I think we were up against a decent side on Saturday with no obvious weak links. I think there are 1/2 things which keep showing in our squad. 1) yeates gets drawn too central and we are forced to play a narrow formation and Dickinson is double teamed. 2) We are not shooting!! We seem to want to run the ball into the net. Surely Marv can hit them from outside the box!?!? I felt Carl Dickinson struggled more than Lee Hodson but all in all we kept them quiet for most of the game. I agree, see above. The goal killed our chance as it enabled Middlesbrough to sit in and break whenever we lost possession - there was no need to press us so the game never realy opened up. Exactly that, they shut up shop and were happy to play on the break We probably played to our present ability but I still feel that Sean has not sorted out a system that suits the current squad. We played very well and more than deserved a point, even Mowbray agreed. Marvin needs a fast, hardworking partner who can distract defenses and allow Marvin more space and time. He also needs to do something when he gets into a good position. He either runs into a corner or gives it away. Surely he must hear the cries of SHOOT!! Hogg is a decent player at this level but seems to be lacking in confidence and quite happy to shut down oponents and play the easy ball rather than open up opposition defences. Thats probably due to him being a defender as opposed to an attacker. Hopefully he can learn though For all Deeney's endeavour he does not achieve much and considering his physique he is knocked off the ball with ease. I much prefer Deeney as a impact sub when the defence is tired and he can split them open. Prince Buaben has ability but at present is very wayward and not capable of 90 mins. That is worrying as its the reason he was not included in the team for so long. I wonder if the break will do him good Mark Yeates is limited and not strong enough in the tackle. I want to see yeates stay out wide and give us width on the break and start producing from dead-balls like he says he can do! Chris Iwelumo has no pace and provides minimal goal threat. He does hold the ball up well though and has shown some promise of late.
Thanks for that BHD - its good to know that comments are read and considered. I agree with pretty much all you say although I am not convinced that the direct style suits the current squad and neither Iwelumo or Deeney are effective enough for this league. We desperately need an injection of pace up front and I would like to see either Garner or Massey partnering Marvin. From what I have seen of Prince B I think he could be the answer for a midfield that lacks creativity but he faded so badly on Saturday after a promising first 30 mins.
No worries Pete. I can assure you all comments are read and taken in. I would disagree about the pace up front. I think if we have shown our hand and everyone knows we will be keeping on the floor. Whilst we have Big Chris we have two options and someone else to aim for at set pieces. I think Garner had a good shot in the team and made little of it, the same for Massey. I think that of late we have shown a darn sight more potential and promise than we did before. Two wins in 3 and a good performance against a team 3rd in the league is not too bad in my eyes. If we get 6+ points from the next 3 then i will be happy. We currently have 3 teams below us and if we beat them and the others around us we will stay up. I also wonder if maybe Prince was de-motivated by the bad luck and the frequency of the poor decisions.
Just read all the comments, and one of the main points coming out is who should be our full-backs. I think we are quite lucky this season to have four very good full-backs in the form of Doyley, Dickinson, Thompson and Hodson. Dickinson seems to have the LB slot nailed down and i would agree with this as niether of the other three looked at all comfortable when playing there (though from the sounds of it he needs a bit more help from the winger!). Right back is a position where we have three definite contenders. People seem to talk about Doyley or Hodson, but who not give Thompson a go there? He was excellent last season and was nominated for academy player of the year. He's had a month at Brentford and has seem to have impressed. Hodson seems to play well against weaker teams in the division, but against stronger teams (if Doyley is still injured) then maybe we should plump for Thompson.
Hodson had 2 very good games against Posh and Brighton, but showed none of it on Saturday as far as i could see. Inaccurate passes, misplaced crosses, and losing possession, especially when it counted most. I agree that much as i prefer Doyley in that position defensively, he doesn't offer much going forward, so i agree with emiatss, Thompson should be given a go...if nothing else, it would be good to see how he's developed since he last played, because he did well for us before, hopefully he's improved now.
We like to think we're on joint points with the playoff teams, thereby making us one of the stronger teams in the division. Also, by coincidence, we are!
" Marvin needs a fast, hardworking partner who can distract defenses and allow Marvin more space and time. " Yep, would settle for someone pulling a couple of defenders with him and able to make incisive runs!
Funnier than the result is that Leeds did the Watford equivalent of substituting Loach mid-game due to poor performance, putting on Jack Bonham, and not even trying to pretend that it was injury related.
If you really are in Khartoum you must be really out of touch. At least from France you do have the chance to see how your team are playing without relying on TV.
I'm not actually in Khartoum. Might even go to Watford for the game and watch the mauling take place for myself.
