Have we got one foot in?

[blade too long]

I'd agree with that. Among the euphoria of Tuesday night, we've got to play waaay better against Preston than we did last Saturday. First shot on target was our first goal - about 70 minutes.

One step at a time.

we had 70% possession v wycombe and 10 shots on target 6 off
theres were 4/5 clear goal scoring opportunities before the goal , I suggest opening your eyes in the first half next match
theres 2 on the short clips video , and that doesnt include 3 charged down from close range
http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,,16478_7516925,00.html

 

[bartman]

Without a doubt, the team would be affected if Macca got injured. But the same could be said for the entire spine

Simmo - Collins - Doyle - Macca - Ched

Certainly wouldn't use Quinn in the middle, don't rate him there. So its Willo.

That said, we have a very solid team at this level, so I would hope that the style of play would remain, we just lose a ball playing option and it would mean that the wingers and fullbacks would have to step up more.

I think we have some cover in all areas except right back. Weir will come in if one of the two centre halfs are injured. Willo can play in the middle and Monty can replace Doyle. Hoskins will give us pace and guile in case Ched gets injured and we have Long and this trialist as keepers.

March will be a difficult month and my worry is that alot of the sqaud haven't played a full game for a while(Williams,Porter,Monty,BT,Hoskins) and I hope Wilson can give them a bit more game time to give them some match sharpness

 

[blade too long]

FLYNN SLIPPED IN FOR WILLIAMSON AND THE TEAM TOOK IT IN ITS STRIDE , WE HAVE A STYLE A SYSTEM THAT PLAYERS CAN DROP INTO WITHOUT AFFECTING US

isnt Morgan back running , hes not bad cover to have in a few weeks, and Ertl

 

[Bergen Blade]

On the subject of injuries, could we cope if McDonald got injured? He's one of our key players at the min. Could Williamson/Quinn move inside to cover for him without having a detrimental effect on the team?

If Williamson's head is right and he's fit then I'd say yes, not so sure about Quinn.

Interesting question. I think McDonald is the best playmaker in this division, but a fit and in form Williamson may well be the second best, so like you I hope he'd be picked there if McDonald was out. Would Wilson be tempted to play Monty though?

---------- Post added at 01:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 AM ----------

David Weir could play a part for us this season in case one of NC and HM should get injured.

Unless it's a long term injury for NC/HM, wouldn't Ertl be sufficient cover?

 

[Ollessendro]

Before McDonald came in and started playing regularly we were playing well. As much as I didn't like to see it, Monty and Doyle 'did a job'. This was particularly against the lesser teams. We still have other attacking options. Lowton adds a brilliant attacking option (bombing forward from RB) that most teams don't expect and cannot deal with. He links well with Flynn and Willo. The former has pace and trickery (and creates things from excellent delivery of corners) and on his day Williamson is a cut above this division. Early doors Quinny was tearing teams apart too. Ched is firing them in and we have other options (Hoskins etc). In this division, we'd create chances and beat teams.

That said, I absolutely don't want to lose McDonald. He's the best playmaker in the division (as Bergs says) and is making the team tick. He has really helped Wilson bring forwarded this footballing philosophy. We would not be playing the same with Monty and Doyle in the centre of the park. K mac's range of passing is fantastic and he always finds a red and white shirt. His game is developing too. At first he looked slow and unfit, yet passed brilliantly. He has worked on his fitness and gets his foot in too. Now he has started to support the forwards more. He's got his first goal and should have had another at Huddersfield (had it not been for a blatant foul).

Morale of the story: SESKU, could we play without K Mac? Probably. Do we want to be in tht position? Absolutely fucking not!

 

[super_pig]

>So you think 89 points will see us up? Im not so sure
well huddersfield were third on 87 last year, so i reckon around 90 should do it

 

[Rustyrobin]

Stop this right now! You are starting to sound like us. Virtually 17 points clear of third place and still we have fans saying we are going to cock up, even though we have a defense thats tighter than a ducks arse. Please, please enjoy whats coming 'cos we all think your going up auto. Charlton and Blades play football...nuff said!

 

[norfolkblade]

I'd agree with that. Among the euphoria of Tuesday night, we've got to play waaay better against Preston than we did last Saturday. First shot on target was our first goal - about 70 minutes.

One step at a time.

I thought we did alright Saturday, Wycombe parked the bus for an hour pretty much and we had to be patient and wait for our chance. Preston will be a different game to that I should imagine. We were a little slow in the first half I'll admit, but once we got the first goal we played some excellent stuff and got the result we deserved after basically bossing the game.

 

[stannyblade]

well huddersfield were third on 87 last year, so i reckon around 90 should do it

I think we will need at least 5 more than that at the moment

 

[TopBoy]

We are nowhere near to having one foot in. If we were in Charlton's position I'd yes but as others have pointed out we've been very lucky with injuries this season (about time), but it would only take a couple of injuries for say Collins and McDonald for us to be in a bit of a mess by having to shuffle the pack, playing players out of their favoured positions etc. Oh and what about Ched - his court case is next month so I guess Danny has worked on worse case scenario which is why Hoskins is with us.
Ask me again at Easter

 

[super_pig]

just checked the last five seasons and 90 points would have got us up every time

 

[stannyblade]

That doesnt mean it will this time though

 

[grafikhaus]

we had 70% possession v wycombe and 10 shots on target 6 off
theres were 4/5 clear goal scoring opportunities before the goal , I suggest opening your eyes in the first half next match
theres 2 on the short clips video , and that doesnt include 3 charged down from close range
http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,,16478_7516925,00.html

Possession counts for jack.

Yup. I've opened my eyes as per your kind suggestion and saw:

1st Half, McDonald shot. Close, but off target.

2nd Half, Ched into side netting. Close, but off target.

'24 minutes left', our first goal. And I maintain it was our first shot on target. It closely followed Wycombe's first shot on target - the one Simmo gathered at the second attempt.

 

[blade too long]

we had several charged down that were on target, but my main worry is the constant degradation of our displays generally
A lot of fans delete stuff from their memory , that nob on rs tonight saying we got pounded at huddersfield , yet bbc stats show we had 56% of the play

 

[bricktop]

we had several charged down that were on target, but my main worry is the constant degradation of our displays generally
A lot of fans delete stuff from their memory , that nob on rs tonight saying we got pounded at huddersfield , yet bbc stats show we had 56% of the play

Presenter - An our next caller is Bob the Owl, Evening, i understand you want to talk about Wednesday, is that right?
Bob - Yes that right, we aren't playing well at the minute
Presenter - Have you been to see them much recently
Bob - No, i don't get out much anymore
Presenter - Right i see, have you got anything else
Bob - Yeah, the Blades aren't that good either, they got pounded at Huddersfield,
Presenter - How do you know that
Bob - Listened to it on the Radio
Presenter - Thats interesting, have you got anything else for us?

 

[grafikhaus]

we had several charged down that were on target, but my main worry is the constant degradation of our displays generally
A lot of fans delete stuff from their memory , that nob on rs tonight saying we got pounded at huddersfield , yet bbc stats show we had 56% of the play

Hi btl. We'll just have to disagree on this one .

The bloke I sit next to knows his stuff and he also commented how we were failing to 'work' their goalie. Also, I stand by my 'possession means jack' comment. Increasingly on TV they've degraded this stat. as a measure of how a match is going. Last Sunday on MoTD2, Villa hardly got out of their own half and were completely battered by City, but the possession stats. showed something like 44%/56% (which they usually will, unless the other team leaves the pitch early). Using this stat., passing along the back line or totally safe and non-commital passes (a la Leon Britten) count as much as pinging it across the box/killer through balls etc.

Not constantly degrading our performances at all. We're doing very well, but it's just a worry that we seem to labour to get that decisive pass in too often. Friends?

 

[blade too long]

well our league position suggests we are doing it better than most, I just get fed up with constant pessimism blades fans seem to love wallowing in
Why not lets have a bit of positivity about the place
Whenever we get in a good place why is it always ooh itll not last
Im sure it transfers to the players, instead of enforcing the good things all the vibes we give off are ,hang on , lets wait for us to feck up so we can say I told you so
I just get fed up with it
Just wish wed be a bit more up beat
not stupid owls fans we are massive up beat , but oh you know perhaps we arent too bad. will do

 

[grafikhaus]

It's hard-wired into a Blades fans' DNA!

Think we'll struggle next season in the Championship...

 

[judge]

It is unfortunately , usually get same people who comPlain about never winning anythIng who do nothing but moan when things are going well

 

[Ollessendro]

Hi btl. We'll just have to disagree on this one .

The bloke I sit next to knows his stuff and he also commented how we were failing to 'work' their goalie. Also, I stand by my 'possession means jack' comment. Increasingly on TV they've degraded this stat. as a measure of how a match is going. Last Sunday on MoTD2, Villa hardly got out of their own half and were completely battered by City, but the possession stats. showed something like 44%/56% (which they usually will, unless the other team leaves the pitch early). Using this stat., passing along the back line or totally safe and non-commital passes (a la Leon Britten) count as much as pinging it across the box/killer through balls etc.

Not constantly degrading our performances at all. We're doing very well, but it's just a worry that we seem to labour to get that decisive pass in too often. Friends?

Not strictly true grafiikhaus. If the opposition don't have the ball, then they cannot score. Look at Barcelona and Spain too. One of the reasons why few teams get the better of them is because they never have the ball.

Personally I am quite happy we are dominating possession. That said, I do share you concerns that we are not clinical enough. The games we've lost, we have played well and missed our chances. But let's not worry to much about it, as we will carry on to create chances at this level. Even if we are a bit wasteful in front of goal, we'll carry on winning because most of te teams ae wank and we'll continue to create chances.

Plus, last week's game was quite unique. They literally played a 5-5-0 formation. They 'parked the bus' and made things really difficult. We should be happy that we actually broke them down. Plus we were patient and kept our nerve. We could have started hoofing and ended up with a 0-0. Today will be a different game. Preston will not park the bus and there will be more space for us. That could work both ways. They'll offer more of an attacking threat, but we'll get more opportunities. I certainly hope that we have a shot on target before 70 minutes though.

But keep the faith mucker. We are a deserved 2nd. Look at our goals difference record, our points and games in hand. Look at our last 12/13 league games. Lost 2 of them. Wilson seems to get it right andd hopefully will continue to do so. The momentum is definately with us. We're playing the best football. Charlton announced over the tannoy that they'd see us next year, Bury fans said they were the best team we've seen, Pigs are dreading us coming to the Sty and loads commenting on P&G that we'gve got momentum and Hudders suddenly looking in dire straits.

In a nutshell: it's a good time to be a Blade owd mucker. Enjoy it!

 

[bricktop]

But you have to be circumspect about things. Say we drop points today and then lose at the sty, before going on a run of patchy form, whilst the pigs run in to form, and Huddersfield get a boost from the new manager they appoint.

Suddenly put us in a difficult situation.

 

[blade too long]

not clinical enough
weve scored 56 league goals only 2nd highest 1 behind huddersfield as theyve played more

 

[Pinchy]

But you have to be circumspect about things. Say we drop points today and then lose at the sty, before going on a run of patchy form, whilst the pigs run in to form, and Huddersfield get a boost from the new manager they appoint.

Suddenly put us in a difficult situation.

The 'boost from new manager' notion is a bit of a myth. It's noticeable only when it happens, if you see what I mean. Remember Quickfix Mickey?

 

[blade too long]

But you have to be circumspect about things. Say we drop points today and then lose at the sty, before going on a run of patchy form,

Im banging my head on a brick wall as we speak
yes we could lose 9-0 today and 5-0 at hillsboro and collapse completely
but theres no reason to look forward to it like you do

buggar being circumspect , enjoy the moment for once

 

[Pinchy]

That doesnt mean it will this time though

Worry not; It will, comfortably.

---------- Post added at 11:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:29 AM ----------

Possession counts for jack.

I wondered where Blackwell had got to!

Possession is everything. If you haven't got the ball you can't score; if you have, the opposition can't!

 

[Bergen Blade]

They literally played a 5-5-0 formation. They 'parked the bus' and made things really difficult. We should be happy that we actually broke them down. Plus we were patient and kept our nerve. We could have started hoofing and ended up with a 0-0.

Don't mean to be fussy, but Wilson's half time instructions were to up the tempo and that's what helped us to gradually break them down. It has happened a few times this season where we have allowed the opposition to slow the pace of the game down and we must be determined to avoid that. This is about slow tempo vs quick tempo, not short passing vs hoofball.

The bloke I sit next to knows his stuff and he also commented how we were failing to 'work' their goalie. Also, I stand by my 'possession means jack' comment. Increasingly on TV they've degraded this stat. as a measure of how a match is going. Last Sunday on MoTD2, Villa hardly got out of their own half and were completely battered by City, but the possession stats. showed something like 44%/56% (which they usually will, unless the other team leaves the pitch early). Using this stat., passing along the back line or totally safe and non-commital passes (a la Leon Britten) count as much as pinging it across the box/killer through balls etc.

Agree with you. I think the best way of deciding which team deserves to lead/win is counting chances. Official stats is just counting without judgement. Sometimes they can reflect what most people would say about a a match, but at other times they are hugely misleading and should not be used to prove anything about a game. A tame and weak shot that rolls into a goalkeeper's arms counts as much as a one on one where the goalkeeper makes a wonder save.

 

[bricktop]

Im banging my head on a brick wall as we speak
yes we could lose 9-0 today and 5-0 at hillsboro and collapse completely
but theres no reason to look forward to it like you do

buggar being circumspect , enjoy the moment for once

Where did I say I was looking forward to it?

 

[Bergen Blade]

Possession is everything. If you haven't got the ball you can't score; if you have, the opposition can't!

Our possession count at home this season have often been something like 54-46, i.e. we've had the ball about 5 minutes more than the opposition over the full game. This leaves the opposition plenty of TIME to score goals. The important thing for us is what we do when we have the ball, and what we do when the opposition have the ball.

Sometimes you have to take risks to score goals, ie. attempt difficult passes to a player moving into a good position. There may be only a split second where a small gap can be exploited and there's a good chance the pass won't be accurate enough for it to evade a defender. But if you don't take those risks and prefer to always calmly roll it sideways to a full back all the time you could end up with a good possesion count, but not many chances or goals.

Penetration, movement and tempo are a more important topics to discuss for our current team, than the endless and simplistic short passing vs hoofball debate.

[video=youtube;37fA3_v5KkA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37fA3_v5KkA[/video]

 

[Ollessendro]

Look at our possession in the last 3 home games:
- Wycombe - 70%
- Yeovil - 58%
- Rochdale - 64%

We're certainly dominating possession here. This has been creeping up since we have been playing better. Looking back to a few early games it was similar (e.g. Colchester - 60%, Brentford 63% and Bury 60%). This is not always the case. But in a lot of matches this season, particularly against porrer teams, we've had the ball for a good 10 minutes longer than the opposition. This naturally leaves them less time to score.

I don't actually disagree about what you are saying though Bergs. I think pace and movement, plus precision and decisive passes win games. But possession should not just be dismissed. If you think that the ball is only in play for around an hour of a normal match. Some teams only have the ball for 12 minutes. It doesn't take long to score a goal, but that is not a lot. Keeping the ball can wear team down. They have to work harder to chase and hassle. It can be tiring. This was clearly the case with Wycombe. Yes we stepped it up, but also they probably tired. Running around without the ball for 70 minutes must be knackering and discouraging too. You still need that killer pass though and pace and movement can unlock defences. But you need the bal to do that.

 

[Pinchy]

Penetration, movement and tempo are a more important topics to discuss for our current team, than the endless and simplistic short passing vs hoofball debate.

[video=youtube;37fA3_v5KkA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37fA3_v5KkA[/video]

Of course, but those vital components are contingent upon possession!

The Passing v Hoof debate is not simplistic; it's plain simple. Hoof lost the argument over 20 years ago. It survives only in the tiny minds of certain dinosaurs.

Try not to confuse an accurate long pass to feet or into the stride of a team-mate with an aimless, hopeful long punt to nobody. It will enhance your understanding of the game.