Lack of Movement Up Front

[Ernest]

One final moan. Harry did great and deserves a run but putting him on the right effectively ended Freeman as a threat on the right flank - there was no threat down the left all night (Lafferty was anonymous) - putting Harry on the left would have stretched them both sides.

I couldn't agree more. I said at the break that Lafferty should've been brought off and replaced by Chapman. Bringing Chapman on into a game like that, at that time, was the wrong move and he should have been brought on earlier to replace, as you quite rightly stated, an 'anonymous' Lafferty.

As ever, UTB.

 

[finlaytheblade]

I agree with so much in the OP but I cannot agree that Clarke and Sharp have not got good movement. Sharp has always been an active player and Clarke always has when he's played against us.

When the opposition take us on and there is space up front both players are always showing for the ball. However it has become a trend that the opposition are giving up the midfield and forming two deep banks of defenders. That changes the whole dynamics and I'm afraid we respond to that with a slow, predictable buld up which features Fleck and Couuts taking an age to pass a slow ball out wide. Freeman on the right does try to build something but he's not a winger who can get to the bye-line. Lafferty on the left offers nothing much at all, in fact he's at his happiest passing the buck to O'Connell who has far too much crossing to do ( from way out) for a defender, normally a centre half.

Only late in the game that's not going well does Coutts enter the final third of the field and I must say that Fleck has disappointed me since the Bradford game when he was outstanding.. That slow build up, always across the faces of the opposition, usually out to a non-winger must really piss off any striker, probably to the point of just accepting that the service when it comes will be a long, high cross from deep, way out wide.

This is a nightmare scenario for Sharp who hardly competes in the air for high crosses. Clarke too is not a conventional target man, he's not just a battering ram, he's got a deft touch and plenty of skill. He competes hard in the air but the opposition give him a hard time in a packed penalty area and he's the sort that doesn't get much sympathy from referees therefore he's cancelled out.

Walsall played the way you said Woody and did it very well. Two banks of four quite well nitted together and we found it difficult to break down,we did though create enough chances to have won the game by two clear goals but poor finishing and a really poor ref cost us,I think the ref was the chief reason for our defeat some of his decisions were diabolical.Wilder did well not to get himself into trouble at the after game interview I could see he was very frustrated like the rest of us.
The best way to beat this kind of set up (and I'm sure Wilder knows this ) is width we have to get down the sides a lot quicker this stretchers the opposition giving us the opportunity to get behind them and crossing from angles that are hard to defend,we did this a few times on Tues in the 2nd half
but not often enough.Sure Wilder and Knill will be working on this quite a lot cus home and away we will be up against it more times than not.
We are so dominant in midfield teams know we will win the midfield and will play deep to try and hit us on the break,it's a compliment so we have to use
it to our advantage.

 

[Melton Blade]

Playing away from home there is naturally more space for strikers to exploit and Billy & Leon DID do this superbly in the last 15 mins at Chessy. But, as the last 3 home games have shown (& likely will be repeated for rest of season) we need to be far more dynamic in our movement up front. Perhaps this pair works best away from the Lane?
Maybe Matty or Harry up top (with Billy?) opens up more passing angles and possibly we need Scougs (rather than Lafferty) in the midfield as he will "arrive" onto the ball in the box as a goal threat unlike Coutts and Fleck who seem to just sit and spread the play.
Either way the struggles of the last 3 home games shows that Plan A isn't working...

 

[spongebobblade]

The clue is in the nickname someone has given to the forward who makes a difference. Runaraound might be derogatory but it is essential.

That someone who's been strangely quiet this week?

 

[Woodwardfan]

Walsall played the way you said Woody and did it very well. Two banks of four quite well nitted together and we found it difficult to break down,we did though create enough chances to have won the game by two clear goals but poor finishing and a really poor ref cost us,I think the ref was the chief reason for our defeat some of his decisions were diabolical.Wilder did well not to get himself into trouble at the after game interview I could see he was very frustrated like the rest of us.
The best way to beat this kind of set up (and I'm sure Wilder knows this ) is width we have to get down the sides a lot quicker this stretchers the opposition giving us the opportunity to get behind them and crossing from angles that are hard to defend,we did this a few times on Tues in the 2nd half
but not often enough.Sure Wilder and Knill will be working on this quite a lot cus home and away we will be up against it more times than not.
We are so dominant in midfield teams know we will win the midfield and will play deep to try and hit us on the break,it's a compliment so we have to use
it to our advantage.

Agree, quicker to wide players and wide players who want to drive at the opposition and reach the bye-line if possible. What is the point of a slow ball in a slow build up anyway? Zip it along the turf and run for the return, not all this strolling about.

We should dominate midfield with the players we've got and we are playing 5 in there after all.

What our midfield is not doing is creating enough clear cut chances as good as they look.

 

[Snowman]

That someone who's been strangely quiet this week?

Who dat Sponge?

 

[spongebobblade]

Who dat Sponge?

Well it's hard to tell who he dislikes most . Done or Harry Bassett

 

[Rusty view]

What worries me more is the lack of shots on target. Tuesday night. We had 5 shots on target. Walsall had 3. Its obvious but if you don't hit the target you've got fk all chance of scoring.

 

[Keen Blade]

It's not just that he 'wants' to be a fox in the box, that is his reason for being picked. A bloke with 12 goals in 20 games is clearly doing something right, so criticising him for not doing more outside the box seems daft to me.

Currie was sometimes accused of being 'lazy' but there were others in the team to do the running and he was there to play masterful passes. Asking him to be a 'box to box' player would have killed him.

I'm not directly comparing Sharp to Currie, but making a point that both are/were good at specific things. To get them to do something else is not sensible if it affects the reason you picked them in the first place.

Be careful what you wish for. Basham runs around a lot but we wouldn't want a team of 10 Chris Basham's and a keeper.

Basham runs around a lot but his brain is at crawling pace. Hence if he ever gets the ball , especially outside our own box , he hasn't a fucking clue what to with it. Once it goes to Basham , you know in your heart that our possession is finished.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

What worries me more is the lack of shots on target. Tuesday night. We had 5 shots on target. Walsall had 3. Its obvious but if you don't hit the target you've got fk all chance of scoring.

I read an article recently where a coach was saying that 1/3 on target is the benchmark they aim for. On paper, you'd expect professional footballers to do better than that but if you look at most team's stats, it's surprisingly how many fall short of this target on a regular basis.

 

[Torrix1889]

At the moment there definitely looks to be something missing up top....if Billy isn't firing, (he's looked seriously out of sorts in the last 4 games) then it's hard to see where our goals are going to come from.....for me Clarke is better coming on after 60/70 minutes when the game is stretched, just like he did at Chesterfield. Done is great at what he does but I will show my arse on the Town Hall steps if he gets into double figures for league goals.

Chapman is a threat but he is a winger, not a natural striker...he will score goals but I would prefer to see him whipping crosses in making chances.

And that leaves Lavery.....I would be really interested to hear what CW & AK think about Coalan...he was given time to get up to speed and regain match fitness and he should be firing now but isn't...not sure what to make of him but I don't think he is going to contribute to any great extent.

Another option up front is essential for January as far as I am concerned. Someone with Done's workrate but someone who is direct and powerful, (how Clarke should be!). Bogle would be nice but he will end up in the Championship...Ajose should have been pursued harder in the summer...then there's Chedwyn...either way, I fear the pattern of the last 4 games may continue, substantial possession but failing in the final third and if we are not careful we will end up drawing too many games simply because we can't convert our superior possession into goals..

 

[Esablade]

At the moment there definitely looks to be something missing up top....if Billy isn't firing, (he's looked seriously out of sorts in the last 4 games) then it's hard to see where our goals are going to come from.....for me Clarke is better coming on after 60/70 minutes when the game is stretched, just like he did at Chesterfield. Done is great at what he does but I will show my arse on the Town Hall steps if he gets into double figures for league goals.

Chapman is a threat but he is a winger, not a natural striker...he will score goals but I would prefer to see him whipping crosses in making chances.

And that leaves Lavery.....I would be really interested to hear what CW & AK think about Coalan...he was given time to get up to speed and regain match fitness and he should be firing now but isn't...not sure what to make of him but I don't think he is going to contribute to any great extent.

Another option up front is essential for January as far as I am concerned. Someone with Done's workrate but someone who is direct and powerful, (how Clarke should be!). Bogle would be nice but he will end up in the Championship...Ajose should have been pursued harder in the summer...then there's Chedwyn...either way, I fear the pattern of the last 4 games may continue, substantial possession but failing in the final third and if we are not careful we will end up drawing too many games simply because we can't convert our superior possession into goals..

Good post.

To take this 'L1 Arsenal' analogy that's sometimes banded about, you'd think Clarke would be our 'Giroud', coming on when the passing/pressure game isn't getting goals because team's are encamped in their box. At times our strike force show's it's age...and the youngster, Lavery, doesn't seem at the same quality at the moment.

Still, perhaps we'll see some movement in January, Wilder doesn't seem averse to wielding the axe, wheeling and dealing to improve things.

UTB!

 

[South Bucks]

Sounds strange as one thing about the strikers from what i've seen recently is that the movement has been brilliant

Can someone let me know where I can get a pair of those spectacles, mine are no use.

 

[Torrix1889]

Good post.

To take this 'L1 Arsenal' analogy that's sometimes banded about, you'd think Clarke would be our 'Giroud', coming on when the passing/pressure game isn't getting goals because team's are encamped in their box. At times our strike force show's it's age...and the youngster, Lavery, doesn't seem at the same quality at the moment.

Still, perhaps we'll see some movement in January, Wilder doesn't seem averse to wielding the axe, wheeling and dealing to improve things.

UTB!

I'm sure CW is bang on it and can see what we all do...he's certainly no head-in-the-sand/flog a dead horse merchant like Clough & Adkins....CW will act and change rather than just wait and hope it will come right.

It may come down to Sharp....yes he's scored 12 but could it ultimately be that he is the problem and that rather than trying to fit people in a round Billy it would be better to remove him.....controversial I know but I have no doubts at all that if Sharp needed dropping, CW wouldn't give it a second thought.

 

[Esablade]

I'm sure CW is bang on it and can see what we all do...he's certainly no head-in-the-sand/flog a dead horse merchant like Clough & Adkins....CW will act and change rather than just wait and hope it will come right.

It may come down to Sharp....yes he's scored 12 but could it ultimately be that he is the problem and that rather than trying to fit people in a round Billy it would be better to remove him.....controversial I know but I have no doubts at all that if Sharp needed dropping, CW wouldn't give it a second thought.

I'm a fan of Sharp, but no one is undroppable...would I drop Billy at the moment?, no...I still think he's the best option we have up top but maybe Wilder knows different, we could find out against Bolton.

UTB!

 

[Torrix1889]

I'm a fan of Sharp, but no one is undroppable...would I drop Billy at the moment?, no...I still think he's the best option we have up top but maybe Wilder knows different, we could find out against Bolton.

UTB!

Quite agree, at then moment you can't drop Billy, he is the only striker scoring! having said that, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he is on the bench v Bolton....it's not a must win game, he probably needs a rest and it gives CW a chance to try something new up front....but what that is I'm not sure!

 

[grafikhaus]

That's why Sharp and Done works because Done drags defenders all over the place, harries them all the time leaving more space for a 'central' Billy.

When Leon plays, he generally takes up the central position and Billy doesn't seem to know what to do.

Spot on, Jim. We've had ample proof that the Sharp/Clarke combo doesn't work. Clarke's stats are one goal in eleven games (6 starts, 5 subs). I don't think Clarke is even an 'impact' player to be brought off the bench. He seems to be 'dining out' on his one and only goal v. Chezzie. Sharp with Done harrassing seems to be a better combo, but we still need another out-and-out striker (which Done isn't).

Plus, as I've said elsewhere, the number of our crosses which don't beat the first man and the number of shots blocked (although tbf, Walsall employed the 'John Terry Method of Starfish Defending' where they got anything -including hands- in the way of our shots) suggests our speed of thought/willingness to just 'have a go' is costing us.