ArcticBlue
New member
We were doing this earlier on in the season but seemed to do this less as the games went on. Don't agree with the striker issue but i do with the rest. Need to get back to how we were. Don't panic.
oh dear oh dear.... 3 goals conceded AGAIN!! what has gone wrong? COMMENTS PLEASE!!
- Thread starter the munch
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We were doing this earlier on in the season but seemed to do this less as the games went on. Don't agree with the striker issue but i do with the rest. Need to get back to how we were. Don't panic.
When we are defending we are backing off and backing off almost inviting opposition players to shoot. Which they are. Chopra's 2 goals were virtually identical and if you look at Greer on the 2nd he is just backing off and backing off when what he needs to do is push up, disrupt and jockey, outside the box and if necessary commit to a challenge.
What we need to do is disrupt the attacking player before the shooting zone, say from 25 yards out and we need to squeeze the space between midfield and defence when we are defending. To do this the back line as a unit needs to move up and close the gap to the midfield players. Leeds, Murray for Crapstal and Ipswich 2 goals have scored just like this, shots from 20+ yards. Teams are taking pot shots at Ankergran from around the edge of the box far too often, some go in and some they are looking for any rebounds.....wheras when we get in such position, a la Arsenal, we seem to look for one pass too many.
As it is for me there is nothing much wrong with the attack at the mo (and apart from Leics we have led in all the league games we have lost/drawn) we create chances but we can still create more and I am sure will when we have seen what Hoskins and Buckley can offer. That is not the problem and eventhough I have reservations about certain individual players at the back it is how we are defending as a team that is the problem. The glass is half full we are scoring goals and Gus will get it right.
What we need to do is disrupt the attacking player before the shooting zone, say from 25 yards out and we need to squeeze the space between midfield and defence when we are defending. To do this the back line as a unit needs to move up and close the gap to the midfield players. Leeds, Murray for Crapstal and Ipswich 2 goals have scored just like this, shots from 20+ yards. Teams are taking pot shots at Ankergran from around the edge of the box far too often, some go in and some they are looking for any rebounds.....wheras when we get in such position, a la Arsenal, we seem to look for one pass too many.
As it is for me there is nothing much wrong with the attack at the mo (and apart from Leics we have led in all the league games we have lost/drawn) we create chances but we can still create more and I am sure will when we have seen what Hoskins and Buckley can offer. That is not the problem and eventhough I have reservations about certain individual players at the back it is how we are defending as a team that is the problem. The glass is half full we are scoring goals and Gus will get it right.
Not being able to field the same back four in consecutive games for a while hasn't helped IMO - last season there were very few changes to the defence so they played well as a unit together - much harder to do if the personnel keeps changing - I think this is the starting back four for the last few games:
Ipswich Painter / Greer / Vincelot / Calderon
Palace Painter / Greer / Dunk / Taricco
Leeds Vincelot / Greer / Dunk / Calderon
Liverpool Painter / Greer / Cook / Calderon
Leicester Painter / Greer/ Dunk / Calderon
None of those games has been won - the previous 8 matches , none of which were lost featured the Painter/Greer/Dunk/Calderon line-up for all of them....
Waterhall Wizard
Only one PETER WARD
I see there's a traffic warning for the A27 in the vicinity of the University. Police are advising motorists to be on their guard and to look out for objects in the road. Apparently some wheels have come off of a wagon.
I wouldn't say our "wheels have fallen off", that is just some overused tiresome cliche I get annoyed of hearing. It's just the flurry we had at the start has mentally drained us and it'll come back in good time. Heck, even QPR last season went through a bad patch after Watford beat them 3-1 to give them their first defeat.
The pluses and minuses so far, as they occur to me - not in order of importance:
PLUSES
1. We've got seventeen points from 10 games
2. We have a fantastic, brand spanking new, non-80's boring bowl stadium capable of having a capacity expansion of some 8,000 + more seats with no sweat and
which generates a fantastic atmosphere
3. Our crowds have been excellent - 18,000 season tickets sold is pretty damn good considering the crowds we were getting at Withdean
4. Some of our players are at least Championship standard.
5. Our home games, yes even the Palarse one, have been excellent value.
6. We're 5th in the table.
7. We have one of the best, most exciting young management teams in all the leagues and who have, quite rightly in my view, given the players that won us
promotion the chance to prove themselves at the higher level
8. We have a fantastic chairman who is a massive Albion fan and who has deservedly won the "Outstanding Contribution to Sussex" award last night.
9. We have proved we can win games at this level
10. We have only played 10 league games and we're not even a quarter of the way through the season, I'm relatively "happy" (probably the wrong word) that we've
hit these problems now - there's plenty of time to get things sorted
11. Buckley and Hoskins have hardly featured - when they do they are going to be good
12. The international break has come at a great time for us - the players need to recuperate and the management team will reflect and plan the way forward
12. Gus and Tano now know what the problems are - we now have a clear idea of the minuses ..........
which are, imo as follows ...........
1. Not all the players that got us into the Championship can cut it at this level
2. We need quicker, fitter and more technically proficient replacements for our problem areas (and these don't have to all be 6'8" giants - Swansea beat Stoke with
at least half a dozen players who were 5'8" or shorter!)
3. In the last 2 games we seem to have folded quickly towards the end of games - are we fit enough/are our concentration levels maintained for 95 minutes?
4. Our "passing game" is, at this level, too slow and predictable
5. We do not have a Plan B when teams close us down (and they will all do that from here-on in)
6. Three games in a week was too much - we took the Sky money and paid a price
On balance the +s outweigh the -s dramatically (ok, its my opinion) !!
PLUSES
1. We've got seventeen points from 10 games
2. We have a fantastic, brand spanking new, non-80's boring bowl stadium capable of having a capacity expansion of some 8,000 + more seats with no sweat and
which generates a fantastic atmosphere
3. Our crowds have been excellent - 18,000 season tickets sold is pretty damn good considering the crowds we were getting at Withdean
4. Some of our players are at least Championship standard.
5. Our home games, yes even the Palarse one, have been excellent value.
6. We're 5th in the table.
7. We have one of the best, most exciting young management teams in all the leagues and who have, quite rightly in my view, given the players that won us
promotion the chance to prove themselves at the higher level
8. We have a fantastic chairman who is a massive Albion fan and who has deservedly won the "Outstanding Contribution to Sussex" award last night.
9. We have proved we can win games at this level
10. We have only played 10 league games and we're not even a quarter of the way through the season, I'm relatively "happy" (probably the wrong word) that we've
hit these problems now - there's plenty of time to get things sorted
11. Buckley and Hoskins have hardly featured - when they do they are going to be good
12. The international break has come at a great time for us - the players need to recuperate and the management team will reflect and plan the way forward
12. Gus and Tano now know what the problems are - we now have a clear idea of the minuses ..........
which are, imo as follows ...........
1. Not all the players that got us into the Championship can cut it at this level
2. We need quicker, fitter and more technically proficient replacements for our problem areas (and these don't have to all be 6'8" giants - Swansea beat Stoke with
at least half a dozen players who were 5'8" or shorter!)
3. In the last 2 games we seem to have folded quickly towards the end of games - are we fit enough/are our concentration levels maintained for 95 minutes?
4. Our "passing game" is, at this level, too slow and predictable
5. We do not have a Plan B when teams close us down (and they will all do that from here-on in)
6. Three games in a week was too much - we took the Sky money and paid a price
On balance the +s outweigh the -s dramatically (ok, its my opinion) !!