Critchley is so tactically weak .

Progressfan

Progressfan

Well-known member
What can you say Critchley started once again with the wrong team and once again we go 2 nil down and a poor first half before he makes the correct team selection and starts to attack.
As I and many fans have said before why oh why does he not start with a match winner in Dembele and go and attack teams from the outset .
Some want to praise him for the subs he made at half time but at least one if not both should have been on from the start !
We get ourselves back to 3 - 2 …….. and then we sit back again and as he did against Charlton he changes it again when he doesn’t need to , brining in the same subs Connolly and Morgan on to defend instead of continue attacking successfully and push for a fourth but no then we get suckered with a wonder goal .
He’s tactically weak persisting with a back three which leaks goals ,he’s got to play with a back four which suits the players we have better and creative attacking mid field . Due to his poor choices and tactical naivety once again we have anothervdisappointing draw against a weak bottom four team , we needed 3 points from the match , as most clubs above and below us will get against Fleetwood this season..☹️UTMP
 
Progressfan said:
and then we sit back again and as he did against Charlton he changes it again when he doesn’t need to , brining in the same subs Connolly and Morgan on to defend instead of continue attacking successfully and push for a fourth but no then we get suckered with a wonder goal .
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Both Dale and Rhodes looked knackered and we didn't have many options however I'd sooner have had Weir instead of Connolly and shored up the midfield and left Lavery and Dembele up front. A 4-4-2 at that stage would have looked way more solid.
 
Some of his decisions are baffling, Lavery is the exact player you want to start in a game like that, it's gonna be gritty and aggy, he's the perfect character for it. Kouassi didn't at all seem in it, now Im not knocking the lad but he's only 20. Not sure he has the head for a game like that.

With the Dembele thing... He seems certain he doesn't have 90 minutes in him, so using him as an impact sub makes sense to me (I know a lot won't agree)

Also, he brings Connelly on (a heavily right footed CDM/CB) at LWB when we had a LWB on the bench in Thompson.

I hate this phrase but the young'uns seem to use it a lot but Critchley... "Make it make sense"
 
JohnnnyQuidd said:
Some of his decisions are baffling, Lavery is the exact player you want to start in a game like that, it's gonna be gritty and aggy, he's the perfect character for it. Kouassi didn't at all seem in it, now Im not knocking the lad but he's only 20. Not sure he has the head for a game like that.

With the Dembele thing... He seems certain he doesn't have 90 minutes in him, so using him as an impact sub makes sense to me (I know a lot won't agree)

Also, he brings Connelly on (a heavily right footed CDM/CB) at LWB when we had a LWB on the bench in Thompson.

I hate this phrase but the young'uns seem to use it a lot but Critchley... "Make it make sense"
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Connolly did fine when he came on. And he’s far stronger than Thompson defensively. They had just started to get on top before the substitution and weee looking to expose us (and Dale) down that Left Hand side.

We regained the momentum after the sub.
 
We are 15 games in and haven't yet got the balance between defence and attack right. First few games rock solid but couldn't score. Now it's 3-3s and 4-2s. We are playing some great football, in spells. Just far too open at times, easy to play through.
 
JohnnnyQuidd said:
It was merely an observation. Yes Connely did "fine" but Critchley's squeezing square pegs in round holes. Recruitment needs to pull it's socks up in the window.
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I dunno, if it works then he can squeeze any peg into any hole as far as I’m concerned.👍

Everyone was the same about CJ playing at Right Wing Back and after a few teething problems he’s been superb for most of our games.
 
There was nothing wrong with the subs. It was a loose pass that let them in for the equaliser, by someone on the pitch from the start. Maybe he should have been subbed? Loss of concentration?
 
i can understand bringing on connolly to bolster the defence, putting him on the left is bizarre. he could have gone on to the right side and switch CJ over, CC could have dropped into the left CH berth and played saint james on the left more as a full back. there were literally dozens of options but critchley chose to play the one player who, as adaptable as he is, just isnt a left wing back.
 
Costero Poderoso said:
i can understand bringing on connolly to bolster the defence, putting him on the left is bizarre. he could have gone on to the right side and switch CJ over, CC could have dropped into the left CH berth and played saint james on the left more as a full back. there were literally dozens of options but critchley chose to play the one player who, as adaptable as he is, just isnt a left wing back.
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That’s the brilliance of Critchley though surely?

Every single fan is talking about how Connolly isn’t a LWB and how playing him there is bizarre and how the substitution was ridiculous and he should have done this or that etc..

But ..,

The substitution was actually bang on the money and worked a treat. In fact it worked so well that Fleetwood couldn’t get the ball off us for 10 minutes😂
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
Everyone was the same about CJ playing at Right Wing Back and after a few teething problems he’s been superb for most of our games.
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No he hasn't. Massive exaggeration. And we concede so easily cos he provides very little cover and Pennington has to do it all himself. As with Dale and Hubby in the other side. So Casey then gets overloaded.
 
voyeur said:
No he hasn't. Massive exaggeration. And we concede so easily cos he provides very little cover and Pennington has to do it all himself. As with Dale and Hubby in the other side. So Casey then gets overloaded.
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He's been a standout performer this season.. It's not even up for debate TBH
 
voyeur said:
You saying it doesn't make it true. He has done some good things but he loses possession frequently and leaves us open down our right.
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I realise that… it’s backed up from a statistical perspective too… His defensive stats are in the higher percentile..

I’ve also watched him (a lot).

For the most part he’s been bob on defensively..
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
I realise that… it’s backed up from a statistical perspective too… His defensive stats are in the higher percentile..

I’ve also watched him (a lot).

For the most part he’s been bob on defensively..
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Well it's not what I've seen. We lose possession far too easily and leave space to exploit. Stats can't capture all that.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
I realise that… it’s backed up from a statistical perspective too… His defensive stats are in the higher percentile..

I’ve also watched him (a lot).

For the most part he’s been bob on defensively..
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yet you don'r seem to want to consider the stats on Marv. Just the statement that he's "biz".
 
voyeur said:
No he hasn't. Massive exaggeration. And we concede so easily cos he provides very little cover and Pennington has to do it all himself. As with Dale and Hubby in the other side. So Casey then gets overloaded.
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That's where your DM(Norburn)comes into play which we are badly missing.
 
voyeur said:
Well it's not what I've seen. We lose possession far too easily and leave space to exploit. Stats can't capture all that.
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We do lose possession too easily at times, but I'm not convinced that's necessarily down to any one individual... The wiingbacks are (it seems to me) being asked to push on aggressively, which will inevitably leave us exposed if / when we lose possession.

That for me is where you start to gain some insight into why the choice of central midfielders and forwards becomes crucially important and why the inclusion of Dembele and Lavery in particular has had such a positive impact in recent games. CJ for example is a very different player when Dembele is playing, because Dembele is there offering an option every time and as such, we end up retaining possession in and around the box. Lavery is also great at recovering lost balls and preventing the fast breakaways.

For me getting that Central Midfield right is crucial... I mean look at the First goal from Fleetwood... Carey doesn't really deal with the lad running down the wing, Dougall (who's been great for the most part) ends up wrong side of his man... Their third goal comes straight down the central corridor... There's also been a few other's that have followed a similar pattern.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
We do lose possession too easily at times, but I'm not convinced that's necessarily down to any one individual... The wiingbacks are (it seems to me) being asked to push on aggressively, which will inevitably leave us exposed if / when we lose possession.

That for me is where you start to gain some insight into why the choice of central midfielders and forwards becomes crucially important and why the inclusion of Dembele and Lavery in particular has had such a positive impact in recent games. CJ for example is a very different player when Dembele is playing, because Dembele is there offering an option every time and as such, we end up retaining possession in and around the box. Lavery is also great at recovering lost balls and preventing the fast breakaways.

For me getting that Central Midfield right is crucial... I mean look at the First goal from Fleetwood... Carey doesn't really deal with the lad running down the wing, Dougall (who's been great for the most part) ends up wrong side of his man... Their third goal comes straight down the central corridor... There's also been a few other's that have followed a similar pattern.
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We Di need to get midfield right, and losing Norburn and Virtue has caused problems. It means we struggle to defend centrally as well as in wide areas. For me we have a problem of three defenders overworked, covering the width of the pitch, unprotected by the players in front of them. Especially with Norburn missing but not only that.
 
voyeur said:
We Di need to get midfield right, and losing Norburn and Virtue has caused problems. It means we struggle to defend centrally as well as in wide areas. For me we have a problem of three defenders overworked, covering the width of the pitch, unprotected by the players in front of them. Especially with Norburn missing but not only that.
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Norburn will slot in and make up the 4, so I do think it wakes a big difference when he is involved.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
Norburn will slot in and make up the 4, so I do think it wakes a big difference when he is involved.
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It certainly does, Virtue and Dougall works pretty well too. Still a weakness out wide though. Which becomes central if Pennington and Hubby go to deal with it.
 
TonyParrsDodgyMic said:
Both Dale and Rhodes looked knackered and we didn't have many options however I'd sooner have had Weir instead of Connolly and shored up the midfield and left Lavery and Dembele up front. A 4-4-2 at that stage would have looked way more solid.
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Pennington and grimshaw don't look to have alot of confidence at present, defence is struggling
 
voyeur said:
It certainly does, Virtue and Dougall works pretty well too. Still a weakness out wide though. Which becomes central if Pennington and Hubby go to deal with it.
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Which is precisely why it's so important that we are the aggressor. However, as I've kept saying, that won't and can't always be the case and you have to sometimes be able to sit in and soak up pressure and be solid. It's no good people (fans) coming out with classic Cliches like "The best form of defence is attack" and all that bollocks.... The best form of defence is to be solid and learn to defend properly and we have to add that defensive competence to our game.... I'm sure that can be done whilst retaining the over-arching 352 structure, but we need to be clear on what our shape looks like and how we regain it quickly when we lose possession.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
That’s the brilliance of Critchley though surely?

Every single fan is talking about how Connolly isn’t a LWB and how playing him there is bizarre and how the substitution was ridiculous and he should have done this or that etc..

But ..,

The substitution was actually bang on the money and worked a treat. In fact it worked so well that Fleetwood couldn’t get the ball off us for 10 minutes😂
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legit response, and cc did ok, but as a principle its not a great idea
 
CJ what can you say, there are good points to his game but the faults in his game also persist. He would be in the 18 match day squad
for me. Good to bring on but a more balanced quality winger who can operate in the wide flank is needed.
 
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