SUFC stay in the Guardian 7 Nov

[Greystones Blade]

In Saturday’s Guardian sports section there was the following piece ‘players on the average Premier League team have been fouled 81 teams so far this season, or 11.57 times per game; Sheffield United’s players have been fouled 48 times, 6.86 times per game, the lowest total by a considerable margin. This suggests they spend less time on the front foot and don’t have as many dribblers as other sides (or alternatively that they stay on their feet when others don’t). The second least-fouled side as it happens, are Chelsea.”

Seems to me that both possible causes apply - time for CW to think about using more of the dark arts if he can’t get the midfielders and forwards to be more attacking.

Perhaps CW and the players should put into practice Keith Edward’s advice he gave last Saturday (during the Chelsea game commentary) - the midfielders should be asked / told to have at least 3 shots each per match and if they haven’t got 2 in the first half they should increase their attempts in the second half. I paraphrase what he said. He could have added (as he usually does) that shot attempts often lead to someone else scoring from a rebound.

While I don’t condone diving, our players do seem to try and keep on their feet rather than fall over like the players in every other team. Time for a change?

 

[Greystones Blade]

Oops - just like the Guardian - a typo, Sorry
- post title should read. ‘SUFC stat in the Guardian 7 Nov’

 

[1987]

I'd tend to agree in a lot of cases re fouls, Lundstram not going down in the box, Burke not going down to the tugged shirt. These are a couple of examples when we'd have likely got a decision if we'd forced the issue.

There are also times when I see our team try and buy fouls, and we are terrible at it. Really bad, 2/10 on the diving scale scorechart. Makes me realise why we stay on our feet so much.

I'd also welcome more directness around the 18 yard box RE the midfielders.

 

[bettsyblade86]

Stats are useful, buts it's ESSENTIAL folk know what they're comparing...

We have had considerably less possession than the opposition this season. I CBA to check but I'd assume this has a more significant impact on how much we are fouled than the quality of our playacting.

 

[LS16Blade]

In Saturday’s Guardian sports section there was the following piece ‘players on the average Premier League team have been fouled 81 teams so far this season, or 11.57 times per game; Sheffield United’s players have been fouled 48 times, 6.86 times per game, the lowest total by a considerable margin. This suggests they spend less time on the front foot and don’t have as many dribblers as other sides (or alternatively that they stay on their feet when others don’t). The second least-fouled side as it happens, are Chelsea.”

Seems to me that both possible causes apply - time for CW to think about using more of the dark arts if he can’t get the midfielders and forwards to be more attacking.

Perhaps CW and the players should put into practice Keith Edward’s advice he gave last Saturday (during the Chelsea game commentary) - the midfielders should be asked / told to have at least 3 shots each per match and if they haven’t got 2 in the first half they should increase their attempts in the second half. I paraphrase what he said. He could have added (as he usually does) that shot attempts often lead to someone else scoring from a rebound.

While I don’t condone diving, our players do seem to try and keep on their feet rather than fall over like the players in every other team. Time for a change?

I'd tend to agree in a lot of cases re fouls, Lundstram not going down in the box, Burke not going down to the tugged shirt. These are a couple of examples when we'd have likely got a decision if we'd forced the issue.

There are also times when I see our team try and buy fouls, and we are terrible at it. Really bad, 2/10 on the diving scale scorechart. Makes me realise why we stay on our feet so much.

I'd also welcome more directness around the 18 yard box RE the midfielders.

The unwillingness and/or inability of our midfielders to shoot is remarkable for any football team, let alone a professional top flight side.

Duffy was capable of scoring from outside the box but since his departure, we have had nobody prepared or capable of 'having a go'. Norwood had something of a reputation for scoring some spectacular goals from range at his previous clubs, but after scoring a couple in the first few games for us, seems to have lost that from his game.

Of course, part of the answer may lay in the fact that the management emphasise the quality rather than quantity of chances made. Certainly, I recall that going back years, the relatively small number of efforts at goal that Wilder's teams have, was one of the criticisms that Oxford fans made of him. They viewed him as an essentially defensive manager.

Whatever the reasons, there needs to be a change of outlook because at the moment, our inability to create the 'good chances' which seem to be the only ones that are players are permitted to shoot from, means that we are barely having an effort at goal.

 

[robbiez666]

Can't be fouled if we don't have the ball and much of our possession is passing around the defence (which largely doesn't draw fouls)