Aaaargh! Frustrating is not the word!

Last nights game was beyond frustrating.

Being beaten, I can take. Indeed, I honestly went to the game last night expecting to be beaten. What I can not take is the way we played the game.

The D played like they did at the start of the season. Out of position, slow, and nore often than not plain badly. Fone was back in the goal, and we all know how many rebounds he coughs up, so why the fuck was there no-one there to cover them? And coverage on the back post? Non-existant last night. In truth it was a piss poor showing at the back, only allieviated when Jakko played some shifts back there.

Going forward we looked ok at times (shit, we scored 6 goals so we must have done something right), but we gave the puck away too many times, far to quickly. It was obvious last night just how much we missed Big Ed up front. he might be 'lazy', but he always seems to be there when we need him, patrolling the 'Courtenay Triangle' (a triangle from the bench, to the far point on the blue line, to the crease, and back to the bench).

And it was a dirty game. Wardell had no clue at all as to what to call, missing some blindingly obvious stuff (such as Jakko getting held and punched right in front of him), then called seemingly innocuous and trivial offences (did anyone actually see Walkers 'slash', apart from Wardell?). With the inconsistent, and frankly baffling calls, the team seemed very reticent to get involved in the rough stuff less they be called for a big penalty. And frankly it pissed me off. How fucking difficult is it to get an even half decent ref in the EPL? Goodwin is just as shocking, and both refs seem to not care when players complain, prefering to dismiss them and skate off. Almost makes you miss Hicks and Carson really.

So, Tony needs to work on the D (a weakness of his teams since he took up coaching), and he needs to do it fast. We are now 2nd in the table by the skin of our teeth, and could slip as low as 4th in the coming few weeks if the backslide is not arrested asap.

Oh yeah, and Fone is nowhere near 100% fit. He should not have played the full game last night. He was clearly uncomfortable on his glove side (ie the one he dislocated), seeming unable or unwilling to make catches above shoulder height. If it were up to me, he should sit out another few games, and get more strength back into his shoulder before suiting up as the starter again.