Following another below par performance (understatement!) I have been reading some critical comments reading Keds regarding his lack of goals so far this season. I feel that is unfair on the lad, as I see it the problem lies with system / tacticcs we are using. Playing as the loan forward is a thankless task, your main role is to flick on or hold the ball up, which means you generally recieve the ball with your back to goal, which makes it very difficult to score. To play one on on his own requires the midfielders to run pass the lone striker to give him options to pass the ball or to collect the flick ons, which we are simply not doing, too often leaving Danny isolated against two or more defenders. I would like to know the the stats of the number of balls Danny wins in the oppenents half and then lose due to lack of support, I suspect it would be very high. So lay of Danny, he runs his socks of the team and gets very few goal scoring opportunties due to the system we play. The major issue Hess needs to address is the second striker issue because I fear Oli and Stefan aren't up to the job
Completely agree with you about Kedwell. I'd imagine it could be getting to him that he's not scoring and he's getting frustrated by the lack of support he gets and this could be effecting his game. He needs support. Although by all accounts Payne wasn't too bad when he came on and he's never really been given that much game time. Should we not get another striker in by the weekend (can't say I'm hopeful) then why not give him a full game, change the system and give Keds someone to work with?
Ok - you all know I'm no tactician, so help me out, to understand what is going on here... Why is Kedwell having to run his socks off? Is it because he is getting no support from mid field? If so why are we playing five across the middle? Why are we not playing Rooney up front, or just another suggestion, why don't we play Kedwell behind Rooney? Kedwell is fitter and stronger than Rooney (imo), so save Rooney's energy, for his little legs to play havoc in the box, a bit like Bayo and Cody if you like.
Agree Kedwell is getting the flak but it is the system that is wrong and i believe that is because we are top heavy on midfielders! Birchall got injured n Hessy thinks we can get by on this 451 formation! It is clearly not working and we need 2 up front. If we cannot get someone in then we must try Rooney up front or give Payne a run but i have no faith in Oli i am afraid. If we do not change the way we play soon we will be looking at the bottom end rather than the top end. I believe we have the players to get out of this division maybe minus a goalscorer but the question is why are they not playing to their potential? Have to look to the manager for that i think!! UTG
Ok Roy, here is how I see it. First Danny is probably his own worst enemy here, I think because he is palying for his boyhood team he needs to give 110% and wants to be a success here so that ambition probably causes him to chase every ball played to him rather than giving up on lost causes, but that is by the by (or is that bye the bye?) Playing one up top really gives a team three distinct choices in how to play; 1) Long ball over the top of the defence for the forward to run on to. This system require a pacey forward to play of the shoulder of the last defender, turn quickily anf beat the defender to the ball, think a Michael Owen type forward. 2) Long ball to the striker for him to hold up for players or flick on. This requires the either a deep lying forward ("playing in the hole") to minimise the gap between forward and midfielders, or to have the midfield (especially wingers) to make runs beyond the striker regularly, similar to the style Mourinho's Chelsea used to play 3)Keep the ball on the deck and play a slow style of football using the strength in numbers of the midfield, to probe for spaces and gaps in the opposition, think Arsenal Hessy seems to prefer a mixture of 1 and 2, because 3 requires very fit, very technical players which are rare at league 2!! The first system requires a lot of movement for the striker chasing on to balls over the top, and lets face it Keds ins't the quickest in the league. the second system needs supportive midfielders and in our case after the ball is flicked on, with no-one else to do it Keds ends up trying to chase his own flick ons; hence why he seems knackered at the end of the match I think the 4-5-1 system is forced on us only having one seasoned striker. Also I feel that having brought Montrose, Lee and Whelpdale in the summer I think Hessy feels that he needs to play those players regularly and with good midfields like Jack Payne, Spills and (on his day) Rooney playing 5 across the middle keeps the most players happy. As for playing Rooney in the hole behind Keds, I think that is a system we can try but a really good system requires a disciplined and unselfish player in the hole (think Sheringham, (W) Rooney) and I am not sure if Luke if up to the job at this time in his career
brb asks the right questions. The problem is a midfield one with lack of mobility to support Kedwell and getting an extra striker will not be a magic wand. Anyway why would a decent striker want to come to Priestfield? The money all went on Birchall (you cannot spend it twice) and there is no attraction filling in until Birchall gets fit again. Hessy took a gamble that Kedwell and Birchall would hit it off ( a reasonable assumption). His back up was one of Oli/Payne/Rooney coming good (again a reasonable assumption). The problem is first of all we all forgot how bad Oli is and how little, if at all, Payne and Rooney have improved, and secondly the midfield which looks so good on paper just has not performed. The ray of hope is that the midfield might still come good and get in the opposition penalty area and score goals. Kedwell and his layoffs might then look good. Oli and Payne look a lost cause and Rooney divides opinion but most people acknowledge he has goal scoring potential so pushing him right up front as brb suggests does seem a good option. The popular solution of magicing a new striker at no cost who will score goals is wishful thinking (how about re-signing McCammon?-only half joking). If there is any money a new assistant manager might be a best bet-Hessy cannot do all. And finally how about a session with the sports psychologist who produced such an improvement last season?
Some really good comments above. Kedwell cannot, on his own, deliver the goods for the WHOLE team. The first few games, the midfield was firing on all cylinders........in needs to again. A lot of teams in this league do not have a forward of the standard of Kedwell let alone two, so we need to lay off him but turn the spotlight elsewhere. Players were signed to do a job, they should get on and do it.......I genuinely feel that the spirit of the team is suffering for some reason. It is down to Hess to turn this round.
BSG & bristol407 - thanks for your comments, it helps give a better understanding of what is going on, I'd rather try and understand it constructively (i.e rather than negative with no ideas/suggestions). My opinion is, regardless of the wish on whether we can bring someone else in or not, something I want to reiterate from my Hereford pre match thread comments...Hessy needs to look at the last four games, not the first four. Something has GOT to be changed this Saturday, my idea would be to let Keds still run his socks off and do the flick on's but have Rooney up front to bury them. This would then give Rooney a one off opportunity, at the same time it will test if the lad really is up to the job. Some may call it madness, however, before they do, look at our record against Hereford away, we will be lucky to get a point, I would even rather sacrifice that point and try something different (risk getting it wrong) than carry on how we are.
Madness to try maybe but genius if it works. Nothing ventured nothing gained. When things aren't working you have to try and change something.
Something has to change. One goal from open play in the last five games I believe. The current 4-5-1 system can be labelled a failure on that alone.
It's as simple as Gills79 states it, if a formation is not providing goals, then it simply isn't working. I haven't seen any of this flak being aimed at Kedwell, I for one have only good words to say about him, he just can't do it on his own!
I don't think it's as bad as some think, ok. we lost last night away from home by one odd goal. We also had 12! yes 12 shots on target and saw a keeper who was on blinding form. I'm not saying we shouldn't do something, but lets not over react and throw out the baby with the bath water.
I don't think it is as simple as you claim it is, yes the formation isn't proving that successful at the moment but we are trying to find out why and suggest solutions, as opposed to just saying "change it". Check out the last few posts on last nights game thread a few peeps there made unfavourable comments regarding Mr Kedwell
I agree with GRUMPY. Last night was a much better performance than the recent home games. I thought we were unlucky. At least we actually had shots on target. On another day one or two would have hit the back of the net. There were pleasing times when we played with the ball - but still too much hoofing for my liking. I'm afraid Oli was less than useless. I wont repeat what everyone knows about hoofball tactics, & apart the extra striker(s), we need Frampton ( & Jack Payne .) I was disappointed that we conceded from a set piece ( & yet another late, costly goal ), but I think this had more to do with Lawrence not being on the pitch due to injury. I saw enough last night to suggest that when/if we get another striker & ALL the key players together, there is more than enough time to mount a serious promotion push -( Crawley et al are not invincible ) but please stop hoofing the ball ( unless the formation is changed to something like 4-2-4 ) Otherwise....more misery!
Danny Kedwell may well come good given time in League 2, but at the moment he needs someone alongside him to play with. I would agree we need to maybe get two strikers in but not because Kedwell is useless, a player to play alongside him and then a younger striker from say a premierleague or championship side such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateef_Elford-Alliyu to take a place on the bench. Who will actually come on and has the ability to score goals.
the bit about lawrence maybe true but who knows what would have happened i think richards has been superb at the back the last 2 games, only missed a few headers and tackled well, ok his long ball distribution is a bit off but havent seen anything from frampton in that department to show he would have made a difference. as for the kedwell thing, he is so isolated he gets both cbs attacking him when the ball is in the air and yet he still wins a lot of ball the problem we have, and seem to have had for a while (before hess as well) is winning the second ball, espically when it goes back into the midfield. the only thing i can put this down to is buying technical rather than physical players. where as many teams in league 2 take a different approach ps if we had the money i'd rather see a striker and a pacy winger come in, cos whelpdale doesnt look fully fit and rooney is only quick in bursts
I agree with this point but I feel AH went out and got the more technical players rather than the physical sort as if Gills are to make the transition from a league 2 to league 1 team at the end of this season, then it will mean less purchases next season to get rid of the physical players who would perhaps struggle in league 1. All Kedwell needs is a person to play alongside him week in week out who is of a decent standard to take both the goalscoring burden of his shoulders and also to distract the CBs. ideally for this role you want somebody with pace to get onto the flick ons from the inevitable long balls from our CBs.
I have also said to play Rooney upfront with Kedwell or Why dont we try to get Fabian Brandy for a trail as if he was fit would be ideal to play with Kedwell,
