Great win and some really good performances in there, particularly Davis, Humphreys and Edwards. Davis was everywhere didn't miss a thing defensively and showed real quality on the ball. For me Edwards is now looking a must in one of the forward positions and I don't really know why he was substituted. Humpreys has real class and stood up physically to the test. I also thought Ball had a decent game breaking up play and he appears to have a real quality in turning interceptions into good first time passes, he has a real awareness of what's around him although appears to give it away when he had more time on the ball. One of the things I really liked about this evening was we finally started crossing the ball early and putting it across the 6 yard box and we scored twice from it. It's no coincidence we did this and Ladapo scored twice, we finally gave him some service but he also made the right runs which he hasn't always done. We need to do this far more often, it forces mistakes from defenders and gets the best out of the main striker. Areas for improvement, I thought whilst generally we were fairly solid defensively we didn't look comfortable with crosses coming into the box and sometimes it didn't look like we had the desire to attack the ball. I thought again the front 3 didn't quite work, whether thats the constant changing of personal or what I'm not sure. Again Chaplin often drifted out wide right which takes space from Burns to run into. We also don't have particularly many players uptop who can keep the ball, they're all runners. I'm starting to think we should have a front 3 playing the same formation which Cook used to play with Edwards a left forward and Burns right with just 1 no.10 sitting behind and I'd like to see Humphreys in that role to try to keep the ball a bit more up the top end of the pitch for me Harness and Chaplin aren't dictating the play enough in those positions at the moment. I don't really liked substituting CBs unless it's down to injury and not sure why McKenna has done it. As a CB I think you feel your way into games.
I suppose if you project your anxiety as a manager then it'll be an issue and if you're confident about it then it won't. Maybe doing it when it's out of choice helps us be more prepared for the times when it's forced. In this game there were good reasons - Edmundson had a knock and running down the clock. Maybe it helps Burgess getting back into the swing of it to run out on the pitch.
Hello everyone, I fell asleep at 8pm after a long day on river bank protection and a spell in the gym! Sorry you missed my sparkling wit! Love all your comments, and looks like a game well won and a battling 3 pts. Although several players not at their best, while others like Humph, Ladapo and Davis all contributed greatly. Good move to bring on masked Burgess to give him a few minutes in real time match playing with his mates. So, that makes 15 pts from last 18, and on a difficult ground too. Just winning these sort of scrappy games in this league is a huge improvement on previous seasons.
And KM singing his praises too will boost his confidence, even tho he might be dropped wen tother two return!
Im always pleased with a win but the defence needs sorting out, that now 9 goals conceded in the last seven games, however attractive playing out from the back can be there are times when someone just needs to put their foot through the ball and clear the danger area, this also gets us up the pitch and maybe start an attack of our own. Too many times we fail to clear the ball in one hit and it bounces around in our 6 yard area and the opposition put it in the net, theres not much that can be done with a terrific accurate drive from 20 yards but we are not conceding too many of these, they mainly are scored from in our box.
I'm happy with us continuing to play out from the back,thankfully few goals have resulted from blunders here and it means we don't play the percentage long ball game ,where over 50% of the time it pings straight back at us. Our biggest defensive problem,in my opinion,is balls launched in from long throws or corners.We need to concentrate on being more dominant in these situations.
We have defensive issues but I don’t think that’s the solution to them. We were giving the ball away in all areas of the pitch, not just defence, and playing that way is why we are winning so many games, why we tire the other side and why we create so many chances. What needs sorting out is our defending of crosses and set pieces.
I would bring Keogh in for Wolfy, just think he is too dodgy for my liking, always got a couple of big blunders in him!!
I agree, think we on the whole look pretty solid defensively, we rarely get stretched it's mainly been balls into the box (not long balls which we seem pretty good at dealing with), it looks like sometimes we're a bit too passive and thinking to much about what might happen rather than just going and attacking the ball.
Kind of agree with the others. Just hoofing the ball forwards is not the way to go, it only leads to the ball coming straight back at us more often than not.
Woolfy needs to improve his long passing and get forward more. He is not looking like a top player at the moment, but he's a class apart from League One defenders. Keogh's days are numbered so we're not building anything for the future by swapping him in. What an embarrassment of riches we have at the back. We defend incredibly well in most situations. It's high balls into the box (like corners) that Walton can't claim specifically where we have an issue. We don't win the first ball and then it becomes a shambles as the ball pings around the box. It's work on the training ground to do, not personnel. The only defences that have conceded fewer goals than us have scored nearly half as many as us.
I am still buzzing from this game. It was one of the best football nights I've experienced in my life. It's not quite the 3-2 beating Alex Ferguson's Manchester United dream team but - thrilling game, brilliant support. and a special night for Humphreys.
Im certainly not suggesting we play hoof ball out of defence all the time, but when the ball hasnt been cleared and is loose in our area there are times when long clearances are neccessary because thats when its most likely we will concede. Our defence on paper looks good and for the most part it is but we are conceding far too many goals usually from a goalmouth scramble, twice in our last match for example.
I actually think its something we've got better at since the start of the season in terms of knowing when to clear and when to pass and think we're actually pretty good at it. There might be times I think we should intentionally get the ball forwards quicker but on the whole it does look like we're improving as through the season (cue an absolute clanger at the weekend)
The two goals against Port Vale? We’ve left the wide man (we often do that, we keep our numbers in the danger zones and switch them, it’s not a mistake as such). We have the numbers but we just don’t deal with the cross at all there are three mistakes: - we don’t deal with the header (Edmundson’s doesn’t time his jump well). - Ball flails haplessly - Burns turns his body instead of trying to make a tackle or standing up and making himself big to block it The second goal is so much worse - it’s an entirely predictable set piece. Ball and Chaplin both jumping for a ball and failing to get a head on it. Neither Woolfy nor Edmundson tight enough on Wilson so they can’t get a foot in. Nobody at all on Smith. Then the most pathetic efforts to block, basically getting out of the way of the ball (again not standing up to block). I can’t understand how we’re so bad at defending these situations. If Walton can’t claim a cross or set piece we’re always in big danger. I don’t think we’ve made any attempt to play the ball out or clear it, we’re just nowhere near even getting the ball.
I am sure there will be some series defense coaching, our assuredness and confidence at clearing has gone awol. Woolfy has lost his spark and his characteristic surges forward, and his passing out is often wayward.
