Are we being sussed out?

Davepick

Well-known member
It seems that teams are getting to know how we play.
The number of times, last night, when we started the 'across the back four' etc, getting into the other half, and then had to restart,
going backwards was alarming.
We ought to try the long ball occasionally, we've got Yates etc to chase it down.
 
It seems that teams are getting to know how we play.
The number of times, last night, when we started the 'across the back four' etc, getting into the other half, and then had to restart,
going backwards was alarming.
We ought to try the long ball occasionally, we've got Yates etc to chase it down.
They did try the long ball, it's just nothing stuck or was accurate enough.

It was a bad night, but I wouldn't go ott about it.

More an opportunity missed. A win last night and.......

Onward then to the tame the Shrews.
 
It seems that teams are getting to know how we play.
The number of times, last night, when we started the 'across the back four' etc, getting into the other half, and then had to restart,
going backwards was alarming.
We ought to try the long ball occasionally, we've got Yates etc to chase it down.
Yes, we are predictable, especially when faced with opponents who pack midfield.
It's the longstanding issue of a lack of creativity and selecting players out of position.
 
Not so sure about being found out but I thought the players bottled it last night. Probably getting a but jittery given the league position and this "unbeaten run". We needed a real enforcer and leader out there last night - a Madine or a Stewart for example. Sadly due to injury we didn't have one. Our play was negative and nervy. They need to snap out of that and go again with a clean slate on Saturday.
 
We don't have a solution when opposing teams pack the midfield. 4 5 1 would choke the midfield which is what Ferguson would do when Utd played in Europe.
 
I'm not sure if we've been sussed, but there is a fairly easy counter measure when we play 4-4-2 without Madine and Hamilton and it is stick every man behind the ball and we can't break 'em down - we saw it time and time again at the start of the season.
 
The way we play is not exactly rocket science. We pass the ball out from the back through midfield and into the opposing half. Faced with the opposition defence we turn round and pass the ball back through midfield to our defence. The centre halves or the goalkeeper then lumps the ball upfield where the other side win possession. It doesn't take a genius to see that if they flood the midfield and keep a flat back four we can't hurt them. Unless someone is brave or fast enough to take on his man and open up the defence, we are going to have a lot of games like Rochdale.
 
They were p
The way we play is not exactly rocket science. We pass the ball out from the back through midfield and into the opposing half. Faced with the opposition defence we turn round and pass the ball back through midfield to our defence. The centre halves or the goalkeeper then lumps the ball upfield where the other side win possession. It doesn't take a genius to see that if they flood the midfield and keep a flat back four we can't hurt them. Unless someone is brave or fast enough to take on his man and open up the defence, we are going to have a lot of games like Rochdale.
They were playing a back 3 last night - we needed to counter that by playing the ball quickly wide into the spaces vacated by their wing backs, let Jerry and Simms use their pace to get possession, and then getting midfielders into the box quickly. There were a couple of times last night when we did this but the ball into the box wasn't good enough or we didn't get support up quick enough. When it was clear it wasn't working we should have matched up in midfield. We did eventually but we left it late and by then we were behind and chasing the game. I'd be tempted to go with 1 up front and look to bring Simms on later in the game if a change is necessary - 4-4-2 is fine against the 'land of giants' type teams but we are liable to get overrun in midfield against teams who go 3-5-1.
 
It’s the time of year for freak results where teams scrapping for their lives beat teams battling it out towards the top of the table - look at the majority of the other results yesterday evening for teams around us.

It’s not a case of being sussed out it’s a case of the above plus a squad depleted through injury over a sustained period- and on the back of 16 (sixteen!) games unbeaten. When was the last time you could say that?!
Give them some credit, we were going to lose at some stage.
 
Just off topic but relevant to you guys-if you do go up- is that Barnsley won tonight and are about to nail their own play off spot.
They are probably a similar club to you and have done very well to compete at CS level, but proved that its still possible to stake a claim for a PL spot.

Still hope for Mr Sadler and his ambitions.
 
The OP got the debate which I wanted (Voy).
It doesn't mean I'm a 'usual suspect' whatever that means.
I support my team through thick and thin, and YOU should know that.
 
It seems that teams are getting to know how we play.
The number of times, last night, when we started the 'across the back four' etc, getting into the other half, and then had to restart,
going backwards was alarming.
We ought to try the long ball occasionally, we've got Yates etc to chase it down.
Best opportunity was Yates chasing a long ball from Maxwell
 
I’m not sure there’s any great issues from a tactical perspective. The issue boils down to a lack of real creative quality in the middle of the park (and injuries give us very little option to do much about that atm) and the players that are available are not playing to their true potential enough of the time (Simms, Kai Kai, Ward and Embleton all have bags of ability but lack consistency) The decision making and execution of the final ball is generally poor and has been for a lot of the season, but that is to be expected from young players and players still developing and finding their place in a new team, learning a new position and playing at a new level (Gabriel, Turton and Mitchell are possibly the best examples of these but as I’ve said - it is to be expected)
 
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