Beans
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Morning all, just published a quick podcast breaking down last night's (immensely frustrating) game.
Includes...
- Match report (00:50)
- Was Stevens at fault for their goal? (05:20) - see below
- Our lack of cutting edge (09:25)
- How unlucky are we, really? (11:30) - including the ridiculous stat you've probably seen now about how 42% of opposition shots on target end up in the back of the net - the worst mark in the league
You can also subscribe and download on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/bladespod/id1309198119?mt=2
I took a closer look at Villa's goal to try and work out how/why Snodgrass got onto his left foot. I'm here to make the case that Stevens was sort-of-not-really at fault for the goal, and it's instead a product of good play by Villa to overload our right side (as well as a great strike by Snodgrass).
Here Stevens is shaped up pretty well (A), clearly trying to show Snodgrass outside onto his weaker foot. You can see the Villa right-back (B) recognise the chance for an overlap, and has started his run and is pointing for Snodgrass to play it outside into the space he's running into.
The overlap puts Stevens into a bind as he has to cover two men. If he stays with Snodgrass then it's a simple pass for the right-back to run into the box, where he'll presumably have an easy cut-back. Checking Snodgrass inside (C) is possibly the right move as - as good as he is - a long-range shot is still a low-percentage chance.
Arguably the bigger "fault" here is that there's no cover inside, although it's hard to blame Stevens for not recognising that given how quickly this all unfolds. Bear in mind that this move starts down Villa's left and gets switched to the right in just a couple of seconds. O'Connell (D) has started to go to cover the overlap, and that makes the space inside for Snodgrass to shoot.
I'm certainly not blaming O'Connell here - I'm inclined to put this one down to a bit of a split-second mix-up in communication, plus a good bit of play from Villa, PLUS a hell of a strike by Snodgrass. Certainly I'm more comfortable with this explanation than "why the bloody hell did Stevens let him cut inside onto his left foot", which maaaay have been my reaction watching live...
Anyway, hope you enjoy the podcast, and thanks to everyone who's listening and giving feedback. This actually made it in the top 40 of Apple's sports podcast charts last week
, which was very humbling, so thanks again. UTB!
Includes...
- Match report (00:50)
- Was Stevens at fault for their goal? (05:20) - see below
- Our lack of cutting edge (09:25)
- How unlucky are we, really? (11:30) - including the ridiculous stat you've probably seen now about how 42% of opposition shots on target end up in the back of the net - the worst mark in the league
You can also subscribe and download on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/bladespod/id1309198119?mt=2
I took a closer look at Villa's goal to try and work out how/why Snodgrass got onto his left foot. I'm here to make the case that Stevens was sort-of-not-really at fault for the goal, and it's instead a product of good play by Villa to overload our right side (as well as a great strike by Snodgrass).
Here Stevens is shaped up pretty well (A), clearly trying to show Snodgrass outside onto his weaker foot. You can see the Villa right-back (B) recognise the chance for an overlap, and has started his run and is pointing for Snodgrass to play it outside into the space he's running into.
The overlap puts Stevens into a bind as he has to cover two men. If he stays with Snodgrass then it's a simple pass for the right-back to run into the box, where he'll presumably have an easy cut-back. Checking Snodgrass inside (C) is possibly the right move as - as good as he is - a long-range shot is still a low-percentage chance.
Arguably the bigger "fault" here is that there's no cover inside, although it's hard to blame Stevens for not recognising that given how quickly this all unfolds. Bear in mind that this move starts down Villa's left and gets switched to the right in just a couple of seconds. O'Connell (D) has started to go to cover the overlap, and that makes the space inside for Snodgrass to shoot.
I'm certainly not blaming O'Connell here - I'm inclined to put this one down to a bit of a split-second mix-up in communication, plus a good bit of play from Villa, PLUS a hell of a strike by Snodgrass. Certainly I'm more comfortable with this explanation than "why the bloody hell did Stevens let him cut inside onto his left foot", which maaaay have been my reaction watching live...
Anyway, hope you enjoy the podcast, and thanks to everyone who's listening and giving feedback. This actually made it in the top 40 of Apple's sports podcast charts last week
, which was very humbling, so thanks again. UTB!
