8 games unbeaten

[Diane 500]

So we''re on a good run

WDWWDWWD

8th in the league, 7pts behind the leaders

If we go back to the end of August we wouldn''t have expected to be where we are now, so are we all feeling positive that we''ll be top 6 by Dec?

[ricardo 8,034]

I was mightily encouraged to see us score late. Something that has been lacking for far too long. Although points were dropped today, you feel the momentum is still there.

[king canary 8,763]

From a purely selfish perspective I''d love us to win a bit more at home. I''ve only seen one win in the league all season.

[Rogue Baboon 0]

Home form slightly concerns me.

If we don’t score early we run out of ideas and steam quickly & make it extremely easy for teams that come here to sit back

[Crabbycanary3 994]

We had a similar conversation , before the game today.

We are still seen as a ''big team'' when playing at home, so teams (Burton ) come with a plan to stifle. When we are playing away, our formation/tactics lends themselves to putting the onus on the home team, to come at us, and we have proven recently, that we can pick off, even the better teams (Middlesboro)

Once we can add the sharpness in the box (at home), then we''d have cracked this Division, no problem! Simples!

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

We seem to be on a bit of a knife edge with regard to the direction of this season.

We''re on a decent run, but a couple of defeats and we could fall away. Every game is so tight and can go either way at the minute.

[Lessingham Canary 108]

Really believe we wll only get stronger at home, once Nelson is 100% and pritch is back then we will be too much for most teams at CR.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

That''s perhaps the illustration in how you, and I, see the current way we play, Lincoln

I see us as in control of every game, I don''t panic when the opposition are attacking, whereas, just a short time ago, I used to cack my pants (not sure if that is anything to do with my age, but stay with it)

We are close to being very strong contenders in this Division. Sharpen up in the opposition''s area, and we would be a horrible team to come up against.

Glass half full ,and all that.............

[hogesar 10,770]

Knife edge Lincoln?

We are doing better than quite a few teams who you would expect to do better such as Middlesbrough.

We are on a very good run considering where we were and the amount of changes our squad has had. It''s a bit more than ''decent'' but explaining that to you is usually a waste of time.

[vos 176]

This is a very average Championship this season. Watching Cardiff last night, who started the match as league leaders, they had very little to offer apart from a bit of effort driven on by the bawling Warnock on the touchline. I am beginning to believe that Farke and the coaching staff are making good progress with the younger players and there is no great reason why we should not be promoted. He has quite rightly concentrated on making it difficult to score against us and once all of his attacking players are fully fit, the future looks promising.

[Making Plans 957]

We have only scored 6 goals in those 8 games and that must be a concern.We are only averaging 1 goal per game after 12 games.We have scored more than one only 3 times and we''ve not scored more than 2 at all.You won''t get promotion by scoring just 46 goals in a season.Basically we are one decent striker short of being serious contenders and we need to at least double our goals tally..If Oliveira is unavailable, which seems to be more often than not, then we do not have anybody else who is capable of hitting the back of the net on a regular basis.Get that position sorted and we could easily win this league.

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

I''ve been saying that since the season''s start, but the argument against that was that as we only played one up front an extra striker would be a waste of resources. Besides this either Watkins or Murphy could also cover in that position.

That those two are not quite up to that role for a side aspiring a promotion push is now clear. Naismith even more so.

That there are goals in midfield is undeniable, but this area has yet to produce on a regular basis. It will surely when Pritchard is fit.

It seems that at any one time one of either Oliveira or even Jerome might be unavailable for decent spells this season for various reasons and the former more so.

A ''sniffer'' up front is now our major need. Our lack of that cutting edge could be our downfall.

Despite the apparent need for frugality at the moment I would suggest that, if we are in with a serious shout come January, we ''break the bank'' to acquire one.

It is a risk worth taking as everything else seems to be falling into place.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="hogesar"]Knife edge Lincoln?

We are doing better than quite a few teams who you would expect to do better such as Middlesbrough.

We are on a very good run considering where we were and the amount of changes our squad has had. It''s a bit more than ''decent'' but explaining that to you is usually a waste of time.[/quote]

My god, you are auch an arrogant twit.

By knife edge, I mean everygame on our unbeaten run has been tight and the result could have gone either way. Therefore I don''t think any of us actually know if we''re serious challengers for promotion or not. The recent run suggests we are, but delve into the performances and stats such as goals scored may suggest that the margins are so tight that it isn''t inconceivable we go on a similar run losing by the odd goal.

I''m enjoying this run. We''re proving to be a very tough nut to crack, but at some point we are going to have to be more convincing if we are to seriously challenge for promotion.

[hogesar 10,770]

Thats fair enough.

[Guest]

I posted some time ago that I thought we would be better away from home, in terms of results, with the current style.

Although not perhaps our best player, Vrancic I think is our best passer of that decisive through ball. Wes can do it but won''t get enough game time.

Maddison is top notch but his style is is twisting turning one twos etc.

And Murphy and Wildschut are not in the team for that.

So at home, with packed defences, we are not set up to hit on the break as we are away.

Away we keep the ball, pass, pass and defend. And the stats say we will score one.

It might be naturally confounding for home supporters but where you get the results is the most important and currently we are four points every two games. Keep that up and we won''t be far away.

[TIL 1010 5,246]

The along came Norwich tag seems to be a thing of the past.

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

Farke has clearly sorted out our defensive weakness which was our undoing last season and that always has to be the first priority if you''re going to be up at the top. 

 

But it''s pretty obvious that we''re lacking up front without Oliveira - Jerome seems to have lost something of his finishing ability compared to a couple of seasons back.

 

This season is looking like a very average Championship like Vos said and a great chance for promotion.  I wonder if we can stretch to one attacking signing in January ?

 

After our horrendous start to be one point off the playoffs and 7 off the leaders after 12 games is unbelievable, as good a turnaround as Huddersfield had last year. 

 

Definitely grounds for optimism but not getting carried away yet.

[Bill 1,788]

The problem with our attack is that it is rather too one dimesnsional and has been twigged.I said earlier in the season that the idea seems to be to get the ball wide then pass the ball across the pitch so as to set up a shot from the outside of the box. This was tried like the Isrealites marching around Jericho as the ball went from one side of the box to the other without much luck/threat.We are clearly not using the ''lob into into the box''  tactic. Least not yesterday. Nor are we playing the ball into space much.. for the player to run onto.However we seem to have completely transformed since the early season disasters. 15 points from seven games is 98 points over a season so we have certainly found a method that would see us go up. Yes, that would now only mean 93 points from here and a point or two dropped over those 7 games would change that final number.But the hard bit has been done... the defence. Conceding so few means we have to score that many less.With Pritchard, Murphy, Watkins, Naismith all due back.. and all capable of scoring I am positive that by the turn of the year we will be battling near the top. It is the consistency of grinding out results week in week out that gets you promoted. Currently we are doing that.

[king canary 8,763]

@rhubarb

Yes the sideways passing can be quite easy to defend against and I think Pritchard with his speed of thought could be the key to breaking down more solid teams.

We do need to see some of our midfielders chip in with more goals though - the likes of Vrancic, Watkins and Wes need to step up in this respect.

[Bill 1,788]

The problem is if we a slow to brak. a long build up that seems more concerned with not losing possession then we are always going to allow the opposition the chance to ''funnel back'' and defend almost in their own 18 yard box.On the basis it is not necessarily the quality of the players, but what we are doing. Yesterday we came up against a Hull team one goal up and down to 10 players at home so maybe not the most easiest taks goal wise,The players you list are capable of scoring but not with 8 or more players between them and the goal. Get the ball forward sooner rather than later.

[king canary 8,763]

Completely agree- this is what I''ve been talking about on the Vranic thread - he always looked to slow the play which worked well for Hull.

I think to get through those packed defences you need to have speed of thought as much as anything - little close give and go passes that force defenders to move around. Not enough of that yesterday.

[hogesar 10,770]

Its a balance though and whilst the slow build up can be frustrating at times its a balancing act of the defensive shape. Getting it forward quickly can of course be effective and weve seen that at times this season but equally the turnover of possession and counter risk is greater.

Also against Hull, there was little we could have done. They had everyone in their 3rd of the pitch. Had we gone direct that would have also played right into Hulls hands. I suppose had Murphy been on the bench he could have come on for Vrancic but Wildshut was a perfect example of how I dont think it would have made much difference, there was very few opportunities to run into space.

[Bill 1,788]

It was no more than them doing to us what we have done to others. Grabbing a lead then doggedly holding on.Hiwever that is when you need to be able to get the ball right into the box.. either by crossing over heads or from the by line.I don''t doubt that lessons have been learnt and will will be working on it.Watch how Gunn now has a player behind him for corners as he is left to catch the ball rather than have a defender try to head it clear. A player on each post, but one behind him as well is a new one.