A Few Thoughts on Strategy & Tactics

[ucandomagic]

When you play a back 4, including 2 full-backs with almost no defensive instincts, you are setting yourself up to be fucked.

Burrows is a great guy, but the sun doesn’t shine out of his arse - his lack of defensive awareness was a significant contributor to Sunderland’s first goal at Wembley, and Brisl’s second yesterday. Both pivotal moments.

If you’ve got 3 at the back, or a double pivot defensive mid, there is at least someone to fill the gap when you go missing.

If Femi & Harrison are to be as adventurous as Rubes wants them to be, then they need a Bash (or Anel) & JOC behind them, not Tyler & Robbo.

If you want a hole you buy a drill, if you get a dose you need antibiotics - certain jobs need certain tools! Equally, if you’ve only got a drill, don’t try to cut something in half.

If your strategy is high action, high press, vertical running all over the pitch (chaos as Rubes called it) you have to have good defenders who can attack, rather than vice versa - otherwise you will keep losing 5-3 (on quite a good day)!

UTB & FTP!

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

Watching it back again Burrows is more at fault for the second goal than RND. A player has the ball in front of RND who closes him down, as no one else was around to do it. Hamer, I think it was, then runs in behind RND after the player rolls it to his right to an unmarked player who shoots straight away and scores. RND was in a no win situation. If he ignored the first player to concentrate on the unmarked player to the right then the first player shoots and scores. Where was Burrows? What was Hamer (or whoever it was), doing instead of picking up that player? It was such a weird run to make into the box.

As for goal three. Three United players went to the player with the ball and none got a tackle/block in. Peck was actually the player nearest to the crosser when the final ball went in, not RND. As for Bindon, that was plain slow reactions. It was almost as if he saw the three United players trying to block the cross, switched off and decided "no work for me to do here, job done." I wouldn't call it poor per se, more incredibly naive.

The first goal was a bit odd too. We had so many players dropping back deep quickly to the point where we'd flooded our box, but none of them seemed to be marking the only three Bristol players in and around the box, leading to a panicked tackle and free kick. I can't fault the goal itself, that was a good finish to his credit and we'd have been happy if Hamer had scored that.

I'm not too concerned about RND as he'll be out of the picture as soon as we sign another centre back. But I am a bit concerned about Burrows as defensively he looked off in pre-season and has continued this into the first game. With this high press attacking set-up the defence have got to do their jobs better. A player unmarked for the second goal. A cross coming in down his side which RND and Peck had to try to block. Burrows is more accountable for those two than anyone else.

 

[ThirdGenBlade]

Totally agree GraphMan. For the Sunlan goal, Burrows had Mayenda covered perfectly, while JLT was covering the guy in the centre with the ball. Burrows panicked and charged across towards the ball, leaving a huge gap in front of Mayenda.

The ball was immediately passed into that gap leaving JLT completely exposed on his outside to a fast winger - no contest, either a penalty or a shot - sadly Mayenda executed the latter perfectly.

For me, Burrows’ indiscipline cost us the game just as much as Big Kieff’s “assist”!

If we are playing to a system with full-backs, we need full-backs with defensive discipline.

UTB & FTP!

 

[Blademan89]

Tbh we had 3 fullbacks with no defensive instincts and a 19 year old which had never played a championship game of football before. That was our back 4, and that's on the owners.

 

[Barry Butlin]

Anel should never have been let go until a replacement was in, now we’re desperate and selling clubs will milk that !!

 

[Blacksea]

Anybody know what the game plan was at 1-4 because I had stopped taking notice of what was happening by then,was it just damage limitation or towel thrown in?

 

[Geordie Blade]

Anybody know what the game plan was at 1-4 because I had stopped taking notice of what was happening by then,was it just damage limitation or towel thrown in?

There probably was a game plan, but the players stopped following it.

 

[joe casey]

That defence - with the absolute lack of cover in midfield, was a recipe for disaster from the start. Assume soumare may have started had we got him in earlier but we looked painfully weak in midfield and that only added to the ineptness of the defence

 

[Badger Blade]

The system was all wrong for the players in the team.

I have no issue with last season's 4231 but being more attack minded with it would have cured last season's ills. There are times when you have to grind out a result and get men behind the ball but not every week against every team as soon as you go a goal up. It was more around mentality rather than the way we set up - its a tried and tested system that a lot of teams use but don't do it like we did. We could easily set up that way and be pretty fluid going forward then basically become a midfield 5 when defending and then send the wide men bombing forward when we win it back.

Saturday was too far the other way with only Peck who has any sort of defensive instinct among the midfield left to do it by himself. In transition, it was reminiscent of being in the Premier League when every time we were going back towards our own goal, it was utter chaos and we got picked off over and over again. It was totally disorganised and looked like nobody had a clue where to be, what to do, who to pick up or which portion of the field they were meant to be patrolling.

O'Hare and Hamer aren't box to box, peak John Fleck-type midfielders. In a 433 like we did on Saturday, there might only be space for one of them in that system, which if a more defensive minded midfielder played, would ironically become a 4231 in many ways with one of the 3 pushing on behind Campbell with the wingers either side with an extra body helping defend.

RND is absolutely cooked at Championship level and he's one that we're going to be carrying and paying for another couple of years to be injured, play U23's and make up the numbers. We desperately need some defenders and not just foreign children. We need a big nasty bugger with plenty of games under his belt who knows the game and can be relied upon, basically a bigger, smarter, less error-prone version of Jack Robinson.

 

[FriethBlade]

Badger...We need a big nasty bugger with plenty of games under his belt who knows the game and can be relied upon, basically a bigger, smarter, less error-prone version of Jack Robinson....we've needed one ever since Souttar got injured, its a glaring hole that hasn't been filled, everybody knows it and its amazing nothing has been done about it.

Id test West Broms resolve with a bid for Heggem. Big lad, played a full season for them last year and is a Norweigan international.

 

[Nagima]

The system was all wrong for the players in the team.

I have no issue with last season's 4231 but being more attack minded with it would have cured last season's ills. There are times when you have to grind out a result and get men behind the ball but not every week against every team as soon as you go a goal up. It was more around mentality rather than the way we set up - its a tried and tested system that a lot of teams use but don't do it like we did. We could easily set up that way and be pretty fluid going forward then basically become a midfield 5 when defending and then send the wide men bombing forward when we win it back.

Saturday was too far the other way with only Peck who has any sort of defensive instinct among the midfield left to do it by himself. In transition, it was reminiscent of being in the Premier League when every time we were going back towards our own goal, it was utter chaos and we got picked off over and over again. It was totally disorganised and looked like nobody had a clue where to be, what to do, who to pick up or which portion of the field they were meant to be patrolling.

O'Hare and Hamer aren't box to box, peak John Fleck-type midfielders. In a 433 like we did on Saturday, there might only be space for one of them in that system, which if a more defensive minded midfielder played, would ironically become a 4231 in many ways with one of the 3 pushing on behind Campbell with the wingers either side with an extra body helping defend.

RND is absolutely cooked at Championship level and he's one that we're going to be carrying and paying for another couple of years to be injured, play U23's and make up the numbers. We desperately need some defenders and not just foreign children. We need a big nasty bugger with plenty of games under his belt who knows the game and can be relied upon, basically a bigger, smarter, less error-prone version of Jack Robinson.

Great analysis. Playing a 433 without the wide players defending when needed left us very open on the counter. A misplaced pass and it was panic stations. Also to me it appeared that Burrows was expected to be up the pitch when we got a foot on the ball at the back with RND moving across to full back.
Seriki in my view is someone who doesn't read the game well and allows opposition players to have possession from long passes as he is standing 5 yards inside than where he should be.

One came on and as we pushed up was give plenty of ball but he gave it away a lot of times as he doesn't have a good touch or balance. Cannon contributes very little in open play. And playing McCallum at right back is criminal as he is left footer.

The big risk in addition to this and what you have mentioned is the mindset of the players. Hamer, Peck, Robinson are emotional players. Brooks and Seriki were passive and Brooks has games where he is not tuned in. We didn't gel properly for most of last season but the spirit in the squad and respect for each other was visible. Of course that was up to the last 8 or so games last season where the wheels fell off the wagon.

 

[diplomat]

Totally agree GraphMan. For the Sunlan goal, Burrows had Mayenda covered perfectly, while JLT was covering the guy in the centre with the ball. Burrows panicked and charged across towards the ball, leaving a huge gap in front of Mayenda.

The ball was immediately passed into that gap leaving JLT completely exposed on his outside to a fast winger - no contest, either a penalty or a shot - sadly Mayenda executed the latter perfectly.

For me, Burrows’ indiscipline cost us the game just as much as Big Kieff’s “assist”!

If we are playing to a system with full-backs, we need full-backs with defensive discipline.

UTB & FTP!

Signing Burrows, with his obvious forward skill set and then playing him in a flat back four and not letting him cross the half way line because you play Hamer infront of him was a massive frustration last year. He needs to be as afar forward as we can allow. He’s a classic wing back. Think Wayne Quinn under Spackman versus when he came back and Warnock tried him in a flat back four.

 

[R&WStripedBlood]

What worries me more is the fans’ views that tactics won’t change as Seles is dogmatic about it.

 

[MiserableBlader]

I've said all the sensible things on here on the match thread and Deadbat's predictions.
BEFORE the game - and before/in most preseason friendlies.
Do we really need endless threads on the same disastrous fixed tactics?
(even though many still do not see it as I've also commented.)
Yes, the owners have shafted the squad.
But Selles has to realize
'when the facts (players) change, I change my mind (formation)'
Managers NEVER think THEY are the problem.
That's why they have to be sacked. - with an unearned payoff.

ps the three fit genuine midfielders (ie NOT NUMBER TENS like about 10 others!) are Peck, Blacker (out on loan) and Brooks (watching from the right wing and totally wasted.)
The much needed Vini replacement is nowhere near fit apparently.

pps There is NOT one CB good enough to be in a two let alone two (left and right footed)

SHAMBLES!