ToffeeWeb - Season 2008-09

The Mail Bag

The Rocky Balboa syndrome

I have been delighted and frustrated in equal measure by our performances and results recently. Games that we were winning are now turning into draws (albeit against expensive quality sides)... I am beginning to worry that our mentality has become "Rockylike" in that we seem to be encouraging teams to come at us incessantly and I'm now concerned that we will/have become punch drunk.

We seem to be saying to other teams, "Try and break us down if you can." I write this after the frustratiion of watching Arsenal "steal" a point in the last minute of a game we should have won by a couple of goals. Sure we played well in patches and were always the measure of Arsenal but I felt we should have brought fresh "attacking" legs such as Gosling and Anichebe (too late for me) on earlier to push for a second goal which would have killed them off.

They were there for the taking but we insisted on taking more pressure by defending deep again as we did against Liverpool (Cup game). If we don't change this I fear we are going to be punched out very soon and the usual second half of the season collapse will haunt us again.
Jay Harris, Liverpool Posted 28/01/2009 at 20:53:14

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Jason Lam
1 Posted 29/01/2009 at 06:40:29

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naive:

1. Lacking worldly experience and understanding

2. Showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgment

The players are like schoolboys. Too many times we could’ve killed the game or taking out opponents’ legs. It’s called professional football ffs. It’s shocking at times.

Erik Dols
2 Posted 29/01/2009 at 07:55:58

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First of all I want to say that it was a brilliant goal. For the goal as such I don’t think you can really lay the blame on someone specific.

But come on, we had the ball about 10 secs earlier! There was one minute left! KEEP THE FRICKING BALL IN THE TEAM AND TAKE THE THREE POINTS. I hate it when teams waste time early on, but in the 92nd minute? How can you NOT do it and lose the ball? We had them. Le Arse had one decent chance in the whole match before their goal. Dammit.

Tony IAnson
3 Posted 29/01/2009 at 08:30:14

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I would have taken Peanuts the last minute to run into the corner with the ball instead of trying a 50 yard pass to Vic. game over. 3 points in bag. But no, they have to do tihs to us. I can only hope that the RS continue on their road road to Drawsville and finish 6th.

Barry lightfoot
4 Posted 29/01/2009 at 08:53:25

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Put Anichebe to push for a 2nd goal, have you never watched him play. He’s a liabilty.

Steve Sweeney
5 Posted 29/01/2009 at 09:10:42

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Cahill was obviousley feeling his shoulder and should IMO have come off before he was injured , he must be rested on Saturday.
Moyes should read teh riot act to Peanuts that was a stupid schoolboy error. At that stage of the game the team must learn to keep the ball and play down the clock.
Lets hope the whole team learns from this. Moyes must get a striker ASAP bg Vic is I am afraid just a big dope.
He has gone backwards and is not up to playing at this level.
Hibbert had another good game and the team in general played OK, Moyes rest Cahill on Saturday, play Gosling and Rodwell keep Arteta on the Bench he will be overrun,lets just win next Wednesday and hope it doesn’t go to penalties I couldn’t stand that.

Bill Hoskins
6 Posted 29/01/2009 at 10:27:01

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Does that make Chelsea Ivan Drago, Arsenal Apollo Creed, and Man Utd Clubber Lang? Liverpool can be the shit fighter who betrays him in Rocky V.

Ray Roche
7 Posted 29/01/2009 at 10:15:39

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When Lukas Jutkiewicz and Gosling came on for a brief cameo performance, I think it was against Hull, I thought then that Lukas Jutkiewicz would be a better proposition than Anichebe for a final 10 mins or so. I still do.

Mike Cheshire
8 Posted 29/01/2009 at 10:51:21

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Bill,

You mean Tommy Gunn?

Brian Noble
9 Posted 29/01/2009 at 11:39:05

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It’s called the Moyes Philosophy.Everything is based on keeping the defensive shape.The man is an excellent organiser of limited resources but is incapable of ’thinking outside the box’in which he has spent his whole career. For us at this time,we can expect no more.Only money and a more imaginative and inspirational man at the helm will improve on what we have at present.
Just accept it and hope we can hold what we have.

Eric Blair
10 Posted 29/01/2009 at 11:58:55

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Good God .... Sections of The Mailbag today are resembling an LFC website this morning where the majority of posters appear to have finally lost patience with RB

Posts about Howard’s fallibility and the teams inability to keep 1-0 leads against Top 4 teams, followed by the predictable but totally unjustified knock v. DM’s leadership. Sometimes I despair with the reactions of some of our "supporters".

We still have a reasonable chance of getting into the the top 4 - fifth is a definite possibility - and progression in the FAC with the smallest squad in the PL.

Let’s stop carping and remain positive.

Mark Stone
11 Posted 29/01/2009 at 13:27:31

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It was against Sundeland, Ray

I think Baxter will be the stand out one, but he’s been suffering with injuries apparently

James Marshall
12 Posted 29/01/2009 at 14:18:18

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All this crap about substitutions changing the game, getting another goal etc - who’s to say that by making a sub you’re not going to change the game in the oppositions favour?

Last nights draw had nothing to do with making subs, it was all about us not hanging onto the ball from the corner - it was a mistake by Pienaar, one of our best players this season who ran his socks off again last night; shit happens, lets move on - it was a decent result at the end of the day. I was gutted we lost that goal last night but all this sniping about why it happened isnt going to make any difference - I’ll wager the manager mentioned it briefly to the players today, then they get on with the next game and preparing for it.

if you dwell on things you just damage yourself so lets just leave it and move on to the Utd game.

We’re unbeaten in about 9 games I beleive and only conceded 3 goals in that time, 2 of which were to the RS jailbird so lets not get despondent.

Up an at em I say, bring on Utd

Up the blues!