Bergen Blade
Well-Known Member
Having now seen the Yeovil game I think fans have been slightly too harsh on individuals. The team selection was ok, but I think Yeovil's style surprised us. It looked like me that our pre match pep talk consisted of things like "Yevoil are going to make it hard for us, defending deep, getting men behind the ball and slowing the pace of the game down. We have to remain patient, but in the end we'll have enough quality to beat them. Just keep passing it and eventually they'll open up. Remember, be patient."
Instead they came out of the blocks with all guns blazing, pressed us all over the pitch, denied us from playing and not only that, they had excellent movement going forward. When they went forward they managed to have a lot of passes going to players who were running forward. Sometimes they went direct and played it up to a back to goal forward, but then he'd often knock it back to a midfielder who had already started a strong run and he'd find space between behind our midfield. They had loads of players who sprinted into space and most of them looked like they had the confidence and ability to beat a man when on the ball. At times it looked like they had 12 men.
In contrast we were very rigid, and lacked movement before a pass. Most of our players were standing still and had their backs to their goal when they received a pass. While Yeovil looked fitter than us I think the reason why they looked quicker and more up for it was more connected to them succeding in dictating how the game was going to be like. We thought the key would be to remain patient, they showed no respect and were aggressive and positive, bombing forward with great enthusiasm.
When we get shocked by the opposition like we were we need to quickly realise what's happening and then try to make tweaks to change things. This was a game where some managers (like diCanio or Uwe Rössler) make substitutions after 20 minutes. Sometimes it helps to just do something, anything to change the pattern of the game. Wilson could have swapped Murphy and Blackwell; moved Murphy wide, Flynn inside and played 4-5-1/4-3-3. As it happened we improved slightly after 15-20 minutes, maybe why Wilson didn't do anything. It was only a temporary improvement though and even straight after the break we struggled to deal with them.
In terms of personell I think McMahon's lack of overlapping is a big worry if we're sticking with Blackman on the right. McMahon is most of the time a standing full back, refusing or unable to run with the ball (oh, how we miss Lowton's composure, runs and creativity), although his right foot is decent and some fans will be happy with his contribution. Kitson's general play is a worry when he is playing against defenders who are bigger, stronger and fitter than him. Flynn is a technically sound player whose reading of the game and work rate means he does well defensively. His attacking play sufffers on poor winter pitches though, and I'd like to see someone with more pace come in and run into channells and be more direct.
Murphy got a couple of crosses in when he switched to the left, and I'd like to see him get a run there. In general we need more players who can make runs into space before they receive the ball. Players like Blackman, Flynn, McDonald and McMahon just want to receive the ball and then see what they can do with it. I think the player who is best equipped to add off the ball movement is Elliott Whitehouse, and I hope we try to get him included. I don't want him to just take on Doyle's role at the moment, in fact the next player I would look for would be a big, physical central midfielder to give Doyle competition. I also think we should try someone else at left back.
Again, here's what I'd like to see tried:
4-5-1, but with Doyle patrolling in front of the back four, the rest of the midfield could hopefully go forward more. Young, eager bench.
Instead they came out of the blocks with all guns blazing, pressed us all over the pitch, denied us from playing and not only that, they had excellent movement going forward. When they went forward they managed to have a lot of passes going to players who were running forward. Sometimes they went direct and played it up to a back to goal forward, but then he'd often knock it back to a midfielder who had already started a strong run and he'd find space between behind our midfield. They had loads of players who sprinted into space and most of them looked like they had the confidence and ability to beat a man when on the ball. At times it looked like they had 12 men.
In contrast we were very rigid, and lacked movement before a pass. Most of our players were standing still and had their backs to their goal when they received a pass. While Yeovil looked fitter than us I think the reason why they looked quicker and more up for it was more connected to them succeding in dictating how the game was going to be like. We thought the key would be to remain patient, they showed no respect and were aggressive and positive, bombing forward with great enthusiasm.
When we get shocked by the opposition like we were we need to quickly realise what's happening and then try to make tweaks to change things. This was a game where some managers (like diCanio or Uwe Rössler) make substitutions after 20 minutes. Sometimes it helps to just do something, anything to change the pattern of the game. Wilson could have swapped Murphy and Blackwell; moved Murphy wide, Flynn inside and played 4-5-1/4-3-3. As it happened we improved slightly after 15-20 minutes, maybe why Wilson didn't do anything. It was only a temporary improvement though and even straight after the break we struggled to deal with them.
In terms of personell I think McMahon's lack of overlapping is a big worry if we're sticking with Blackman on the right. McMahon is most of the time a standing full back, refusing or unable to run with the ball (oh, how we miss Lowton's composure, runs and creativity), although his right foot is decent and some fans will be happy with his contribution. Kitson's general play is a worry when he is playing against defenders who are bigger, stronger and fitter than him. Flynn is a technically sound player whose reading of the game and work rate means he does well defensively. His attacking play sufffers on poor winter pitches though, and I'd like to see someone with more pace come in and run into channells and be more direct.
Murphy got a couple of crosses in when he switched to the left, and I'd like to see him get a run there. In general we need more players who can make runs into space before they receive the ball. Players like Blackman, Flynn, McDonald and McMahon just want to receive the ball and then see what they can do with it. I think the player who is best equipped to add off the ball movement is Elliott Whitehouse, and I hope we try to get him included. I don't want him to just take on Doyle's role at the moment, in fact the next player I would look for would be a big, physical central midfielder to give Doyle competition. I also think we should try someone else at left back.
Again, here's what I'd like to see tried:
Long
McMahon Maguire Higginbotham McFadzean
Blackman Whitehouse Doyle McDonald Murphy
Kitson
Subs: Coyne, Kennedy, Westlake, Flynn, Tønne, DeGirolamo, Ironside. 4-5-1, but with Doyle patrolling in front of the back four, the rest of the midfield could hopefully go forward more. Young, eager bench.
