We don't look dangerous

[Bergen Blade]

Add “from open play” and I’d agree with you.

We haven't scored many goals from open play since mid-December:

Brighton 1-0 a - Long kick from Henderson, Defenders nods, McBurnie runs in behind​

​

Watford 1-1 h - Norwood pen​

​

Man city 0-2 a​

​

Liverpool 0-2 a​

​

West Ham 1-0 h - Fleck picks up poor goalkeeper's pass, gives to McBurnie​

​

Arsenal 1-1 a - Fleck scored after Robinson's cross was flicked on by an Arsenal defender.​

​

Man City 0-1 h​

​

Palace 1-0 a - Norwood corner, goalkeeper own goal​

​

Bournemouth 2-1 h - 1st: Mayhem after corner, Sharp knocks it in. 2nd: - Starting with our throw in routine, Stevens gets it back from Fleck, runs with it, gives it to Mousset who sets up Lundstram.​

​

Brighton 1-1 h - Short corner half cleared, Stevens wonder shot​

​

Norwich 1-0 h - Pinpoint Lundstram cross, headed in by Sharp. Good movement in the lead up.​

​

Aston Villa 0-0 a​

​

Newcastle 0-3 a​

 

[Fulwood Blade]

[

I think it's simply that Sharp and McBurnie work as a partnership. There's plenty of honest effort there but not enough natural pace and movement.

This is not a have a go answer - I sort of agree that it's honest in endeavour - but the PL is no place for nicey, nicey sentiment. It's about scoring goals.

Goals haven't kept us in this division for a 2nd season - a brilliant defence and a very well drilled midfield has. That can all change in a light bulb moment - our defence next game could be Basham/Jags and Robinson. We'll get honesty again from all three, but that is a scary defence playing any PL team, never mind Man . It could, with an "honest" forward line of McB and Sharp - we'd get relegated with it.

We need strikers to score goals when we are up against it - producing something out of nothing.

I'm going to be kind to Billy - he started and nearly finished an equaliser today - and if we'd got back into the game after going 1 nil down it may have been something to hold on to - sadly he missed a very good chance - a team can't afford not to score in that situation at the highest level.

We need better options up top in the next window - a difficult task but we have to leave sentiment behind - it was what made Liverpool great in the 60's/70's

UTB

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Newcastle are just about the worst team I’ve seen this season, and they have beaten us twice. Says something, but I don’t know what.

Agreed - but Bruce has the Indian sign over us - that's 10 wins in 12 games since he left us as manager.

UTB

 

[Houston_Blade]

I wonder whether Lundstram being left out today is because he hasn’t signed a contract yet. He was shunted to the left last week and not played today, despite being better than Berge in the role that he has been asked to play. He was the first to be offered a contract if you believe the press and seems to have dug his heels in for whatever reason and not yet signed one.

 

[DaleHillBlade]

Agreed - but Bruce has the Indian sign over us - that's 10 wins in 12 games since he left us as manager.

UTB

Plenty of time to work him out?

 

[Toronto Blade]

We had a good start and needed an early goal as we found out at the Lane once they score and they don't do that often, Bruce just parks the bus.
We just couldn't score Fleck not fit, Norwood stayed in Sheffield and Berge hasn't adjusted to playing out of position.The 2 up front had very little to work with.
We have given Newcastle 18% of their season's goals.

 

[Bladesman]

Newcastle are just about the worst team I’ve seen this season, and they have beaten us twice. Says something, but I don’t know what.

They are our new Walsall.

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

The games vs Villa and Newcastle suggest three main things, for me.

1. The much derided observation that our success this season has rested significantly on organisation and hard work (meaning also intensity, tempo, and pressing) is actually correct. I know it’s not a popular observation, because some folk see it as downplaying the impact of the quality football we’ve played at times. But, for me, the last two games, and a number of those pre-lockdown, have shown that without bang-at-it “organisation and hard work” we don’t have enough quality in the squad to compensate. Even against relatively poor teams like those we’ve played this week.

2. Not an original observation, I know, but today’s defensive shortcomings illustrate once again how reliant our position in the table, to date, has been on consistency from the back 6 (inc Deano). With our defence depleted and underperforming, and the intensity we’re capable of missing, our lack of overall quality can again be badly exposed.

3. Given 1 and 2, this shows, yet again, just how indebted we are to Wilder and Knill for getting us to where we are this season. When was the last time we put together a run of 2-3 genuinely impressive performances?

Disclaimer 1. We absolutely do have quality players, who influence games, there’s just not enough class in the squad generally.
Disclaimer 2. Wilder and Knill absolutely have made mistakes.

 

[SittingontheBall]

4. The success of our organised chaos approach relies heavily on attacking taking place down both sides of the pitch. O’Connell’s injury means attacking down the left has been almost non-existent as Robinson has focused primarily on defensive duties. Consequently the apparently random nature of our attacks has been missing and has limited the outlets for Norwood as well as the opportunity for McBurnie and Sharp to vary their runs.

 

[finlaytheblade]

We haven't scored many goals from open play since mid-December:

Brighton 1-0 a - Long kick from Henderson, Defenders nods, McBurnie runs in behind​

​

Watford 1-1 h - Norwood pen​

​

Man city 0-2 a​

​

Liverpool 0-2 a​

​

West Ham 1-0 h - Fleck picks up poor goalkeeper's pass, gives to McBurnie​

​

Arsenal 1-1 a - Fleck scored after Robinson's cross was flicked on by an Arsenal defender.​

​

Man City 0-1 h​

​

Palace 1-0 a - Norwood corner, goalkeeper own goal​

​

Bournemouth 2-1 h - 1st: Mayhem after corner, Sharp knocks it in. 2nd: - Starting with our throw in routine, Stevens gets it back from Fleck, runs with it, gives it to Mousset who sets up Lundstram.​

​

Brighton 1-1 h - Short corner half cleared, Stevens wonder shot​

​

Norwich 1-0 h - Pinpoint Lundstram cross, headed in by Sharp. Good movement in the lead up.​

​

Aston Villa 0-0 a​

​

Newcastle 0-3 a​

Tells a story that Bergen we dont have the nous to creat and I think teams are wising up to our over lapping we have to find something new which I dont think we have at present.
Changing shape wont work as we dont have the nous to play 442 or 433.
Going to be an interesting window.

 

[GymClassHero]

We haven't scored many goals from open play since mid-December:

Brighton 1-0 a - Long kick from Henderson, Defenders nods, McBurnie runs in behind​

​

Watford 1-1 h - Norwood pen​

​

Man city 0-2 a​

​

Liverpool 0-2 a​

​

West Ham 1-0 h - Fleck picks up poor goalkeeper's pass, gives to McBurnie​

​

Arsenal 1-1 a - Fleck scored after Robinson's cross was flicked on by an Arsenal defender.​

​

Man City 0-1 h​

​

Palace 1-0 a - Norwood corner, goalkeeper own goal​

​

Bournemouth 2-1 h - 1st: Mayhem after corner, Sharp knocks it in. 2nd: - Starting with our throw in routine, Stevens gets it back from Fleck, runs with it, gives it to Mousset who sets up Lundstram.​

​

Brighton 1-1 h - Short corner half cleared, Stevens wonder shot​

​

Norwich 1-0 h - Pinpoint Lundstram cross, headed in by Sharp. Good movement in the lead up.​

​

Aston Villa 0-0 a​

​

Newcastle 0-3 a​

Everton 2-0 one own goal and the other our only shot on target

 

[blade too long]

We need McBurnie on the toes of the back line creating a vortex for Sharp to feed off. He didn’t spring forward off the centre half to receive the ball, he hung around aimlessly in midfield. They got bodies behind and made the forward pass difficult as there was no room. His strength is battling with the last man. I wonder whether this was a deliberate tactic or just his decision.

Like the vortex idea
If Baldock can create a centrifuge on the other side can put the wind up teams

 

[blade too long]

Tells a story that Bergen we dont have the nous to creat and I think teams are wising up to our over lapping we have to find something new which I dont think we have at present.
Changing shape wont work as we dont have the nous to play 442 or 433.
Going to be an interesting window.

Don't think teams have worked out our over lapping we just don't try it now . Yesterday we never saw it once. O'Connor being out we lose the forward motion. Robinson is a static defender who dislikes leaving the line. The risk taking has disappeared not been found out. We must get back to the cavalier approach that's served us so well

 

[Bergen Blade]

When we've been on top of our game, everybody geared up, a tiny bit more up for it than the opposition it's been great - flowing moves with all players contributing, great movement and high tempo.

But there have been a few spells under Wilder, every season, where we have momentarily struggled going forward. Spells when the opposition have matched our motivation and clearly done their home work on us. When that happens we've struggled to find space and keep the tempo up, and ultimately we almost completely stop scoring from open play. We look slow and ponderous and although we have plenty of possession it's easy to defend against - defenders in the box are always anticipating the crosses that we get in.

Harsh statement: We must stop kidding ourselves thinking we can score enough goals by relying on neat little triangles to get through deep defences.

Hopeful statement: Wilder has always solved this problem and hopefully he'll be able to address it again.

 

[Chabuddy G]

Don't think teams have worked out our over lapping we just don't try it now . Yesterday we never saw it once. O'Connor being out we lose the forward motion. Robinson is a static defender who dislikes leaving the line. The risk taking has disappeared not been found out. We must get back to the cavalier approach that's served us so well

O’Connor?

 

[Nah den]

Our build up play has been too slow, too deliberate and too predictable. Last couple of games, particularly down the right, we have 3 players working triangles together, often involving 2 or 3 rotations, before we ultimately lay it back to Norwood (typically) who puts the cross in. This allows the defense to get set and our strikers either aren't big enough or strong enough to dominate center halves. This is a product of the lack of pace we have at the top of the pitch, and is probably the only way we can play going forward because we don't have the pace to hit the channels or play on the shoulder unfortunately. It's pretty apparent that we are in desperate need of more attacking pace, particularly if Moose is unfit/out of favour. Quick strikers who are proven goal scorers are probably beyond our means. I think we're going to have to rely on the scouting network, and hope we get lucky with a relatively unknown striker/s.

 

[Gavlar]

It doesnt matter if we score from open play or not, but we need to score more goals in general.

 

[blade too long]

O’Connor?

Des replaced him

 

[sitwell]

2 weeks ago this lot

 

[diode_blade]

2 weeks ago this lot

Our problem is not enough kidney punching on pitch ......gerrit sorted CWAK