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tom cavendish

The way forward....

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I used to do some scouting so I thought that I would put together some points that I think would help to improve the team.1. Elmander - He was never going to score many goals and he doesn''t create much. Becchio had a fantastic goalscoring record and his positional sense is superb. I would consider giving Becchio a chance ahead of Elmander.2. RvW - He shouldn''t be left a long way behind play nor drifting out wide. He needs to be playing as far forward as possible. I can understand why he goes into those other positions in an effort to get on the ball, but he should resist doing so and instead concentrate on getting into positions to score when we have the ball.3. Lone striker - CH has tried playing RvW as a lone striker with inverted wingers (so they can cut inside to support RvW) but it didn''t work. The opposition found it easy to allow our wingers to cut inside and then attack the space behind where our winger should have been. Redmond in particular was getting caught out of position down the left. We also failed to get central midfielders up to support the lone striker.When we played a lone striker and we didn''t have the ball, an opposition central defender was able to go forwards unchallenged and we dropped deeper and deeper conceding huge amounts of ground.4. Hooper - is very good at linking with the midfield to drive the team forwards. We are more effective with him playing as the deep forward rather than Elmander, RvW, or Howson. However, to enable Hooper to drop deep he needs a forward to link with, else our attack line is a long way from goal.If we play with 2 quite defensive midfielders and 2 strikers (with Hooper dropping deep) then it could work well.5. Redmond - He is far more effective when playing on the right and should be reminding CH of that. We need his injection of pace on the break.6. Bassong - There are signs that he is looking fitter but he keeps switching off at vital times. He has enough ability but that basic lack of concentration costs us goals. Perhaps some competition for his place in the team would help to keep him more focused.7. Tettey - we never look like getting thrashed when he is on the pitch. In the modern game it is extremely hard to win the ball or force the opposition into making mistakes without conceding free-kicks. Tettey is one of the best in the Premier League at doing that job. His passing stat''s are the best at the club. He tends to win the ball, keeps it, and lays it off to a creative player.8. Fer - he has been quite poor for the most part in most matches. He has been a lot better when playing alongside Tettey. I think Tettey gave Fer a foundation to play his natural game with Tettey covering Fer''s poor positional play.9. Howson - he doesn''t create any chances and he isn''t very strong defensively. He isn''t effective at anything in particular but is capable of scoring some goals. He should have been playing a lot further forward (competing for the Wes position) to get in the box to support a lone striker.10. Snodgrass - too often he slows-up play when we should be looking to break with pace. This allows the opposition defence to regroup and it becomes harder to find a way through; particularly if there is only one striker. Snodgrass'' way of playing doesn''t suit RvW because RvW thrives from the ball played in front of him with space to run into.11. Pilks - when fit he is our best winger and he is capable of scoring some goals. He was the only one that has looked like he could link-up well with RvW.12. Wes - he is most effective at the tip of a diamond midfield with 2 strikers ahead to give him options to pass forward to create chances to score.Now that Jonas has signed and Tettey is returning to fitness, I think we could now have an option to play a diamond midfield at times.      WesJonas     Snodgrass      Tettey

I see Redmond & Pilks as more out-and-out wingers than Jonas & Snodgrass.13. Assuming that Tettey & Pilks are fit to start and that Turner is injured, I would start the following in the next match:      RvW         HooperPilks Fer Tettey RedmondOlsson Bassong Bennett Whit          RuddyI would then be looking at the subs: Jonas (for Pilks), Snodgrass (for Redmond), Becchio (for RvW), BJ (for Fer) depending upon how the game was going.14. New signings - I would be looking to sign:A) Central defender (as competition for Bassong)B) Defensive central midfielder (because we look so weak without Tettey)C) Goal-scoring creative central midfielder (an upgrade on Wes)D) New striker (because we are far too reliant upon Hooper)E) Right-back (perhaps Jonas could do that but he might be a bit too slow?)

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[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="tom cavendish"]I used to do some scouting....[/quote]

Dib, dib,dib. [:D]
[/quote]

 

I think you''ll find that it''s DYB DYB DYB lappin. As in "Do Your Best."

 

Carry on. [:D]

 

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[quote user="lincoln canary"][quote user="Gingerpele"]Why on earth would you write all of that then pick Whittaker ahead of Martin?[/quote]

Why wouldn''t he? They are both of a similar standard, proven by the game time they''ve shared this season.[/quote]Yes, exactly this. They are very similar players. Ideally, I would like us to sign a right-back who was more solid at defending. For the same reason, I would also consider replacing Garrido.

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Martin''s defending is fine.
Don''t really know what people expect. Look how many balls Snodgrass gets in the box a game, how many times Martin gets in behind the LB. That must mean every other team in the league need their FB replacing....

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I have conducted a little research and at home we have conceded only 11 goals, two less than Spurs, one more than Man Utd, only 2 more than Chelsea and Everton and only 3 more than Liverpool and Man City, exhalted company indeed.

Away we have conceded 24, however 12 of those came in just two games, now I know we didn''t but let''s for now assume we lost those games 1 - 0, then our away goals conceded would only be 14, which would be 3 more than Chelsea and Everton, 1 more than Spurs and Arsenal, 3 less than Man City and Man Utd and 6 less than Liverpool.

So, it appears we had a defensive problem in two of our away games, Man City & Liverpool, which may or may not have been down to the defenders themselves.

So it appears our problem doesn''t lie with our defence but more with our attacking midfield and attackers.

If someone at the start of the season had told me after 22 games our defensive record, apart from two horrors, would be as outlined above, I would have been more than happy.

This leads me to my final point, some fans are calling for a new CB and a new RB, well if I was appointed manager I would say "keep up the good work" to our defence and concentrate my my energies on improving our creativity and attacking prowess, whether this be on the training ground our new signings.

Of course the defence can always be impoved but maybe not our priority at the moment.

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I agree with tom cavendish, except for his write-down of Howson:

"9. Howson - he doesn''t create any chances and he isn''t very strong defensively. He isn''t effective at anything in particular but is capable of scoring some goals. He should have been playing a lot further forward (competing for the Wes position) to get in the box to support a lone striker."

If you heard the podcast this morning, they saw Howson as now effective at all aspects of the game, including protecting the back four.

Apart from his shooting, and his pace (- very quick) and his ability to dribble at speed, down the centre unlike everyone else, it was becoming obvious before his injury that he was something of a kingpin in the midfield. Bradley in particular looked for Howson whenever he attempted a pass, and other players also did. Howson was always ready to receive, able to control quickly and use, no matter how tightly he was surrounded by opponents.

I think that Tettey''s absence, and the need not to give the ball away when passing, probably inhibited Howson as much as anyone else,except possibly Fer in the absence of both.

Sorry tom C to disagree over Howson, but I agree with you entirely that Howson does pack a very powerful lang range shot, possibly as powerful as Bradley''s but much more accurate. His long range is as good as anyone else in the club, including Hooper. I also agree that when Tettey is re-established Howson should be urged forward.

He is a different type of player to Wes - possibly only Surman has the touch in quick, short-range passing, but I think that I am not the only poster to have commented that Howson is beginning to look like a possible England international before long. He is an all-round midfielder, or is fast becoming one.

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I used to do some scouting

http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/X622b.jpg

by the way, is that new stadium at Bristol nearly finished - it was due to open in 2014 ?

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[quote user="Ray"]I have conducted a little research and at home we have conceded only 11 goals, two less than Spurs, one more than Man Utd, only 2 more than Chelsea and Everton and only 3 more than Liverpool and Man City, exhalted company indeed.

Away we have conceded 24, however 12 of those came in just two games, now I know we didn''t but let''s for now assume we lost those games 1 - 0, then our away goals conceded would only be 14, which would be 3 more than Chelsea and Everton, 1 more than Spurs and Arsenal, 3 less than Man City and Man Utd and 6 less than Liverpool.

So, it appears we had a defensive problem in two of our away games, Man City & Liverpool, which may or may not have been down to the defenders themselves.

So it appears our problem doesn''t lie with our defence but more with our attacking midfield and attackers.

If someone at the start of the season had told me after 22 games our defensive record, apart from two horrors, would be as outlined above, I would have been more than happy.

This leads me to my final point, some fans are calling for a new CB and a new RB, well if I was appointed manager I would say "keep up the good work" to our defence and concentrate my my energies on improving our creativity and attacking prowess, whether this be on the training ground our new signings.

Of course the defence can always be impoved but maybe not our priority at the moment.[/quote]At the moment, we only have 2 central defenders that are fit enough to play (if we regard RM & SW as right-backs and if Ayala is leaving). We need another.

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[quote user="Ray"]I have conducted a little research and at home we have conceded only 11 goals, two less than Spurs, one more than Man Utd, only 2 more than Chelsea and Everton and only 3 more than Liverpool and Man City, exhalted company indeed.

Away we have conceded 24, however 12 of those came in just two games, now I know we didn''t but let''s for now assume we lost those games 1 - 0, then our away goals conceded would only be 14, which would be 3 more than Chelsea and Everton, 1 more than Spurs and Arsenal, 3 less than Man City and Man Utd and 6 less than Liverpool.

So, it appears we had a defensive problem in two of our away games, Man City & Liverpool, which may or may not have been down to the defenders themselves.

So it appears our problem doesn''t lie with our defence but more with our attacking midfield and attackers.

If someone at the start of the season had told me after 22 games our defensive record, apart from two horrors, would be as outlined above, I would have been more than happy.

This leads me to my final point, some fans are calling for a new CB and a new RB, well if I was appointed manager I would say "keep up the good work" to our defence and concentrate my my energies on improving our creativity and attacking prowess, whether this be on the training ground our new signings.

Of course the defence can always be impoved but maybe not our priority at the moment.[/quote]There is a lot of truth in what you say, Ray, It''s a difficult one. The problem being that apart from the severe tonkings at the Etihad etc, most of our defeats have been by the odd goal, quite often a sloppy one, needlessly conceded. Add to that the fact that our strikers, in the main, have not been able to hit a cow''s @rse witha banjo this season, when we concede, it generally means thank you and goodnight Vienna .I actually believe that we have enough quality in the squad that, if utilised properly, we could turn a lot of 0-1 defeats into 2-1 wins . But, in the short term, if we concentrate on bolstering the defence , so that we do not end up losing as many games to sloppy single goals, I suppose that this is the best sure-fire way to stay, albeit by the skin of our teeth , in the Prem this May.

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"So it appears our problem doesn''t lie with our defence but more with our attacking midfield and attackers."More a case of how they are being used. If we constantly back pedal and sit off the opposition then it will be harder to score. Sure it is great if we can restrict the opposition to one or no goals but if that is at the expense of scoring ourselves then I would suggest the balance is skewed too far in one direction.Watch how many opposition players are in our half when they attack - and compare that when we attack.Numerous times I have seen one of our players with the ball out wide and quickly closed down and dispossessed by the opposition because our players are hamstrung by this absurd zonal play, and so don''t move towards him and don''t attack as a group.You can spend all your time trying to stop the opposition from beating you - but at some time you have to set out to beat them, something we are no doing.

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City1st,

I agree with pretty much with most of what you say, which is why I mentioned we could sort out our cretivity issue at the training ground.

Like you I see other teams bomb their midfielders forward yet we seem to stroll, under direction me thinks.

Would this mean we conceded more, possibly??

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Tom,

Well we do have 3 really, Strachan plays RM as CB so he does provide cover, plus we do have a very promising youngster in Adel Gafaiti in an emergency, let''s face it most players make their mark after a debut due to an injury to a regular starter.

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Hahahahahaha Tom claiming to be a ex-scout again, love it!! If you really were, my apologies, but judging from previous posts i seriously doubt it! (FM does not count!)

1. Agree

2. Agree, but when our game is all about getting it out wide and crossing the ball in, i think RVW will struggle against the premier league defenders - different class to what he is used to.

3. Not sure what to say!

4. I tend to agree, but i want to see him in the advanced positions as he is by far our best finisher.

5. Not sure we have seen enough of him on the right to make that claim, he obviously likes cutting in from the left and shooting - the guy is seriously raw still but has huge potential. Good choice from Hughton to rest him at the moment, don''t want to burn him out.

6. Spurs fans have always said this about Bassong, a quality player with all the right attributes, but his focus is shocking and has always been liable for at least one big mistake a game! Similar to Fer in this respect.

7. Not sure i understand the love-in for Tettey, solid player and does the basic stuff well but an extremely limited player. Another one of those players who seems to have improved in the eyes of fans since his injury. I prefer Johnson.

8. I would say Fer has been poor since the start of December, i think tiredness explains some of this, as does his inability to stay focused for 90 minutes. We saw the same with Yaya Toure when he first came to the prem, so i am hopeful he can become our best player still.

9. Howson, top player and one of the few we have willing to move forward with the ball from the centre of the park, seriously missing him - Johnson having to take on this role in recent games.

10. He is a quality player, can often frustrate but by far our most influential attacking player for 1 and a half seasons now. Fans need to lay off him. I think he has created the 4th most chances of any player this season, and 2nd overall last season (after Bains, if my memory serves)

11. Agreed, shame we are losing him in the summer!

12. Agreed, not a formation Hughton will ever play, he likes his wide wingers so unless we play 4 5 1 very little chance of seeing Wes play.

I would sell for £2.5M as long we bring in another creative winger/AMC

13.

Martin for Whittaker, Snoddy for Redmond, BJ (best player recently) for Fer and Wes for RVW

14. We need a RB, CB and AMC for now

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"we could sort out our cretivity issue"

be grateful it is only an ishoooooooooooand not a problem, as was

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[quote user="Salopian"]I agree with tom cavendish, except for his write-down of Howson:

"9. Howson - he doesn''t create any chances and he isn''t very strong defensively. He isn''t effective at anything in particular but is capable of scoring some goals. He should have been playing a lot further forward (competing for the Wes position) to get in the box to support a lone striker."

If you heard the podcast this morning, they saw Howson as now effective at all aspects of the game, including protecting the back four.

Apart from his shooting, and his pace (- very quick) and his ability to dribble at speed, down the centre unlike everyone else, it was becoming obvious before his injury that he was something of a kingpin in the midfield. Bradley in particular looked for Howson whenever he attempted a pass, and other players also did. Howson was always ready to receive, able to control quickly and use, no matter how tightly he was surrounded by opponents.

I think that Tettey''s absence, and the need not to give the ball away when passing, probably inhibited Howson as much as anyone else,except possibly Fer in the absence of both.

Sorry tom C to disagree over Howson, but I agree with you entirely that Howson does pack a very powerful lang range shot, possibly as powerful as Bradley''s but much more accurate. His long range is as good as anyone else in the club, including Hooper. I also agree that when Tettey is re-established Howson should be urged forward.

He is a different type of player to Wes - possibly only Surman has the touch in quick, short-range passing, but I think that I am not the only poster to have commented that Howson is beginning to look like a possible England international before long. He is an all-round midfielder, or is fast becoming one.[/quote]I think Howson is quite good at most things but ''master of none'' as it were. The role of an average ability box-to-box midfielder is becoming somewhat redundant in top class football as managers increasingly look to players that are specialists and dominant in a particular area. A manager can then set his team to play to those strengths or combat the strengths of the positron.Howson fails to track opposition players making runs towards our box and very rarely does he create anything for our strikers. He doesn''t impose himself much, he doesn''t get in the opposition box very often. We can agree that he should have been playing a lot further forwards and creating more chances for others to score than he has been, but of course that has been down to how the manager wants him to play. At times we have had BJ playing further up the pitch than Howson (such as against Liverpool). I think it should have been the other way around, but the manager wanted to defend higher up the pitch (a plan which failed terribly).

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[quote user="First Wazzock"]I used to play with my woggle[/quote]

 

So did I Wazzy! [8-|] This braille keyboard is definitely the way forward...

 

 That''s us sorted now all we need is Canary Call for the deaf....

 

 

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a lot of it is to do with pressing we don''t press high up to pitch so when the oppo team makes a mistake or lose the ball its takes us longer to get near there box / goal

if we pushed higher a pressed the ball when we won it the midfield wouldn''t have so far to pass or run or even shoot it is easier to win a ball in someones half and turn it into attack than when it is on the edge of your own box ........

 

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