm not sure, but I really think we're desperate for someone else up there, just as an option, it doesn't even have to be a first choice, I think just a wily old, you know, centre-forward, they're what Walnut used to collect over the years, they've been planning on, on Saturday, just a, you know, even saw like Linden Dijs where I think it's rubbish, you know, just like 50 minutes to go, someone to go on, who's played the division, who can just be a bit of a nuisance up at the other end. Hamer and O'Hare, that connection is very spicy. Yeah, they're two, they're two players that we, I don't, they'll not be very good defensively, obviously, and that's kind of what you're talking about earlier, when it's, when the game's, you know, the momentum's against you there. I think he's looked, I genuinely think we're talking luxury players in defense. Yeah, I was trying to avoid that term. No problem with that, no problem with that, by the way, it's not their fault, that's just the way they play. But if we can be defensively solid enough that you can just basically, you know, let Hamer take the wheel, essentially, in attack, then it's going to be a real, real joy to watch the season. Yeah, so first goal, O'Hare, you know, there's an interplay between Hamer and O'Hare, and the latter tees it up for Hamer, the beautiful first time strike from the edge of the box, two goals in two for him. And then, yeah, the second goal, O'Hare again gets on the ball, waits for Hamer to go steaming outside of him. Perfect cross from Hamer, and Moore is there to tap in his first goal. And I'd say we're tuning up after 13 minutes, and, you know, it wasn't like our only two attacks, either, was it? No, it wasn't buzzing about all over the place. Hamer was, you know, pinging these fantastic sort of first-time balls around the corner. Our blasters getting on it and surging forward. Yeah, I thought that first half we were really, really good. It's just so frustrating that it completely slipped away from us in the second half, and we couldn't do anything about it against, as I said, pretty mediocre opposition, I imagine. Yeah, complete. Like, I think you all will get better as the season goes on. They've signed, I think they signed three players last week or whatever it was, and I think they all came on, actually, one of them scored, didn't they? Um, Saito was one of them to go set up the second half. Sorry, sorry, sorry, set it up, if that's right, yeah. Yeah, so the other fans were having a Japanese flag, and what was he doing? It was obviously for that guy, but yeah, I think it will get better, but I don't expect it to be anywhere near the playoffs or anything. I think this current QPR team has West Brom showed last week. I mean, we should have won, we should have, we should have absolutely, you know, is that a score in the first 15 minutes of the second half or whatever it were? I wonder if they'd have just said, uh, it's not going to happen today. You know what I mean, but again, to letting a silly goal as we did, I don't think Dave is covering himself in glory. Jack Robinson certainly don't know either, and then you've given that sort of straight. Oh my God, we're back in it. Yeah, we were out of it and now we're back in it and momentum changes in football, and we never go older the game again. Yeah, can we talk about Adam Davies? Sick beats and clean sheets, mate. I've got a question for you, actually. I've got lots into this. Have we lost the league game with Adam Davies in goal? Or even, I think we lost a cup game. I think Lincoln, we lost Lincoln. Yeah, we'll be like Burnley or something, or was that when West got set up? He came on under the sub, I don't know if I can. You mean when he started? Yeah, when he started. OK, I'll be able to find this out for you. I know he's not played many, but I will save first half. I said, give this man a contract to once. He's the lucky charm in the second half of life. Yeah, why don't we play Cooper? So you reckon every game that he started for United? I don't think we've lost a game. We've lost the league up to Lincoln, but that we're on pens. Yeah. Yeah, that's OK. I'm trying to find out now. Possibly, I suppose. Oh, we got last season. Let's see what games he played last season, hang on. He did, did, did, did, did. He started. Wait, did he not start a game for us last season? No, I thought he started in my Cup against Lincoln and that were it, maybe. Yeah, sorry. I'm being let down by transfer market here, which doesn't seem to think he came on against Crystal Palace. Well, send your answers in on that postcard, then. Did he not come on? No, it was where's came on at Crystal Palace, didn't he? Yeah. Oh, the season before he played against Burnley. Yeah, that's right. Then he played against Cardiff, which won four on Bristol City, which won one nil. I don't know if he's played any more game. What's wrong with one nil to Coventry? Ah, get him out. Sell him. Sell him. I don't remember that game at all. It was a way. I do, but you're on TV. Yeah. Martin. He's got a pen. Yeah. Martin Swicorn in the eight, seventh minute. Yeah. Oh, yeah, because this is when he was going through his phase of, like, always facing a penalty in every game that he played. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, you're right. Other than that is the only start that we haven't won. Sorry, no, the only start we have lost. So, yeah, it's a good look charm. Anyway, Adam Davies, it's an unchanged team. Despite the fact we've just signed a very good goalkeeper in Mike Cooper. We get confused by this. I understand that you need to organize a defence and all that. I didn't obviously work out that way. But I think goalkeeper's probably with me with foot with through Gerberch straight in. I know that didn't work out very well. Maybe that's what the hell they were thinking. Well, if it is, that's boneheaded. And I think this whole thing is, without knowing the ins and outs of it, I just think this is like borderline moronic. Like, it's just so stupid. You've signed a good goalkeeper, but you just play your backup because what? Because he's only been here four days. Like, I just don't get it all. I'm really excited. And I hope Cooper will be this, as every indication that he will be, to have a goalkeeper that could win as a game instead of, like, will they lose as the game? Davis isn't the reason we didn't win this game. But also, Cooper might have been the reason we won it. He doesn't cover himself in glory for the first goal. The second goal is so slow to get down to it. It's not an error, but maybe a good goalkeeper saves it. Yeah, I saw a feeling for a blade say, I should have done a thought. It's been a bit harsh. And I did look at the goal sort of very slow emotion. I think he put it up. Well, I know what he's saying there. I don't know if a really, really good goalkeeper saves up. Yeah, I just thought, really tearing my hair out over this, at the start when the teams come out. So it's just, like, is this one of those things where like, well, you don't change your winning team? Or, you know, that's just stupid. You do change your winning team. If you signed a better player than your backup goalkeeper. Well, on that, what would you do for the Norwich game then? Because I think, obviously, Cooper has to come in. I think Sue were asked to play. I thought it would be good again when he came on. You know, I think he would, he would, he were organizing people and pointing around, which were a big difference. And I think, obviously, if he's fit, Raxack, he has to play. So I'm hoping for three changes, at least, against Norwich. Yeah, but I don't know. I wouldn't really presume. I wouldn't be upset if it's just the same team. Minus to change your goalkeeper. To be honest, if Raxack is fit to start instead of, I don't know, instead of, it'd have to be instead of Brooks. Yeah, that's a bit, yeah. It's been good so far this season. But maybe you just keep Brooks in your pocket as like, you know, come on to help close the game out or something like that. But you have to start, Cooper. I mean, the other side of it is like, surely, so maybe, you know, is there an element of, as you touched on, is there an element of protecting Cooper, which is stupid to me anyway, because like, is a goalkeeper, like, is a professional goalkeeper, why does he need protecting? But like, QPR at home is an ideal first, you know, baptism of ice, essentially, there's only a baptism of fire. Whereas now he's going to have to come in against, presumably much better Norwich team away from home. And yeah, hopefully it goes well for him. I don't think the reason Gerbich has turned into a terrible goalkeeper. For us is because he had a nightmare debut against Brian. He didn't even have a particularly bad game in that one. You know, it's just, they had loads of chances. And they have two penalties, I think, maybe. Well, I'll always laugh about that. Well, I mean, tonight, we're right. But, you know, but after that, it's all you look like it. So don't rate his goal work, yeah. Isn't it all very good? And I'll see, do they? I think they're the right way on the penalty. Yeah. They knew. They knew. They knew how to play. But yeah, you've signed a goalkeeper who's good with the ball. It's feet, apparently. And we just decided not to use him for this game for some reason. Could it be a case? I don't agree. Is it just, I don't want to put another new body in there? But he's going to have to put him in there eventually. I don't know. Yeah. I can't work it out. I was really surprised when the team came out and Davis was all in goal. It's not even, I thought you might keep the rest of him. You know, I thought that would be the same team. Even though Rax actually come in, he would come in quite late. I thought that would be the same team. But I fully expected Cooper to play. Yeah, I thought it was really just, you know, just moronic. I thought it was just an unnecessary, unnecessarily harming our chances of winning the game. Yeah, I don't know. There's no, there's no reason you can give me really that will make sense apart from he was injured, like which he wasn't. Yeah, and this is kind of like how I sort of feel a bit with Wilder at the moment of like, from what I've said at the start, is he any better than, you know, 20 managers that are currently out of work who could realistically, you know, be our manager. And I feel like with Davis is like, he's just, he's fine. He's okay, but he's not going to win your game. It might cost you a game occasionally. It's going to be great to have a goalkeeper who can potentially win as a game. And this is one where we should have used him and given him the chance to win as a game. And we didn't. I think the thing with Wilder, obviously people might say, oh, you're knee jerk, not knee jerk because he's, he's not showing anything since he's come back. He's not showing anything. It's 10 months now. Like it's a big body work. Yeah. And the previous COVID season as well. Yeah. And also the job, you know, the second half, the second, Middlesbrough, second season and Watford, which I don't believe in far whatsoever. But I think I'm, I'm not saying, well, there's got to go. It's very ridiculous to say. I mean, obviously, Preston sat right online, like, what are you doing? And I think he does massive credit for the summer. And I really sort of feel comfortable with him sort of representing the club, you know, as a manager and getting people in. But he absolutely, I think he always, he doesn't always anything, sorry. He needs to show us something to say that he's not this busted flush there. A lot of people, you know, neutral fans think he is. He's not just, you know, you know, fan thinking that he's past his peak or anything like that. Every sort of neutral says, if they get a bit of managers, you know what I mean? They might start doing better. I want to be sorry. I love him. Absolutely for what he did last time and everything. But we need to see something in this spell in the next 10 games to suggest that, yeah, he knows what he's doing. He's got his mail jail back. And he's not this, you know, he's not, he's not a Paul Lambert. He's more of a David Mines. It's someone who can react during a game or come up with a, you know, tactical master plan right out the gate that, you know, wins you the game because you, you know, you pose in opposition a problem that they can't solve over 90 minutes. Yeah. And like I say, he's good. I'm not going to, I'm going to give him sort of a free pass in the first 89 games because it's a new team and everything. I'm not going to, but this was a, yeah, I thought, I thought off the pitch we were more concerned than on the pitch, actually, I thought on the pitch, did we're enough good players in that team to suggest that you could get a team to play really, really well at this level. But off the pitch, we didn't react anywhere near quick enough. He said they didn't stick to the plan. Maybe that's just the case of seed in problem, but we'll say, but yeah, it goes down as another. Yeah, I didn't get that one quite right in the book of, while they're coming back so far. Yes, unfortunately not. So, yeah, too old draw frustrating not to win. Just looking down the suspension. Oh, Siddy Peck signed a new long-term contract. Brilliant. Yeah, I thought I actually did okay when it came on, actually. And he went along, but yeah, he gave us some energy. Yeah, which makes me think like you should, you know, probably should have brought him on 25 minutes earlier when it was still to get on. Yeah, certainly, as Lamanna, I thought that were a baffling sub. But yeah, I had a pet coming on it. And he's a big guy as well. He put himself about and, you know, we're almost like having an extra, I won't say he's a defensive midfielder or anything like that, or like a, you know, more of a tackler. But just the fact he can get around the pitch and, you know, use his size and stuff like that, I thought made a difference. Yeah, but great to lock him down till. Is it 20, 28, sorry? Yeah, big, big old long-contract, fantastic stuff. Yeah, anything else from the press? Excuse me, from the QPR game to call out? No, that's pretty much covered. Like I say, it's hard. We're obviously, we review the games, and I'm trying so hard not to read too much into it, and trying so hard not to be harsh on the, on the manager and the team, because I think all the things while the talks about after with the new team and system, we're not going to be up and running straight away, he's absolutely spot on. It's exactly what I've said myself. So I don't want to go against that. But there were, I think it were off and off a bit like the game. There were half good signs off worrying signs, but you just need to get it tipped into that good sign side balance over the next four or five games. Yeah, I feel, I do feel like I've been really, no, I don't know why I feel like I need to justify being negative. I guess there's, I don't know, there just seem to be a bit of a online culture thing of like, you've got to be positive all the time. Well, we've been rubbish for like 12 months. It'll make any sense. We've won one game in 10 months. I think mouse fan bases feel like they've had the, you know, everything kicks out of them. So it's understandable. And like I said, that's not a lot of these players folds. And I wouldn't even say it's wild as folks. He took on a sort of impossible job last season. But before everyone's going to start getting behind him and being positive and being, it's not, they need to give us that help back. They need to give it as bad. The preseason were really good. The signings have been really positive. The Preston display and the Rexham display really positive. But then this is the first setback of the season. And it's like, everyone's getting this up. Well, most people ask me. So we're getting these sort of, oh, we're doing this again. You need to get out of that mindset of fans and as a club of, yeah, we're just going to throw it away. I, well, I honestly feel more like down in the dumps about this result, than if keep, if keep our just turned up and just beating us, like just to nail or something like, because we, because we just didn't play well, you know, we got too many new, you know, new players haven't gelled yet. We, we didn't take our chances. They took their two chances and we lost two nil. I honestly think I'd be sat here more positive than I am right now about this one game, because it was right there. Like, and we just slept walk through the second half and allowed them to get back into it. And we didn't need to do that. And the fact that we didn't try particularly hard to stop it is why I've got to be in my bonnet about it. I think another thing for me as well is because we've already dropped two points for off the pitch reasons, it feels like in the first two games now, because the way we drew this one, it almost feels like to me that we've, we've bought sort of like, last, like two last minute goals in a row. Like, could you look at the table like, we're on two? Oh, yeah, we've got two points now. It's just like we've thrown two games away in a row, though. Yeah, yeah. So that was QPR. We've got Norwich next the weekend. We didn't mention this last time, but quite nice during the league cup, which, yes, we're going to go to, yeah. So, Barnsley away, that's it. I've been retuck with this before. I've not been since 1997 to Barnsley. Yeah, I know this is 2000. So long old times this I lost went to Oakwell. What was the score in the game you went to? Can you remember? Yeah, we lost two. One, we equalised with about a minute to go, and you're not a fan of singing, you're never beat, you're knighted, and then this chord, and they were singing, you'll never beat Barnsley. Right. Cheers. I was going to say, I feel like they always did beat us around that. They did. I don't know. Yeah, because they were singing, you'll never beat the Barnsley before. And then we, I think Marcello scored for us, but they came back with that, and you were like, "It's the other game I've ever been started on as well." So the game was sort of at school, and these last bit, "Alright, why did you weren't wrong, we're down here?" And it looked like Hopper's came around, so I think it may have kicked in by some o' weeks. Well, we'll avoid any of that next Tuesday, I'm sure. Yeah, looking forward to it. That is my, that would be my fifth game of the season at various levels of football, and my fifth different ground. So yeah, quite pleased with that. Smaller than Mark. Yeah, so Barnsley. 23 is my worth of mention as well. I didn't see this game yesterday, but I think it's worth talking about 6-0 as bad as Brentford. Brentford's academy are still, you know, could have been 13-0 by all accounts. Yeah, I had half an eye on it while I was working. Yeah, 6-0 very much flattered Brentford, which is a weird situation because you think Brentford like, you know, talent pool, acquisition, like, you know, they're smarter than most of these other teams in terms of like, on earth, in gems and stuff. But actually, their academy level is the complete opposite, and it went to the extent where they can't their academy a few years ago. I think so, people. Yeah, even my own dad, actually, it was, he sent me a taxi. 6-0 Brentford's academy must be like, what's the right place in YouTube? And I'd start to explain that, I think the category four last season Brentford's academy, which is down there with, what, like, it's a Chesterfield and stuff. Well, maybe even lower. Yeah, maybe even lower than that. And they've had to put it up to Cat 2 very quickly, just because it's primarily guidelines now that you need a category. So, you know, I would, like, you look at this result, you think 6-0 again, supremely like academy. Bloody hell, this is incredible, but it does have to be tamper. But at the same time, you know, again, keep talking about this, get them on loan, get them out from proper football, you know, Curtis, man of the match, repeat, revile accounts this weekend, after two terrible games. You know, the first two games, they were getting him out of team, getting him out of the team. And then, man of the match, it happened. You make mistakes when you first come into men's football. You make, it's better to make the mistakes elsewhere lower down the leagues. Ryan Onay really caught the eye. Yeah, he's got twice, I believe, including the very nice goal, right at the end. He looks a completely different player to what I saw last season, where he, yeah, I mean, this is on the basis of one under 21's game against, yeah, as well, you didn't see it, but he came on a lot really good in that. Yeah, so a few minutes in that, yeah. But yeah, because he really didn't affect the games whenever I've seen him for under 21's and even under 18's a couple of times, like, it's a massive bloke for his age, obviously. And he scores goals, absolutely. But you know, like, the game just passes in by a little bit. I think, you know, I thought that when I've seen him, yeah. But here, whoa, he was getting on the ball and running forward with it. And obviously, guys, two goals, look, you look very a suiler, like, to be honest at this level. I like to mention that, I mean, I've seen the goals, obviously, is that one where he sets, but not where he takes, like, three players on, just the pure pace, really. And I felt like, looks unbelievable, like, I saw all of this at that level, you know, because he was just too good for the people at that level. Yeah, so that's encouraging. I actually, I kind of like him to just have another season in the oven under 21 level, if you like. He's only just turned 18, I believe. I think this is the one that I've been more tempted to keep around, not because I want him in the first team or anything, but it's the first time he's jumped up to that level. Exactly. Might be the best thing for development, but at the same time, you know, if someone comes in, a lead two team, a decently two team, then I'm happy with him to go there. And I don't like to go to a struggling team, I think that could set him back a bit. Yeah, Tom, I'd be happy for him to just sit in the under 21s this season and just batter everybody, basically, you know, but play, play in a good team, essentially, at the level that, you know, relative to the opposition that they're going to be playing, and just learn how to be Willa Sulu, I guess, or, you know, potentially even better. Yeah, he was good. Mars should have got about 20 goals. Yeah, yeah. Tyree's Campbell, his first appearance in a blade shirt and got a goal as well. So, hopefully that's a, you know, stepping, stepping up in fitness, getting closer towards first team contention. The talent played as well, didn't they? So that's the talent played. We started playing 45 minutes. So no, David's could be really important. If we're going to be really like an attacking sort of team of boroughs playing there, it'd been interesting if in the second half, I'm not saying we should have done this, but in the second half against QPR, we'd have brought not in Davison for boroughs, and we've got a bit more solid. Things might have been a little bit different. Yeah, agree. Yeah, he's obviously a much more natural left bike than boroughs. So, yeah, it was encouraging that he's stepping up the fitness, for sure. Right, mate, I think that's everything we've got to talk about this week. What do you want to plug before we? Right, you're from QPR, most boring view from ever, and this is not great advertising, but don't read it. Someone thought I'd put it through. I think it would frank the tank. I think in fact, it might not be, so excuse me if that he wasn't that, but someone said, yeah, it looks like you just put it through AI. It was, it was just like great comeback, guys. And it was just sort of like, yeah, who would have thought that after the first half? It would genuinely, I said normally they don't take that long, but we're about an hour and a half, just trying to get some enough comments together because it was just so boring. But, yeah, so don't check that out. That's it, riseviewfrom.com. We'll have the Norwich one now, Friday, pre-matchview from Norwich. And, mainly, we've got two episodes. I've got the midweek made, like, which follows on from the jingles episode, our favourite advert jingles, and some unbelievable feedback from that. Even now, we've done the midweek and we're still getting people sending stuff in. So, yeah, if you've got any favourite jingles, let us know and we'll bring it up. Nice. I've just started listening to that. I'm listening to you and Liam get stuck on a discussion about what is a parlour game and, yeah, whether game of life is 300 years old or whatever. Yeah, good episode so far. Women are still, I'm going to write it after this, actually. You know, I had just made two fairly splashy signings. Maria, excuse me, yeah, Maria Feruja comes in from Lewis. She is a Malta international attacking midfielder. So, yeah, good. I mean, she was great against United last season. She's got two goals in her win against us, but a pretty good numbers as well from what I've seen. And then, I just announced the signing of, let me just get her name right, Satara Murray from Bristol City. There's some much needed experience, mate, because this team is essentially a bunch of 20-year-olds at this point. And she is 31 and is played in the WSL and in the North American Women's League as well. So, she is a centre bike that will bring, yeah, I imagine a fair bit of experience and leadership that this team really needs. So, yeah, that's starting to get pieced together. They kick off in, I think three weeks on Saturday, actually, or three weeks on Sunday. So, I'm still a bit of work to do, but coming together. Anyway, women is steel.substack.com. You can subscribe there and you will get a weekly ish email from me talking about you're not a women. Rimey, finish there. Oh, we should say, but I was keeping next pod, we'll do it after the banster game, I think, just because I don't think we'll be able to fit in on Monday. Possibly not Tuesday. So, if that's all right with you, we will talk about... Yeah, that's a bunch. We've got a bit of stick on the S2 forum saying like, where are you? I think you were busy yesterday, I was busy Monday, so I was just trying to fit in. So, mainly, we'll two birds, one stone. We might even do it late, you know, thinking about it, because he's going to be the transfer window deadline that weekend, I think. Is it? I believe so. No, I don't know. Am I wrong? I don't know, but I don't want to hitch my wagon to that. It sounds like it. I feel like I've seen other content creators doing like a, we're going to stay up all night for the transfer deadline that I've seen, nothing happens. Last window, I thought that can't be right. September the... So, 2024 is going to close on the 30th of August, according to the sun. That's next Friday. Next Friday, yeah, next Friday, just before the, yeah, waffle, play waffle on the Sunday. Yeah, it's going to close on Friday the 30th. I'm going to wear the day after, so I might stay up with, yeah, with the, with the consent creators doing the all night and stuff, but you pretty much know what's going to happen, don't you, nowadays? Like, until it's used to be quite exciting deadline day, I always thought, because you didn't, before social media was as big as it were, but now it's just like, you know, it was going to sign, and it's just the case of, all we're going to get into with the door in time and all this stuff, yeah. Just extensive chat about deal sheets, not float your boat anymore. No, fax machine jokes, though, still look for them. It's a classic round machine. Yeah, yeah, fax machines, we need a new one, really. Another one, signing videos, oh, just do a signing video, take 10 hours. Right, that's it, mate. We'll finish there. Yeah, we're back after that Norwich and buy, yeah, bonds again. Yeah, thanks everyone for listening. Thanks to you for your time, my friend. Yeah, and I'll see you Tuesday, if not before. Thanks a lot, mate. Cheers. [Music]