A draw was a fair result in the end today but our inability to defend a lead again must be more than psychological. We have a generally small side (especially in midfield and attack with Reach the only exception) and this lack of height is causing us problems at both ends of the pitch. It is no good firing high balls up to a solitary Bradshaw or putting in high crosses (and Parry put some quality ones in today) with Bradshaw and Taylor in the middle. At our end we are having real trouble defending corners (as shown in the second goal against us today) against teams with four or five big men when we only have two tall central defenders to counteract them with. I think back to the much maligned Morgan who could both hold the ball up the pitch and defend high balls in our box well - two things we are sadly lacking at the moment. As for depth, we are playing teams that can bring quality options and fresh legs on from the bench while our threadbare squad does not give us that choice so it is effectively 14 against 11. Many posts on this site have talked about taking positives from games (Parry and Reach would be the two today) but that can only take us so far. To my mind a team that has only won one game by the start of October is only going one way and that is down. The answer is clear - we need at least one experienced striker who can hold the ball up the pitch to take the load off Bradshaw and we also need more depth in the squad ( another right back so Woods can play right midfield and a midfield player to put some pressure on Wildig and Summerfield). I must say I have also not been impressed by the captain, either in terms of his defensive play (to me Jones looks a more effective defender) or his leadership qualities though I know his season has been interrupted by injury. The hostile reception to Carlisle's second goal is only a taste of what is to come unless the management act this week to strengthen our squad - we are all true fans and we deserve much better than this.
Well summed up. Reach and Parry were bringing the ball forward quite well and perhaps the only thing to do is to put in low crosses that can cause mayhem in the box. We do need to bring players in and start winning games convincingly, or else the attendance will drop and the negativity will cause damage in the long term.
Well said both; one win so far and averaging 0.9 points per game is just not good enough! I can't add to what you've said because it's just so true. You may win stuff with youngsters but you don't with lots of small players. SCS and Sharps doing well at Burton, who stopped their mini-slide today.
The problem with corners was not due to height, it was failure to track movement. The headed second goal was down to one of Carlisle's smaller players. The same applied to our offensive corners-good movement gave Mkandewire a headed chance in the first half at the near post. (happened again with someone else-don't remember who). Our main fault, having seen all games this season, is the failure to build on a lead. Yesterday easy opportunities were missed to make it at least 2-0. We have controlled all the away games (bar Orient) for over half the game and failed to add to a solitary goal lead. Even against Orient it was even for about an hour and then the defence did fall apart.
So, are we just not good enough or are we still missing bits of the jigsaw? Have only managed two matches so far but from those and reading all your great reports we don't seem to have an enforcer, leader or driver who might give us more control in the difficult mins at start and finish.
i watched the goals this morning on red button. 2 well taken goals by bradders and particularly parry. i am beginning to think the unthinkable, worse than the height of the squad. last season little money was given to graham, this season very little again. we have a squad of 17 and could only put 6 on the bench. i am beginning to think the club is being fattened up for sale, i wonder if rolands heart is still in the club. i hope all this is untrue as he has done so much for our club. money in the bank must be tempting to a prospective buyer. graham has done and is doing wonders with what he has to play for town. happy birthday yesterday graham. 10 games in, 1 win no wins at home, what on earth is going on Roland. the fault lies with roland and his board of 1. please prove me wrong Roland, because as far as i am concerned, the height of the squad pales into insignificance, comparede to what is going on in the boardroom. how much longer will GT stick it. Stand on me , there is a major story about to unfold! Floreat Salopia! come on Roland this is more inportant than badges, your clubs supporters need answers!
Look on the bright side we are unbeaten in 7 of the 10 games. Strikers are essential. If GT had signed someone (Marsden injury apart), by common consent Bradshaw should have started as 3rd/4th choice. No doubt he has done well but still not good enough to hold down a permanent place in League One (Easy chance missed last Saturday and another yesterday). For a striker, he is useless in the air (height does not come into it). His positional sense is poor. An abiding memory of last Saturday at Bradford is him missing at the near post (not the later easy chance) and prostrate on the ground grinning. Therein sums up his problem-no real drive. Height in the defence was provided by Winfield last Saturday and when the ball was in the air Hanson won virtually nothing, but anyone running at him would think their Christmases had come all at once (the first booking).
KDS, I agree with what you say about not building on leads but we all know that forwards at this level are rarely clinical with their finishing (otherwise they would be playing in higher divisions). The reason we cannot build on a lead is that we do not play high enough up the field because we do not have forwards who can hold up the ball while reinforcements from midfield arrive. I do think that height is still an issue - we forgo a significant number of scoring opportunities as we have nobody who can head the ball as a striker should. Barcelona manage to get away with it but their players are (slightly!) better than ours.
What you say goes back to my point. Bradshaw is not good enough to hold the ball up due to his lack of adeptness in the air and poor anticipation. On the other hand, Shrewsbury's style of play is not conducive to a prolific goalscorer. The crowd were having a go at the sideways/back passing yesterday, when booting the ball up front will get you nowhere with no one able to hold the ball up. My main criticism is that the players are schooled (it would appear) to pass and pass to retain possession but all too often fail to recognise space opening up in front of them. Driving into that space commits defenders/midfielders to come out of a holding position and creates more space.
Regarding that offensive corner, i thonk it was Reach who was sandwiched between two defenders but had got the jump timed right but unfortunately headed wide. Pace is also something missing alongside holding the ball upfront.it is all very well having a winger stride down the wing to cross it, only having to wait for other team players to catch up, along with the opposition defense.
Really disagree with that. Plenty of valid criticisms of Bradshaw, but he is a seriously determined individual who has, in the past, rejected loan offers to stay at the club; stays extra late for training and does bonus physio work and has recovered from a horrible period without scoring and with fans on his back to score 5 goals from 10 games this season.
All superficial, then, and doesn't translate to where it counts. Rejecting loans signifies that he wants to stay in his comfort zone despite GT saying it would prove beneficial to go out.
KDS, As always I respect your opinion but I think you are a bit harsh on Bradshaw. 5 goals at this stage of the season is a decent return for a striker in league 1 and an unwillingness to go out on loan could be interpreted as a determination to make it in this league. What we need is an experienced striker to pair up with him so we can play to his strengths more.
Not really related to the stuff above BUT I remember a few posts last season.......we haven't had good headers for ages....maybe it's a training field blind spot? You don't have to be tall or big to be able to head well.
I just do not see the same desire in Bradshaw as Taylor or Woods seem to possess or the leadership qualities of Goldson but I do agree that he needs support. Without exception, everyone was of the same mind on here and B & A last season that he should have gone out on loan.
Taylor is very similar to our ex player Collins in that he is a hunter, always on the prowl for the ball and an opportunity to do something useful with it. Bradshaw doesn't always have that look, positioning and awareness to him. To be fair though if Morgan was with us would he have a goal ratio of 1 goal in 2 games? Someone posed the question somewhere if Bradshaw was a new player with no baggage with our fans, would you be happy with his performance? That made me think and to be honest he deserves a start if we had more strikers, yet I just wish that he sometimes looked a little more clued up in some areas of his game. He's not even getting as many fouls in our favour either FFS
I thought that Lopez looked excellent. Didn't really get to see much of McAlinden, but he did take his goal very well.
"Former Tottenham defender Pascal Chimbonda, who was an unused substitute in the World Cup final in 2006, is training with League One Carlisle. The 34-year-old had previously been playing with non-League Market Drayton after leaving Doncaster." Any comments from the well informed Salopians?
