Goals Against

[westcoastcanary 0]

After 30 games we have let in 36 goals, which puts us 7th in the list of meanest defences in the Championship. Five of the current top six have conceded fewer than us, the only other club to do that being Sheffield Wednesday (second meanest defence in the division). Apart perhaps from Cuellar''s habit of conceding penalties, I don''t see any blatant weaknesses in our back five and I''d say criticism aimed at particular individuals is in general unwarranted (which is not to deny there have been one or two bad individual errors which have rightly been highlighted). Morty (on another thread) mentioned that we seem to be able to attack successfully as a team, or defend successfully as a team, but have never managed to strike the right balance which allows us to successfully do both. As Morty pointed out, this is not just this season. It was evident under Lambert (the same at Villa incidentally), defeated Chris Hughton''s attempts to confront it, and this season undermined Neil Adams. Alex Neil has already recognised the problem but it remains to be seen whether he can find the solution.Truth is, every team faces this same problem, which is why so many opt for a counter-attacking strategy. Gung-ho attacking is no solution, nor is dour nine-man defence. Be interesting to see how AN tackles it.

[lake district canary 4,531]

Lambert relied on the players being super competitive - and it worked up to a point.  Hughton and Adams were too soft in relying on the players to sort things out on the pitch.  Hughton set out the team shape, but the players weren''t up to the task of expressing themselves without something more than that.   Adams set out to attack, but the players weren''t up to dealing with the other side of the game. 

I think its clear how he''s going to tackle it.    He will make it

absolutely clear what is required from players and if they don''t do it

they won''t stay in the team. So AN looks to be a mixture of all three.   Expects super competitiveness, pressing etc.  Players knowing what their jobs are in terms of the team and emphasis in getting forward quicker and playing higher up the pitch.  

A winning combination, maybe.  

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

A lot of the time our defence hasn''t got the ability to concentrate for a full 90 minutes, thereby we let in some incredibly sloppy goals. Also an air of being too casual sometimes. That simple.

[westcoastcanary 0]

[quote user="Suffolk Canary"]A lot of the time our defence hasn''t got the ability to concentrate for a full 90 minutes, thereby we let in some incredibly sloppy goals. Also an air of being too casual sometimes. That simple.[/quote]You say simple, but not simple to eradicate. I see it as a more general problem of repeated poor decision making and state-of-game appreciation. It points once again to our need for an on-field general to marshall the troops and maintain tactical discipline. I think Russ Martin has the necessary nous, but apparently not the assertiveness. Got to be one of the CBs, or the DM.

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

The concern for me is that I feel we always look suspect to goals on the break. Of those 36 goals, I''d love to know how many were created on a break from a set piece, or turnover of possession in midfield. In my opinion, it''s these situations that make us look suspect, and need to be worked on. Other than that, I think generally we look well organised and there are not too many issues at the back.

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

Agree re the leader. I think Martin is clever enough but hasn''t got the aggressiveness to command his troops.

The lack of a leader amongst the playing staff is a problem we''ve had since a certain number 9 left.

[ricardo 7,339]

The defence has never looked solid this season. I am unsure what is causing it but am hopeful that AN will put it right.

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="Suffolk Canary"]Agree re the leader. I think Martin is clever enough but hasn''t got the aggressiveness to command his troops.

The lack of a leader amongst the playing staff is a problem we''ve had since a certain number 9 left.[/quote]

I agree partly with this, who is our vice captain? perhaps the cpatain "Team" needs Russ Martin with his intelligence and communication but also someone else to add the bite? good cop bad cop on the pitch?

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

I think natural leaders don''t necessarily have to be wearing the armband. Some teams can have several leaders on the pitch at once.

When it''s going well for us we look like a top side. However, when we''re having a bit of a ''wobble'' we sometimes need a member of the team to rally the troops and restore order. This lack of a definitive leader has been one of our weaknesses for quite some while.

[Lessingham Canary 99]

I agree. natural leaders don''t need to wear an armband, we have too many compliant players, will be very interesting to see where AN goes with this, but I don''t think he will make a change at this point, so looks to me like next season.

Unless of course Bassong really starts to impose himself ? at least with Seb back we might be able to improve on our goals against.

[Felixfan 53]

Set pieces have been a problem all season where nobody seems to know their job.

[westcoastcanary 0]

[quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"]Of those 36 goals, I''d love to know how many were created on a break from a set piece, or turnover of possession in midfield. [/quote]The analytics people at CR would be able to tell us no doubt, and so AN will already know. As you say, the occasions that stick in memory are  conceding straight from our own corners, or losing possession in midfield (Whittaker against Brentford, Tettey against Charlton). Both types of vulnerability stem from indiscipline, not maintaining sufficient defensive cover or losing shape.

[cornish sam 942]

I agree about the natural leaders not needing to wear the armband and I think that it is one often overlooked contributor to our success under Lambert. He seemed to make a point of signing players who had captained teams previously, from the top of my head I can think of 5 or 6 players signed during his first 2 years who had been a captain at a previous club.

[westcoastcanary 0]

[quote user="cornish sam"]I agree about the natural leaders not needing to wear the armband and I think that it is one often overlooked contributor to our success under Lambert. He seemed to make a point of signing players who had captained teams previously, from the top of my head I can think of 5 or 6 players signed during his first 2 years who had been a captain at a previous club.[/quote]We still have three of them Sam, Russ Martin, Ryan Bennett and Jonny Howson. I too agree that the role of on-field general doesn''t have to be filled by the player wearing the armband, but having lots of club captain material on the pitch doesn''t in itself do the job. Holty had the character and commanded the respect of the other players, but being at CF meant he could only "lead" in an up-and-at ''em sort of way, or by the example he set of never giving up etc. He wasn''t in a position to ensure the team kept shape and maintained enough defensive cover when attacking. In our current squad the only person I think could perhaps do it is O''Neill.