Milwall have a couple good wingers but their main threat is set pieces with big CBs. We’re pretty good at defending aerial balls. I’m really not worried about them as much as others might be 8 of their goals have came from set plays. 10 from open play but may also be crosses. I think we can stop them scoring with our defenders and full backs O’Nien and cirkin full back can stop crosses coming in. Ballard and mepham can head them away very well. confident if we score first we win imo
Sorry but if you believe that then you’re the deluded one. Watch the highlights of the goal, O’nien is marking Wright and he thinks we’ve won the ball back so he switches off and leaves Wright goalside. What did Isidor do wrong? He scored a goal with a great chance that had barely any chance of going in? It’s not his fault we conceded twice and totally lost the midfield battle. Might as well blame the ball boy while we’re at it for not running away with the ball.
When we looked at the next 5 (starting with QPR) I would’ve taken a point off Coventry to be honest, on the basis we beat QPR and took something ideally 3 points off Preston. But seeing them sack Robins, had both Sheaf and Eccles out in the midfield which is a massive loss for them and to be 2-0 up feels like such a kick in the teeth. But I’m sure it’s a learning curve for RLB, after all he’s only been managing at a decent level of blokes football for a few years and it’s his first season in England where the intensity is totallt different to Ligue 1. Early in the season he threw on a load of CB’s to get the game against Burnley over the line and it worked, unfortunately this time it didn’t.
It's fair, they aren't a great side. They're just a side who's hit good form. Given they haven't conceded at home for a while and we haven't scored in our last two away games, it screams for something tactically to break that duck. I've seen people suggest 4-4-2 and 3-5-2, all bets are off if we are missing those five players. Its definitely not a good game to bring Alese back into if he's ready, think Watson too will find it hard. I wouldn't be adverse to the 3 back, but we don't have cover for wing back so it'd have to Cirkin and O9 with Hjelde filling in LCB. Rigg and Neil in the middle if Browne ain't fit, Watson, Mayenda and Isidor.
1v1 with the keeper 40 yards from their goal he kicked it at the keeper along the ground. It was poor and he should’ve done much better. That kills the game and costs us as much as those 2 goals. As do the other chances we had. Unsure why the rhetoric is different for strikers missing easy chances versus defender making a mistake, but hey ho
I’d go 3 at the back: Ballard, mepham & Alese or hjelde; cirkin and ONien as wing / full backs. Neil & Rigg in the middle Mayenda, Wilson, Connolly up top. defensively stronger and can stop crosses better. Ability to nab a break away goal
Wilson’s xG was 0.17 though - if you think him only scoring once was the reason we drew, you’re just wrong mate. I understand he could’ve done better with a chance but he also scored a very difficult chance so surely that evens it up? I can’t remember us creating loads of really good chances to be honest, early on there was the ball into the box that fell to Roberts when Rigg got the shot on target that I think Roberts should’ve done better on but other than that and the one mentioned below when it was a 3v1 I don’t think we had too many. We missed Jobe big style but creating enough chances isn’t the reason we lost, we scored 2 goals and held a 2-0 lead at half time. Dan Neil slipped over when he went to play Wilson through in the first half then fluffed that chance when he couldn’t pass to Connolly or Wilson in a 3v1. Is he to blame more than the defence for those two missed opportunities to create goalscoring chances?
Bloody hell mate, you must have gone to bed in a right mood Your last posts were this one, a dirty roof on the SOL, the desperate need to buy quality in the window, Moore being dropped, Newcastle finishing top four, fans leaving early and an upcoming beating at Millwall ... ... hope you have a better day today, thoughts are with you.
Have a feeling 3 at the back with those 2 in midfield we’d just get totally overran in the middle to be honest and the one thing we can’t do is concede the midfield and let them attack us the same way Coventry did because they’ll get corner after corner, free kicks around the box and eventually score. Need to limit them as much as we can but from what we’ve seen Aleksic won’t be used. Gutted about Samed tbh think he could be a real asset in the midfield and just seen he’s not expected back until January now, a few weeks ago he was meant to be back after this international break.
Millwall play similar to us looking to counter attack and are not fussed about possession (27% last game with 1 shot on target) If you watch the goal that they conceded at Stoke - we certainly have a chance to get a result if Ballard is back.
Sorry but what difference does xG make? He had a golden chance and messednit up. Stats mean zero in that situation. He scored a very difficult chance so he doesn’t have to score the easy one? That’s almost literally how that reads! Onien made a couple of very good blocks an.d important tackles. Does that not make up for his one error? Cirkin scored a worldy, does that not make up for his?
Yep exactly. They’re winning by strong defending. Luckily we have a strong defence and as I said before we score first we win imo
As with Watson, watch his first half dozen touches against Preston, he was not overwhelmed at all imo., in fact he was our best option up front in that front three first half and we were lucky to escape with a point in a game poorly managed, but that was nothing to do with Watson.
Well, his xG being so low says different - if he had a “golden chance” his xG would be a lot higher. Being 40 yards out from goal on the counter isn’t really a golden chance, being 3v1 and fluffing the pass I’d say is a golden chance. Just because he ran the length of the pitch and scored once doesn’t mean he can do it every week. If i’m honest I can’t really remember neither Mepham or O’nien making any tackles or interceptions that stood out. Remember Mepham dealing with a few balls in behind for Wright first half but nothing out of the ordinary just what’s expected. Cirkin had a decent game, was great going forward first half but he got bullied in the air for the second goal. Thought Hume was quite poor. I’m not singling out O’nien for us losing, he’s been tremendous so far this season. I’m just saying I found it strange that he was directing his anger toward a player that had no part in us conceding twice when he himself was partly to blame for losing his man on their first goal. I could understand if Wilson had been half arsed attempting to stop a cross into the box or something like that but I don’t think he was?
I hope we go 3/5/2 but doubt Reg will do it, looking at the table we are flying, but there are some worrying signs that in mid-field that cover is scant, and the rigid set up that has served us so well so far, is beginning to look like it coud be our Achilles heal.
So, what you’re saying is that, despite me having watched football for over 40 years, xg means more than my experience? It was a golden chance to score. What xg will not do is see him have a shot at that point, it will that he’s the fastest player on the pitch and only needs the ball past the keeper to score. I do. From watching the game. He lifts the ball and the keeper has three choices, let him score, handle the ball for a red, take him out for a red. The only way he doesn’t score is if he plays the ball where he does. This isn’t me slating him by the way, I love the lad, it was just one of quite a lot of mistakes which cost us on Saturday in the attacking third! I as for O’Nien’s anger, you literally used it to slate him for, but only he and Wilson will know what it was about, and it could be justified for all we know. Which was my original point
Personally think that’s a better goal than the second! Both fantastic goals, but that is just sublime for me. Best this season imo
