Scrug
Well-known member
Wasn’t just jones for the first - Dijksteel made a pathetic attempt at a tackle after jones was passed by the attacker
Wilder mentioned that didn’t he?
Wasn’t just jones for the first - Dijksteel made a pathetic attempt at a tackle after jones was passed by the attacker
Yes Dijksteel was culpable for the first and third, Izzy was involved in all 3Wilder mentioned that didn’t he?
He does seem to have players he’ll criticise in public and ones he won’t. Don’t think he ever had a bad word to say about Connolly despite him being worse than shi-te consistently.Wilder mentioned that didn’t he?
Everything was under control until Lenihan decided to charge forward to try and press the midfielder. He left his man and once the ball was played past him it was a 4 vs 3 break. A chance on goal was inevitable at that point. He should have stayed with his man and conceded ground while McGree and others got back into position.
1) We have the situation under control. 4-vs-4 at the back, 3-vs-3 in midfield all our players goal side. Lenihan wins initial header.
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2)Lenihan allows the man he is marking to spin and makes the poor decision to leave him and press the ball, despite McGree being in proximity to the player and despite the ball being fully 65+ yards from goal.
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3) Lenihan is too slow to challenge and the ball is played beyond him. He has left Bola hung out ot dry, 2 vs 1, Howson and Dijksteel are exposed centrally as they have space behind to defend and two players to mark who are spread apart, so can't work together to cover them.
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4) Howson is forced to move over to support Bola because Lenihan is now 25 yard out of position. Lenihan should be where Dijksteel is and Dijksteel should be marking their number 10. The key though is Lenihan is 25 yards out of position because he went steaming into midfield for a ball he was never going to win.
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5) Dijksteel, Howson and Bola are all doing their jobs, but there is a free man from the 4-vs-3 break. Lenihan isn't even back in the box yet, on the edge of the frame. This was all preventable by Lenihan staying with his man and retreating in frame 2. It was a poor decision from an experienced player. Like I said though, I'll put it down to try too hard to impress on his debut. Without the ball this was his only mistake, with the ball he was a bit sloppy too.
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I'm not sure how that goal can be blamed on anyone other than Lenihan, maybe McGree could have challenged better for the initial ball, but he was back to goal and it dropped away from him, the defender had the run on him. so he would always be second best to that dropping ball.
Completely agree howson needs a good defensive partner until that's fixed we will struggle to boss games. That position to me should be the number 1 priority to resolvePeople forget with Fry - and I say this as someone who likes and rates him - is that he’s been a focal point of a team that has spent much of the past five years treading water in the second tier. The sort of goals we’ve conceded this season, it’s not like we’ve not conceded poor goals when Fry has played.
For me, and to my mind, and I’ve said this for years, our main weaknesses lie in the middle of the field. We have a lack of presence in there. Not since the Clayton and Leadbitter era, the axis of excellence, have we had what was required to compete and win on a weekly basis, across a whole season.
I think Howson is good but he’s ‘doing a job’ as a defensive shield. This team requires an orthodox defensive midfielder and Howson isn’t that. And now Tav has gone that area of the team is VERY exposed. Putting someone in the heart of the team would maybe allow Howson to move up, we could do with his bite and energy higher up. That ‘holding role’ has been vacant for years IMO. Much like the left-hand side of the central defence since Gibson left.
Put Dael in yesterday and we probably still lose 3-2. I think he played at Preston on the last day of last season? So he isn’t infallible. He’s good, obviously, but I don’t think he turns a shoeing into a victory. We’ve been pumped with him on the field before.
For me the balance of the team obviously isn’t right. It isn’t just the strikers. I’d love to think we’d add Choudhry to the side and just let him run the midfield. I think he’s got a real presence about him. I think for Fry, and Lenihan, whichever of them isn’t playing, the other one will be the one we’re demanding to be brought back in.
Once the team is right, which, let’s face it, is going to be another month, things will settle down. We’ve got to be patient. This bloke knows he’s doing.
Back him, enjoy it, support it. Give him time. He’ll make mistakes like anyone else but I think we should trust him. He’s got 20 years of experience and success behind him. That’s why he’s here.
He was 18 5 years ago, even a year ago I would have classed him as very much still learning. He had some troubles last season, his consistency was all over, great for 3 weeks then a stinker. I still think in a back 3, he has to be in there, until we get a new LCBPeople forget with Fry - and I say this as someone who likes and rates him - is that he’s been a focal point of a team that has spent much of the past five years treading water in the second tier. The sort of goals we’ve conceded this season, it’s not like we’ve not conceded poor goals when Fry has played.
Just a thought but I wonder if Ben Godfrey’s broken leg he got yesterday will cause Everton to panic buy a defender, I’m sure Fry has been linked with them in the last couple of years.
Wasn’t that lined up before Godfrey broke his leg though, like I say might lead to a panic buying another defenderThey're meant to be signing Conor Coady.
oops, I thought he was a year younger, well he's fooked then if he can't make it nowI take your point but he was 19 five years ago and will be 25 in two weeks. He’s been at the heart of our defence for four full years. How long do we wait for him to really hit the heights every week? Across a 46 game season I mean.
I bet on sport for a living, I get more right than I lose and make pretty decent predictionsI loved Bamba and thought he put in some top performances, but I am not sure he was 'important' to us. Valued yes. He was never first choice but when called upon due to circumstances such as injuries, suspensions and rotation, he was excellent.
As for Fry being a dud. If you think that, time to take up another sport mate.
Fry is pretty comffotable with the ball on the deck, i'm not sure which player you've been watching. In fact i'd say his composure his his best asset, yet in the air, considering his height, he could be a little stronger (the opposite of what you've said).Living abroad I admittedly haven't seen that much of Fry, clearly nowhere near as much as others on here but from what I have seen I don't really understand why he's rated so highly. He's good in the air but pretty poor on the ground. His distribution is non existent. What am I missing?
I also have not very positive views about McNair - other criticisms with him - so I can understand why they aren't nailed on starters. Here's hoping both prove me wrong!
In the couple of matches I saw live last season I watched him fairly closely and that's what I'm basing my comments on. Maybe he had a couple of off days.Fry is pretty comffotable with the ball on the deck, i'm not sure which player you've been watching. In fact i'd say his composure his his best asset, yet in the air, considering his height, he could be a little stronger (the opposite of what you've said).
Lenihan was brought in for leadership qualities, which makes sense, but he's got to show tangible impact as i suspect he's a lesser player than FryLike a lot of our players, particularly defenders - when he's good, he's very good, but when he makes a mistake, they are generally bad. We need consistency from our defence, more than anything else, which is why he bought in Lenihan. Early days, but no improvement yet.
Mcgree was close to the player who eventually scored but didn’t track his man as Tav would have doneEverything was under control until Lenihan decided to charge forward to try and press the midfielder. He left his man and once the ball was played past him it was a 4 vs 3 break. A chance on goal was inevitable at that point. He should have stayed with his man and conceded ground while McGree and others got back into position.
1) We have the situation under control. 4-vs-4 at the back, 3-vs-3 in midfield all our players goal side. Lenihan wins initial header.
View attachment 42446
2)Lenihan allows the man he is marking to spin and makes the poor decision to leave him and press the ball, despite McGree being in proximity to the player and despite the ball being fully 65+ yards from goal.
View attachment 42447
3) Lenihan is too slow to challenge and the ball is played beyond him. He has left Bola hung out ot dry, 2 vs 1, Howson and Dijksteel are exposed centrally as they have space behind to defend and two players to mark who are spread apart, so can't work together to cover them.
View attachment 42448
4) Howson is forced to move over to support Bola because Lenihan is now 25 yard out of position. Lenihan should be where Dijksteel is and Dijksteel should be marking their number 10. The key though is Lenihan is 25 yards out of position because he went steaming into midfield for a ball he was never going to win.
View attachment 42449
5) Dijksteel, Howson and Bola are all doing their jobs, but there is a free man from the 4-vs-3 break. Lenihan isn't even back in the box yet, on the edge of the frame. This was all preventable by Lenihan staying with his man and retreating in frame 2. It was a poor decision from an experienced player. Like I said though, I'll put it down to try too hard to impress on his debut. Without the ball this was his only mistake, with the ball he was a bit sloppy too.
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I'm not sure how that goal can be blamed on anyone other than Lenihan, maybe McGree could have challenged better for the initial ball, but he was back to goal and it dropped away from him, the defender had the run on him. so he would always be second best to that dropping ball. I wouldn't class that as a rick, just got beaten to it. No one other than Lenihan had an error of judgement.