halfaperson
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Chester Away Carling CupExpect most people will have seen it on the telly so just a few observations pitch side as it were.
Was expecting a bit better of a newish stadium to be honest. Half small time efficient comfort and half ramshackled DIY set amongst the usual dull industrial estate that is the usual neighbourhood of these abortions, decent pies though.
A big thank you to Johnny Douglas and the cheeky twats next to me for laughing at my silky ball control skills when one came over the barrier during the warm up. Id had a hard day at work and am still struggling with the old knee injury.
50-50 amongst the crowd as the game kicked off in the setting sunlight with a rotund Butler almost providing a total eclipse at the far end. He’s put some timber on beh jasus but it didn’t seem to have affected his pace.
So rather than a report then, just some observations and general commentaries.
Frazer seemed to relish his new role and could well prove his many doubters wrong  . Hell get bigger tests than this for sure but he was more than competent on the turn and in the tackle and made some good foraging forward runs. Question marks for me anyway hang over how the rest of the team are going to respond to him when bigger tests are presented. Can’t fault him last night though.
Rui and Huntington had to resort to muscle rather than timing and position too many times last night. Hopefully the will raise their intensity and concentration for the bigger games.
Looks like weve got two great young layers in the middle in Delph and Howson who both looked a class apart last night. It will certainly be a bit lightweight for most games but looked good last night. Made a change to have all our physical presence on the flanks but we certainly played to those strengths.
Cant say anything too gushing about Beckford other than his domination of Chesters defence was positively Phelpsian (you mark my words that will be in the Oxford before long) but it was Showunmis huge presence that caught the eye when he replaced him. At the moment he seems to be everything Tresor wasn’t by the end of least season. Great strong running, decent control and always showing for the ball. Similar eye for goal though on a one against one.
Its beginning to look like Macca has kept our strengths, enhanced them in some places and added a few dimensions to our game. Nowhere more so than the channels with Robinson and Snoddgrass. Both can play, both work hard, both can defend and both can cross a ball, halleluiah. Strewth, Snoddy can even take a man on and beat him before crossing. There were times last night I thought we were watching the Dutch breaking forward again in Euro2008.
It was all change during the second half as we down changed to a casual canter and its here where the only negative aspects of the performance appeared.
We had a real opportunity to work on and improve our close pass and move game in the second half but wasted it. Too many times we tried the one extravagant long pass when two or three quick ones would have been better. It was just lazy football and we could be better than that.
I suppose the temptation is there when you got Showumni and Becchio at the long end but I think Becchio can be much more than this sort of target man. Hes got a good touch and control and looks to make a pass or lay off when hes got his back to the goal and the ball is coming at him low.
One thing is certain though. If we cant make up some great chants about players with names like Enoch Showumni and Luciano Becchio we need to hang our tonsils up.
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