Yes,good point mate. I wondered about this as Ipswich often seemed to have loads of space about 7 or 8 yards outside our box,that nobody seemed to be picking up. Mind you,it seemed just as noticeable in the first half. Is LJ trying to get them to defend zonally do you think?
I wouldn't know mate, it just seemed that way to me and I've never heard of zonal marking in open play. Its just been easier for me to shout, "mark him you useless bastard"
If a player is having a stinker, booing only pushes him further into himself. Encouragement will help raise him up. Moaning or shouting in frustration is natural and is completely different from booing. All the old hands will tell you that at Roker Park the crowd would shout out their derision at bad play but even before that had died down a swell of deafening encouragement would follow. Booing happened but thankfully rarely… except at the ref. Or maybe we just had better players then. Or maybe my memory has its rose tinted specs on!
Ive lost count of the number of games where the opposition right winger is in acres of space. For some reason it’s alway that side.
We were high up in the East Stand for the first half against Ipswich, it was painful watching Gooch trying to cope with two attackers.
Didn't see that, canny annoyed Gooch was exposed, was it a case of Ipswich targeting him or that one of our players went missing?
It wasn't so much that O9,who was playing left back,went missing. He seemed to be covering into the middle more than staying wide,something I've been a bit critical of Cirkin for doing when he's been playing. Ipswich aren't the first team this season to play a wide right winger against us and constantly feed him the ball.
Charlton did it with ease and it paid dividends. Other managers will study how we play and will also look to how we were beaten by other teams. Its one of the flaws that need ironing out. As you say if you can switch it quick enough they will have a man in acres of space. I would have thought playing a defensive midfielder meant that he can drop in and the full backs can stay wider. Its a tactic us old timers call, "stop the ****ing cross man" .
Agree. That defensive midfield area 5-10 or so yards outside our box seems to be a problem for us. The opposition often have loads of space in there and it's maybe why the full back keeps getting dragged more into the middle.
Playing that defensive midfielder should negate that, unfortunately our defensive midfielder Evans has been very poor every time I've seen him play and was a liability as soon as he picked up the needless yellow card on Saturday. I hope that position is addressed in January because as well as being injury prone, he doesn't offer enough as a captain or enforcer in the middle of the park and his passing is woeful.
It's weird with Evans as he looked brilliant in earlier games. Same as Power's early days. I thought we had a great midfielder there.
Would really like LJ to give Winchester a start in that role. Thought he steadied the ship on Saturday when he moved into the middle. He's full of confidence now very mobile and reads the game much better than O'Nein. Saying that no one can play that role by themselves we really need to discover a midfield partnership that understand each other and we can build a team around. Something that should have been addressed long before now.
Aye but two of those 3 sendings off in close succession were shocking decisions. He didn’t seem the same player afterwards…kind of to be expected when referees were looking for any excuse to show the red.
