Woodwardfan
Woodwardfan
- Banned
- #31
How we missed Duffy and Freeman. In their absence I was unhappy with the team selection - not enough creativity.
Basham is not a wing back. Lafferty is not a wing back; neither know where the bye-line is and when they do cross it's from far too deep and too far out. Scougall flits around with little end product, though his header was a great effort.
Fleck and Coutts play the ball too slowly. 40 yard long balls serve no purpose when the receiving wing backs just control the ball and pass it backwards. The whole tempo was far too slow for the first hour. Coutts is playing well but he plays the game slowly and when he is demanding the ball so much it can hinder rather than help us, especially when Fleck defers to him. When he enters the final third he is out of his comfort zone and has very little end product over his entire career with us, though he made the goal last night it has to be said.
Let's be right, we were playing Bury who have lost a long string of matches on the bounce. We are on a great run and should be more confident and ambitious than we have been even 11 v 11. At 11v 10 and 11v 9 we have been almost clueless frankly. With Freeman and Duffy out it's become glaringly apparent that our squad is unbalanced if the manager is unwilling to play Lavery and Clarke as starters when we are depleted. Personally I would have played Done as wing back, Clarke up front and Lavery in Duffy's role. Against a good team that would have been brave but it was Bury.
At least last night we introduced Clarke and he caused their central defence some distraction at last. When teams defend deep and in numbers Done and Sharp are almost anonymous. No point sending high crosses into the box from 40 way out on the wing to those two. Too many times were O'Connell and Ebanks the ones having to play the final ball into the box, it's not fair to them and unnecessary.
So pleased the belated move of EEL up front was a success. We need a Plan B when the small forwards have no space to work in. Mass defences are in their element when they are heading away long, high crosses unchallenged in the air. It needs physical pressure to challenge them and enough players around to pick up second balls. Last night the blue shirts cleanly won almost everything under all that 'pressure'.
Everyone knows I believe Reed could have added qualities last night. I think Whiteman could have also. Each of those lads knows how to play a forward ball to the strikers.
My ratings: Moore 7, O'Connell 6, EEL 7, Wright 7, Fleck 6, Basham 5, Coutts 8, Scougall 7, Lafferty 5, Done 5, Sharp 5. Clarke 7, Chapman 7, Lavery 6.
I
Basham is not a wing back. Lafferty is not a wing back; neither know where the bye-line is and when they do cross it's from far too deep and too far out. Scougall flits around with little end product, though his header was a great effort.
Fleck and Coutts play the ball too slowly. 40 yard long balls serve no purpose when the receiving wing backs just control the ball and pass it backwards. The whole tempo was far too slow for the first hour. Coutts is playing well but he plays the game slowly and when he is demanding the ball so much it can hinder rather than help us, especially when Fleck defers to him. When he enters the final third he is out of his comfort zone and has very little end product over his entire career with us, though he made the goal last night it has to be said.
Let's be right, we were playing Bury who have lost a long string of matches on the bounce. We are on a great run and should be more confident and ambitious than we have been even 11 v 11. At 11v 10 and 11v 9 we have been almost clueless frankly. With Freeman and Duffy out it's become glaringly apparent that our squad is unbalanced if the manager is unwilling to play Lavery and Clarke as starters when we are depleted. Personally I would have played Done as wing back, Clarke up front and Lavery in Duffy's role. Against a good team that would have been brave but it was Bury.
At least last night we introduced Clarke and he caused their central defence some distraction at last. When teams defend deep and in numbers Done and Sharp are almost anonymous. No point sending high crosses into the box from 40 way out on the wing to those two. Too many times were O'Connell and Ebanks the ones having to play the final ball into the box, it's not fair to them and unnecessary.
So pleased the belated move of EEL up front was a success. We need a Plan B when the small forwards have no space to work in. Mass defences are in their element when they are heading away long, high crosses unchallenged in the air. It needs physical pressure to challenge them and enough players around to pick up second balls. Last night the blue shirts cleanly won almost everything under all that 'pressure'.
Everyone knows I believe Reed could have added qualities last night. I think Whiteman could have also. Each of those lads knows how to play a forward ball to the strikers.
My ratings: Moore 7, O'Connell 6, EEL 7, Wright 7, Fleck 6, Basham 5, Coutts 8, Scougall 7, Lafferty 5, Done 5, Sharp 5. Clarke 7, Chapman 7, Lavery 6.
I
