And again, starting from the position that building from the back is disliked, people try to fit the facts to support that. Touches per 90 for our stellar forward line - Philogene 54, Carvalho 61, Zaroury 62, Omur 61. Compare that to some attacking sides above us; Leicester - Daka 33, Mavidi 53, Fatawu 53, Vardy 27 Leeds - Rutter 43, Summerville 57, James 48, Piroe 36 Our stellar forward line get plenty of the ball, but other forward lines do more with it.
Mental when we played Rotherham they had the worlds best keeper, most goals conceded in the league even before Coventry’s 5-0 win last night
We pass the ball around in our own third a lot, we sometimes play some really attractive football in the middle third with intricate one-touch passes and then once we get into the opponent's third it's like there's no cohesive attacking game plan. In fact, it's like watching two different teams entirely. In the first two thirds of the pitch, it's a well-drilled game plan of 'draw the opposition's press and play short passes to beat it' which is very methodical and collective but in the final third, it's all very individualistic. Relying on the likes of Delap, Philogene and more recently Carvalho to do some individual brilliance to score a goal or create a chance. People say Delap is why we're not playing as well recently but this was an issue when he was fit and playing. Delap often received the ball, turned and tried to take two or three players on himself to get forward. We have a lot of shots per game but few are good chances, just shots from outside the box that often go well wide or high. We play as a collective in the first two thirds of the pitch and a team of individuals in the final third.
Thomas Frank? Look at the 'apprenticeship' he served, both in Denmark and then here, before finally getting the head coach role at Brentford late 2018..
One grumble from me is that our wide men are not on the shoulder of the defenders they are 10-15 yds shy of them - therefore always having to beat at least one man before being effective . Also we had a counter late on yesterday and Zaroury ambled forward to about the 30 yd mark so it fizzled out as we didn’t have enough men forward . I cannot for the life of me understand why ANY player doesn’t bust a gut to get a chance to score - it’s a fantastic feeling , and you are the hero - why would players hang back - David Brown was a classic case of that at times - he hid Stuart Elliot in his last year dropped to a position where he had to hear the back but as his pace was lessening he became less effective ( he was awesome before that !)
Philogene does tend to play off the shoulder at times, looking for that ball over the top, either when Allsop, Greaves or Jones have it. However, Allsop's long-range kicks are hit or miss and Greaves and Jones either A. don't see Philogene making that clever run or B. they've been told not to make those risky passes over the top and instead retain possession with shorter passes.
I don't get the incessant need to play to feet either. We have forwards with pace now, they look like they want it played into space for them to run onto yet they always get it to feet, have to take a step, and lose momentum. Here's hoping we can cling on to 6th until Delap returns, and he returns in similar form. He should thrive. PS. It's criminal we didn't bring in someone to replace him during the transfer window. Especially now given all the BS about Ohio being raw, not fit enough etc etc.
Me neither. Even at Sunday league level as a kid, my coaches always told us to pass ahead of the receiving player on the half-turn, even if it's just a yard ahead for a simple, short pass, so that the player receiving the pass can take it in their stride and keep momentum. Playing a pass to feet means the receiver has to be facing you and then has to turn and adjust his body. Those extra seconds of taking an extra touch and adjusting your body gives the opposition time to close you down quicker and kills any momentum. Passing into space should always be the priority. Passing to feet should be a last resort or if the receiver is tightly marked high up the pitch. For example, I was watching the Luton vs Man City game and Mengi was tightly-marking Haaland in the first half so passing to Haaland's feet was ideal as he could play a one-touch pass back to De Bruyne or whoever and quickly turn and run into space, dragging Mengi out of position. But in build-up, passing ball to feet to centre-mids, centre-backs, wingers or full-backs is criminal in the professional game.
I think people are putting way to much on delap and him not being in the squad etc... he averaged a goal every 3.7 games for us which isn't fantastic, if he comes back this season he's going to be well off the pace at first and who knows how long it'll take him to get back to full match fitness/sharpness etc. He's obviously a miss and you'd rather have him fit then not, but the issues we have were issues when he was fit also. It's just very easy to say they'd do xyz etc when a players out injured,truth is, he's another young inexperienced youngster and we just don't know unfortunately. It's got to be the clubs #1 priority this summer
One of the reasons the wide men don't cross early is because if they do, there's no one in the box to cross to. Combined with the fact that most of our forward players are vertically challenged and those that aren't midgets are poor to rubbish at heading the ball, means that crosses are a last resort. It's all right saying "play a striker" but who do you drop to play one? If Ohio was ours, and we didn't have a specific target of the plays offs, then it would be worth giving him more minutes to see what he can do, but in our present position, I'm not sure he's worth it except in desperation. Connelly, (if fit) would be a better bet
To be fair to him, he was played on the wing for the majority of that time. Agree with the point though.
My twopenneth, tis the morning after reflection, still so, so, frustrated & disappointed. Another game of two halves & sub impacts. First half, thought we played some sexy, lovely, passing footie, dominant in control in possession, but, impotent where it matters, no end product, no killer instinct, poor decision making, possession wasted. Philogene, for all his promise and glory, so frustrating, needs spelling out, no I in team. Brum were never going to be as poor in 2nd half, 4 subs together, Pritchard and Juke, much more effective than our changes. They had a game plan, gave us a lesson, hit the target man, it worked. Things no longer in our own hands, we’ve now given the initiative to Norwich, just hoping Middlesbrough can put out a good show, fingers crossed. I get Rosie is short on striker options but this repetitive idea he’s got at present of doing the same thing, playing without a focal striker, expecting a different outcome is madness. It needs changing up, or existing options are never going to get match fitness. UTT.
Exactly. I said it last season and I'm still saying it this late on in this season. It's clear what Rosenior has brought in terms of how we play in our own third and the middle third. But then when it gets to the attacking third there just doesn't seem to be any plan or noticable impact from his coaching. As you say, it's like the plan is simply to get to the final third and then rely on individual effort. And that's whether it's from open play or set pieces. That's why I keep saying I just don't think Rosenior has it in his locker. It's pointless him saying things like "I'm angry"', "I'm sick of repeating myself", "the players have to xx", blah blah. It's on you. As well as the above, as others have said, the style of our play means the opposition are typically set up to deal with us by the time we get near their penalty box. We seem to lack urgency and be too casual, clever, not direct enough. We've suffered from very poor recruitment decisions up front (Connolly a good player but as some warned from day one a decision Rosenior should not have made as he's not 'reliable' enough, Sharp past it, Ohio apparently not what we needed this season - so that's 3 spaces 'wasted', and Oscar released = 4 poor decisions that Rosenior is at least a key party to if not even driving. Even then, at least use the available strikers as intended rather than playing without strikers. Sharp should never be starting, he's for the last 20-30. If Ohio needs to get up to speed with Championship football then the only way he'll get it is by starting him (otherwise what an utterly ridiculous decision to bring him in at all). Play Connolly when he is available. But the main point is the first paragraph; we have the talent. (and good earlier post too .... "I don't think the re-set would be Greaves first option Charon. He likes to get forward and get the ball forward... when he played with Fleming where he was here he was called for getting out of position. This has been 'coached' into Jones and Greaves...")
We're just not a consistent or balanced team. We knock it around comfortably enough in our own third and then give it to the wingers and hope for the best. We shoehorn a load of #10s in various positions, up front as false nines, on the wings etc. We don't have a defensive mid and haven't for nearly two seasons now. As a squad, it looks good on the likes of FIFA with all these technical players with good attributes but in real life, it translates to a team with a weak spine and a confused possession philosophy mixed with an individualistic approach with flair players in forward areas.
The fact he was played out wide ( in a 3 at times ) says enough in itself about how wrong LR has got things up top this season
AS Brum Manager said they brought the Juke on as a focal polnt, which we don't seem to have, we should have been aware of his danger as he has scored against us previously. All that nice play,possession and passing, but Ruddy only had one shot to save.
Agree but he is a lot better than what we have at the moment which Must affect the team overall. Kieffer Moore would have been a good signing.
I think you're clutching at a distant straw here. Even 'If' Delap were to return in or around our near 3 week sabbatical and by some miracle be anywhere near ready to play 90 minutes of competitive Football at a tough stage of the season,how many games would he be risked in a 4 week period in which we play 8 games? Trying not to be completely negative here but I think we'll be lucky to see the lad back this season and even if we did,how many games would he be realistically expected to compete in. This run in looks a tough,tough gig and I'm worried that our regular week in/week out players might pick up knocks and strains that will see them on the physio's bench. Personal opinion,Delap isn't going to be our saviour,someone else needs to step up.
Cmon people it's not rocket science why we struggle at home, it's no coincidence that our better performances have come against those teams prepared to have a go, thereby allowing us to pick the gaps, most teams now are coming to us to set.up solid, frustrate us, we certainly seem to struggle breaking them down. I can see us turning Leicester over, but the lower teams know if they sit in they'll get a chance or 2. As Rosie illuded to, we need better decision making and a killer streak, whether we have that in our arsenal remains to be seen.
