| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves 09:33 - Sep 21 with 1036 views | nrb1985 |
Was at a wedding yesterday so missed second half but a constant theme this season has been failing to impose ourselves on our opponents in the opening stages of games.
Passing is slow, movement poor, intensity and concentration often low. It’s almost like we are deliberately allowing poor sides to grow into the game and build some confidence.
We have the best players and the best coach in the league. I just don’t get it. Teams don’t really seem to have any fear against us because we’re so passive and let them play their way into games against us.
Yesterday another classic example. A team with v poor home form, it was only in the last 5 mins of first half we built any sustained momentum and territory. I really really don’t understand it.
It’s so frustrating to watch us not assert any dominance given the disparity in resources. [Post edited 21 Sep 9:42]
|  | | |  |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:04 - Sep 21 with 856 views | Swansea_Blue |
We’re sitting off in some sort of zonal attempt at a block that’s quite static and teams seem to be able to play through it/around it fairly easily. The space Blackburn could find between the lines at times yesterday was quite alarming. We put little pressure on the opposition player with the ball whereas they often snap into us. That’s the way it looks to me and it looks deliberate, but I could be wrong and don’t have the knowledge to to really understand what’s going on. |  |
| |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:05 - Sep 21 with 847 views | FromReuserWithLove |
Yes this is a fair assessment. I’m sure it’ll come as the team gets to know each other more but how much time can we afford to give?
Or ‘give your head a wobble’ ‘support your team’ or something. |  | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:14 - Sep 21 with 810 views | nrb1985 |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:04 - Sep 21 by Swansea_Blue |
We’re sitting off in some sort of zonal attempt at a block that’s quite static and teams seem to be able to play through it/around it fairly easily. The space Blackburn could find between the lines at times yesterday was quite alarming. We put little pressure on the opposition player with the ball whereas they often snap into us. That’s the way it looks to me and it looks deliberate, but I could be wrong and don’t have the knowledge to to really understand what’s going on. |
Yes that’s how it looks to me too.
I don’t understand why when you have better players, considerably better players at that, you would approach a game like that.
I feel it’s almost blasphemy to say but at times against PNE and yesterday I would go as far as to say we are are boring to watch. Sideways, backwards, sideways again. Just no urgency or cut and thrust about us at all. Players taking three touches just to pass it back 5 yards inside.
I’m certain things will get better but at times it’s been a tough watch this year against massively inferior opposition. | | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:15 - Sep 21 with 801 views | Scuzzer |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:04 - Sep 21 by Swansea_Blue |
We’re sitting off in some sort of zonal attempt at a block that’s quite static and teams seem to be able to play through it/around it fairly easily. The space Blackburn could find between the lines at times yesterday was quite alarming. We put little pressure on the opposition player with the ball whereas they often snap into us. That’s the way it looks to me and it looks deliberate, but I could be wrong and don’t have the knowledge to to really understand what’s going on. |
Exactly this. |  |
| |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:21 - Sep 21 with 757 views | Churchman |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:04 - Sep 21 by Swansea_Blue |
We’re sitting off in some sort of zonal attempt at a block that’s quite static and teams seem to be able to play through it/around it fairly easily. The space Blackburn could find between the lines at times yesterday was quite alarming. We put little pressure on the opposition player with the ball whereas they often snap into us. That’s the way it looks to me and it looks deliberate, but I could be wrong and don’t have the knowledge to to really understand what’s going on. |
I’ve only seen the home games so not the best of judges. I don’t feel the team is truly a team yet. It’s not knitted together and players are looking for each other and appear at times cautious. Individuals.
Even if we do start well as we did against Southampton, our next move was backwards. What we have we hold etc. that’s how it looked.
The biggest element is possibly confidence. There really isn’t much. You know how it is - confidence plays a huge part in everything, especially sport. The club is used to not winning. I had hoped that after last Friday week the team would rip into Blackburn, but it doesn’t sound like they did, albeit the conditions hardly helped.
The solutions? No real idea other than patience and time. What I’m hoping to see (ideal world) is us playing like the home team home and away to the point where the opposition know they are making up the numbers. With the quality of players in the building, it’s possible.
We can hope. |  | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:22 - Sep 21 with 745 views | Dubtractor |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:04 - Sep 21 by Swansea_Blue |
We’re sitting off in some sort of zonal attempt at a block that’s quite static and teams seem to be able to play through it/around it fairly easily. The space Blackburn could find between the lines at times yesterday was quite alarming. We put little pressure on the opposition player with the ball whereas they often snap into us. That’s the way it looks to me and it looks deliberate, but I could be wrong and don’t have the knowledge to to really understand what’s going on. |
We've played this way away from home for a couple of years now. At home it is all very much on the front foot, and having spells where we pin opponents back, but we are pretty cagey away, and look to play on 'moments' to make the difference. This was very much the case in 23/24 too, with a lot of our away performances not being that great on the eye.
Hence we still created some decent opportunities in the first half yesterday, without ever looking overly impressive. |  |
| |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:26 - Sep 21 with 721 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
Think you're overstating matters somewhat. I agree we could step things up a bit but I wouldn't call the concentration low and a lot of the issues with movement are players still not sure what each other will do.
Generally though, yes, I'd like to see a bit more intensity from the off. |  |
| |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:29 - Sep 21 with 698 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:14 - Sep 21 by nrb1985 |
Yes that’s how it looks to me too.
I don’t understand why when you have better players, considerably better players at that, you would approach a game like that.
I feel it’s almost blasphemy to say but at times against PNE and yesterday I would go as far as to say we are are boring to watch. Sideways, backwards, sideways again. Just no urgency or cut and thrust about us at all. Players taking three touches just to pass it back 5 yards inside.
I’m certain things will get better but at times it’s been a tough watch this year against massively inferior opposition. |
Imo we're being coached to be ready for prem football, so that in itself will look very different to watch you'd kinda expect to see from us in the champ...
Maybe that's what KM learned from last season, we played in a such a way in 2023 that we just werent tactically and techinically anywhere near good enough for how you need to shape up for the prem..
I mean you can't spend 200 odd mill and then effectively replace the whole lot once we get back into the prem so it makes sense why were coaching the current squad how to play a certain way as that's what we'll want them to do when we go up. |  |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:49 - Sep 21 with 615 views | nrb1985 |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:26 - Sep 21 by The_Flashing_Smile |
Think you're overstating matters somewhat. I agree we could step things up a bit but I wouldn't call the concentration low and a lot of the issues with movement are players still not sure what each other will do.
Generally though, yes, I'd like to see a bit more intensity from the off. |
Not sure.
Off the top of my head I could think of 4-5 examples so far this season of players passing it straight out of play letting the ball run under their foot and out of play in the opening stages of matches.
I’m reminded of the various Town in 5s from the two promotion sessons and Morsy almost barking and growling as he emerged from the dressing room to lead the players onto the pitch. And then lining up in the Tunnel looking ridiculously intense staring into the distance.
Maybe that type of leadership is being missed? Maybe O’Shea is a different style of captain to that. I don’t know but it certainly feels we aren’t coming out of the blocks like we should be given the resources at our disposal. | | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:54 - Sep 21 with 578 views | nrb1985 |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 10:22 - Sep 21 by Dubtractor |
We've played this way away from home for a couple of years now. At home it is all very much on the front foot, and having spells where we pin opponents back, but we are pretty cagey away, and look to play on 'moments' to make the difference. This was very much the case in 23/24 too, with a lot of our away performances not being that great on the eye.
Hence we still created some decent opportunities in the first half yesterday, without ever looking overly impressive. |
That worked in 23/24 as we were a newly promoted side and established championship teams felt they could probably come at us a bit - at least in first half of season.
That same approach is unlikely to work if the opposition also sit off in a low block too. And indeed it isn’t working so far. Albeit - conditions were miserable and we can’t expect a team with so much churn to fire on all cylinders in game 6. The lack of intensity or urgency though doesn’t hinge on either of those things. [Post edited 21 Sep 10:55]
| | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 11:13 - Sep 21 with 491 views | DJR |
A few observations from me.
1.It's early days with some new players to bed in.
2. No away game in the Championship is easy.
3. When we were last promoted, we benefited from a lot of what I would call luck.
4. In that season, we generally didn't play that well in the first half in away games but got to half-time and really upped things, with high quality options on the bench.
5. Yesterday, I didn't think we played as badly in the first half as some are suggesting, and I was looking to us upping thing in the second half, only for a sending off to really scupper our chances.
6. Whilst the conditions were bad, we had what was another game for players to get to know each, and to me there were on occasions glimpses of what we could be, even in the latter stages when the conditions were appalling and we only had 10 men. [Post edited 21 Sep 11:17]
|  | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 11:23 - Sep 21 with 449 views | nrb1985 |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 11:13 - Sep 21 by DJR |
A few observations from me.
1.It's early days with some new players to bed in.
2. No away game in the Championship is easy.
3. When we were last promoted, we benefited from a lot of what I would call luck.
4. In that season, we generally didn't play that well in the first half in away games but got to half-time and really upped things, with high quality options on the bench.
5. Yesterday, I didn't think we played as badly in the first half as some are suggesting, and I was looking to us upping thing in the second half, only for a sending off to really scupper our chances.
6. Whilst the conditions were bad, we had what was another game for players to get to know each, and to me there were on occasions glimpses of what we could be, even in the latter stages when the conditions were appalling and we only had 10 men. [Post edited 21 Sep 11:17]
|
I don’t think we played badly.
I think we played and have played at times this season
low risk, passive football.
I take your points 1-3 though. [Post edited 21 Sep 11:24]
| | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 11:43 - Sep 21 with 353 views | longtimefan |
I thought early in the first half there was an obvious intent to try and play the ball out from Palmer faster. In previous games when he’s received the ball he’s been very passive. Yesterday he was looking to play it early and get things moving quickly. Early on Cajuste and Matusiwa were both getting the ball early and drifting past their markers but it soon became obvious that the amount of surface water was making the approach risky as the ball just wouldn’t move with consistent pace and were getting caught in possession too much. I don’t think the wind helped much as it made judging high balls pretty difficult. | | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 12:14 - Sep 21 with 231 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 11:23 - Sep 21 by nrb1985 |
I don’t think we played badly.
I think we played and have played at times this season
low risk, passive football.
I take your points 1-3 though. [Post edited 21 Sep 11:24]
|
Passive sums it up perfectly to me. No pace and really missing some forward looking passes. I think at times we need to go direct (probably more frequently in games like that). Think it was O’Sheas long ball to Hirst that created one of our best chances.
We repeatedly went backwards to invite the press but Blackburn (and Derby) didn’t fall for it. And they won’t, they’ll just look for opportunities on the break. We smashed Sheff Utd because they tried to play forward and it created space. But Blackburn, Derby (and probably most of the the league) will look to low block and counter. Repeatedly playing it back was an exercise in futility as it just gave Blackburn chance to drop back and reorganise. Mcateer was one of the worst for this - got into good positions then went backwards. Whether that’s a lack of confidence, or poor decision making I’m not sure. We miss Wes. | | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 12:21 - Sep 21 with 190 views | nrb1985 |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 11:43 - Sep 21 by longtimefan |
I thought early in the first half there was an obvious intent to try and play the ball out from Palmer faster. In previous games when he’s received the ball he’s been very passive. Yesterday he was looking to play it early and get things moving quickly. Early on Cajuste and Matusiwa were both getting the ball early and drifting past their markers but it soon became obvious that the amount of surface water was making the approach risky as the ball just wouldn’t move with consistent pace and were getting caught in possession too much. I don’t think the wind helped much as it made judging high balls pretty difficult. |
I might agree but for the fact we didn’t seem to have any problems at the end of the first half hitting the gas and building a head of steam. That when the conditions were getting progressively worse too. | | | |
| Repeatedly failing to impose ourselves on 12:22 - Sep 21 with 183 views | JakeITFC |
I don’t agree with the majority of your post (in that I think we are going to control tight games on the road rather than being passive) but if either of those two things are true we simply cannot exist in a world where a straight long ball catches out as it has done on far too many times this season. |  | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
