Firstly, let me just say that I didn´t see any of the game as such, last night, I only ´saw´ what I heard from Goreham and Adam Drury (and how we could have done wth him), but the picture did seem to be pretty clear.
As much as Adams´s fresh approach and ´play to win´ style has its benefits, sometimes, and this was one of them, parking the bus, frustrating the opposition, then hitting them on the break, is still the best chance of coming away with a win. Going to a team who´re on a 10 match unbeaten run, and expecting to wipe the floor with them, is extremely foolish and naive, and very likely to backfire. A draw there last night would have been an excellent result, as it would be away against any team in the top 10 or so, but this cavalier style of his is just asking for trouble, and I ´m sure it was just what Boro were waiting for. Sure enough, after what was it, 10 mins or so, they were already a goal up, and then you could pretty well see the way things would go, they were more than happy to sit back, let us huff and puff, and hit us on the break, the same tactic that we really should have been using against them.
Also, I´m sure like hundreds of others, I´m bemused when we have such a big and comparatively strong squad, why Adams seems reluctant to use them. I don´t disagree that after the Bolton result, he was justified in starting the same eleven again, but even in that game there were clear signs that both Whittaker and Olsson are not functioning on all cylinders, and last night just reconfirmed that. Martin, for all his big-heartedness is playing out of position, whether it´s because Adams really does believe that´s his best place, or because Martin himself is laying down the law, goodness knows, but surely that needs to be rectified sooner rather than later - especially when we have three ( soon to be four) perfectly capable centre-backs sitting around on the sidelines.
Boro, despite being the home team, actually played the perfect away performance, I know we played into their hands by thinking we could go there and take the game to them, but they had their tactics spot on, imo. Other teams will by now have sussed out Adams philosophy, and I think we can expect the same approach from plenty of teams, home and away, if we´re not careful. Some sort of plan B does need to be in place, and I don´t necessarily mean going from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2 to 4-2-4, and throwing caution to the wind, but dare one say, a slightly more Hughtonesque approach, ( tight defensively, with cutting counter-attacks) especially away at in form sides, might be preferable.
OTBC
Take your pick
Wrong tactic
Or no will to compete,
Personally
Two of many
Things causing our defeat
As much as Adams´s fresh approach and ´play to win´ style has its benefits, sometimes, and this was one of them, parking the bus, frustrating the opposition, then hitting them on the break, is still the best chance of coming away with a win. Going to a team who´re on a 10 match unbeaten run, and expecting to wipe the floor with them, is extremely foolish and naive, and very likely to backfire. A draw there last night would have been an excellent result, as it would be away against any team in the top 10 or so, but this cavalier style of his is just asking for trouble, and I ´m sure it was just what Boro were waiting for. Sure enough, after what was it, 10 mins or so, they were already a goal up, and then you could pretty well see the way things would go, they were more than happy to sit back, let us huff and puff, and hit us on the break, the same tactic that we really should have been using against them.
Also, I´m sure like hundreds of others, I´m bemused when we have such a big and comparatively strong squad, why Adams seems reluctant to use them. I don´t disagree that after the Bolton result, he was justified in starting the same eleven again, but even in that game there were clear signs that both Whittaker and Olsson are not functioning on all cylinders, and last night just reconfirmed that. Martin, for all his big-heartedness is playing out of position, whether it´s because Adams really does believe that´s his best place, or because Martin himself is laying down the law, goodness knows, but surely that needs to be rectified sooner rather than later - especially when we have three ( soon to be four) perfectly capable centre-backs sitting around on the sidelines.
Boro, despite being the home team, actually played the perfect away performance, I know we played into their hands by thinking we could go there and take the game to them, but they had their tactics spot on, imo. Other teams will by now have sussed out Adams philosophy, and I think we can expect the same approach from plenty of teams, home and away, if we´re not careful. Some sort of plan B does need to be in place, and I don´t necessarily mean going from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2 to 4-2-4, and throwing caution to the wind, but dare one say, a slightly more Hughtonesque approach, ( tight defensively, with cutting counter-attacks) especially away at in form sides, might be preferable.
OTBC
Take your pick
Wrong tactic
Or no will to compete,
Personally
Two of many
Things causing our defeat
