lake district canary 4,531 Posted January 18, 2015 No excuses for being caught out at the far post........again, but there is a case for saying that these crosses should not be coming in so easily. If an opposing player has the time to look up, measure, take aim and put in an accurate cross, than that is part of the problem too. We were 3-0 up yesterday, but for the goals there was no pressure on the Cardiff forwards, closing down their space, keeping things tight. Do we have the right defensive midfield players to do that? I have criticised Johnson a few times when he has off days - and yes I know he is popular and does well on occasions - and even deserved a player of the month - but is this an area of his play where he isn''t good enough? O''Neill isn''t a spring chicken any more, but as a central midfield pairing, they seem to be good going forwards and as long as the team is attacking, things are ok, but the down side is the covering back. Redmond isn''t the greatest at getting back, neither is Howson a great defensive player when he is there. Tettey for me does have the ability, but often plays a more expansive role, also leaving gaps. Alex Neil is the type of player we need in front of the defence. An organiser, a disciplined player with a specific role in front of the defence and stays there, allowing other players to do the more creative stuff. We don''t have a player of that type. Our central defence is a bit slow too and don''t get enough help from defensive midfield imo. So although Ollson got caught out (not for the first time - and it has happened to Turner too in previous matches) there is a strong case for saying these accurate measured crosses should not be allowed to happen in the first place. If a player makes a great run and under pressure puts in a great cross, then fair enough, but to see opposing players in and around the penalty box with time and space to measure their cross, is verging on criminal. So the defence - while taking the blame for mistakes - could be helped more by better defensive midfield play. Imo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219 Posted January 18, 2015 Look at Redmond''s position again when the cross for the first goal comes in.Look at Johnson doing a man-and-a-half job.Look at the nice, tucked in position of Martin and watch his frustration as the goal unfolds.Watch Olsson''s lack of desire.Parma Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Holtcantshoot 0 Posted January 18, 2015 Could it be argued that this goal may not be happening in two / three weeks time once the axis of Martin, Redmond and Johnson have had time to settle in together without a Radio DJ to keep shifting Martin to CB every other week?I''m hoping AN will keep a more settled defensive line-up once the will they / won''t they love affair between the club and Bassong has finally been resolved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Branston Pickle 3,634 Posted January 18, 2015 You can''t blame Adams for RM playing at cb, CH did it, he plays there for Scotland and seems to want to play there himself. It seems the majority of supporters prefer him at rb (me included) but we don''t necessarily see things the same as those in the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuff Said 5,089 Posted January 18, 2015 [quote user="Parma Hams gone mouldy"]Look at Redmond''s position again when the cross for the first goal comes in.Look at Johnson doing a man-and-a-half job.Look at the nice, tucked in position of Martin and watch his frustration as the goal unfolds.Watch Olsson''s lack of desire.Parma[/quote]Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new Pink Un scapegoat... Martin Olsson!Unusually though, one that teams higher up than us seem to aspire to. I can''t remember anyone suggesting we''d get £5 million for the Doc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,531 Posted January 18, 2015 [quote user="Branston Pickle"]You can''t blame Adams for RM playing at cb, CH did it, he plays there for Scotland and seems to want to play there himself. It seems the majority of supporters prefer him at rb (me included) but we don''t necessarily see things the same as those in the game.[/quote]After the good game he had yesterday, it would be difficult to move him from RB - but imo he has been equally as good at CB - but the players around him don''t seem to quite cut it sometimes. Turner and Ollson have been guilty of lapses in concentration in recent weeks - perhaps time to try Bassong and Garrido there again, or even Whittaker on the left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZLF 271 Posted January 18, 2015 As parma points out there were (relatively minor) defensive lapses in the build up to the goal but the prime responsibility does sit with Olsson. His body position, readiness and commitment were all wrong allowing him to lose the challenge he should have been favourite for. This is not scapegoating Olsson, merely highlight a basic defending error - I can only imagine the response had it been whittaker making the same basic error... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Making Plans 936 Posted January 18, 2015 The second goal was the worst. A long punt by the goalie that Turner fails to deal with. No cover behind him & Olsson & Cuellar are too slow to react to the knock on - the goalscorer had 10 to 15 yards further to run than either of our two defenders but he still got there first. This type of ball, or hoof down field, has caused us problems all season (Forest away almost identical goal) because if we don''t win the first ball then there''s no cover so we don''t win the second.As for the first goal, no matter what happened about the cross getting in, Olsson was asleep & rooted to the spot so ultimately the finger has to point at him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZLF 271 Posted January 18, 2015 There are issues to resolve, 6 cb partnerships, changed 13 time in 26 games tells its own story.As does that we lost 6 of the 8 aerial challenges in our own box. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219 Posted January 18, 2015 Coaches look at the origins, not just the last (and most noticeable) mistake. Johnson doesn''t smell the danger, but he was isolated in the centre. The first is a classic example of the English weakness of 442 square positioning. A winger too wide, running a bit thoughtlessly. A full back (Martin) caught in two minds.A huge square of space between the lines on the right hand side of the 442 between RW/CM/RB/RCB, exploited by a very simple push and run. Awful. Olsson lacked desire (not ability). Arguably worse and won''t go unnoticed within the changing room.Second looks perhaps worse than it is. Ruddy should have come earlier and been positioned better. He could do with lessons on sweeping - which he is very reluctant to do - but which an important part of modern goalkeeping. Particularly for sides that want to press high up the pitch and dominate (on paper) weaker sides.It is especially important for bigger (clumsier) champ centre backs, who don''t turn sharply. It is unseen, but Martin at CB tends to avoid this situation arising, because the fear is not there in others that it will...Parma Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,531 Posted January 18, 2015 [quote user="Parma Hams gone mouldy"]Coaches look at the origins, not just the last (and most noticeable) mistake. Johnson doesn''t smell the danger, but he was isolated in the centre.The first is a classic example of the English weakness of 442 square positioning. A winger too wide, running a bit thoughtlessly. A full back (Martin) caught in two minds.A huge square of space between the lines on the right hand side of the 442 between RW/CM/RB/RCB, exploited by a very simple push and run. Awful. Olsson lacked desire (not ability). Arguably worse and won''t go unnoticed within the changing room.Second looks perhaps worse than it is. Ruddy should have come earlier and been positioned better. He could do with lessons on sweeping - which he is very reluctant to do - but which an important part of modern goalkeeping. Particularly for sides that want to press high up the pitch and dominate (on paper) weaker sides.It is especially important for bigger (clumsier) champ centre backs, who don''t turn sharply. It is unseen, but Martin at CB tends to avoid this situation arising, because the fear is not there in others that it will...Parma[/quote]Martin is good on the right, but as captain imo needs to be in the centre. I believe he was made Adams'' main man as a captain and as a centre-back - but although he is good at centre back - and has more mobility than the others we have there - his captaining does not inspire imo. He reacts casually sometimes to situations that he should perhaps be more dominating of. A more dominating captain in the middle could have cajoled Johnson into waking up, could have given Ollson a rocket, made sure the defensive line was more compact. Martin could not do that from where he was yesterday. If he is going back to being a right back - and yesterday he was terrific on the whole - I believe someone else should be made captain - but who - that is the question...........O''Neill maybe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill 1,788 Posted January 18, 2015 [quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]As parma points out there were (relatively minor) defensive lapses in the build up to the goal but the prime responsibility does sit with Olsson. His body position, readiness and commitment were all wrong allowing him to lose the challenge he should have been favourite for. This is not scapegoating Olsson, merely highlight a basic defending error - I can only imagine the response had it been whittaker making the same basic error...[/quote]spot on Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Holtcantshoot 0 Posted January 18, 2015 [quote user="Branston Pickle"]You can''t blame Adams for RM playing at cb, CH did it, he plays there for Scotland and seems to want to play there himself. It seems the majority of supporters prefer him at rb (me included) but we don''t necessarily see things the same as those in the game.[/quote]He''s ok as a centre back, but he''s our best right back as his attacking display proved yesterday. I''m not "blaming" anyone but believe a settled defense is important and Adams enjoyed tinkering with it a bit too much IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
havemyhowsonit 0 Posted January 18, 2015 Case our minds back when the messiah was in charge. We didn''t exactly keep many clean sheets with him. Was a case of score more than the opponents 3-2 or 2-1 was a common result. So it ain''t all that bad Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
