| We're not that far off 12:20 - Jun 15 with 15814 views | goperryrevs |
After the Cov away game, I chatted to some Cov fans who said that, first half especially, we were the best team by far they'd seen all season. Early in the season, Cov's defence was woeful at times. But they managed to plug that gap, turn it around and now they're up.
Especially in league 1, margins are small - which is why we went from winning every week to losing every week. We've got a good crop of youngsters coming through, and players returning from injury, and a manager who, despite his failings at times, should be good enough for league 1. We'll have also had the experience playing for a season in league 1 to draw on.
Even if we lose Flynniesta and Wolf, there's enough to be hopeful that if/when next season happens, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to have a good go of it. |  | | |  |
| We're not that far off on 09:33 - Jun 17 with 2298 views | StNeotsBlue |
| We're not that far off on 09:14 - Jun 17 by Herbivore |
Did you watch him play in those games? |
Yes. Can't see why you're so overly critical. He's not in the same class as Mings or Cresswell but he is more than adequate. I'm struggling to think of any major errors he's made. |  | | |
| We're not that far off on 09:51 - Jun 17 with 2258 views | Libero |
| We're not that far off on 09:14 - Jun 17 by Herbivore |
Did you watch him play in those games? |
I can't understand why you consistently gave Knudsen a free pass but are so harsh on Kenlock. |  | | |
| We're not that far off on 10:07 - Jun 17 with 2236 views | TheTrueBlue1878 |
| We're not that far off on 15:00 - Jun 16 by Wallingford_Boy |
Does the fact that Smith hasn't played any regular football (other than in the mickey mouse league) for almost 5 years not concern you? |
We are in League 1, and finished 11th in it. I don't think we are in a position to be calling other leagues Mickey Mouse leagues. MLS is actually underrated, the standard of football is predominately better than League 1 football, there is talent out there, especially from South America, but not consistently throughout each team.
He didn't leave us until 2018 so I don't know where five years has come from.
Would be a really good signing regardless, and will receive full pre season. [Post edited 17 Jun 2020 10:10]
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| We're not that far off on 10:28 - Jun 17 with 2204 views | Herbivore |
| We're not that far off on 09:51 - Jun 17 by Libero |
I can't understand why you consistently gave Knudsen a free pass but are so harsh on Kenlock. |
Because Knudsen was and is a much better left back than Kenlock. Nothing more to it than that. |  |
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| We're not that far off on 10:29 - Jun 17 with 2200 views | Herbivore |
| We're not that far off on 09:33 - Jun 17 by StNeotsBlue |
Yes. Can't see why you're so overly critical. He's not in the same class as Mings or Cresswell but he is more than adequate. I'm struggling to think of any major errors he's made. |
He was poor in the games I saw. Sluggish, poor on the ball, positionally he's not great. He doesn't offer much going forward but isn't a great defender either. [Post edited 17 Jun 2020 10:30]
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| We're not that far off on 10:40 - Jun 17 with 2184 views | Libero |
| We're not that far off on 10:28 - Jun 17 by Herbivore |
Because Knudsen was and is a much better left back than Kenlock. Nothing more to it than that. |
Knudsen was god awful, Kenlock makes mistakes but has a lot of promise and a more expansive game than Knudsen.
Long way off the finished article but nowhere near as bad as you and others make out.
Jonas on the other hand... | | | |
| We're not that far off on 10:49 - Jun 17 with 2174 views | tractorboy1978 |
| We're not that far off on 08:02 - Jun 17 by C_HealyIsAPleasure |
We didn’t get it done against our promotion rivals because in our games against those above us in the table we scored the following:
1, 2, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0 and 0
We only conceded more than once in 3 of those
Only four teams conceded less goals than us - all of whom had played 1 or 2 games less to boot. Also whilst I’m not a fan of removing certain games to skew figures 25% of the goals we conceded came across 2 games - I suspect if you were to remove every teams 2 worst games we would have the best record in the league
Going forwards meanwhile we had the 11th best record in the league - and that’s after a quick start where we scored 21 of the 46 goals we managed during the 11 game run at the start of the season (25 in 25 from there on out)
But yeah, the defence was definitely the problem |
That first 11 games contained four 1-0 wins and a 0-0 draw too so if you strip it back further, we scored 17 of our 46 goals in 6 games (5 of them against a Bolton youth team). So, 29 goals scored in the remaining 30 games played.
Across the course of the season we had five 0-0 draws, six 1-0 wins and six 1-0 defeats. That is 17 of our 36 games. Too many games were too tight because we couldn't create chances and score goals. | | | |
| We're not that far off on 10:50 - Jun 17 with 2169 views | Garv |
| We're not that far off on 08:02 - Jun 17 by C_HealyIsAPleasure |
We didn’t get it done against our promotion rivals because in our games against those above us in the table we scored the following:
1, 2, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0 and 0
We only conceded more than once in 3 of those
Only four teams conceded less goals than us - all of whom had played 1 or 2 games less to boot. Also whilst I’m not a fan of removing certain games to skew figures 25% of the goals we conceded came across 2 games - I suspect if you were to remove every teams 2 worst games we would have the best record in the league
Going forwards meanwhile we had the 11th best record in the league - and that’s after a quick start where we scored 21 of the 46 goals we managed during the 11 game run at the start of the season (25 in 25 from there on out)
But yeah, the defence was definitely the problem |
25% of the goals we conceded came across 2 games.
That's crazy  |  |
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| We're not that far off on 10:58 - Jun 17 with 2150 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| We're not that far off on 10:49 - Jun 17 by tractorboy1978 |
That first 11 games contained four 1-0 wins and a 0-0 draw too so if you strip it back further, we scored 17 of our 46 goals in 6 games (5 of them against a Bolton youth team). So, 29 goals scored in the remaining 30 games played.
Across the course of the season we had five 0-0 draws, six 1-0 wins and six 1-0 defeats. That is 17 of our 36 games. Too many games were too tight because we couldn't create chances and score goals. |
Well quite - and it’s actually worse than that, we scored 17 across 4 games if picking specific fixtures (Bolton, Tranmere, Accrington and Burton) and a further 9 across 3 more (Southend, Shrewsbury and Lincoln). So 26 of 46 from 7 games and 20 from the remaining 29
That’s not to exclude all the games where we scored loads of goals as doing so would be silly, but it does highlight how weak we were going forwards in the majority of games this season
Really though breaking down the numbers shouldn’t be necessary - it’s blindingly obvious where the problems lie just looking at the F and A columns in the league table, or indeed just watching us on the pitch |  |
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| We're not that far off on 11:00 - Jun 17 with 2145 views | Darth_Koont |
| We're not that far off on 10:40 - Jun 17 by Libero |
Knudsen was god awful, Kenlock makes mistakes but has a lot of promise and a more expansive game than Knudsen.
Long way off the finished article but nowhere near as bad as you and others make out.
Jonas on the other hand... |
I like you Libbers but you're way off.
Knudsen was an excellent defender who also managed to get forward more than most and be a threat.
Kenlock isn't anything like as sound defensively. And although he has the skill to do more in attack he doesn't. |  |
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| We're not that far off on 11:31 - Jun 17 with 2120 views | PJH |
| We're not that far off on 11:00 - Jun 17 by Darth_Koont |
I like you Libbers but you're way off.
Knudsen was an excellent defender who also managed to get forward more than most and be a threat.
Kenlock isn't anything like as sound defensively. And although he has the skill to do more in attack he doesn't. |
Yes, Kenlock had the chance to make the LB spot his own, in the third division, but he did not take the chance.
He was ok early in the season, in the third division, but no more than that.
Knudsen was way better than Kenlock was, is and probably ever will be. |  | | |
| We're not that far off on 11:38 - Jun 17 with 2105 views | Herbivore |
| We're not that far off on 10:40 - Jun 17 by Libero |
Knudsen was god awful, Kenlock makes mistakes but has a lot of promise and a more expansive game than Knudsen.
Long way off the finished article but nowhere near as bad as you and others make out.
Jonas on the other hand... |
Yeah, I just think you're way off here and I'm sure you think the same of me. | |
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| We're not that far off on 11:41 - Jun 17 with 2100 views | sparks |
| We're not that far off on 11:31 - Jun 17 by PJH |
Yes, Kenlock had the chance to make the LB spot his own, in the third division, but he did not take the chance.
He was ok early in the season, in the third division, but no more than that.
Knudsen was way better than Kenlock was, is and probably ever will be. |
He was fine and most of our best form came with him providing shape.
He was much maligned for giving away some soft freekicks- though I think he was often hard done by on those.
Garbutt was no better defensively, and far less disicplined as a LB- but we also blunted all his main attributes by playing there. A big Lambert mistake imo. |  |
| The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.
(Sir Terry Pratchett) | | Poll: | Is Fred drunk this morning? |
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| We're not that far off on 11:45 - Jun 17 with 2080 views | clive_baker |
| We're not that far off on 10:40 - Jun 17 by Libero |
Knudsen was god awful, Kenlock makes mistakes but has a lot of promise and a more expansive game than Knudsen.
Long way off the finished article but nowhere near as bad as you and others make out.
Jonas on the other hand... |
Kenlock is a bit of a forgotten figure here it seems. I do find it surprising that Nydam, a player who has barely played any football and failed to make any sort of impression at St Johnston is touted by some as the answer to our left back problem, yet Kenlock with 50+ Championship appearances is dismissed completely.
I don't mind Kenny myself, I don't think he's a world beater by any means, but what I like about him is he doesn't have this instinct to pump aimless balls down the flank every time he receives it, which is a rarity for a full back at our club. He looks to keep the ball on the deck and tries to retain possession, and he's not afraid to get forward either. Also, and call me old fashioned, but he's an actual left back who has spent his life learning the trade there. Playing an actual full back in their correct position is perhaps controversial, but he and KVY at LB and RB respectively would be worth a look IMO.
Ultimately we need some continuity and to stand for something. That's the biggest regret about Lambert's 1.5 years here, I still don't think we're any closer to knowing what that is. It's never felt like we're working towards anything. Until that's addressed I think we'll be pushing water uphill. |  |
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| We're not that far off on 11:50 - Jun 17 with 2069 views | PJH |
| We're not that far off on 11:41 - Jun 17 by sparks |
He was fine and most of our best form came with him providing shape.
He was much maligned for giving away some soft freekicks- though I think he was often hard done by on those.
Garbutt was no better defensively, and far less disicplined as a LB- but we also blunted all his main attributes by playing there. A big Lambert mistake imo. |
That is very true about the team form and balance which makes it all the more disappointing that Kenlock did not do enough (in some opinions) to establish himself in that position. | | | |
| We're not that far off on 12:52 - Jun 17 with 2025 views | Herbivore |
| We're not that far off on 11:45 - Jun 17 by clive_baker |
Kenlock is a bit of a forgotten figure here it seems. I do find it surprising that Nydam, a player who has barely played any football and failed to make any sort of impression at St Johnston is touted by some as the answer to our left back problem, yet Kenlock with 50+ Championship appearances is dismissed completely.
I don't mind Kenny myself, I don't think he's a world beater by any means, but what I like about him is he doesn't have this instinct to pump aimless balls down the flank every time he receives it, which is a rarity for a full back at our club. He looks to keep the ball on the deck and tries to retain possession, and he's not afraid to get forward either. Also, and call me old fashioned, but he's an actual left back who has spent his life learning the trade there. Playing an actual full back in their correct position is perhaps controversial, but he and KVY at LB and RB respectively would be worth a look IMO.
Ultimately we need some continuity and to stand for something. That's the biggest regret about Lambert's 1.5 years here, I still don't think we're any closer to knowing what that is. It's never felt like we're working towards anything. Until that's addressed I think we'll be pushing water uphill. |
I agree with the last part of the post, absolutely. With Kenlock, the fact he's played so many games is the reason I don't think he's up to it. I've seen plenty of him now and he's no longer a complete rookie. I don't think he's progressed at all, he's no better now than he was when he first broke into the side. If anything, I feel like he offers less now going forward than maybe when he was a kid with no fear, but I don't think his defensive game has improved to compensate for that. I just don't think he's good enough, which is a shame as he's one of our own and when he first broke through he looked to have potential. | |
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| We're not that far off on 12:53 - Jun 17 with 2021 views | Superblue95 |
| We're not that far off on 10:40 - Jun 17 by Libero |
Knudsen was god awful, Kenlock makes mistakes but has a lot of promise and a more expansive game than Knudsen.
Long way off the finished article but nowhere near as bad as you and others make out.
Jonas on the other hand... |
I didn’t rate Knudsen much but Kenlock is a whole different level of crap. I genuinely can’t think of a single thing he’s good at. Can’t attack, can’t defend, can’t pass, can’t tackle, doesn’t appear overly quick and gets caught ball watching regularly.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up being the only league club he ever plays for. |  |
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| We're not that far off on 13:01 - Jun 17 with 2004 views | itfcjoe |
| We're not that far off on 11:45 - Jun 17 by clive_baker |
Kenlock is a bit of a forgotten figure here it seems. I do find it surprising that Nydam, a player who has barely played any football and failed to make any sort of impression at St Johnston is touted by some as the answer to our left back problem, yet Kenlock with 50+ Championship appearances is dismissed completely.
I don't mind Kenny myself, I don't think he's a world beater by any means, but what I like about him is he doesn't have this instinct to pump aimless balls down the flank every time he receives it, which is a rarity for a full back at our club. He looks to keep the ball on the deck and tries to retain possession, and he's not afraid to get forward either. Also, and call me old fashioned, but he's an actual left back who has spent his life learning the trade there. Playing an actual full back in their correct position is perhaps controversial, but he and KVY at LB and RB respectively would be worth a look IMO.
Ultimately we need some continuity and to stand for something. That's the biggest regret about Lambert's 1.5 years here, I still don't think we're any closer to knowing what that is. It's never felt like we're working towards anything. Until that's addressed I think we'll be pushing water uphill. |
I'd put Nydam ahead of him from what I've seen of TN as a lkeft back and he just seems such a natural. Without his injury I wonder how things would have gone last year as he was clearly being primed for that role at one point.
But agree with the rest about Kenlock, he may have looked a weak link at times, but ultimately he was a weak link in a team at left back which was minutes away from breaking an all time club record of not conceding a goal so can't be all bad!
When Tom Lawrence was here, he much preferred playing with Kenlock behind him opposed to Knudsen - "when you want it to feet, JK bangs it over your head, when you want it over your head he puts it into the crowd" |  |
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| We're not that far off on 13:14 - Jun 17 with 1986 views | clive_baker |
| We're not that far off on 13:01 - Jun 17 by itfcjoe |
I'd put Nydam ahead of him from what I've seen of TN as a lkeft back and he just seems such a natural. Without his injury I wonder how things would have gone last year as he was clearly being primed for that role at one point.
But agree with the rest about Kenlock, he may have looked a weak link at times, but ultimately he was a weak link in a team at left back which was minutes away from breaking an all time club record of not conceding a goal so can't be all bad!
When Tom Lawrence was here, he much preferred playing with Kenlock behind him opposed to Knudsen - "when you want it to feet, JK bangs it over your head, when you want it over your head he puts it into the crowd" |
I would hate to play in front of Kundsen, especially if you want the ball at your feet. McGoldrick and Pitman seemed to get frustrated with him a lot, when they dropped in deep looking for the ball to feet and he would drop it in over the shoulder of the last man. That was firmly Knudsen's default position, route 1. It might've been a learned behaviour since he joined us given Murphy was such a focal point in the side, or it might've been all he had in his locker, I've not seen any of him at Malmo. On the rare occasions I saw him for Denmark he was very hoofy too. Its not necessarily a bad thing, there's more than 1 way to skin a cat and we were good at what we did then. We had an identity and we executed it brilliantly. That's not to say we couldn't play football though - McGoldrick, Murphy, Lawrence, Hunt etc were all good footballers.
Kenlock isn't like that at all, and he's probably better suited to our current, smaller crop as he looks inside a lot, rather than bypass midfield. If we've got a Skuse or Dozzell demanding the ball off him it could work. Don't get me wrong, I've never been wowed by Kenny, but he seems to come in for more stick than his performances warrant. I wouldn't be adverse to giving him a decent run of games at this level and really finding out one way or another. He never got that opportunity last season so it was hard for him to really get going. He's very unnatural looking in the way he carries himself on the pitch, the way he runs, his posture, and it doesn't fill you with much confidence like a KVY or a Garbutt does, but he is oddly effective at times. If I had to pick a side purely from our currently contracted players, I would have him in at left back, but he doesn't have much competition to be fair.
Edit: Agree re. Nydam, he looks a tidy footballer. They're both unproven really, but I would like to see them given their chance. [Post edited 17 Jun 2020 13:17]
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| We're not that far off on 13:17 - Jun 17 with 1974 views | itfcjoe |
| We're not that far off on 13:14 - Jun 17 by clive_baker |
I would hate to play in front of Kundsen, especially if you want the ball at your feet. McGoldrick and Pitman seemed to get frustrated with him a lot, when they dropped in deep looking for the ball to feet and he would drop it in over the shoulder of the last man. That was firmly Knudsen's default position, route 1. It might've been a learned behaviour since he joined us given Murphy was such a focal point in the side, or it might've been all he had in his locker, I've not seen any of him at Malmo. On the rare occasions I saw him for Denmark he was very hoofy too. Its not necessarily a bad thing, there's more than 1 way to skin a cat and we were good at what we did then. We had an identity and we executed it brilliantly. That's not to say we couldn't play football though - McGoldrick, Murphy, Lawrence, Hunt etc were all good footballers.
Kenlock isn't like that at all, and he's probably better suited to our current, smaller crop as he looks inside a lot, rather than bypass midfield. If we've got a Skuse or Dozzell demanding the ball off him it could work. Don't get me wrong, I've never been wowed by Kenny, but he seems to come in for more stick than his performances warrant. I wouldn't be adverse to giving him a decent run of games at this level and really finding out one way or another. He never got that opportunity last season so it was hard for him to really get going. He's very unnatural looking in the way he carries himself on the pitch, the way he runs, his posture, and it doesn't fill you with much confidence like a KVY or a Garbutt does, but he is oddly effective at times. If I had to pick a side purely from our currently contracted players, I would have him in at left back, but he doesn't have much competition to be fair.
Edit: Agree re. Nydam, he looks a tidy footballer. They're both unproven really, but I would like to see them given their chance. [Post edited 17 Jun 2020 13:17]
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I found he struggles when playing out from the back because he is so one footed that the marker would just shut that ball down and he'd be forced to come inside which slowed us down often.
But, without sounding like a nob, there should be some pressure on Lambert ot get him to work - he was manager when MK got a new 2.5 year deal - you can't give a 22/23 year old with 50+ games in 2nd tier that sort of deal then bomb him out when you are a 3rd tier club | |
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| We're not that far off on 13:18 - Jun 17 with 1972 views | Blue12345 |
| We're not that far off on 10:28 - Jun 17 by Herbivore |
Because Knudsen was and is a much better left back than Kenlock. Nothing more to it than that. |
We agree on something. Though I didn’t rate Knudsen anywhere near as highly as some, he was head and shoulders better than Kenlock.
It’s about time Kenlock stepped up or shipped out, he’s now 23 and yet to establish himself. | | | |
| We're not that far off on 13:23 - Jun 17 with 1947 views | Chrisd |
| We're not that far off on 10:58 - Jun 17 by C_HealyIsAPleasure |
Well quite - and it’s actually worse than that, we scored 17 across 4 games if picking specific fixtures (Bolton, Tranmere, Accrington and Burton) and a further 9 across 3 more (Southend, Shrewsbury and Lincoln). So 26 of 46 from 7 games and 20 from the remaining 29
That’s not to exclude all the games where we scored loads of goals as doing so would be silly, but it does highlight how weak we were going forwards in the majority of games this season
Really though breaking down the numbers shouldn’t be necessary - it’s blindingly obvious where the problems lie just looking at the F and A columns in the league table, or indeed just watching us on the pitch |
It also highlights that if we were better organised defensively, we'd be able to stay in games too and pick up points instead of coming off the wrong end of 1 goal defeats. We didn't really proved that we were that tough to beat last season. [Post edited 17 Jun 2020 13:30]
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| We're not that far off on 13:25 - Jun 17 with 1942 views | Darth_Koont |
| We're not that far off on 13:17 - Jun 17 by itfcjoe |
I found he struggles when playing out from the back because he is so one footed that the marker would just shut that ball down and he'd be forced to come inside which slowed us down often.
But, without sounding like a nob, there should be some pressure on Lambert ot get him to work - he was manager when MK got a new 2.5 year deal - you can't give a 22/23 year old with 50+ games in 2nd tier that sort of deal then bomb him out when you are a 3rd tier club |
Agreed.
While I also think Nydam will prove himself a better player for us as a left-sided defender or midfielder, Kenlock has been treated oddly. It seems that the one major area he needs to improve is on the mental side of his game where he looks to lose focus and confidence too easily. So there was even more reason to keep him in the plans and not out in the wilderness the next week.
Added to which I think Kenlock at fullback instead of Garbutt, with Garbutt then being able to play further up the pitch would have been better for us. But that seemed to be ignored in favour of trying to shoehorn Judge in on the left of midfield, which didn't really work at all IMO. | |
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| We're not that far off on 13:32 - Jun 17 with 1913 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| We're not that far off on 13:23 - Jun 17 by Chrisd |
It also highlights that if we were better organised defensively, we'd be able to stay in games too and pick up points instead of coming off the wrong end of 1 goal defeats. We didn't really proved that we were that tough to beat last season. [Post edited 17 Jun 2020 13:30]
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Being on the wrong end of 1 goal defeats is staying in games - we end up on the wrong side of them because we don’t score enough goals, or indeed any much of the time | |
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| We're not that far off on 13:33 - Jun 17 with 1909 views | tractorboy1978 |
| We're not that far off on 13:23 - Jun 17 by Chrisd |
It also highlights that if we were better organised defensively, we'd be able to stay in games too and pick up points instead of coming off the wrong end of 1 goal defeats. We didn't really proved that we were that tough to beat last season. [Post edited 17 Jun 2020 13:30]
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You seem to plan on us never conceding a goal? The stats I put up show that we only conceded 6 goals in 17 games and only won 5 of them because we scored a mere 5 goals. That tells the tale of how impotent we were in attack. [Post edited 17 Jun 2020 13:36]
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