Think it has to be down to the training and conditioning. Are we flogging them too much at the AOL so that when matchday comes we have heavy legs?
Wouldn't say we always do, but there have been a number of flat performances (Ipswich, Preston, Stoke, Cardiff, Coventry) where you wonder what they've been doing in match prep
Interesting question. I would say it can only be a mentality thing. Maybe a squad as young as ours can be like that. Mowbray and Venus will be clear on the importance of starting properly, some of them are probably yet to learn how to start fast, daft as it sounds. I say to any team I coach, just before they go on the pitch, to make sure you make the first tackle, have the first shot. When I played I never felt in the game until I had done something positive, so I was like a madman in the first couple of minutes trying to make a contribution. I think we need a bit more of that desire from the whistle but it has to come from the players. The old saying win the first battles and you win the game is quite true in my opinion.
Yeah lack of senior players in the squad is about as good a guess as I could make. They are a bunch of kids at the end of the day even if several of them do have leadership qualities. Probably missing someone like Evans who they all look up to and will help dictate play. Pritchard and Dack also do that role well. I don't blame Mowbray for it you can tell he's doing everything he can to get them fired up and he's as frustrated as anyone when we look lethargic.
Honestly just think its a thing that happens in football. Sometimes we'll start quick other times it will take a while to get into the game and I think that happens with most teams. We have started quick multiple times this season, Ipswich, Southampton, Sheff Wed, Watford just off the top of my head.
