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Bradwell canary

Lewis, how often did he pass the ball forward!

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I was sad to see this lad so out of confidence in the last game.

Almost every pass he made was in a backwards direction. It’s such a shame as he possesses possibly the most pace in the club. But he seemed so reluctant to use it.

 

once confidence has been lost, it can be a hard road back to the level we all know he has.

 

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According to Whoscored he played 75 passes, 32 went forwards, 43 went backward. So 57% of the passes he played went backward.

In comparison, Aarons played 55 passes, 21 forwards and 34 backward. So 39% forwards and 61% backward.

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4 minutes ago, king canary said:

According to Whoscored he played 75 passes, 32 went forwards, 43 went backward. So 57% of the passes he played went backward.

In comparison, Aarons played 55 passes, 21 forwards and 34 backward. So 39% forwards and 61% backward.

Don’t go bringing facts into it!

 

also given Hernandez was probably our most effective player going forward , he must have been getting the ball somewhere!

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I don't think the issues they're having are anything to do with whether they pass the ball backwards, forwards, sideways or hoofed vertically up in the air...

We build up the play and nobody was complaining when we were winning games in that style!

The issue with Lewis, I think, is that he barely ever runs into space when it's in front of him. I don't know how many times I saw him with acres in front of him only to stop, think about what he was doing and then pass the ball back to Krul!

The issue with the full backs in general, again imo, is that when they do push up and attack and another player loses the ball they are leaving gaping holes at the back.

It's such a catch 22.

On the one hand, the fact they can get forward is a big contributing factor to how we play but, on the other, they are seemingly forgetting about their defensive duties. Somehow we need to find the balance and, we'll all stop saying it soon, when there's a proper CB next to Godfrey this might help alleviate these issues.

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I just don’t recognise this description of Lewis in the Watford game, I thought I saw him go forward plenty of times. Granted, he didn’t run all the way to the opposition goal line and whack in a cross each time but I hope no-one is actually expecting that. KC’s stats would  appear to back up my impression.

 

 

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19 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

I just don’t recognise this description of Lewis in the Watford game, I thought I saw him go forward plenty of times. Granted, he didn’t run all the way to the opposition goal line and whack in a cross each time but I hope no-one is actually expecting that. KC’s stats would  appear to back up my impression.

 

 

I think people are struggling with the new defensive tweaks Farke is trying- Lewis and Aarons are asked to stay back more than before and that can often look like a confidence issue.

If I were him the first thing I'd be doing once Zimmerman is back fit is playing a back 3 to allow Lewis and Aarons to attack more.

Edited by king canary

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4 minutes ago, king canary said:

I think people are struggling with the new defensive tweaks Farke is trying- Lewis and Aarons are asked to stay back more than before and that can often look like a confidence issue.

If I were him the first thing I'd be doing once Zimmerman is back fit is playing a back 3 to allow Lewis and Aarons to attack more.

That would mean Zimbo, Godfrey and... Hanley?

I mean, I'm sure we would have been doing this already if we hadn't suffered the injuries. They were clearly trying it a bit more in pre season.

I know what you guys are saying. They are definitely being asked to stay back more but it's stifling their attacking instincts and stifling our play a bit.

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Just now, BobLoz3 said:

That would mean Zimbo, Godfrey and... Hanley?

I mean, I'm sure we would have been doing this already if we hadn't suffered the injuries. They were clearly trying it a bit more in pre season.

I know what you guys are saying. They are definitely being asked to stay back more but it's stifling their attacking instincts and stifling our play a bit.

Amadou probably. 

I know people want him in defensive midfield but I think that is less urgent if you've got three central defenders in there.

For me a 3-4-3 type line up that looks like...

Krul

Amadou, Godfrey, Zimbo

Aarons, Vrancic, Tettey, Lewis

Buendia, Pukki, Henandez

Could cover some of our defensive weaknesses while allowing our fullbacks to provide pace/width.

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Might be worth a try, but I get the impression Farke likes to bed things in very firmly and won’t make changes easily. See his reluctance to swap players out of the starting 11 and (possible) slowness to bring on subs.

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6 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

Might be worth a try, but I get the impression Farke likes to bed things in very firmly and won’t make changes easily. See his reluctance to swap players out of the starting 11 and (possible) slowness to bring on subs.

My heart bleeds for our Daniel where subs are concerned - almost every time he brings on all three subs relatively early someone gets crocked. Happened again last Friday night - on comes Vrancic as our third sub - a minute later and Drmic does his hamstring!!

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I think that DF was going to try to play a system with 3 at the back with Hanley at the centre giving the two full backs the chance to play further forward and also to provide defensive cover but the injuries  put the mockers on that until possibly after this international break

This would give him the opportunity to play Amadue in the role that he was signed for, alongside Vrancic. 

The front three for me would be Buendia Hernandez and Pukki

Edited by Grumpy

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I touched on this issue in another thread not so long ago. There's a fear of failure permeating the squad at the moment and one of the most obvious signs of this is Jamal's reluctance to cross the halfway line; he's looked less and less sure of himself for a few games now and during the Watford match I was thinking he could probably do with some time out.

Unfortunately, the specialist backup in his position is Heise and for all intents and purposes it doesn't look like he's up to the standard. The team as a whole need a spark to re-light their confidence in themselves.

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44 minutes ago, Mason 47 said:

I touched on this issue in another thread not so long ago. There's a fear of failure permeating the squad at the moment and one of the most obvious signs of this is Jamal's reluctance to cross the halfway line; he's looked less and less sure of himself for a few games now and during the Watford match I was thinking he could probably do with some time out.

Unfortunately, the specialist backup in his position is Heise and for all intents and purposes it doesn't look like he's up to the standard. The team as a whole need a spark to re-light their confidence in themselves.

I have to agree that I saw signs of this against Watford. Jamal is a marvellous player, but his hesitancy on throw-ins betrays his fear of conceeding possession, and it now may be afflicting his use of the ball. He just needs to loosen up. Maybe a break would help, or perhaps he will play himself out of it. (He needs to play with his head up more, but that is a different / related conversation). 

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8 hours ago, king canary said:

If I were him the first thing I'd be doing once Zimmerman is back fit is playing a back 3 to allow Lewis and Aarons to attack more.

 

8 hours ago, king canary said:

Amadou probably. 

I know people want him in defensive midfield but I think that is less urgent if you've got three central defenders in there.

For me a 3-4-3 type line up that looks like...

Krul

Amadou, Godfrey, Zimbo

Aarons, Vrancic, Tettey, Lewis

Buendia, Pukki, Henandez

Could cover some of our defensive weaknesses while allowing our fullbacks to provide pace/width.

Absolutely spot on, and that's exactly the same team I posted in the Everton thread (except I had Godfrey on the left of the three). I think it would solve many problems.

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15 hours ago, Pugin said:

I have to agree that I saw signs of this against Watford. Jamal is a marvellous player, but his hesitancy on throw-ins betrays his fear of conceeding possession, and it now may be afflicting his use of the ball. He just needs to loosen up. Maybe a break would help, or perhaps he will play himself out of it. (He needs to play with his head up more, but that is a different / related conversation). 

Agree, but it's hard to know whether he'd benefit from a break, or whether he can play through it.  Problem is, he's such a wonderful player that it would be a brave/foolish move to bench him given the lack of alternatives. 

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4 hours ago, El Convento said:

Agree, but it's hard to know whether he'd benefit from a break, or whether he can play through it.  Problem is, he's such a wonderful player that it would be a brave/foolish move to bench him given the lack of alternatives. 

He'll be facing the best the Dutch national team can put out on Saturday, so a rest is unlikely . Heise doesn't seem to be getting any game time prior to the int. Break so I doubt he'll get much rest after it either.

Pochetino used to change his fullbacks at around 60 mins if there were no other injuries on the pitch, during the 60 or 30 mins they played, they'd be expected to bust a lung or two in full on running, a high work rate limited time type of use, it was quite effective for them. Might be worth a try for us .

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4 hours ago, El Convento said:

Agree, but it's hard to know whether he'd benefit from a break, or whether he can play through it.  Problem is, he's such a wonderful player that it would be a brave/foolish move to bench him given the lack of alternatives. 

That in itself is one of the major contributors to our poor form, IMO. We have players falling out of form but knowing that there hasn't really been much waiting in the wings to take over can lead to apathy and reluctance.

It isn't just Jamal, it's just that his lack of confidence is easiest to quantify.  I believe that if Stiepermann's early drive against Brighton had crept under the bar we would have come away with at least a point, if not scrapped for all three; we just don't look like we have that arrogance to assume our passes will find their mark like we did last year and we need to find that again.

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