Midfield needs a complete overhaul bar Simons. As I was basically front row today was difficult to gauge the shape but all of Slater/Tufan/Doc seemed to struggle again in a physical fight for the ball. Then on top of that Doc was pretty poor in possession for large swathes of the game. Tufan had a largely absent peformance. We looked a bit better going 442 with Tetteh upfront and some actual wingers. Time to try mix it up given the season is largely over
We did. But Bristol showed what having two of them can provide. I love Christie and I appreciate what Rosie is trying to achieve with him but having him as an overlap rather than the furthest man forward on the RW as a RB left us exposed back there and without much else attacking
Think if we keep waiting for players to be fit it will be a long time waiting. Its just some minor changes needed up front really to work with what we have
I think Rosenior was culpable for this defeat. 1) Starting Ebiowei was daft (he needs to prove himself in the U21s first) - he hadn’t shown enough in his three cameos to warrant it, and as soon as Longman came on he proved why he should have been in the starting eleven. 2) Subbing off Tufan rather than Ebiowei was equally mysterious 3) and worst of all, when we were on top to bring on Coyle and move Christie out of his favoured position AND to move Longman away from the side he was doing damage was another crackpot decision. They immediately started to target Coyle’s side and gained the upper hand again. While Connolly is out, Longman should always start if fit because he actually carries a threat, but needs a run in the side. Oscar is woefully out of form - we could do worse than Longman leading the line as he did so well away to Blackpool and Rotherham. Taking off Slater and Doc were pretty dodgy decisions too. We should have won that game or at least got a draw. The fact we didn’t is in my view down to the manager.
Rosenior explained that Tufan was subbed off as they were exploiting the space behind Christie a lot. Bringing Longman on allowed Christie to play from deep and not leave a space the size of Walton Street car park behind. Plus Tufan's energy and performance first half left a lot to be desired IMO. I dont disagree in hindsight about Ebiowei but I did think prior to this game that in a 90 minute spell or at least a starting spot may bring out the best of him. With a lack of wide attacking options pushing up Christie in favour of Coyle wasn't a bad decision. They didn't suddenly start attacking that side they'd been doing it all game. It had just stopped a bit second half with the changes I mentioned surrounding Tufan.
Tetteh has worked perfectly well wide left - in fact that was where lots of Oscar’s goals came from early doors in the season. By all means move Tufan but not seeing that the main problem was Ebiowei’s weakness and inability to keep hold of the ball was pretty shoddy. There was no need to bring Coyle on or move Longman - we immediately looked much weaker.
I don't think there's a simple selection-based answer. We've been blighted by injuries all season and it's not just the time they're out injured but the time it takes them to get back up to speed, and in so many cases they're getting a subsequent injury before they even get there. We might have three players back for WBA but whether they'll be in any condition to make meaningful contributions is another question. The only attacker we've had who's consistently been playing is Oscar. Everyone else has been in and out of the team either because of injuries or because they're the backup to the injured players, as in the case of Longman. Traore will probably impress in a couple more sub appearances but then pick up another injury just when he's finally ready to start, it's just the way it's going for everyone this season. I'm glad to see Rosenior is talking about the need to address this problem. Maybe the issue stems from a poor pre-season, he certainly seems to think there's an answer to it. It needs sorting if we're going to get any sort of consistency. Can't expect to be able to make 2 enforced changes every game and it not affect our output.
Well done Rosie... Three games after talking up the possibility of the playoffs, your team are now the same number of points from the relegation zone as the playoffs. Your selection decisions, and your players following your methodology. Their team could have turned up with only 9 players on the pitch today and we still wouldn't have scored.
Think again it comes down to what options we have. We tried 442 with Tetteh up front to go a bit more direct which needed to sacrifice elsewhere. I'd argue it led to our very brief best bit of attacking play with Christie and Longman on the wings but that's not to say I would want it permanently
He isn’t great defensively but can occasionally beat a man or two. But the main problem is he’s too weak, loses 50/50s too often, and makes too many mistakes. Most overhyped player for a long time. V similar to that ex Scunthorpe ‘winger’ we had in League One, just not as good, and he’s now struggling at the bottom of the league with Gillingham.
We were playing 442 most of the game, weren’t we (slater seemed to be up with Oscar first half)? And perhaps that’s part of the problem. That worked well with Connolly. But now he’s injured we seem to have stayed with that and it’s not working.
Yes he looked weak when having to defend, but he got **** all service today. I'd start Ebowei over Longman every day of the week.
Superior at running around and being ineffective? Superior at getting into good positions and then crossing it into the far end of the stadium?
Defensively we set up like that first half. Going forward the intention was Tufan on the right and Ebiowei on the left. Rosenior seems to value some positional flexibility which I admire but I think reigning it back a bit and putting some square pegs in square holes really wouldn't go amiss Being said I dont blame him. He's trying to get our best players on the pitch which given our recruitment and injury issues means we have some people playing out of position
