I missed the first half of the game yesterday, couldn't get a stable stream, so saw about twenty minutes, and was relying on radio Lancashire commentary, which gives about 5% game commentary and 95% mumblings between the two commentators, so other than a post event - "that was a good move" or something similar cant draw a lot from it.
from what i saw of the first half we controlled the game, camped in the Bromley half, zipping passes around, sideways forwards sideways, back again down the other side. We consistently had 5 or 6 players in or around the box and every time there was a defensive clearance we had numbers to take control and rework another move. Now to me that looked like controlling the game.
Second half after about ten minutes, we didn't have control of the game, we were chasing their midfield, we didn't retain possession, we sat deep and let them play in the area in front of our penalty area, we had eleven men behind the ball and every time we cleared it ended up at the foot of a Bromley player coming forward again, we were lucky not to concede a couple of times maybe more. I cannot look at it as a professional performance seeing out the game (even though we did) it was us holding on.
so the question to ask is how do we go from sitting back and holding on, and its not solid, and we don't look comfortable, to absolutely monstering teams as we did in the first half yesterday, or for thirty minutes against Fleetwood, or with ten men against Peterborough, or for fifteen minutes against oxford.
When we did go forward in the second half yesterday we only had a at most a couple of players in the box, and its something I've noticed in a lot of the damp squib performances. That restraint to get forward has to be coming from the management team, its also noticeable that when we are "being solid" we wont shoot until we are about three yards out, we get close with what looks like a decent attacking move, but then end up passing all the way back seemingly to just retain possession. at a psychological level that has to give the opposition the idea that defensively they are doing a decent job, which gives them confidence to attack the ball, knowing that what the Blackpool team is doing is trying to retain possession for the sake of possession.
When your goal is being peppered with shots, and / or you're conceding corners and freekicks which result in more attempts you are unlikely to be feeling comfortable.
I cannot believe that the group of players who came out in the second half relinquished the gulf in class that they had from the first half, it has to be orders from the dressing room, or a lack of understanding of orders from the dressing room.
It didn't help yesterday that Beesley had an absolute shocker, I don't think he won a single challenge for the ball and was so badly positioned for most of the time that nobody could find him with a pass. I quite liked him as a player though he might do a decent job, but yesterday was a shocker. The other subs, Carey in the free role that Dembele had we know can cause problems so like for like, but no. TOB i think gets pelters on here but is a decent player and hasnt done much wrong in my eyes, too careful not adventurous enough in the rigid system that critchley wants to play to be """"solid"""".