Playing without strikers

voyeur

voyeur

Well-known member
12 goal attempts v Wolves. None on target.

Virtue 2
Dougall 3
Pennington 2
Ekpiteta 1
Lyons 2
Connolly 1
Apter 1

Beesley was the only striker who played and he left after 67 minutes. Shotless in Wolverhampton. Carey no goal attempts.

Is it football or performance art? How far can we push it? What would the score be if we played a keeper and ten midfielders? How come 92nd Doncaster can match Everton but Wolves beat us 5-0 without really trying? What was that Derby game all about? Will we get battered on Saturday, or will it be 0-0? How can it be so tedious and inevitable and yet we've no idea what will happen next? Except that we won't score. The one constant.

It's so dull and weird that we will probably all look back on this period for years to come. "What about 2023/24 when we scored 2 goals in the first 25 mins of the first game and then didnt score again til January? That was far worse than this." "Well yeah, but at least we had good possession stats then. It became mesmeric, knowing we'd keep the ball for ages but never score. I quite liked it. All the pressure evaporated. You could just appreciate the passing and moving."

All we've got is questions really.

Will Rhodes and Dembele make the difference? What's on earth's going to happen to Beesley? How many goals will Shayne really get this season? 4? 28?

The rollercoaster ride seems to have veered off into the haunted house or something. Can we have the mouser for a bit? The fun house? I suppose in the grand scheme of things its not important, and the weirdness of the season so far has a tension and an interest of its own. And it's different. Enjoy it for what it is. A strange nothingness.
 
voyeur said:
12 goal attempts v Wolves. None on target.

Virtue 2
Dougall 3
Pennington 2
Ekpiteta 1
Lyons 2
Connolly 1
Apter 1

Beesley was the only striker who played and he left after 67 minutes. Shotless in Wolverhampton. Carey no goal attempts.

Is it football or performance art? How far can we push it? What would the score be if we played a keeper and ten midfielders? How come 92nd Doncaster can match Everton but Wolves beat us 5-0 without really trying? What was that Derby game all about? Will we get battered on Saturday, or will it be 0-0? How can it be so tedious and inevitable and yet we've no idea what will happen next? Except that we won't score. The one constant.

It's so dull and weird that we will probably all look back on this period for years to come. "What about 2023/24 when we scored 2 goals in the first 25 mins of the first game and then didnt score again til January? That was far worse than this." "Well yeah, but at least we had good possession stats then. It became mesmeric, knowing we'd keep the ball for ages but never score. I quite liked it. All the pressure evaporated. You could just appreciate the passing and moving."

All we've got is questions really.

Will Rhodes and Dembele make the difference? What's on earth's going to happen to Beesley? How many goals will Shayne really get this season? 4? 28?

The rollercoaster ride seems to have veered off into the haunted house or something. Can we have the mouser for a bit? The fun house? I suppose in the grand scheme of things its not important, and the weirdness of the season so far has a tension and an interest of its own. And it's different. Enjoy it for what it is. A strange nothingness.
Click to expand...
 
Critchley needs to hit the reset button, change the formation and then judge the players after that. I doubt he will though.
 
voyeur said:
12 goal attempts v Wolves. None on target.

It's so dull and weird that we will probably all look back on this period for years to come. "What about 2023/24 when we scored 2 goals in the first 25 mins of the first game and then didnt score again til January?
Click to expand...

I agree. Watching our team puffing and panting like a slightly better than average Sunday League team is one of the worst emotions I've felt in decades of watching them play. I'm struggling to see how this can get worse. The way we are playing any goal we score is likely to be a fluke.
 
tommytwojags said:
I agree. Watching our team puffing and panting like a slightly better than average Sunday League team is one of the worst emotions I've felt in decades of watching them play. I'm struggling to see how this can get worse. The way we are playing any goal we score is likely to be a fluke.
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The only league goals we've conceded have been flukes. Two strange penalties and a deflected shot. Might change Saturday. Wigan won't mess about.
 
voyeur said:
The only league goals we've conceded have been flukes. Two strange penalties and a deflected shot. Might change Saturday. Wigan won't mess about.
Click to expand...

No offence but saying the goals we conceded were flukes is something a kid would say. We conceded and this idea that we are solid is a complete myth. If you want to use the word fluke, you should use in the context that we were lucky not to concede against Vale and Orient.
 
Good possession stats - I saw one that listed the six league one clubs with the highest possession % from the Saturday games (pool were one of them). Of those six, only one team actually won their game (Orient). I will never understand the obsession with it, for some reason it seems to have become the aim of the game.
 
Genuinely, we don't even look like a side that wants to be expressive, attacking, fluid. We're the most rigid shite team ever to have graced League One, with the calibre of players we have. There is absolutely zero and I mean ZERO excuse for how Critchley has got us set up to play. It's turgid bullshit from the latest FA manual. A rigid 3-5-2 is DOGSHIT. What's even worse than a rigid 3-5-2 is playing awful players, awfully out of position.

There is absolutely no excuse for what we've witnessed in these first 6 games.
 
SeasideKurt said:
Genuinely, we don't even look like a side that wants to be expressive, attacking, fluid. We're the most rigid shite team ever to have graced League One, with the calibre of players we have. There is absolutely zero and I mean ZERO excuse for how Critchley has got us set up to play. It's turgid bullshit from the latest FA manual. A rigid 3-5-2 is DOGSHIT. What's even worse than a rigid 3-5-2 is playing awful players, awfully out of position.

There is absolutely no excuse for what we've witnessed in these first 6 games.
Click to expand...
You're not far wrong in all truth. Rude awakening for Critch.
 
I still think Critchley will stick with this 3-5-2 so I suspect it will be a similar outcome versus Wigan. Think it will get a lot worse yet.

The other concern is that the players would have lost complete confidence in what Critchley is trying to implement. That is going to take some restoring as well.

It’s going to take a hell of a turnaround.
 
My theory and hope is that Critçh will rethink after Wigan. 2 weeks on the training ground. Hopefully with some more new players. We cant go to Wycombe in the same condition.
 
voyeur said:
12 goal attempts v Wolves. None on target.

Virtue 2
Dougall 3
Pennington 2
Ekpiteta 1
Lyons 2
Connolly 1
Apter 1

Beesley was the only striker who played and he left after 67 minutes. Shotless in Wolverhampton. Carey no goal attempts.

Is it football or performance art? How far can we push it? What would the score be if we played a keeper and ten midfielders? How come 92nd Doncaster can match Everton but Wolves beat us 5-0 without really trying? What was that Derby game all about? Will we get battered on Saturday, or will it be 0-0? How can it be so tedious and inevitable and yet we've no idea what will happen next? Except that we won't score. The one constant.

It's so dull and weird that we will probably all look back on this period for years to come. "What about 2023/24 when we scored 2 goals in the first 25 mins of the first game and then didnt score again til January? That was far worse than this." "Well yeah, but at least we had good possession stats then. It became mesmeric, knowing we'd keep the ball for ages but never score. I quite liked it. All the pressure evaporated. You could just appreciate the passing and moving."

All we've got is questions really.

Will Rhodes and Dembele make the difference? What's on earth's going to happen to Beesley? How many goals will Shayne really get this season? 4? 28?

The rollercoaster ride seems to have veered off into the haunted house or something. Can we have the mouser for a bit? The fun house? I suppose in the grand scheme of things its not important, and the weirdness of the season so far has a tension and an interest of its own. And it's different. Enjoy it for what it is. A strange nothingness.
Click to expand...
I feel the post and bar debate coming on again.
 
Hopefully new formation on Saturday and we can start judging properly. Playing this formation is like judging how well a Dolphin swims on land.
 
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A_Tense_Grin said:
Hopefully new formation on Saturday and we can start judging properly. Playing this formation is like judging how well a Dolphin swims on land.
Click to expand...
This Critchley is the one that got fired from QPR. If I'm Simon Sadler, I'm starting to clean the barrel and load the gun. Because frankly we cannot be on 7/8 points after 10 games. It's unacceptable.

He has to change formation. He has to get 2 or 3 more players. And ship 3/4 out.
 
We've brought in Dembele but I'm struggling to see where he will fit in a 532 formation. He certainly isn't a wingback and I would want him in the midfield. Maybe as a 10, but then again a traffic cone would be better than Carey in that position.
 
** hell, Voy, you are normally a little more measured than that OP.

Slow starts are a Critchley traits he usually susses it put and gets the team cohesive with good patterns of play. I have faith this season will be the same.
 
Tango1953 said:
** hell, Voy, you are normally a little more measured than that OP.

Slow starts are a Critchley traits he usually susses it put and gets the team cohesive with good patterns of play. I have faith this season will be the same.
Click to expand...
It was pretty tongue in cheek pal. 😉

Some worrying misjudgements from the head coach though. Window closes tomorrow and any attacking threat is yet to emerge and he persists with bizarre wing back choices. Can we stay in touch til January? Hopefully, in a play off kinda way. I'm wondering if Sadlers fingers are burning from the stress of the Championship?

At Wolves we had one striker on the pitch. And that was Beesley who didn't have a single attempt at goal. It's quite likely Lavery and Rhodes won't play anything like 40 games each. Joseph is out for a good while. A robust striker is an absolute must. 36 hours left.
 
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It probably isn’t much compensation at this stage (and of course games are played on the pitch, not on a computer), but our ‘performances’ to date do indicate that we should be ahead of where we are in terms of points / goals etc…

We’ve not been taking our chances.. That much is clear and the games we’ve played so far would all have taken on a completely different perspective if we had.

The situation (as I recall it) previously with Critchley, was not at all dissimilar…. Performances suggested better results, but maybe a few ‘key components’ were missing.

Actual results should theoretically catch up with expected results and hopefully we’ll add a bit more creativity and a bit of steel / aggression to take this current squad to the next level.

I’ve no problem on the whole with so called ‘Critch-Ball’ there’s a big part of me that enjoys the calmness that comes with knowing your side (for the most part) can close out a game with a 1 goal lead….and enjoyment in watching a side that is organised and in control.
 
voyeur said:
It was pretty tongue in cheek pal. 😉

Some worrying misjudgements from the head coach though. Window closes tomorrow and any attacking threat is yet to emerge and he persists with bizarre wing back choices. Can we stay in touch til January? Hopefully, in a play off kinda way. I'm wondering if Sadlers fingers are burning from the stress of the Championship?

At Wolves we had one striker on the pitch. And that was Beesley who didn't have a single attempt at goal. It's quite likely Lavery and Rhodes won't play anything like 40 games each. Joseph is out for a good while. A robust striker is an absolute must. 36 hours left.
Click to expand...
Brad Holmes, Voy?! 😜
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
It probably isn’t much compensation at this stage (and of course games are played on the pitch, not on a computer), but our ‘performances’ to date do indicate that we should be ahead of where we are in terms of points / goals etc…

We’ve not been taking our chances.. That much is clear and the games we’ve played so far would all have taken on a completely different perspective if we had.

The situation (as I recall it) previously with Critchley, was not at all dissimilar…. Performances suggested better results, but maybe a few ‘key components’ were missing.

Actual results should theoretically catch up with expected results and hopefully we’ll add a bit more creativity and a bit of steel / aggression to take this current squad to the next level.

I’ve no problem on the whole with so called ‘Critch-Ball’ there’s a big part of me that enjoys the calmness that comes with knowing your side (for the most part) can close out a game with a 1 goal lead….and enjoyment in watching a side that is organised and in control.
Click to expand...
I agree with that but I think our striker options are a bit concerning right now.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
It probably isn’t much compensation at this stage (and of course games are played on the pitch, not on a computer), but our ‘performances’ to date do indicate that we should be ahead of where we are in terms of points / goals etc…

We’ve not been taking our chances.. That much is clear and the games we’ve played so far would all have taken on a completely different perspective if we had.

The situation (as I recall it) previously with Critchley, was not at all dissimilar…. Performances suggested better results, but maybe a few ‘key components’ were missing.

Actual results should theoretically catch up with expected results and hopefully we’ll add a bit more creativity and a bit of steel / aggression to take this current squad to the next level.

I’ve no problem on the whole with so called ‘Critch-Ball’ there’s a big part of me that enjoys the calmness that comes with knowing your side (for the most part) can close out a game with a 1 goal lead….and enjoyment in watching a side that is organised and in control.
Click to expand...

That’s all beautiful but our last two games.

Lincoln 3-0 Pool
Wolves 5-0 Pool

The idea that we are solid and can ‘close out games’ is a complete myth. Vale and Orient should have easily scored a couple.

The tactics and formation are awful. We are asking League One players to have the tactical awareness as Premier League superstars. It’s farcical.
 
A_Tense_Grin said:
That’s all beautiful but our last two games.

Lincoln 3-0 Pool
Wolves 5-0 Pool

The idea that we are solid and can ‘close out games’ is a complete myth. Vale and Orient should have easily scored a couple.

The tactics and formation are awful. We are asking League One players to have the tactical awareness as Premier League superstars. It’s farcical.
Click to expand...
You dont actually know what youre talking about though do you? So you just take the easy and presumably cathartic option of calling everything shit. Except CJ, strangely. Which suggests you're just on a wind up!
 
voyeur said:
You dont actually k ow what yourectalking about thiugh do you? So you just take the easy and presumably cathartic option of calling everything shit. Except CJ, strangely. Which suggests you're just on a wind up!
Click to expand...
No it proves that you don’t know what you’re talking about as CJ is probably our best attacking threat (as limited as he might be) and this alone shows how ‘shit’ we really are.

What in my post is wrong? I have results and performances to back up my stance where as all you have is this ideology that we are somehow solid and things ‘might’ improve.
 
SeasideKurt said:
Genuinely, we don't even look like a side that wants to be expressive, attacking, fluid. We're the most rigid shite team ever to have graced League One, with the calibre of players we have. There is absolutely zero and I mean ZERO excuse for how Critchley has got us set up to play. It's turgid bullshit from the latest FA manual. A rigid 3-5-2 is DOGSHIT. What's even worse than a rigid 3-5-2 is playing awful players, awfully out of position.

There is absolutely no excuse for what we've witnessed in these first 6 games.
Click to expand...
So excuse me if I'm wrong, but i sense your not fully happy with how its going ?
 
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A_Tense_Grin said:
No it proves that you don’t know what you’re talking about as CJ is probably our best attacking threat (as limited as he might be) and this alone shows how ‘shit’ we really are.

What in my post is wrong? I have results and performances to back up my stance where as all you have is this ideology that we are somehow solid and things ‘might’ improve.
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You just call us shit all the time. Constantly. Any wazzock can do that. Weve conceded 3 goals in 5 games. Two penalties and a deflection. We are not watertight but we are bettwr than other L1 teams at defending our goal. It's the other end thats our big problem. CJ creates a lot more problems than chances.
 
It’s football and our luck will change in due course.
You mentioned Donny matching Everton yet we were hammered. Well we put 6 past QPR only for them to beat runaway leaders at Burnley a few weeks later.
Noticed that Blackburn hammered Harrogate 8-0 last night
 
voyeur said:
You just call us shit all the time. Constantly. Any wazzock can do that. Weve conceded 3 goals in 5 games. Two penalties and a deflection. We are not watertight but we are bettwr than other L1 teams at defending our goal. It's the other end thats our big problem. CJ creates a lot more problems than chances.
Click to expand...
It’s just very hard as genuinely believe the only way to describe these tactics and formation is ‘shit’
 
GrahamwantshisOates said:
It’s football and our luck will change in due course.
You mentioned Donny matching Everton yet we were hammered. Well we put 6 past QPR only for them to beat runaway leaders at Burnley a few weeks later.
Noticed that Blackburn hammered Harrogate 8-0 last night
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I was only messing about really. Derby bounced back from us schooling them a bit and we haven't scored since. We got promoted after the Barnet thing and being 23rd in September.

Plus, Critch told the players at Wolves to play more aggressively, press high etc and he knew that losing the ball would be fatal doing that against Prem players but obviously used it as an exercise to get us more active in the final third. You could argue it backfired but the proof will be what happens v Wigan and beyond. He sacrificed the Wolves game i think.
 
voyeur said:
It was pretty tongue in cheek pal. 😉

Some worrying misjudgements from the head coach though. Window closes tomorrow and any attacking threat is yet to emerge and he persists with bizarre wing back choices. Can we stay in touch til January? Hopefully, in a play off kinda way. I'm wondering if Sadlers fingers are burning from the stress of the Championship?

At Wolves we had one striker on the pitch. And that was Beesley who didn't have a single attempt at goal. It's quite likely Lavery and Rhodes won't play anything like 40 games each. Joseph is out for a good while. A robust striker is an absolute must. 36 hours left.
Click to expand...


Doh. Was thinking it read like a parody of Hertford's posts.

Agree with the message quoted above.
 
SeasideKurt said:
Genuinely, we don't even look like a side that wants to be expressive, attacking, fluid. We're the most rigid shite team ever to have graced League One, with the calibre of players we have. There is absolutely zero and I mean ZERO excuse for how Critchley has got us set up to play. It's turgid bullshit from the latest FA manual. A rigid 3-5-2 is DOGSHIT. What's even worse than a rigid 3-5-2 is playing awful players, awfully out of position.

There is absolutely no excuse for what we've witnessed in these first 6 games.
Click to expand...
The worrying thing is I don't think he's particularly trying to defend, he wants us to dominate and win but it's just not working and the setup isn't working for us thus far.

The system can work and teams can dominate, create chances and be solid, but his implementation so far with the players he has isn't doing it.

The annoying thing is we should have been hitting the ground running with a style after a full pre season, if we stay the same and get it right you can improve with more time, but doing nothing and carrying on doesnt seem right, if we change style we're then adjusting, having not played it in pre season and can be behind many other sides who are settled in their style.

In a way if he has belief in himself and what he's trying to do he'd stick with it, or maybe tweak it.

I do want to us be a good possession based side as if we get it right it's the best way to get us up and stay up.
 
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It's hard to judge a game you didn't see but 12 shots against a premiere team isn't bad
2 hitting the woodwork and the rest missing is
Improvement may be on the way and with that some confidence
Surely there were things we did right to work on
 
voyeur said:
12 goal attempts v Wolves. None on target.

Virtue 2
Dougall 3
Pennington 2
Ekpiteta 1
Lyons 2
Connolly 1
Apter 1

Beesley was the only striker who played and he left after 67 minutes. Shotless in Wolverhampton. Carey no goal attempts.

Is it football or performance art? How far can we push it? What would the score be if we played a keeper and ten midfielders? How come 92nd Doncaster can match Everton but Wolves beat us 5-0 without really trying? What was that Derby game all about? Will we get battered on Saturday, or will it be 0-0? How can it be so tedious and inevitable and yet we've no idea what will happen next? Except that we won't score. The one constant.

It's so dull and weird that we will probably all look back on this period for years to come. "What about 2023/24 when we scored 2 goals in the first 25 mins of the first game and then didnt score again til January? That was far worse than this." "Well yeah, but at least we had good possession stats then. It became mesmeric, knowing we'd keep the ball for ages but never score. I quite liked it. All the pressure evaporated. You could just appreciate the passing and moving."

All we've got is questions really.

Will Rhodes and Dembele make the difference? What's on earth's going to happen to Beesley? How many goals will Shayne really get this season? 4? 28?

The rollercoaster ride seems to have veered off into the haunted house or something. Can we have the mouser for a bit? The fun house? I suppose in the grand scheme of things its not important, and the weirdness of the season so far has a tension and an interest of its own. And it's different. Enjoy it for what it is. A strange nothingness.
Click to expand...
I was fully into the post until "enjoy it for what it is," because what it is is an endurance test of tedium, frustration and suffering. A strange nothingness nearly does it for me. It's certainly strange, setting out your stall to achieve absolutely nothing. It's baffling to witness.
 
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A_Tense_Grin said:
No offence but saying the goals we conceded were flukes is something a kid would say. We conceded and this idea that we are solid is a complete myth. If you want to use the word fluke, you should use in the context that we were lucky not to concede against Vale and Orient.
Click to expand...
Watch match of the day on any Saturday, you can count the number of un-deflected goals on one hand
 
We
Tango1953 said:
** hell, Voy, you are normally a little more measured than that OP.

Slow starts are a Critchley traits he usually susses it put and gets the team cohesive with good patterns of play. I have faith this season will be the same.
Click to expand...
Well it's about time he changed his "TRAITS" , because we are f*cking fed up of them and him.
 
29Days Late said:
I was fully into the post until "enjoy it for what it is," because what it is is an endurance test of tedium, frustration and suffering. A strange nothingness nearly does it for me. It's certainly strange, setting out your stall to achieve absolutely nothing. It's baffling to witness.
Click to expand...
Well yeah I know. My post wasnt entirely serious. I think a bit of exaggeration occurs though. Uber angst.
 
A_Tense_Grin said:
Critchley needs to hit the reset button, change the formation and then judge the players after that. I doubt he will though.
Click to expand...
Agree we might need to try a new formation. I’m not sure he will either but I hope he does.

What I want is for the fans to give the brand new signings a bit of time to settle in. Rhodes, for example, knows what he’s doing I reckon. He just needs to get to know the squad and he could be a decent addition.

Hopefully that new kid Dembele works out too.
 
BFC_53 said:
Good possession stats - I saw one that listed the six league one clubs with the highest possession % from the Saturday games (pool were one of them). Of those six, only one team actually won their game (Orient). I will never understand the obsession with it, for some reason it seems to have become the aim of the game.
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Once you've taken the lead I totally get the obsession with possession.
But until you've scored you have to be dynamic, mix it up a bit and try to make it happen.
We set up for possession without penetration and then when we concede we carry on the same way, it has to change!
 
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