Adams Kebab
Well-known member
This was a classic Neil Critchley away team performance. The kind we’ve seen before, even in his successful spell 1st time with us in the Championship v Birmingham, Derby, Preston etc. & all too familiar this season. Concede a goal, wait till 70 minutes, make like for like subs, dare to change the shape last 5. Huff and puff and have a couple of half chances.
Blackpool 0.
Lincoln, Wycombe, Burton, Port Vale, Cheltenham, Orient and now Wigan. He loves it when teams come at us. It’s why we did so well in the Championship against some good teams away and why we did well with 10 men against Portsmouth. That’s his excellence in coaching to be fair. Solid base and able to counter-attack. The issue is in this league we need to be able to break teams down in about 80% of the matches as we’re better than them. It’s also quite difficult to counter attack quickly with Rhodes and Beesley upfront and no actual desire to look like you want to do it with the formation and the players at your disposal.
This isn’t a new Neil Critchley thing as alluded to above against the Championship teams who sat deep against us (just for the record I’m refusing to use the phrase “low block”). Derby away was as horrific as it gets with their young team they had out and Knobbers just as bad.
We know he's been working on possession and transitions and all nice coaching things all season and we’ll now have two weeks to do more of it but there's no intensity or focus to WIN. We could have got in a play-off spot yesterday… it looked like a bounce game or whatever shite words they now use for a friendly.
The team yesterday was going through the motions like it's a training session and they're going to get graded at the end with how they carried it out and get asked what they learned. Like a non-competitive sports day.
What we get is a weak as piss performance conceding the first goal thus meaning they can then sit in and we’ll be completely and utterly clueless on how to break them down. We got slightly better 2nd half but nowhere near where we want to be. I only listened to a bit of the NC interview as it’s same old but he got a bit chopsy telling the in-club guy that you have to understand Wigan are involved in low scoring games… which made me question what the plan was for if they scored 1st or was it just hope they don’t? If you know that’s what they do then go for it FFS.
He wants to play HIS way. Which is fine as I’m all for an identity but not so good when you’re wanting one of the best kick it, head it, block it and tackle it defender’s in the League to become John Stones on the ball. (Marv will 100% move on in the summer). Couple this with your spare man being the right centre half to step out with the ball and create things? Which I’m not sure he’ll have signed up but at least it means Husband wasn’t getting blamed this week for it and his long diagonals. Then you’ve got a left footed wing back who was brought in to provide balance and width always cutting inside or playing the ball backwards. Is that instruction, safe play or an inability to keep the width and get at your man? The thing with this is, whoever we put in positions all seem to do the same thing. For Carey see Weir. For Dale see Coulson. It can’t be the players all the time it has to be the coaching and instruction because if it was the former they’d be told not to do it. The team minus Dembele and Byers has zero personality and expression on the ball. It’s boring as hell, side to side, backwards, pass and probe. There’s very little driving forward with the ball Infact the only time we did yesterday Lavery nearly scored.
That’s what creates space in a game of football. Taking a risk offensively in the last third. We have a massive reliance on Dembele but he’s now being clocked on his ability and shackled and won’t always be fully at it. When that’s stopped we’re screwed.
We’re taking risks in our defensive third by trying to pass and create pretty patterns which usually result in a long punt forward after we’ve made about 10 passes.
Pointless possession without a purpose.
This might be HIS way but we’ve lost 13 games.
I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere soon, I don’t even know if I think getting rid would be the right call as it’s who we’d get in, but it’s a worrying summer ahead as we’re going to lose our best 3 players from their loans, Rhodes, Dembele and Byers & have to recruit for and rebuild the starting 11 with as many as 5-6 players when you think loans and players who’ll go.
Marv will be off, i think a Championship team will pick off Gabriel to play him as an actual right back and If anyone has faith in the rebuild after we’ve spent half the season not picking our next best players in Casey and Gabriel, ‘allegedly’ signed the most expensive player in the League last summer in Kyle Joseph to then not start him regularly and give CJ fooking Hamilton a 2.5 year extension after a couple of half decent games then I have a Nigerian Uncle that would like to speak to you regarding some family inheritance you are owed.
One thing is for certain, the club are going to have to be very cute and clever with their season ticket pricing and marketing, as another season in League 1 alongside this brand of football isn’t going to everyone buzzing for it for sure. I’ll be there no doubts, but watching central midfielders look forwards and have next to no option bar to go sidewards or backwards due to the shape of the team is going to be a bit of a slog.
The maddest thing is, our Head Coach will no doubts be happy with it.
Blackpool 0.
Lincoln, Wycombe, Burton, Port Vale, Cheltenham, Orient and now Wigan. He loves it when teams come at us. It’s why we did so well in the Championship against some good teams away and why we did well with 10 men against Portsmouth. That’s his excellence in coaching to be fair. Solid base and able to counter-attack. The issue is in this league we need to be able to break teams down in about 80% of the matches as we’re better than them. It’s also quite difficult to counter attack quickly with Rhodes and Beesley upfront and no actual desire to look like you want to do it with the formation and the players at your disposal.
This isn’t a new Neil Critchley thing as alluded to above against the Championship teams who sat deep against us (just for the record I’m refusing to use the phrase “low block”). Derby away was as horrific as it gets with their young team they had out and Knobbers just as bad.
We know he's been working on possession and transitions and all nice coaching things all season and we’ll now have two weeks to do more of it but there's no intensity or focus to WIN. We could have got in a play-off spot yesterday… it looked like a bounce game or whatever shite words they now use for a friendly.
The team yesterday was going through the motions like it's a training session and they're going to get graded at the end with how they carried it out and get asked what they learned. Like a non-competitive sports day.
What we get is a weak as piss performance conceding the first goal thus meaning they can then sit in and we’ll be completely and utterly clueless on how to break them down. We got slightly better 2nd half but nowhere near where we want to be. I only listened to a bit of the NC interview as it’s same old but he got a bit chopsy telling the in-club guy that you have to understand Wigan are involved in low scoring games… which made me question what the plan was for if they scored 1st or was it just hope they don’t? If you know that’s what they do then go for it FFS.
He wants to play HIS way. Which is fine as I’m all for an identity but not so good when you’re wanting one of the best kick it, head it, block it and tackle it defender’s in the League to become John Stones on the ball. (Marv will 100% move on in the summer). Couple this with your spare man being the right centre half to step out with the ball and create things? Which I’m not sure he’ll have signed up but at least it means Husband wasn’t getting blamed this week for it and his long diagonals. Then you’ve got a left footed wing back who was brought in to provide balance and width always cutting inside or playing the ball backwards. Is that instruction, safe play or an inability to keep the width and get at your man? The thing with this is, whoever we put in positions all seem to do the same thing. For Carey see Weir. For Dale see Coulson. It can’t be the players all the time it has to be the coaching and instruction because if it was the former they’d be told not to do it. The team minus Dembele and Byers has zero personality and expression on the ball. It’s boring as hell, side to side, backwards, pass and probe. There’s very little driving forward with the ball Infact the only time we did yesterday Lavery nearly scored.
That’s what creates space in a game of football. Taking a risk offensively in the last third. We have a massive reliance on Dembele but he’s now being clocked on his ability and shackled and won’t always be fully at it. When that’s stopped we’re screwed.
We’re taking risks in our defensive third by trying to pass and create pretty patterns which usually result in a long punt forward after we’ve made about 10 passes.
Pointless possession without a purpose.
This might be HIS way but we’ve lost 13 games.
I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere soon, I don’t even know if I think getting rid would be the right call as it’s who we’d get in, but it’s a worrying summer ahead as we’re going to lose our best 3 players from their loans, Rhodes, Dembele and Byers & have to recruit for and rebuild the starting 11 with as many as 5-6 players when you think loans and players who’ll go.
Marv will be off, i think a Championship team will pick off Gabriel to play him as an actual right back and If anyone has faith in the rebuild after we’ve spent half the season not picking our next best players in Casey and Gabriel, ‘allegedly’ signed the most expensive player in the League last summer in Kyle Joseph to then not start him regularly and give CJ fooking Hamilton a 2.5 year extension after a couple of half decent games then I have a Nigerian Uncle that would like to speak to you regarding some family inheritance you are owed.
One thing is for certain, the club are going to have to be very cute and clever with their season ticket pricing and marketing, as another season in League 1 alongside this brand of football isn’t going to everyone buzzing for it for sure. I’ll be there no doubts, but watching central midfielders look forwards and have next to no option bar to go sidewards or backwards due to the shape of the team is going to be a bit of a slog.
The maddest thing is, our Head Coach will no doubts be happy with it.
and also think it’s stifling players in game.
