My take on the last couple games and the season in general The game plan is simple to work out imo We get at them usually early press like mad get a goal or two. We’ll use milwall and Coventry for example as recency Then when we’ve got a comfortable lead we know we have a strong defence let the other team have the ball and break us down. Which they can’t do. Whilst still playing on the break. Coventry got a lucky deflection that got them back in the game but we missed chances before and after that to extend the lead. We missed chances against milwall then got caught sleeping on the counter once when they didn’t trouble us all game The game plan is getting a lot of stick the last two games because we’ve made errors on individuals and lost the 3 points. When in reality it’s not down to tactics. It’s worked for the majority of games this season and that’s why we have the best home and away record in the league We normally don’t just hoof the ball away but we’ve been struggling in the middle and it’s no surprise that Jobe is missing. He’s a key factor in us retaining the ball in trouble
The lack of control we have in second halfs isn't just the last couple of games though. It's been lots of the season. You can not claim unlucky when we concede so much possession and dangerous attacks in the final third. There have been a few games , a good few when the opposition have had significantly higher xg and we have stole the points. Eventually, this is going to bite you in the arse. Last 4 draws for a example. We are third in the table for best away from. WBA are top. We are fourth in the table for home form, Sheffield, Leeds and Watford have more points at home than we do. We need to maintain possession control of games better and use the bench. I get RLB is obsessed with player control and instruction but he is going to have to trust his squad more as the season goes otherwise very good players will be out on their feet and make mistakes which loses us control of games (Rigg yday etc. 55% pass completion and couldn't run after 70 mins). RLB has done absolutely fantastic but I think if he tweaks the above slightly we will pick up the big 3 instead of the single point more than often. That could mean promotion, compared to slipping down the league. Think we are 10th or so in form guide. That won't keep you in the hunt for long.
thats just your opinion, however Barnes and Benno said it, ive been told so did Frankie on SAFsee, so im not the only one.
I actually thought Dan played really well yday and carried out midfield. Rigg was absolutely shocking and a major reason why we allowed Millwall back into the game. He shouldn't have been on the pitch for 20-30 mins though so I am not blaming him.
I did notice that we abandoned the playing it out from the back tactic, in favour of long balls up field from the defence and keeper. The trouble with that was the ball kept coming right back at us. I hope they learn from this.
This exactly - its the downside of being overloaded with talented younger players. Still rather have what we got though. KTF and FTM t
The lack of control second half is the plan. And it works. This is exactly what I’m saying. We are joint top on away form. Only on GD. And we have a game in hand on home form, I should have typed one of the best. we will never control possession, I think there’s only been one or two games this season we’ve had more possession, it’s not our way, we don’t want to have the ball and have to break teams down. if we took our chances, the game plan wouldn’t be questioned. The attack didn’t do its job yesterday, the defence did up until a stupid error in the last minute. Milwall created no clear opportunities in open play until then. xG I can appreciate, but we also have to look at cumulative xG. The only game I can find where a team had significantly more was Luton, but they had 15 shots off target and only 4 on, one of which was a goal, a tap in on the line which accumulated for most of their xG
He also often misidentifies our players while giving the life history of the opposition he is truly bloody awful, he should be replaced but that will never happen.
This is similar to how RLB achieved the success he did with Lorient. It worked for them, for a while, and it's currently working for us. Although I didn't see that much of his Lorient side, I believe he's adapted since then and his poor second season.
They dropped off at lorient, because he lost his best attacking players and you can see watching him with us why that would cause a drop off if we lost Roberts Mayenda Isidor and Mundle all at once. Wed end games 0-0 or 1-0 loss. Also Jobes injury has knocked the midfield structure he’s a big part of our controlling the ball and counter attacking too. Hence the last 3 games we’ve been a bit meh I feel we control the game against WBA now
That's only true if current form becomes future form and there's nothing to suggest it will. Burnley had a spell of 'current form', before their last two games, that was much worse than ours ... ... they're still in the hunt and two points off top. Picking out spells of games and stats is almost meaningless, you could just as easily say we've had 3 of the last 4 games away. We now have 3 of the next 4 at home so current form could drastically change. If Leeds lose today their current form will be L2, D1, W2 of their last 5 games ... ... but most people wouldn't put big money on them failing to go up. I doubt they've had half their team out whereas we've lost key players all over the pitch, everyone from the keeper to the CF. So being top after a run of away games, unbeaten and so many players missing means the bare stats aren't quite what the may appear to be imo.
I know I use it a lot but the most recent example was Ipswich mid December to mid February 9 championship games 1 win (bonus points for the opposition ) and they came second. people talk about away from but the last 5 away games we’ve taken 9 points almost 2 PPG
I don't know of course, but its possible he had been instructed to play deeper by the coaching staff, its not his natural game at all, in the U21's he stays high and is often brought into play by Caden Kelly or Harrison Jones and they are a devastating combination at that level.
If that's the case it's poor imo. Watson is great in the final third but weak and hesitant for any kind of defensive roles. He looked lost at times, as did Rigg ... I thought Neil vanished in the second half so the midfield was failing to protect the back line imo. I thought Neil might've indicated to RLB that he needed help.
