I don’t think that first half was even the worst first half this season. Thought we were worse in the first half against Stoke. Didn’t see the first half against Norwich as I got the times mixed up but going by what was said on here, Norwich’s xG and what my dad said, we should’ve been 3 or 4 nil down in the first half in that game. Boro had five good chances and were clinical with four of them.
It’s been a common theme all season though. We allow the opposition so many chances so it’s not surprising that a couple or more end up going in every game. That’s why we have the second worst defence in the league for goals conceded and one of the worst for xG against. Some of it is down to individual errors by defenders but I think a bigger part of it is down to the midfield and the space between the lines, which is more of an overarching issue than Ajayi or whoever dawdling on the ball too much.
Against teams like Oxford and Charlton which don’t have many technical players, we can pin them in their own half more and they don’t have the quality to play through us. Against the likes of Boro, Ipswich, Bristol City and even Blackburn who have a lot or even a couple of quality players in the side, they can play a simple straight pass that cuts through our entire team like piss through snow. Off the ball, the midfield should be organised and disciplined as a second line or block in front of the defence to prevent or discourage those straight passes by the opposition but the midfield don’t do that. The whole midfield tends to be scattered off the ball so there’s so much room for other teams to play through us.