| Some great saves from Walton 10:51 - Dec 31 with 1781 views | Chris_ITFC |
But we can’t just kick the ball back to the opposition like that for 90 minutes.
I’m not being critical of him individually, but every kick from Walton went long, with no support for Delap (the team were often spread expecting it short) and no runners beyond him (so he couldn’t even flick it on).
It became very noticeable that most times Walton had the ball, Chelsea had it back within 3-5 seconds.
It’s clearly less risky and less obvious than Muric’s short pass errors, but this type of issue will also lead to opposition goals. That’s the heart of Muric’s downfall really - his strengths are subtle, his weaknesses are obvious.
With Walton almost certain to keep his place, and rightly so, the team and tactics need to adapt to his strengths. This pragmatism, a bit like the formation tweak, may just keep us up and it’s good to see that willingness to try something different.
Cole Palmer’s going to be having nightmares about that guy! |  |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 10:53 - Dec 31 with 1760 views | baxterbasics |
As well as Walts did (and I agree he starts next game) - there were errors which if done by Muric would have been picked up sharpish by critics round here. |  |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 10:56 - Dec 31 with 1722 views | Chris_ITFC |
| Some great saves from Walton on 10:53 - Dec 31 by baxterbasics |
As well as Walts did (and I agree he starts next game) - there were errors which if done by Muric would have been picked up sharpish by critics round here. |
There was the one he tried to play short to Woolfy, but I think a bit like Davis’s quick free kick, it was born from excitement / confidence of how well we were doing.
Largely though, he recognised his weaknesses and played to his strengths.
That’s a big and important difference to Muric.*
*who may not have been given that sorr of freedom by the manager, granted. | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 10:57 - Dec 31 with 1721 views | pointofblue |
| Some great saves from Walton on 10:53 - Dec 31 by baxterbasics |
As well as Walts did (and I agree he starts next game) - there were errors which if done by Muric would have been picked up sharpish by critics round here. |
From memory there was one which I agree about - the random pass straight out to a Chelsea player which could have been disastrous if Woolfenden hadn't been alert to it. |  |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 10:57 - Dec 31 with 1713 views | ibbleobble |
| Some great saves from Walton on 10:53 - Dec 31 by baxterbasics |
As well as Walts did (and I agree he starts next game) - there were errors which if done by Muric would have been picked up sharpish by critics round here. |
Hardly. Walton was tasked with going long to isolate Colwill and Tosin against Delap. Muric’s tasks were much different. Granted that Walton made an iffy pass in the second half but one questionable pass versus Muric’s numerous ones aren’t comparable at this stage. Perspective. | | | |
| Some great saves from Walton on 10:58 - Dec 31 with 1704 views | Trequartista |
I think when it was aimed at Delap there was a decent chance of keeping the ball and even Burns once or twice. Rather give it away there 10 times than on the edge of our own penalty area once. |  |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:02 - Dec 31 with 1654 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Some great saves from Walton on 10:53 - Dec 31 by baxterbasics |
As well as Walts did (and I agree he starts next game) - there were errors which if done by Muric would have been picked up sharpish by critics round here. |
There were many
Flapped at some corners
didn't collect two balls across the 6 yard box
almost gifted them a chance 2nd half
kicked out of play a few times
All in a nights work for a keeper, and no different to Muric. So there's no complaints from me on waltons performance overall.
Walton did fine, but i think it's a bit OTT from some about him like he didn't do a thing wrong, team was better with him, etc the difference being is chelsea didn't score from one of his mistakes so it has a sense of truth about it i guess, but They could have done and probably should have done, but they didn't.
What we do have though are two keepers who do a solid job as a keeper, one is better at 1-1's and Ariel balls, the other is calmer. |  |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:02 - Dec 31 with 1664 views | Hipsterectomy |
I thought that maybe he would have been heavily trained on using his feet as that’s how we play, but there was a part near the end where he was playing it out using his feet and he seemed much slower/awkward on the ball compared to Hladky and Muric.
Not a criticism of Walton at all and he had a great game. He just obviously can’t play that way and would be caught out a lot if he tried to do that. So surely we play to what he can do. |  |
| Walter Smith's Barmy Army |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:03 - Dec 31 with 1661 views | BloomBlue |
| Some great saves from Walton on 10:58 - Dec 31 by Trequartista |
I think when it was aimed at Delap there was a decent chance of keeping the ball and even Burns once or twice. Rather give it away there 10 times than on the edge of our own penalty area once. |
I think the ling ball was aimed at Burns every time. Because every we had a goal kick, Burns immediately ran to the half way line, right against the right line and Walton went that direction every time. KM had clearly practiced that approach, as Burns ran every time to stand in that same position. Which I thought was designed to force Cucurella back |  | | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:05 - Dec 31 with 1634 views | Chris_ITFC |
| Some great saves from Walton on 10:58 - Dec 31 by Trequartista |
I think when it was aimed at Delap there was a decent chance of keeping the ball and even Burns once or twice. Rather give it away there 10 times than on the edge of our own penalty area once. |
That’s my point really.
If you keep giving these teams that much easy possession, it will lead to goals. It’s just more subtle clearly than Muric’s errors.
The balance felt too heavily weighted in Chelsea’s favour last night.
But if we can adapt and get more support around Delap / the second balls, I totally agree with you.
I don’t think we have a GK in the building capable of playing out from the back at this level. | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:07 - Dec 31 with 1599 views | Chris_ITFC |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:03 - Dec 31 by BloomBlue |
I think the ling ball was aimed at Burns every time. Because every we had a goal kick, Burns immediately ran to the half way line, right against the right line and Walton went that direction every time. KM had clearly practiced that approach, as Burns ran every time to stand in that same position. Which I thought was designed to force Cucurella back |
There were some aimed at Burns, who’s good in the air.
But if the kick wasn’t great, it was either a Chelsea free header or Omari as the next closest Town player! | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:08 - Dec 31 with 1582 views | Chris_ITFC |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:02 - Dec 31 by FrimleyBlue |
There were many
Flapped at some corners
didn't collect two balls across the 6 yard box
almost gifted them a chance 2nd half
kicked out of play a few times
All in a nights work for a keeper, and no different to Muric. So there's no complaints from me on waltons performance overall.
Walton did fine, but i think it's a bit OTT from some about him like he didn't do a thing wrong, team was better with him, etc the difference being is chelsea didn't score from one of his mistakes so it has a sense of truth about it i guess, but They could have done and probably should have done, but they didn't.
What we do have though are two keepers who do a solid job as a keeper, one is better at 1-1's and Ariel balls, the other is calmer. |
I agree with you on the corners.
Another example of a Muric strength over Walton that is more subtle than Muric’s flaws in reverse. | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:08 - Dec 31 with 1580 views | Trequartista |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:05 - Dec 31 by Chris_ITFC |
That’s my point really.
If you keep giving these teams that much easy possession, it will lead to goals. It’s just more subtle clearly than Muric’s errors.
The balance felt too heavily weighted in Chelsea’s favour last night.
But if we can adapt and get more support around Delap / the second balls, I totally agree with you.
I don’t think we have a GK in the building capable of playing out from the back at this level. |
Another thing was the physicality of Chelsea's backline. They don't just win headers, they send their opponent flying forward five yards in the process! Which is even more credit to Delap and Burns to win what they did. | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:16 - Dec 31 with 1501 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:08 - Dec 31 by Chris_ITFC |
I agree with you on the corners.
Another example of a Muric strength over Walton that is more subtle than Muric’s flaws in reverse. |
It's also been an important aspect of murics game
saw on x earlier a thread about corners and we've conceded an average of 38% shots at our goal following a corner, compared to 40% 50% of the bigger clubs. Think those sort of areas get lost when there are many who seem to think no keeper makes mistakes in games. | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:17 - Dec 31 with 1505 views | Bramidan |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:07 - Dec 31 by Chris_ITFC |
There were some aimed at Burns, who’s good in the air.
But if the kick wasn’t great, it was either a Chelsea free header or Omari as the next closest Town player! |
I was surprised, only at goal kicks, why Delap didn’t move out of the centre to pressure Cucurella.
Delap was having a hard time, back to goal against the tall Chelsea’s centre backs.
Mind you, a penalty, goal, superb shot which the keeper saved, setup Omari for his goal, plus in the closing stages left 3 Chelsea defenders in his wake and forced a save from their keeper from an incredible shot when he was isolated. | | | |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:21 - Dec 31 with 1459 views | ibbleobble |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:02 - Dec 31 by FrimleyBlue |
There were many
Flapped at some corners
didn't collect two balls across the 6 yard box
almost gifted them a chance 2nd half
kicked out of play a few times
All in a nights work for a keeper, and no different to Muric. So there's no complaints from me on waltons performance overall.
Walton did fine, but i think it's a bit OTT from some about him like he didn't do a thing wrong, team was better with him, etc the difference being is chelsea didn't score from one of his mistakes so it has a sense of truth about it i guess, but They could have done and probably should have done, but they didn't.
What we do have though are two keepers who do a solid job as a keeper, one is better at 1-1's and Ariel balls, the other is calmer. |
One of your four points is accurate. The others smack of inexperience imo. | | | |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:24 - Dec 31 with 1427 views | NedPlimpton |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:02 - Dec 31 by FrimleyBlue |
There were many
Flapped at some corners
didn't collect two balls across the 6 yard box
almost gifted them a chance 2nd half
kicked out of play a few times
All in a nights work for a keeper, and no different to Muric. So there's no complaints from me on waltons performance overall.
Walton did fine, but i think it's a bit OTT from some about him like he didn't do a thing wrong, team was better with him, etc the difference being is chelsea didn't score from one of his mistakes so it has a sense of truth about it i guess, but They could have done and probably should have done, but they didn't.
What we do have though are two keepers who do a solid job as a keeper, one is better at 1-1's and Ariel balls, the other is calmer. |
Agree with this
I think if Muric had put in that performance there would be people on here absolutely tearing apart the distribution and not calling it a "masterclass" etc. They'd probably also be calling the save from Palmer "routine"
The good thing is we now have a positive selection headache and two keepers hopefully pushing each other to nail down the number one position |  | | |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:36 - Dec 31 with 1347 views | Chris_ITFC |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:16 - Dec 31 by FrimleyBlue |
It's also been an important aspect of murics game
saw on x earlier a thread about corners and we've conceded an average of 38% shots at our goal following a corner, compared to 40% 50% of the bigger clubs. Think those sort of areas get lost when there are many who seem to think no keeper makes mistakes in games. |
Muric’s strengths are subtle, his flaws are obvious.
Walton’s strengths are obvious, his flaws are subtle.
That plays a big role in perception, as does their respective history with us. | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:37 - Dec 31 with 1340 views | Chrisd |
Don't make Walton do what he's not great at, ultimately mistakes will happen otherwise. It is up to those players behind Delap to get up and support him instead of leaving him isolated. I've got no axe to grind with Muric, I thought he was solid against Arsenal, but Walton has had to wait his turn, kept his head down, worked hard and not rocked the boat. He's shown in his performance earlier in the season against Liverpool and last night against Chelsea, he's good enough for this level.
He's going to make mistakes, no keeper ever goes through a game where there isn't a blemish somewhere, but I genuinely believe this will help Muric, he knows that Walton is a good keeper in his own right now and can cope at this level. KM is quite happy to play him, which means this might make Muric more measured in his decision making. Can only see this as a win, win really. | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 11:38 - Dec 31 with 1328 views | Garv |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:17 - Dec 31 by Bramidan |
I was surprised, only at goal kicks, why Delap didn’t move out of the centre to pressure Cucurella.
Delap was having a hard time, back to goal against the tall Chelsea’s centre backs.
Mind you, a penalty, goal, superb shot which the keeper saved, setup Omari for his goal, plus in the closing stages left 3 Chelsea defenders in his wake and forced a save from their keeper from an incredible shot when he was isolated. |
Their CBs did not look comfortable to me at all. Even from the first 5-10 minutes they seemed to be letting Delap close them down much quicker than you'd want as a Chelsea fan, and the shove he gave Colwill (I think) early on where he escaped a yellow card helped rough them up even more. |  |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 12:02 - Dec 31 with 1213 views | baxterbasics |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:24 - Dec 31 by NedPlimpton |
Agree with this
I think if Muric had put in that performance there would be people on here absolutely tearing apart the distribution and not calling it a "masterclass" etc. They'd probably also be calling the save from Palmer "routine"
The good thing is we now have a positive selection headache and two keepers hopefully pushing each other to nail down the number one position |
Yeah lol when Muric makes saves like that "YeS bUt ThAt'S hIs jOb"  | |
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| Some great saves from Walton on 12:25 - Dec 31 with 1107 views | GreenEye |
| Some great saves from Walton on 11:07 - Dec 31 by Chris_ITFC |
There were some aimed at Burns, who’s good in the air.
But if the kick wasn’t great, it was either a Chelsea free header or Omari as the next closest Town player! |
Like others have said, the defence looked more confident with Walton in goal and Walton always appeared more animated with the players, telling them where he wanted them etc.
I did think we missed a trick in the goal kicks though and should have left two players wide left because the long balls right were getting little benefit. Perhaps even room for a dummy play feinting right then kicking left with Davis zipping into that space.
Great for Walton that he made that save from Palmer. Huge boost for him and the team.
Chelsea were good, our defence was resolute. I reckon even their fans thought they could play all night without scoring. | | | |
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