The first goal left Loach with almost no chance of making a save, the midfield were more at fault than the back 4 as they did not pressure the ball that was being passed around at leisure on the edge of our box, even the closing down of RMs shot that led to the deflection was poor & slow. Hampy you did clearly compare Loach to Hart, they all make mistakes as Hart found out against the Jocks a week ago!
I actually think playing an out and out winger there would be more beneficial for Cresswell (not that we have an out and out LW anyway) because it would mean he would get more support. Tabb is a hard worker but whoever has played out there Martin or Tabb drifts out of position and leaves alot of space wide left meaning Cresswell is often doubled up on both defensively and offensively. Which is why I say I didn't mind Murphy playing there because he generally kept wide left and helped Cresswell out. I don't think Cresswell is the best LB i've seen defensively but he's alot better than people give him credit for and is probably the best all round LB I've seen at the club!!!
October who'd played well during preseason. Surely it's better to play a player who plays that position rather than a CB who's not great with the ball at his feet?? Like I've said it's not a criticism of Mick but the whole Mick play players in their correct position is IMO a myth, he plays players out of position as much as any other manager!!!
I still don't think we're creating many clear cut chances at all. I can't really think of us creating a chance that hasn't either come from a Cresswell shot or a pot shot outside of the penalty box or a set piece, so IMO we need to be more creative
theres too much negativity going on here guys. we've lost to 2 teams that we know will be up there come may. whooped the wallies. im sure we all expected more from saturday but we all know you can't odds this league. we've gotten used to struggling the last few seasons and did'nt most of us have a fair bit of optimism coming into this season. we have a squad that can compete in the top ten another couple of signings wouldn't go amiss preferably midfield and a striker that will score on a regular basis. Mick will sort us out,i have every faith in him
Perhaps there is a lot of negativity Mad Ads, however, I am none too happy with how we're looking on the pitch. While the results are bad, the following is alarming too- * Defensively we are not anywhere near as strong as last season, we are giving away a few soft goals. This needs sorting out ASAP. * Zero creativity in the side!!! Making it VERY difficult for the strikers to put the ball in the net, we're creating very little of note. * Where are the goals coming from in midfield!?!?! * Even WITH creativity, which we are majorly lacking at the minute, our " strike force " doesn't inspire me that they could potentially net a bucket load!!! McGoldrick - 15 absolute maximum Murphy - 10 maximum Taylor isn't even properly fit yet Nouble has potential, however, I am not convinced he is going to net us a lot! " we have a squad that can compete in the top ten " I really do disagree with that, see another article where I posted regarding that. Granted, it's early days and a lot can change. 3 points at Birmingham would certainly make the situation a lot better ( stating the obvious really ! ), and I don't judge the league table really until 10/12/15 games or so. However, based on what I have seen vs Reading when I went, and Leeds which I streamed, I am quite alarmed with how we currently look.
That's true, but it was the way we handled the ball at the back that kept giving Leeds possession and invited pressure on. Hart is certainly not at his best lately, but that particular save was a good example of how you can make it a lot more difficult from that sort of range just by standing up and making yourself big. Mignolet has a hell of a swagger about him so far this season. Sometimes it's not stats but these undefinable traits that decide games - it is a battle of wits as well as skill and tactics after all. Forwards must look at Loach and decide it's worth a hit. If we had fought for every ball and been sharp with our own possession I think we'd have won Saturday, that's all I'm saying, it's a psychological thing at the moment, we don't look in it to win it.
Agree with most of this, though it's not all bad, still think we'll do okay this season. I still think we look decent defensively and generally most of the goals we have conceded have been fairly unlucky, I still look at that back line and think we're fairly solid, ok Loach isn't the best of keepers and clearly Hewitt is learning alot, I'd get in another GK but keep Hewitt there, he needs to get experience and the lads definitely got potential. Agree with the rest though, we have an at best average squad for this division who desperately lacks creativity and as you say even if we did have that creativity I'm not sure our we have the best strikers to take advantage of this. Positives compared to the end of last season though; Our full backs are getting forward with much greater effect We are actually keeping the ball much better but this is generally down to Skuse Mick is definitely the best man to get the best out of these players though, he's done it all his career, getting the best out of average players, so to think another man could come in and do a better job with this set of players is ridiculous!!
Adding to the argument that Mick is a round pegs in round holes person, Chambers at RB and Tunnicliffe as LW?
All this endless talk about formations and tactics may well be great for the anoraks but it misses the whole point completely! The fact is that we are light years behind the top teams In terms of quality and now Evans has lost interest and decided to keep the cheque book closed we shall be in for more years of mediocre football. Mick is doing the best he can but he isn't a miracle worker and as soon as a club comes in for him that shows some real ambition he will be off and who can blame him? Anyhoo I shall leave you all to continue your highly interesting and thoughtful analysis on formations and tactics.
You can tell I'm gonna go for a dig JWM. Didn't you say you thought Mick had assembled a quality squad over the summer?? Surely you can't change your opinion after 5 games of which we've been fairly unlucky and actually played well (Well Mick thinks we have)?? Think formations and tactics are actually pretty important and certainly could get more out of the players we have if we tried other formations IMO.
Formation and tactics are everything, it's what the Beautiful Game is all about, that, and the deployment of players that can play in a particular formation.
