Nomads Vs Devils - Conti Cup Final - 12th Jan 24 - FO 20:00
- Thread starter James
- Start date
Russell out is a ridiculous thing to say IMO.
I did believe that Russell was running out of ideas before the last Episode on Devils and last EIHL interview. The episode showed that he knows exactly what each player needs to improve on and his synopsis of each was pretty much spot on. He does have the passion and in the last EIHL interview he did what he has never done......placed the blame on the players. He just ins't the type of coach to throw his players under the bus, he is definitely not the problem, .....its the players. In his 1st season I have no doubt that this is not 100% his preferred team regarding the recruitment process.
To back my view up just look at last night......Arniell showed up throwing multiple hits which we have not seen (yes he got chucked), Alderson played like a man possessed hitting everything (needs to do this in the EIHL), Barrow was superb, Wilde was head an shoulders best player on the ice......so why can't we show that level of passion in our domestic games!
I realise we can't do it every game but ONCE A WEEK AT HOME in front of paying fans!!! They are paid professionals and their ATTITUDE is everything. I didn't mind losing last night (gutted yes) but the manner in which we lost was great, dominated majority of the game, 110% effort from most of the team. 9/10 we will win playing like that. More of the same tonight and tomorrow boys!
I did believe that Russell was running out of ideas before the last Episode on Devils and last EIHL interview. The episode showed that he knows exactly what each player needs to improve on and his synopsis of each was pretty much spot on. He does have the passion and in the last EIHL interview he did what he has never done......placed the blame on the players. He just ins't the type of coach to throw his players under the bus, he is definitely not the problem, .....its the players. In his 1st season I have no doubt that this is not 100% his preferred team regarding the recruitment process.
To back my view up just look at last night......Arniell showed up throwing multiple hits which we have not seen (yes he got chucked), Alderson played like a man possessed hitting everything (needs to do this in the EIHL), Barrow was superb, Wilde was head an shoulders best player on the ice......so why can't we show that level of passion in our domestic games!
I realise we can't do it every game but ONCE A WEEK AT HOME in front of paying fans!!! They are paid professionals and their ATTITUDE is everything. I didn't mind losing last night (gutted yes) but the manner in which we lost was great, dominated majority of the game, 110% effort from most of the team. 9/10 we will win playing like that. More of the same tonight and tomorrow boys!
Feel so sorry for the owners. Took on the costs and logistics of this weekend. Half full rink and we may be mathematically out of it tonight. Fans were loud despite not being so many of us, credit to block 13, but also the fans in general. We were buzzing after second ended. We looked hungry were playing hard applying pressure on fire and backcheck and although trailing and although on PK felt some optimism going into third. Third period was night and day. We at times this season have gone into our shells when chips are down. Felt so insipid in the third like the third period against Sheffield and the Guildford games it just felt like we didn’t have any new ideas and they just shut us down.
Don’t know why so many players have become gun shy. Cox is a great example, I freakin love the guy but instinctively seems to now be hard wired not to pull the trigger at the moment and looks bereft of confidence. Can apply to multiple forwards at the moment. And it’s not like while the puck is being cycled around that forwards are constantly moving to find a space / shooting lane, if opponents close up on Sanford our scoring threat is massively reduced.
It was such a shame our most direct player got the game misconduct, I hope they aren’t suspended as JA does have moxy.
Recent games it feels like our best chance of goals is pass back to defence man and for them to hit a slap shot at goal. Not sure that is great sign.
Problem is if it’s a confidence thing there is no magic recipe for getting it back. Will be a test for the sports psychology skills of PR and the leadership group from here to the playoffs. Fingers crossed Astana lose next two games and we still have something to fight for on Sunday.
Don’t know why so many players have become gun shy. Cox is a great example, I freakin love the guy but instinctively seems to now be hard wired not to pull the trigger at the moment and looks bereft of confidence. Can apply to multiple forwards at the moment. And it’s not like while the puck is being cycled around that forwards are constantly moving to find a space / shooting lane, if opponents close up on Sanford our scoring threat is massively reduced.
It was such a shame our most direct player got the game misconduct, I hope they aren’t suspended as JA does have moxy.
Recent games it feels like our best chance of goals is pass back to defence man and for them to hit a slap shot at goal. Not sure that is great sign.
Problem is if it’s a confidence thing there is no magic recipe for getting it back. Will be a test for the sports psychology skills of PR and the leadership group from here to the playoffs. Fingers crossed Astana lose next two games and we still have something to fight for on Sunday.
It’s not about convincing people. It’s about giving my view of the game. And my view was that we played well, dominated for long spells but whereas Astana took their chances we unfortunately didn’t.
Ive seen lots of posts on social media along the lines of mine so it’s clearly a game that has devided the fanbase. Sadly I think your two replies to me show why so many people have been put off posting on here in recent years.
We‘ve had criticism of players recently of not trying or not caring. I don’t think that can be labelled at anyone last night. If we had had better finishing or a bit more luck I think we’d have won that last night.
Ive seen lots of posts on social media along the lines of mine so it’s clearly a game that has devided the fanbase. Sadly I think your two replies to me show why so many people have been put off posting on here in recent years.
We‘ve had criticism of players recently of not trying or not caring. I don’t think that can be labelled at anyone last night. If we had had better finishing or a bit more luck I think we’d have won that last night.
Thats pretty much how I saw it also. Despite the disappointing result I really enjoyed the game. Great atmosphere and great effort by the Devils for the most part and some great hockey played. The hockey gods and ref played a part in the result. However I do acknowledge what the 'unhappy clappers' are saying. This team has a number of weaknesses which we discuss frequently on this forum. They are:-
Defensive frailties (slightly improved by the addition of Wilde)
Poor powerplay (though it has improved a little)
Poor finishing
A lack of physicality (we are seeing a little more but not for a full 60 minutes and not from all players)
Those weaknesses combined with the ref and the hockey gods to cause us to lose a game that we should have won.
If we don't fix these weaknesses I agree we are unlikely to see any silverware.
Defensive frailties (slightly improved by the addition of Wilde)
Poor powerplay (though it has improved a little)
Poor finishing
A lack of physicality (we are seeing a little more but not for a full 60 minutes and not from all players)
Those weaknesses combined with the ref and the hockey gods to cause us to lose a game that we should have won.
If we don't fix these weaknesses I agree we are unlikely to see any silverware.
Soaked up pressure, good netminding and clinical finishing. When the Devils do that away from home and take the points, we'd all agree that we'd played the perfect road game. I think we should be giving Astana a little more credit instead of blaming bad luck and the hockey gods! They’ve beaten us twice this year, in France and now on our home ice. That doesn’t sound like a fluke to me.