A few thoughts on Saturday's game

[Jim Smith 2,339]

Obviously a massively disappointing result which leaves the race for second wide open but I am still relatively upbeat because despite the scoreline I didn''t think there was anything between the two sides and for quite long spells I thought we were the better team. On another day Holt would have scored that early rebound and definitely would have scored that header at the start of the second half and both would have made a huge difference to the game. On another day Swansea won''t stick two shots in from 30 yards. Just wasn''t our day but i am confident we will bounce back. Other comments:

1. Pacheco - bit of a reality check for him but still 3 or 4 moments of genuine quality that could/should have resulted in us scoring.

2. Ruddy - is it just me or was he really slow to get across for that free-kick. It was a long way out and it wasn''t hit with that much power. I expected him to save it and was therefore quite surprised to see it hit the net, a bit like the one he let in at Leicester a few weeks ago. I don''t know if he is starting from the wrong place but i just think he is a bit slow to react against free kicks?

3. Ward was ropey defensively on Saturday (although decent going forward). We do still give the opposition too many chances but I guess its too late to do anything about it now so we will just have to try and continue to outscore them. Ward was also damn lucky he wasn''t sent off for that trip on Priskin after their third.

4. Obviously we miss Hoolahan, not just because he''s such a good player but for the composure he brings and ability to play his way out of tight spaces.

5. For me a strange double substitution by Lambert. I guess he wanted to go a bit more direct but once he took Pacheco off we lost our ability to keep the ball in midfield and a bit of our shape. After that i never really thought we would get back into it. Maybe he thought the same and had half an eye on tomorrow''s game.

I am not to downbeat though. We still played some great stuff and two good results this week will no doubt see us remain in second place going into the last 4 games. Can''t ask for much more than that really! We really can''t afford to lose at Watford though so genuine pressure on that game now!

 

 

 

 

 

[morty 0]

I think our ability to keep the ball in midfield was indeed key. Swansea pressed us on the ball very, very quickly, forcing us into inaccurate passing, and yes, we did miss Hoolahan''s ability to take the ball past a few people and get attacking momentum going. We don''t have the pace in our team to play quick, counter attacking football unless we pass the ball accurately.Korey''s performance was a big plus for me.

[Liam 0]

Ruddy could only see which way the ball was going once it was over the wall. It was a peach of a free kick not many keepers would of stopped that.

[Jim Smith 2,339]

[quote user="morty"]I think our ability to keep the ball in midfield was indeed key. Swansea pressed us on the ball very, very quickly, forcing us into inaccurate passing, and yes, we did miss Hoolahan''s ability to take the ball past a few people and get attacking momentum going. We don''t have the pace in our team to play quick, counter attacking football unless we pass the ball accurately.

Korey''s performance was a big plus for me.
[/quote]

I agree re Korey. He''s been a bit unlucky not to have got more time on the pitch this season and particularly in tough away games I think he gives us a bit more energy/snap in midfield.

The one thing lacking in our armoury is a really quick winger to allow us to play on the counter like Swansea did for much of the game.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

Just been watching the highlights again, just loved Ward''s trip on Priskin, definitely deliberate which made it all the more pleasing - Someone shakes that mans hand.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

[quote user="morty"]I think our ability to keep the ball in midfield was indeed key. Swansea pressed us on the ball very, very quickly, forcing us into inaccurate passing, and yes, we did miss Hoolahan''s ability to take the ball past a few people and get attacking momentum going. We don''t have the pace in our team to play quick, counter attacking football unless we pass the ball accurately.Korey''s performance was a big plus for me.[/quote]

I agree re Korey. He''s been a bit unlucky not to have got more time on the pitch this season and particularly in tough away games I think he gives us a bit more energy/snap in midfield.

The one thing lacking in our armoury is a really quick winger to allow us to play on the counter like Swansea did for much of the game.

[/quote]We have one, but he''s pants - MacNamee!I would like to think Korey will feature in some way tomorrow night after his performance at Swansea. Though I have to admit not knowing much about Watford, so not sure how Lambert will set things up. I''m pretty sure there will be changes though. Surman and Lansbury should be worried, in my opinion.

[PurpleCanary 5,580]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Obviously a massively disappointing result which leaves the race for second wide open but I am still relatively upbeat because despite the scoreline I didn''t think there was anything between the two sides and for quite long spells I thought we were the better team. On another day Holt would have scored that early rebound and definitely would have scored that header at the start of the second half and both would have made a huge difference to the game. On another day Swansea won''t stick two shots in from 30 yards. Just wasn''t our day but i am confident we will bounce back. Other comments:

1. Pacheco - bit of a reality check for him but still 3 or 4 moments of genuine quality that could/should have resulted in us scoring.

2. Ruddy - is it just me or was he really slow to get across for that free-kick. It was a long way out and it wasn''t hit with that much power. I expected him to save it and was therefore quite surprised to see it hit the net, a bit like the one he let in at Leicester a few weeks ago. I don''t know if he is starting from the wrong place but i just think he is a bit slow to react against free kicks?

3. Ward was ropey defensively on Saturday (although decent going forward). We do still give the opposition too many chances but I guess its too late to do anything about it now so we will just have to try and continue to outscore them. Ward was also damn lucky he wasn''t sent off for that trip on Priskin after their third.

4. Obviously we miss Hoolahan, not just because he''s such a good player but for the composure he brings and ability to play his way out of tight spaces.

5. For me a strange double substitution by Lambert. I guess he wanted to go a bit more direct but once he took Pacheco off we lost our ability to keep the ball in midfield and a bit of our shape. After that i never really thought we would get back into it. Maybe he thought the same and had half an eye on tomorrow''s game.

I am not to downbeat though. We still played some great stuff and two good results this week will no doubt see us remain in second place going into the last 4 games. Can''t ask for much more than that really! We really can''t afford to lose at Watford though so genuine pressure on that game now!

 

 

 

 

 

[/quote]

 

--

 

Jim, re Ruddy, I''ve only seen him three times, but have also studied clips of various goals conceded. And my judgment (goalkeeping being the one position I know something about) is that he''s a good shot-stopper (though not as good as Forster) but his positional sense is poor. And the problem with that is, positional sense is the most important attribute in goalkeeping. If you''re in the wrong position (either sideways or forwards/backwards or both) you either won''t be able to make the save or it will be harder than it should have been.

 

 

Having said that, as it happens I don''t think he was in the wrong position by much (possibly two or three feet too far back) for the Swansea opener. He was covering the far (ie, the non-wall side) and had to dive a long way if - as happened - the shot went over the wall. But by being so far back he didn''t narrow the angle at all. Of course there is a balance to be struck - too far forward and you have less time to react.

 

The blatant mistake was with the Leicester free-kick, where he is actually standing on the goal-line and has to dive FORWARDS as well as sideways to try to make the save, because if he''d dived purely sideways he''d have crashed into the post. That is plainly being in the wrong place, and for a set-piece. if he can''t get his positioning right for a set-piece he is not going to get it right in open play when he has to react quickly.

 

[Jim Smith 2,339]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="Jim Smith"]

Obviously a massively disappointing result which leaves the race for second wide open but I am still relatively upbeat because despite the scoreline I didn''t think there was anything between the two sides and for quite long spells I thought we were the better team. On another day Holt would have scored that early rebound and definitely would have scored that header at the start of the second half and both would have made a huge difference to the game. On another day Swansea won''t stick two shots in from 30 yards. Just wasn''t our day but i am confident we will bounce back. Other comments:

1. Pacheco - bit of a reality check for him but still 3 or 4 moments of genuine quality that could/should have resulted in us scoring.

2. Ruddy - is it just me or was he really slow to get across for that free-kick. It was a long way out and it wasn''t hit with that much power. I expected him to save it and was therefore quite surprised to see it hit the net, a bit like the one he let in at Leicester a few weeks ago. I don''t know if he is starting from the wrong place but i just think he is a bit slow to react against free kicks?

3. Ward was ropey defensively on Saturday (although decent going forward). We do still give the opposition too many chances but I guess its too late to do anything about it now so we will just have to try and continue to outscore them. Ward was also damn lucky he wasn''t sent off for that trip on Priskin after their third.

4. Obviously we miss Hoolahan, not just because he''s such a good player but for the composure he brings and ability to play his way out of tight spaces.

5. For me a strange double substitution by Lambert. I guess he wanted to go a bit more direct but once he took Pacheco off we lost our ability to keep the ball in midfield and a bit of our shape. After that i never really thought we would get back into it. Maybe he thought the same and had half an eye on tomorrow''s game.

I am not to downbeat though. We still played some great stuff and two good results this week will no doubt see us remain in second place going into the last 4 games. Can''t ask for much more than that really! We really can''t afford to lose at Watford though so genuine pressure on that game now!

 

 

 

 

 

[/quote]

 

--

 

Jim, re Ruddy, I''ve only seen him three times, but have also studied clips of various goals conceded. And my judgment (goalkeeping being the one position I know something about) is that he''s a good shot-stopper (though not as good as Forster) but his positional sense is poor. And the problem with that is, positional sense is the most important attribute in goalkeeping. If you''re in the wrong position (either sideways or forwards/backwards or both) you either won''t be able to make the save or it will be harder than it should have been.

 

 

Having said that, as it happens I don''t think he was in the wrong position by much (possibly two or three feet too far back) for the Swansea opener. He was covering the far (ie, the non-wall side) and had to dive a long way if - as happened - the shot went over the wall. But by being so far back he didn''t narrow the angle at all. Of course there is a balance to be struck - too far forward and you have less time to react.

 

The blatant mistake was with the Leicester free-kick, where he is actually standing on the goal-line and has to dive FORWARDS as well as sideways to try to make the save, because if he''d dived purely sideways he''d have crashed into the post. That is plainly being in the wrong place, and for a set-piece. if he can''t get his positioning right for a set-piece he is not going to get it right in open play when he has to react quickly.

 

[/quote]

 

Interesting. I have just thought that on both occasions the free-kicks were a long way out, not hit with what I would regard as huge power and when the ball has been in the air I thought he would get to them only for him to end up falling short and the ball hit the net. For the Leicester one it almost looked like he pulled his hand away although that could be to do with your point about the post. He just doesn''t seem to get that much spring in his dives which is maybe due to him being such a big guy. He''s improved hugely in most areas as the season has gone on but for me this is a bit of a weakness and there is no doubt that free kick knocked us back after what had been a good start to the game.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

2. Ruddy - is it just me or was he really slow to get across for that free-kick. It was a long way out and it wasn''t hit with that much power. I expected him to save it and was therefore quite surprised to see it hit the net, a bit like the one he let in at Leicester a few weeks ago. I don''t know if he is starting from the wrong place but i just think he is a bit slow to react against free kicks?

[/quote]

I expect many will disgaree with you on that but I actually agree. I said at the time that I thought he looked half a second slow to react.

 

Just as the freekick came over the wall he shifted his weight/adjusted his feet a fraction which cost him a split second and meant he was diving from more or less a standing start. He wasn''t really "on this toes" as he went to make the save.

 

It was a great strike but it was a good foot or two inside the post.

[Sasco 0]

[quote user="Gorn2Hell"]Ruddy could only see which way the ball was going once it was over the wall. It was a peach of a free kick not many keepers would of stopped that.[/quote]

I agree with Jim. Ruddy placed too much reliance on the wall, seemed to make one step and hesitate before then going to his right. He was a finger tip away from saving the free kick and had he been quicker and positioned in the middle he would have got it. It was a good free kick but was far from "unsavable".

[Tom 0]

I haven''t looked since, but I remember thinking at the time that Ruddy didn''t get much help from the wall.

I think it was Lansbury and Martin on the left of the wall both jumped very high, yet where the ball went over the wall, I think it was Fox and Surman, neither of them seemed to get off the ground (and not really trying).

Whether or not they could have jumped higher to block the kick is a different question, but it''s frustrating to see players seemingly not really try.

[Bury Yellow 2]

A really interesting thread. I was a bit disappointed with Lansbury.

Is it me or does he sometimes become so languid that he is ineffectual? Other times he seems really up for it and when he is in that mood he is a top class player.

A win at Watford followed by 3 points against Forest and of course we will all be happy. We do have a difficult run in and so for me it''s shut eyes tight with the occasional peep through the fingers!!

[Jim Smith 2,339]

[quote user="Bury Yellow"]A really interesting thread. I was a bit disappointed with Lansbury. Is it me or does he sometimes become so languid that he is ineffectual? Other times he seems really up for it and when he is in that mood he is a top class player. A win at Watford followed by 3 points against Forest and of course we will all be happy. We do have a difficult run in and so for me it''s shut eyes tight with the occasional peep through the fingers!![/quote]

I also agree re Lansbury. He can go missing at times. he also seems to perform much better when he comes off the bench as opposed to starting.

[GMF 756]

The point re Lansbury, every time he playes at the tip of the diamond, he''s largely ineffective. I''d much rather see him wide left or right, as he seems to get more involved and the team looked much better when he went wide left in the second half.

 

If I had to make a change for Wednesday, I''d like to see Jackson start up front with Holt with Pacheco at the tip of the diamond.  

[Yellow Wal 314]

[quote user="Bogbrush177"][quote user="Gorn2Hell"]Ruddy could only see which way the ball was going once it was over the wall. It was a peach of a free kick not many keepers would of stopped that.[/quote]

I agree with Jim. Ruddy placed too much reliance on the wall, seemed to make one step and hesitate before then going to his right. He was a finger tip away from saving the free kick and had he been quicker and positioned in the middle he would have got it. It was a good free kick but was far from "unsavable".[/quote]

I agree with much what has been said about Ruddy, but would not blame his positioning on not being able to save the freekick. I would , however, point out that he attempts the save with the wrong hand. As is said above he was a finger tip away from saving it but he was technically incorrect by going for it with his ''lower'' hand. Although it is more natural to go for a shot to your right with your right hand, high shots to the right of a keeper should be saved with the left hand.

[JKUIL 0]

[quote user="Yellow Wall"][quote user="Bogbrush177"][quote user="Gorn2Hell"]Ruddy could only see which way the ball was going once it was over the wall. It was a peach of a free kick not many keepers would of stopped that.[/quote] I agree with Jim. Ruddy placed too much reliance on the wall, seemed to make one step and hesitate before then going to his right. He was a finger tip away from saving the free kick and had he been quicker and positioned in the middle he would have got it. It was a good free kick but was far from "unsavable".[/quote] I agree with much what has been said about Ruddy, but would not blame his positioning on not being able to save the freekick. I would , however, point out that he attempts the save with the wrong hand. As is said above he was a finger tip away from saving it but he was technically incorrect by going for it with his ''lower'' hand. Although it is more natural to go for a shot to your right with your right hand, high shots to the right of a keeper should be saved with the left hand.[/quote]

I do think he was badly positioned. He was in two minds who was going to take the free kick and whether the shot would go to his left or right. So placed too much reliance on the wall. I have lost count of the number of times that a goalkeeper has done this only to see the kick curl over the wall and into the side of the goal apparently protected by the wall. This free kick was not venomous, it was well placed but not just squeezing inside the post or just inside the top corner. It would have been at a comfortable height if Ruddy had not been so slow to get across or if he had positioned himself in the centre of goal. Anyway, to be fair, he could have been unsighted by the wall for a split second and I am more than happy with his overall performance since he came to the club. My problem still lies with our defence. We still look wooden and the sequence of two fouls which led to their goalscoring free kick just looked clumsy and amateurish and brought back memories of Doherty.

 

[yellowngreen 0]

I was behind the goal to the left of the goal (as we looked at it) so in fact had "ruddy''s view" and I thought he should have stopped it.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Al Catraz"]

My problem still lies with our defence. We still look wooden and the sequence of two fouls which led to their goalscoring free kick just looked clumsy and amateurish and brought back memories of Doherty.

[/quote]

I don''t think Doherty was any more likely to give away fouls and freekicks than any other defender (infact he was probably more sensible with his defending than many). Same goes for Ward and Whitbread. Just part of the game,  sometimes they''re going to get caught out and they''re going to make mistakes.

 

Borini''s freekick was actually a result of sloppy play from Surman putting Whitbread and Ward under unnecessary pressure.

[Bury Yellow 2]

Agree with GMF re team for tomorrow. I thought Jackson looked up for it Saturday and the Pacman taking Angela''s spot seems sound. As has been said Angela seems to perform better as a sub.

What do I know however, as before the Swansea game I thought his best position was where Wes plays and although not as effective I still thought he would be an able replacement. Not so!