Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
ricardo

Ricardo's report v Barnsley

Recommended Posts

I gave the thermals a first run out of the season this afternoon but although it was a bit parky at lunchtime it was reasonably mild when the cloud cover came over at kick off. It was good to see Olly back in the starting line up and Hanley was also given a start in place of Zimmers.City must have been still carrying a hangover from the international break for they looked slow and lethargic in the opening ten minutes and it was the visitors who made all the early running. There seemed little cohesion amongst the home side with many passes going astray and players on different wavelengths. The total possession play from the early part of the season has largely gone and so it was Barnsley with the lions share of the ball. Thankfully there was little of danger and Gunn plucked out a couple of crosses with relative ease but it was an ominous early sign.City eventually had a couple of breaks but Olly''s speculative thirty yarders were hardly something to bring the crowd to their feet and it got awfully quiet from very early on. Suddenly, in the 12th minute and completely against the run of play Olly held the ball up on the right and cut back a swift low cross to the edge of the box where Murphy swung a foot at it first time. Davies might have had it covered but it took a deflection off a defender and whipped over the keepers shoulder for an unexpected one nil lead.For a time it seemed to put a bit of a spur into the home team as the ball started to be played around a lot quicker and in one nice move involving Vrancic, Olly and Maddison a second goal briefly beckoned. Olly had time and space on the edge of the Barnsley box but his low effort curled a yard wide of the post with Davies beaten. The Murphy almost latched on to a through ball but seemed to lack the drive to compete for the ball and gave away a silly free kick for a high foot.Barnsley finally had a decent chance just after the halfway stage when Davies rushed out to block a City thrust down the middle. With the keeper out of position there were frantic attempts to get to the ball but it was Barnsley who broke clear and Gunn had to make a smart save to turn Hammill''s thumping shot over the bar. Then Gunn had to go down to his right to parry away a low shot before a defender hooked the loose ball clear. It was the signal for the away side to dominate again and only a fine tackle from Hanley saved the day as Husband was caught out of position on the left. The City full back was then booked for a stupid foul after dallying too long with a clearance. Thankfully the halftime whistle blew before any damage was done.As they trotted off to polite applause I was thinking to myself how different this might have been had we not been leading by a very fortunate goal.Husband was replaced by Zimmerman for the start of the second period although it seemed totally unnecessary to go three at the back. With a minute of the kick off a swift Barnsley break saw us out numbered at the back post and there was Barnes to slip a ten yarder past Gunn to square things up. If we expected a response from City I''m afraid to report that we didn''t get one. With Vrancic virtually anonymous and Murphy doing his best Lee Croft impression it was largely left to Olly to carry the can up front. The big man put in plenty of effort and had a couple of digs from range but it was all really very ineffective and if you could see a goal coming it looked more likely to be in our net. After a further twenty minutes of utter dross Maddison finally stirred a bit of action with a neat shimmy and shot from the edge of the box which Davies turned over but the corner was easily cleared and once more it was mostly Barnsley doing the threatening.Time ticked away remorselessly and they were again streaming out in front of me well before the last quarter of an hour. Watkins and Wildshut came on but nothing looked like opening up. Only a desperate bit of defending denied Barnsly a winner with two minutes left and when four minutes added was signaled you could almost hear an audible groan as people realised that their torture was being extended. Christ Almighty, I have watched dozens of second tier games like this over the decades, many of them thankfully gone beyond recall but it just says to me that the best we can hope for is a lower mid table finish if this turgid rubbish continues.The bloke next to me said that what we were watching this afternoon made Chris Hughton''s approach seem like open attacking football and who could disagree with that?  After being last seasons second highest scorers we have had a drop in productivity of seismic proportions and I confidently predict that this will be our lowest scoring season in many a year. If this is the Farke revolution the the man needs to get things moving before they oil up the Guillotine and get the Tumbrils out on the streets. We can be very patient, but if this continues for much longer it is inevitable that heads will have to roll.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Hairy Canary"]Enjoyed your report more than the game Ricardo. Agreed with it all except your decision to get the thermals out so soon![/quote]Yes, that was a mistake. Mrs Ricardo likes me to keep warm[:D]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
grim reading indeed. Has defensive midfield become a problem area again? No Tettey, Trybull off the boil, Reed not quite the anchor required. If this area is not screening effectively, it leads to indecision & apprehension all over the pitch, with & without the ball. Worrying times. Hopefully Farke & the players can find a formula to get the balance right, sooner rather than later. Thanks Ricardo

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Spot on Paddy my friend. When we reverted to two defensive mid fielders and a solid back four it looked effective. The return to full backs bombing forward as wingers has simply put the clock back to the early season errors. At times the space behind Pinto is alarming and invites the inevitable counter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Not sure I agree about defensive mid - surely at home we shouldn’t need 2 screening midfielders, we should be imposing our game on the opposition?

The fact we really missing Tettey so much is that we are so poor all over the pitch?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Rogue Baboon"]Not sure I agree about defensive mid - surely at home we shouldn’t need 2 screening midfielders, we should be imposing our game on the opposition?

The fact we really missing Tettey so much is that we are so poor all over the pitch?[/quote]I believe the evidence of my eyes RB. When we did away with it and conceded the first goal every time, it all fell apart.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Oh I agree we need 2 defensive mids, I was just questioning why we need them. We are making average teams look world class at times, we should be looking to play a way at home which means we don’t necessarily need them

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i really do have a feeling a better coach / manager could get more out of the squad

the style is just wrong and lesser teams are showing passion grit hard work direct football is sometimes what is needed

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="norfolkngood"]i really do have a feeling a better coach / manager could get more out of the squad

the style is just wrong and lesser teams are showing passion grit hard work direct football is sometimes what is needed[/quote]This.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
I could only listen today as Ifollow had problems.

It sounded as you described Ricardo. I lost count of the amount of times Goreham and Anselin said "nobody is making a run".

We have to accept we have taken this new direction and I think the majority were all for it but there is no excuse for continuous dire football and this is too many on the trot.

The sacrifice of a defensive midfielder, something I didn''t disagree with didn''t seem worth it as Barnsley as you have confirmed were probably the better side.

Should an extra striker have been played? I was surprised that Vrancic was given more games and wonder why Jerome or Watkins couldn''t have been given a chance to gel with Oliveira, even allowing for their poorcontributions recently.

A win today despite our ills would have put us right back in the play off race, however ridiculous that sounds after reading posters reports.

And I believe it is OK to call the thermals Body Armour. Even Cornwall had a bit of a frost this morning.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It was loads better last season under Neil. I liked that but was in the minority. Now I have to buy into this and hope it comes right. Today tried my patience though. I was freezing after being outside for so long before the game ❄❄

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Spent most of the game checking my phone for other scores and reading the pink un. Really don''t do that very often, even if it''s a poor game I like to concentrate on how teams are squaring off tactically, there was no point today because we were so far off the pace. We could''ve come up with a perfect gameplan but when the players are so lethargic and switched off it becomes kind of pointless, we had no shape, no desire to win second balls and when we got the ball back no one was brave enough to drive forward and play the fast, incisive angled passing you need to break teams down within this structure.

Hopefully we were just off the pace today, it happens when the squad is full of inexperienced, young players, but damn we were poor today. Can''t comment on Farke''s tactical approach because a Lambert-esque masterplan wouldn''t have worked with the players being so far off the pace but the changes we made actually made things worse and so often we were caught out on the counter with the opposition in miles of space which was worrying.

Very worried tbh. I believe in what Farke is trying to implement but we looked like a demotivated team out of ideas that gave up far too easily. You couldn''t even effectively play McCarthy-ball with players so full of fear, so hesitant and so far off the pace, after an international break it''s worrying that we came back in that mental state.

fingers crossed today was just a one-off. Despite picking up a point I think that''s the worst we''ve played since Millwall

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
And reading posts on other related topics, the crowd seemed so subdued which even allowing for Norfolk reservedness, normally means that match doesn''t excite them.

It needs some sort of stimulus but I am a bit worried it won''t be during the transfer window, well not inward anyway.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Rogue Baboon"]Not sure I agree about defensive mid - surely at home we shouldn’t need 2 screening midfielders, we should be imposing our game on the opposition?

The fact we really missing Tettey so much is that we are so poor all over the pitch?[/quote]Our form this season so far definitely seems to show that Tettey''s presence/absence has been absolutely key to our success, just as Howson''s long absence last season exactly matched our particularly dire run.I don''t think this is a surprise as both are/were very important players whose contributions are not always fully recognised by many at Carrow Road.  But we are clearly not ''poor all over the pitch'' when he plays so the full explanation for our form isn''t that straightforward.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The stimulus could come from Pritchard and Tettey when they return. Or even if Morris comes back from his loan. Yanic can lift the crowd when he runs with the ball.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

nutty nigel wrote the following post at 2017-11-19 12:46 AM:

It was loads better last season under Neil. I liked that but was in the minority. Now I have to buy into this and hope it comes right. Today tried my patience though. I was freezing after being outside for so long before the game ❄❄

NN when even you start posting negatives, I think we have to worry! My God, it tried my patience too, I appreciate and understand the route the club are trying to take, but after the last four home games we are going backwards. Very worrying times indeed!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
The stimulus could come from Pritchard and Tettey when they return. Or even if Morris comes back from his loan. Yanic can lift the crowd when he runs with the ball.

That is true. But Morris is for the season I believe.

Trouble is a bit of a bad run like this, especially as the football is not entertaining, can last if we aren''t careful

What do you think Double N. Is it the tactics or the players inability to adopt those tactics?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I would love to coach Yanic Nutty, he has incredible weapons buried in there. However his thought processes are clearly somewhat animal.

His instructions on introduction were to take opportunities to take players on, run at them and create a bit of tactical panic.

He made several such runs runs about 25 yards from our own goal, crashing through a few challenges, but basically doing it in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Then he got a break, drive into space, had the back four split, back-tracking in their half. The right back was exposed, somewhat infield with huge open spaces to the left and the defensive line too high...perfect... just push the ball 20 yards anywhere centre leftish and run, an easy one-on-one for him...

...so he cut inside into traffic, slowed up and lost the ball.

His weapon stays in its scabbard, far, far too often. It looks as though his brain cannot always find it...

Parma

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Pops, I think it maybe a bit of both. And that''s a straw of comfort considering Parmas excellent masterclass I just read. I cling to the possibility that cheaper players brought in to the system we are going to play could be more effective than current players who don''t.

I try to be patient and all things considered the crowd were patient today. But the home fans need a win. Alex returns next week....

Parma, I think Yanic is an exciting player but like all "weapons" he needs the ball in areas he can hurt the opposition. He usually gets the ball deep and gets us on the front foot but often he runs out of steam and/or ideas as he gets into more dangerous areas. The way we play him he is probably most effective away from home early in the games.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Yanic needs to be coached to drive effectively into spaces between the lines in the three quarter areas.

For this to be effective however, a number of other things have to be achieved. Passing players need to put better messages on the ball and weight passes into the spaces he needs to be attacking, players further forward need to be making runs away from that space to create the opening for the ball to go into.

Yanic himself ideally needs to be already moving before he gets the ball. He can accelerate dramatically from a standing start, it his brain is a little cumbersome and he delays the movement, puts his head down and tends to move in very straight lines. He has a - not unpleasing, but unconventional - habit ornament running right through or over players, rather than round. He makes it work, but it’s a little too random for anything other than attacking areas.

His story is a microcosm of some of the issues in the Masterclass. The model requires multiple parts functioning in unison. We do not appear to have the off-the-ball brainpower to do it currently. It is not about individuals, but an organic unit thinking and moving together.

Parma

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Parma,

"An organic unit thinking and moving together." I''ve quoted it in you master class 17, if you haven''t already read it, have a read of Bobby Charltons ''My England Years'' and what Alf Ramsey bought to the table in terms of organic and thinking and moving together.

Different times I know, but the human brain hasn''t changed much in the last 60 years.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It was always going to be a struggle to avoid relegation in the midst of the firesale. It looks like we’ll have to wait until 2019 for the inevitable return to tier three. But with such a succession of disastrous board decisions it is nothing if not unexpected.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Having slept on it, some key issues:

1) When people told me pre season that we kept hold of the better twin I told them they were wrong. I stand by it. Josh HAS to accept he is going to get hurt sometimes and pulling out of every 50/50 will always get fans on your back.

2) Maddison has flattered to deceive at home this season. He looks quality on the ball until you realise he is actually doing very little with it. Most of the time hes running back towards our goal and playing a safe pass to a deeper midfielder. Hes not getting his head up and looking straight for Oliveira or a wide option. Desperately need Pritchard back or Wes on form to push him.

3) I actually like Vrancic as a player. I also like Stiepermann although he was poor yesterday. But other than Josh, who could, but didnt, we''ve got no one starting who is going to scare the opposition back 4 with pace. We''re at home and the 4-1-4-1 looks lovely and attacking on paper but its down to personnel and how often did any of Maddison, Vrancic, Stiepermann & Murphy run beyond Oliviera?

4) Klose thinks hes a ball playing CB and takes responsibility for that but painfully gives the ball away far too often. There is a lack of movement in his defence.

5) I know Oliviera is everyones favourite but his wasteful shooting when hes off balance from 30 yards is frustrating. Saying that, at least he tried to give the Barnsley CBs a hard time whereas the last few games ive not seen that from Jerome.

We can be a work in progress, thats fine. But we shouldnt be outplayed by Barnsley at home.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I can’t believe your comments about Maddison or Vrancic, do you actually watch games?

He has no option other than to try to go backwards a lot of time as he has no option further forward, as for Vrancic he is a poor mans Ray Wilkins who can only stroll around doing sod all!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Whether or not Maddison has no choice he doesnt even look for the forward pass in many occasions, just drops his shoulder and faces his own goal. He looks tidy and neat on the ball and that often convinces some fans hes doing more than he actually is.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I thought Madders was a bit off key yesterday, over doing the spinning and turning when a quick lay off would have been more profitable.

Olly was my MOM. A bit profligate with the long range stuff but he carried our only threat.

The disappointment for me was. The complete lack of cohesive play. It looked all very mid table but I suppose we will have to recognise that this is the new reality.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
i think people have the answer right there Maddision should be running the show a player with his quality in this league should look the best player most weeks

is it the tactics ?? we have seen many times before a new coach fresh ideas give maddision free role let him roam and find space to show what he can do

why is he so afraid of trying the forward pass and putting some magic on is it farke saying keep the ball never give it away that frightens our flair players of trying the different things ??

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="hogesar"]Having slept on it, some key issues:

1) When people told me pre season that we kept hold of the better twin I told them they were wrong. I stand by it. Josh HAS to accept he is going to get hurt sometimes and pulling out of every 50/50 will always get fans on your back.

2) Maddison has flattered to deceive at home this season. He looks quality on the ball until you realise he is actually doing very little with it. Most of the time hes running back towards our goal and playing a safe pass to a deeper midfielder. Hes not getting his head up and looking straight for Oliveira or a wide option. Desperately need Pritchard back or Wes on form to push him.

3) I actually like Vrancic as a player. I also like Stiepermann although he was poor yesterday. But other than Josh, who could, but didnt, we''ve got no one starting who is going to scare the opposition back 4 with pace. We''re at home and the 4-1-4-1 looks lovely and attacking on paper but its down to personnel and how often did any of Maddison, Vrancic, Stiepermann & Murphy run beyond Oliviera?

4) Klose thinks hes a ball playing CB and takes responsibility for that but painfully gives the ball away far too often. There is a lack of movement in his defence.

5) I know Oliviera is everyones favourite but his wasteful shooting when hes off balance from 30 yards is frustrating. Saying that, at least he tried to give the Barnsley CBs a hard time whereas the last few games ive not seen that from Jerome.

We can be a work in progress, thats fine. But we shouldnt be outplayed by Barnsley at home.[/quote]Why am i getting a sense of deja vu with this post hogesar ? [:P]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...