Will the returnees upset the rhythm?

TSSeasider

Well-known member
Just thinking about how well we've been playing given we've got a reduced pool of players to choose from.

Is there a danger when we've got a full squad, we could end up tinkering and struggling to fit everybody in?

I quite like keeping a winning team together, but I might be old fashioned in that way.
 
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It's been a changed team pretty much every game so the rotation is definitely working even if a lot is due to injury.

Based on the team today when all players are fit Madine comes in for Simms, CJ for Ward and Big Marv in for Thorniley.

Given the number of games coming up he'll rotate all areas but we have shown we have good strength in depth. 👍
 
It's been a changed team pretty much every game so the rotation is definitely working even if a lot is due to injury.

Based on the team today when all players are fit Madine comes in for Simms, CJ for Ward and Big Marv in for Thorniley.

Given the number of games coming up he'll rotate all areas but we have shown we have good strength in depth. 👍
A fresher side could benefit us towards the end of the season whilst others begin to tire...

In theory of course.
 
It's been a changed team pretty much every game so the rotation is definitely working even if a lot is due to injury.

Based on the team today when all players are fit Madine comes in for Simms, CJ for Ward and Big Marv in for Thorniley.

Given the number of games coming up he'll rotate all areas but we have shown we have good strength in depth. 👍
Can’t see Big Marv playing again this season hope I’m wrong.
 
They really must have been. We just knocked it about for twenty minutes.
I only remember us really showing domination i expected much earlier in the last 5 mins against 9 men.

Before that we didn't capitalise hardly at all, just limited them to very little.
 
I only remember us really showing domination i expected much earlier in the last 5 mins against 9 men.

Before that we didn't capitalise hardly at all, just limited them to very little.
That's what I mean. We just played it about a bit, rather than going for the jugular. We just seemed to sit in, pass it around a bit mostly.

I assume the instructions were to save themselves for Tuesday basically.
 
That's what I mean. We just played it about a bit, rather than going for the jugular. We just seemed to sit in, pass it around a bit mostly.

I assume the instructions were to save themselves for Tuesday basically.
Well we didn't take control as much as we could, from critchs nit pick at the end of the video on his interview where he says he wanted more control against 10 men, they actually had more of the ball for a period after the sending off and we gave it away cheaply.

The stats show 50 50 possession despite the last 5 minutes being almost all us and against 10 men for a whole half so there were still areas to improve. Charlton forced a bit of pressure and won a few corners etc, didn't come to anything but could have. A bit more control could have emilimated even those and given us more chances.

Always room to improve.
 
Well we didn't take control as much as we could, from critchs nit pick at the end of the video on his interview where he says he wanted more control against 10 men, they actually had more of the ball for a period after the sending off and we gave it away cheaply.

The stats show 50 50 possession despite the last 5 minutes being almost all us and against 10 men for a whole half so there were still areas to improve. Charlton forced a bit of pressure and won a few corners etc, didn't come to anything but could have. A bit more control could have emilimated even those and given us more chances.

Always room to improve.
It often happens when teams go down to 10. They always decide to up their game.
 
It often happens when teams go down to 10. They always decide to up their game.
Up their game maybe but you often find the team with less men has less of the ball also, our advantage wasn't utilised as well as it could have been (as Critch mentioned) by keeping the ball and moving them around more leading to more chances for us from open play, we didn't really work thier keeper that much second half either.

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The biggest issue will be NC trying to be too clever. The less options he has, the less he can dick about with formations and systems.
Perhaps it’s about time to give him some credit, was he dicking about or putting together a really good squad that needed time to gel
 
especially as it was a difficult pitch and cutting up all over the place.

Well we didn't take control as much as we could, from critchs nit pick at the end of the video on his interview where he says he wanted more control against 10 men, they actually had more of the ball for a period after the sending off and we gave it away cheaply.

The stats show 50 50 possession despite the last 5 minutes being almost all us and against 10 men for a whole half so there were still areas to improve. Charlton forced a bit of pressure and won a few corners etc, didn't come to anything but could have. A bit more control could have emilimated even those and given us more chances.

Always room to improve.
We weren't trying particularly. We'd be raging if a play pulled up with a muscle injury and whatever Critch said, he took off both strikers and put on a kid for a bit of game time.

He's not going to say "oh, I told them to stop playing" cos it's disrespectful to Charlton and he's not that type of manager but without doubt we took the foot off the gas.

Possession is a over rated stat. We've had lower possession most week than we did at the beginning of the year. People were going wild about the possession for the first few games but we lost most of them.

Brighton have loads of possession every week and never score!
 
Perhaps it’s about time to give him some credit, was he dicking about or putting together a really good squad that needed time to gel
I've given him plenty of credit, but it's true that sometimes creativity comes easier when there's less options to choose from.
 
We weren't trying particularly. We'd be raging if a play pulled up with a muscle injury and whatever Critch said, he took off both strikers and put on a kid for a bit of game time.

He's not going to say "oh, I told them to stop playing" cos it's disrespectful to Charlton and he's not that type of manager but without doubt we took the foot off the gas.

Possession is a over rated stat. We've had lower possession most week than we did at the beginning of the year. People were going wild about the possession for the first few games but we lost most of them.

Brighton have loads of possession every week and never score!
No i think he meant what he said, he didn't have to mention anything about nit picking, could have just said he was happy with how we saw it out, we could have moved tha ball a bit better and worked the 10 men better, but we didn't and cruised so it doesn't really matter but was a nit pick.

Its not just possession, its what that leads to in shots and chances and therefore goals. Also the lack of possession for them means even less progression up the pitch.

On another day without pens given and a side down to 10 you would kick yourself if they score from a corner after being the team pressing.

The pitch at first I though looked good but became clear it was actually poor, so that didn't help.

I think our pitch is on one the best, minus water holding.
 
We need Gretarsson more than those two IMO. With Marv and Hubby missing and Ballard seemingly brittle. We have Simms and Yates up top. Be nice to have CJ and Gaz on the bench though.
Gretarsson will still be out for some time I believe though, Ekpiteta as well - the only two that will be returning anytime soon is Hamilton and Madine but now Husband could have picked up a knock we are certainly sparse at the back.

It's like we are mirroring Liverpool, even the players we are playing out of position to cover centre half are now getting injured!
 
No i think he meant what he said, he didn't have to mention anything about nit picking, could have just said he was happy with how we saw it out, we could have moved tha ball a bit better and worked the 10 men better, but we didn't and cruised so it doesn't really matter but was a nit pick.

Its not just possession, its what that leads to in shots and chances and therefore goals. Also the lack of possession for them means even less progression up the pitch.

On another day without pens given and a side down to 10 you would kick yourself if they score from a corner after being the team pressing.

The pitch at first I though looked good but became clear it was actually poor, so that didn't help.

I think our pitch is on one the best, minus water holding.
I think he's got to consider then, surely, if he wanted us to go on and crush them, why did he take both strikers off?

I agree, we didn't move it as well as we could have hypothetically done but without Yates movement up front and latterly Simms presence, that's almost inevitable as the movement up front creates the space to play.

I just think it's over thinking it all a bit 'on another day...' - yeah, of course but football is made of lots of if, buts and maybes and thousands of interconnected moments. I think stats are useful over a period of time but I think they're over analysed in individual games.

At the beginning of the year we dominated possession and had the ball a lot in the 'right places' - the problem was, that masked the fact we weren't taking risks, we weren't getting enough players in the box or taking on shots. The good stats were a function of that conservative approach. Now we're a bit more direct, we are creating and converting more chances but as a result, we turn over possession more. I know that's not your point in relation to last 20 (which ultimately, I agree with) but I think it shows why stats don't tell the full picture.

I did think Embleton did well when he came on. He's got something imo. He's very quick thinking, looks pretty well built for a young lad and is decisive and seems technically good - his stats (ok, hypocritical!) show he does well stuff that a lot of our midfielders don't so far. He dribbles and he plays through balls and not many of our players actually do that regularly

Also Demi and Shaw had their moments and I think that's a really good sign. Squad is looking quite good now, especially with Simms finding his feet.

I think our pitch, when not frozen or under water is the best I've seen in the division.
 
I think he's got to consider then, surely, if he wanted us to go on and crush them, why did he take both strikers off?

I agree, we didn't move it as well as we could have hypothetically done but without Yates movement up front and latterly Simms presence, that's almost inevitable as the movement up front creates the space to play.

I just think it's over thinking it all a bit 'on another day...' - yeah, of course but football is made of lots of if, buts and maybes and thousands of interconnected moments. I think stats are useful over a period of time but I think they're over analysed in individual games.

At the beginning of the year we dominated possession and had the ball a lot in the 'right places' - the problem was, that masked the fact we weren't taking risks, we weren't getting enough players in the box or taking on shots. The good stats were a function of that conservative approach. Now we're a bit more direct, we are creating and converting more chances but as a result, we turn over possession more. I know that's not your point in relation to last 20 (which ultimately, I agree with) but I think it shows why stats don't tell the full picture.

I did think Embleton did well when he came on. He's got something imo. He's very quick thinking, looks pretty well built for a young lad and is decisive and seems technically good - his stats (ok, hypocritical!) show he does well stuff that a lot of our midfielders don't so far. He dribbles and he plays through balls and not many of our players actually do that regularly

Also Demi and Shaw had their moments and I think that's a really good sign. Squad is looking quite good now, especially with Simms finding his feet.

I think our pitch, when not frozen or under water is the best I've seen in the division.
Well he's thinking of games to come also, but at times the passing breaks down before the forward line, it's the old they let the defence have it then we have at times struggled to get it though midfield.

This is when you need players taking the ball on the half turn and progressing.

I'm just going off what he's saying and something I noticed too, usually a man down means we have more of the ball and not really until they were down to 9 did we really dominate.

As for early season we were doing so much right and then kind of abandoned it.

Was the system wrong, not really we dominated and created the positions or even chances but poor final ball etc.

For me that is down to a brand new squad and look at the difference in the strikers now. Yates couldn't buy a goal at the start. If we played those games again now and dominated the same I think we would put a good few goals away. So I dont think passing the ball well and dominating was the issue. We did need to mix it up a little and at times still I think we go long a bit too much still, as crith has also mentioned we could still pass better at times.

I think we look a better side when we do pass a bit more, it as without madine long aimless balls are most often a waste. Pass it through, get it down the wings, take someone on and get the ball in, cut it back etc. More likely to score from that than long balls usually.

Most the impressive goals we score are when we pass it on the floor, cutting though sides, either with them pinned in or on the break. I know we're capable, sometimes its about taking that risk of a pass or taking someone on to create space. A lot of the times we can hesitate and go back across the defence only to go back to keeper and launch and then lose the ball, in that instance its surely better to try and pass through even if it doesn't happen, rather than a long ball which most times their defence is taller and outnumbers our attackers.

I'd just like to see a bit more of it for me and Critch keeps mentioning it in multiple interviews so he still wants to improve it. We aren't the complete article yet despite the big improvement but we look much better and are on the right path. Just a bit more belief in passing ability, take a good touch and try stuff, don't be afraid to be positive and play with freedom. Run at teams more and shoot more. Players like Cj coming back will help this though.
 
Well he's thinking of games to come also, but at times the passing breaks down before the forward line, it's the old they let the defence have it then we have at times struggled to get it though midfield.

This is when you need players taking the ball on the half turn and progressing.

I'm just going off what he's saying and something I noticed too, usually a man down means we have more of the ball and not really until they were down to 9 did we really dominate.

As for early season we were doing so much right and then kind of abandoned it.

Was the system wrong, not really we dominated and created the positions or even chances but poor final ball etc.

For me that is down to a brand new squad and look at the difference in the strikers now. Yates couldn't buy a goal at the start. If we played those games again now and dominated the same I think we would put a good few goals away. So I dont think passing the ball well and dominating was the issue. We did need to mix it up a little and at times still I think we go long a bit too much still, as crith has also mentioned we could still pass better at times.

I think we look a better side when we do pass a bit more, it as without madine long aimless balls are most often a waste. Pass it through, get it down the wings, take someone on and get the ball in, cut it back etc. More likely to score from that than long balls usually.

Most the impressive goals we score are when we pass it on the floor, cutting though sides, either with them pinned in or on the break. I know we're capable, sometimes its about taking that risk of a pass or taking someone on to create space. A lot of the times we can hesitate and go back across the defence only to go back to keeper and launch and then lose the ball, in that instance its surely better to try and pass through even if it doesn't happen, rather than a long ball which most times their defence is taller and outnumbers our attackers.

I'd just like to see a bit more of it for me and Critch keeps mentioning it in multiple interviews so he still wants to improve it. We aren't the complete article yet despite the big improvement but we look much better and are on the right path. Just a bit more belief in passing ability, take a good touch and try stuff, don't be afraid to be positive and play with freedom. Run at teams more and shoot more. Players like Cj coming back will help this though.
Some of the pitches including yesterday haven’t helped, our passing should improve with the weather/playing surfaces
 
It's been a changed team pretty much every game so the rotation is definitely working even if a lot is due to injury.

Based on the team today when all players are fit Madine comes in for Simms, CJ for Ward and Big Marv in for Thorniley.

Given the number of games coming up he'll rotate all areas but we have shown we have good strength in depth. 👍
Yep, good post. It's nice to have the options but there's players mentioned missing who improve the team. And that's what it's all about.
 
It really does depend how and when they are integrated back into the squad/starting 11. I suspect a lot fans felt the same as me when CJ, Madine, Gretarrson then Ekipeteta all picked up injuries, I won't lie I thought we would go through a tricky spell. Never did think we'd be collecting 15 from 18 points. Nor did I think the likes of Husband and Thornily would be putting in MOTM performances. That has to be credit to our coach and recruitment team, pretty much every player is now showing why they've been brought into the club. Given the hectic schedule we will need everyone of them and rotation, even of a winning team, will be key.
 
Gretarsson will still be out for some time I believe though, Ekpiteta as well - the only two that will be returning anytime soon is Hamilton and Madine but now Husband could have picked up a knock we are certainly sparse at the back.

It's like we are mirroring Liverpool, even the players we are playing out of position to cover centre half are now getting injured!
Even if Ballard's fitness and availability holds out (which is unlikely given his record so far) then he could miss the Peterborough, Plymouth and Swindon games at the end of March. NI will be naming a squad for two fixtures at the same time.

That sort of situation will be where the policy of having full backs covering in the middle is fully tested out.
 
Even if Ballard's fitness and availability holds out (which is unlikely given his record so far) then he could miss the Peterborough, Plymouth and Swindon games at the end of March. NI will be naming a squad for two fixtures at the same time.

That sort of situation will be where the policy of having full backs covering in the middle is fully tested out.
Hopefully by the end of March, Gretarsson should have returned - Marvin may even be on the way back by then as I think we're unsure of the severity.

It doesn't look good though as you say, we will most likely be seeing Husband at centre half quite regularly!
 
Maybe the only returnees likely to upset the rhythm, are those in the North Stand invading the pitch or throwing something, causing the game to be stopped.
The support they can provide is fantastic provided they behave themselves and are a credit to the club.
 
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