Good run of results....but lots of room for improvement

[Dr Balls]

So it's 3 wins in a row, and 9 unbeaten in the league, plus we are up to 7th in the table, but can we honestly say that our performances have been particularly convincing, especially at home?

We are struggling to score, and our build up play is too often slow and laborious, allowing defences to set up and organise. 30 mins in today, we had 75% possession, but of that, 25% would have been Kalas , 25% Webster, and 25% the rest. 

We are still trying to play Diedhiou as a target man, which clearly isn't his game, especially against large, rugged no-nonsense central defenders. We rarely play through-balls to those players looking to run  in behind defenders (Weimann and Taylor made run after run today with minimal service). We are profligate in front of goal, and don't take enough of the chances we do make.

On the plus side, we look reasonably good defensively (Kelly's mistake exploited by Noone aside), and there is lots of room for improvement going forward, especially if we could start playing to the strengths of our attacking players. Palmer looks like a great addition, and seems much more direct than Paterson, whose starting place might finally be challenged. He might be the difference that can see us make it into the top 6, which I will freely admit looked very unlikely at the beginning of December.

And finally LJ made some positive substitutions, early enough in the second half to make a difference, although admittedly it was in response to going behind. He had obviously got the players geed up at halftime too, as we came out at a much higher pace at the beginning of the second half. At least he could see what the rest of us had witnessed during the first half, which in itself is encouraging.

So maybe it's onwards and upwards. Let's hope so!

COYR!!!!

[Tinmans Love Child]

3 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

So it's 3 wins in a row, and 9 unbeaten in the league, plus we are up to 7th in the table, but can we honestly say that our performances have been particularly convincing, especially at home?

We are struggling to score, and our build up play is too often slow and laborious, allowing defences to set up and organise. 30 mins in today, we had 75% possession, but of that, 25% would have been Kalas , 25% Webster, and 25% the rest. 

We are still trying to play Diedhiou as a target man, which clearly isn't his game, especially against large, rugged no-nonsense central defenders. We rarely play through-balls to those players looking to run  in behind defenders (Weimann and Taylor made run after run today with minimal service). We are profligate in front of goal, and don't take enough of the chances we do make.

On the plus side, we look reasonably good defensively (Kelly's mistake exploited by Noone aside), and there is lots of room for improvement going forward, especially if we could start playing to the strengths of our attacking players. Palmer looks like a great addition, and seems much more direct than Paterson, whose starting place might finally be challenged. He might be the difference that can see us make it into the top 6, which I will freely admit looked very unlikely at the beginning of December.

And finally LJ made some positive substitutions, early enough in the second half to make a difference, although admittedly it was in response to going behind. He had obviously got the players geed up at halftime too, as we came out at a much higher pace at the beginning of the second half. At least he could see what the rest of us had witnessed during the first half, which in itself is encouraging.

So maybe it's onwards and upwards. Let's hope so!

COYR!!!!

Just imagine how well we will do when it all clicks!  The signs of a good team are getting the points when not playing great, and that’s what we are doing!  7th at this stage of the season with the momentum we have is really a great achievement

[Jcolebristol]

On another day, we would’ve scored 4-5. Diedhou missed 4 clear opportunities, Weimann hit the crossbar.

I think we gotta be pretty pleased with 2 goals, could’ve been 5.

 Initially I was annoyed at diedhous performance but as LJ pointed out, at least people are getting in the box now. Which is something we were rubbish at over past few months.

they will start to go in - someone’s gonna take a 4-0 loss against us soon. Maybe Bolton in the cup!

[Mrdc]

21 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

So it's 3 wins in a row, and 9 unbeaten in the league, plus we are up to 7th in the table, but can we honestly say that our performances have been particularly convincing, especially at home?

We are struggling to score, and our build up play is too often slow and laborious, allowing defences to set up and organise. 30 mins in today, we had 75% possession, but of that, 25% would have been Kalas , 25% Webster, and 25% the rest. 

We are still trying to play Diedhiou as a target man, which clearly isn't his game, especially against large, rugged no-nonsense central defenders. We rarely play through-balls to those players looking to run  in behind defenders (Weimann and Taylor made run after run today with minimal service). We are profligate in front of goal, and don't take enough of the chances we do make.

On the plus side, we look reasonably good defensively (Kelly's mistake exploited by Noone aside), and there is lots of room for improvement going forward, especially if we could start playing to the strengths of our attacking players. Palmer looks like a great addition, and seems much more direct than Paterson, whose starting place might finally be challenged. He might be the difference that can see us make it into the top 6, which I will freely admit looked very unlikely at the beginning of December.

And finally LJ made some positive substitutions, early enough in the second half to make a difference, although admittedly it was in response to going behind. He had obviously got the players geed up at halftime too, as we came out at a much higher pace at the beginning of the second half. At least he could see what the rest of us had witnessed during the first half, which in itself is encouraging.

So maybe it's onwards and upwards. Let's hope so!

COYR!!!!

For me 2 up front Is a must at home.

i have an unhealthy hatred of 1 up front at home.

[Leveller]

17 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

I thought we played well enough in the end today. We did absolutely dominate and had loads of chances. 

The only poor performances were Pack and Weimann imo.

Pack? Really? 

Im constantly surprised by how down on him people are this season. For me, he sits deep and keeps us ticking over most of the time, though I thought a Brownhill was better today.

[Fpcity]

Hopefully the signing of Palmer will give us that bit extra in the final third. If we can get another striker in and the defence continues to be strong then that will probably be the best we can hope for for a play off push. 

[cityexile]

Watching City the last couple of months has been a little like watching England in the last World Cup. My head is saying we are not really playing that well and we will need to improve a fair bit to really challenge, and yet the results are pretty damned good.

Decided just to enjoy the run and see where it takes us.

 

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, boatman said:

For me 2 up front Is a must at home.

 i have an unhealthy hatred of 1 up front at home.

I think we would risk some of our hard won stability and system that works with that- 2 up front can take many forms though- do you mean like a 4-4-1-1 or a standard 4-4-2 type thing? 3-5-2/3-4-1-2 could be viable of course.

If it's standard 4-4-2 though, it comes with risks. Had we played that v Norwich, I think we lose. Possibly even v Brentford as they are a good footballing side despite some underachievement lately. Each to their own, but '1' up front okay IMO- if proper support is given. Could be argued Paterson and Reid was '1' up front at home and the football was lovely- even could be classed as a strikerless formation in certain phases of play.

OP- We've hit the woodwork 10 times at home this season. 16 in total but 10 at home- people talk about the lack of goals or the lack of excitement perhaps, but that needs to be factored in I think- there's probably a site that shows it but I would wager that at home our ratio of goals/woodwork is the highest in this division- maybe comfortably so but definitely top.

[Dr Balls]

8 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I think we would risk some of our hard won stability and system that works with that- 2 up front can take many forms though- do you mean like a 4-4-1-1 or a standard 4-4-2 type thing? 3-5-2/3-4-1-2 could be viable of course.

If it's standard 4-4-2 though, it comes with risks. Had we played that v Norwich, I think we lose. Possibly even v Brentford as they are a good footballing side despite some underachievement lately. Each to their own, but '1' up front okay IMO- if proper support is given. Could be argued Paterson and Reid was '1' up front at home and the football was lovely- even could be classed as a strikerless formation in certain phases of play.

OP- We've hit the woodwork 10 times at home this season. 16 in total but 10 at home- people talk about the lack of goals or the lack of excitement perhaps, but that needs to be factored in I think- there's probably a site that shows it but I would wager that at home our ratio of goals/woodwork is the highest in this division- maybe comfortably so but definitely top.

If it happens that often you can't just call it luck. Shooting and heading practice might appear to be in order then?!

 

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, Dr Balls said:

If it happens that often you can't just call it luck. Shooting and heading practice might appear to be in order then?!

 

Whether it's luck or not, hard to say I feel. However it does show that we're creating a bit more than it appears- not least because woodwork (bar or post) isn't classed as a shot on target.

[Up The City!]

2 hours ago, boatman said:

For me 2 up front Is a must at home.

i have an unhealthy hatred of 1 up front at home.

Your stuck in your ways.

In football these days it's very rare for a team to play with two strikers.

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, Jcolebristol said:

On another day, we would’ve scored 4-5. Diedhou missed 4 clear opportunities, Weimann hit the crossbar.

I think we gotta be pretty pleased with 2 goals, could’ve been 5.

 Initially I was annoyed at diedhous performance but as LJ pointed out, at least people are getting in the box now. Which is something we were rubbish at over past few months.

they will start to go in - someone’s gonna take a 4-0 loss against us soon. Maybe Bolton in the cup!

Think Kalas (?) did too, before Fam blazed over the bar.

[Major Isewater]

11 hours ago, Up The City! said:

Your stuck in your ways.

In football these days it's very rare for a team to play with two strikers.

I’m not surprised, the price of strikers these days .

[Up The City!]

2 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

I’m not surprised, the price of strikers these days .

Good point 

But seriously, most teams play a 433 or a variation of that, the 4231 is another favourite at the moment. 

I think a lot of people don't understand the roles of number 10s, 9s and false 9s.

[Mr Popodopolous]

14 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Think Kalas (?) did too, before Fam blazed over the bar.

Was it Webster or Kalas that one?

Anyway whoever it was, we certainly did before that terrible miss by Diedhhiou.

[Davefevs]

3 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Was it Webster or Kalas that one?

Anyway whoever it was, we certainly did before that terrible miss by Diedhhiou.

Was Webster. Looked back on the highlights. 

[REDOXO]

17 hours ago, Tinmans Love Child said:

Just imagine how well we will do when it all clicks!  The signs of a good team are getting the points when not playing great, and that’s what we are doing!  7th at this stage of the season with the momentum we have is really a great achievement

I agree. My fingers are crossed this might be the case. If we can maintain this form then who knows where we could be by EO April going into the last match. Rumors about big bids for Brownhill are concerning, but we will see!

17 hours ago, Jcolebristol said:

On another day, we would’ve scored 4-5. Diedhou missed 4 clear opportunities, Weimann hit the crossbar.

I think we gotta be pretty pleased with 2 goals, could’ve been 5.

 Initially I was annoyed at diedhous performance but as LJ pointed out, at least people are getting in the box now. Which is something we were rubbish at over past few months.

they will start to go in - someone’s gonna take a 4-0 loss against us soon. Maybe Bolton in the cup!

Exactly....It was attack against defense and said as much at the time....Someone is going to get a right d1cking soon! NF have real problems for next week, either way it is coming!

17 hours ago, JonDolman said:

I thought we played well enough in the end today. We did absolutely dominate and had loads of chances. 

The only poor performances were Pack and Weimann imo.

Weimann had an excellent game, not sure why you say that?

3 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

I’m not surprised, the price of strikers these days .

AND...This is the issue. LJ said as much this week. We will not pay the money that clubs are asking for forwards. Thus we will need to manufacture one Ala Bobby Reid. This has a huge influence on how we play...Stay solid and snatch the win....I think we have more 1-0s than any other team, it did Arsenal no harm!

[aa_bcfc]

41 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

I agree. My fingers are crossed this might be the case. If we can maintain this form then who knows where we could be by EO April going into the last match. Rumors about big bids for Brownhill are concerning, but we will see!

Exactly....It was attack against defense and said as much at the time....Someone is going to get a right d1cking soon! NF have real problems for next week, either way it is coming!

Weimann had an excellent game, not sure why you say that?

AND...This is the issue. LJ said as much this week. We will not pay the money that clubs are asking for forwards. Thus we will need to manufacture one Ala Bobby Reid. This has a huge influence on how we play...Stay solid and snatch the win....I think we have more 1-0s than any other team, it did Arsenal no harm!

Yesterday was as dominant a team performance as we have had all season. However I thought weinmann playing wide was poor as he has been, by and large, for some time. Perhaps he needs a goal to kick start his season? But for Saturday I would move Patterson to the right and play Palmer behind Diédhiou.

 

[Mrdc]

21 hours ago, Up The City! said:

Your stuck in your ways.

In football these days it's very rare for a team to play with two strikers.

Well I still use it in Football Manager she works great for me.

[TonyTonyTony]

I think the reality is we are in the mix for the play offs and, apart from a few games, haven’t really played well at all. Our defence is keeping us up there, just as last year our attack did (in the first half of the season anyway).

Id say a big advantage over last year is the squad has much more depth and the players look less tired. This time last year the players were knackered.

Hopefully a shrewd loan striker and we could be closeish to the play offs....

[joenaldo]

If get in forests face and attack the makeshift defence they will have i will be feeling good.

Looking at the table we could easily slip to 12th if we lose so need a few more good results to be in the mix while others falter (mainly hoping Villa :laugh:)

[Cowshed]

On ‎13‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 00:51, Mr Popodopolous said:

Whether it's luck or not, hard to say I feel. However it does show that we're creating a bit more than it appears- not least because woodwork (bar or post) isn't classed as a shot on target.

Luck is an uncontrollable. All teams have it in equal measure over years. In coaching coaches are being encouraged not to use descriptions such as luck/unlucky because it takes away responsibility and ownership - We affect our football through hardwork.

Getting hit by a passing Albatross is luck. Hitting the post isn't. 

 

[1960maaan]

10 hours ago, TonyTonyTony said:

I think the reality is we are in the mix for the play offs and, apart from a few games, haven’t really played well at all. Our defence is keeping us up there, just as last year our attack did (in the first half of the season anyway).

Totally agree.
There are plenty of cliches about building a team from the defence , and they are cliches for a reason , they're true. 
Our good defence allows use to nick 1-0's , where previously we have thrown away 2 and 3 goal leads. As the season goes on we may start to get more of a threat and presence in the final 3rd. I hope that Palmer may add that enthusiasm and willingness to run beyond the striker, something we've been missing this season, if we can start scoring just a little more we can maybe push towards the top 6.

[chinapig]

9 hours ago, Cowshed said:

Luck is an uncontrollable. All teams have it in equal measure over years. In coaching coaches are being encouraged not to use descriptions such as luck/unlucky because it takes away responsibility and ownership - We affect our football through hardwork.

Getting hit by a passing Albatross is luck. Hitting the post isn't. 

 

What if you hit the post because you got hit by a passing albatross? 

[...]

On 12/01/2019 at 23:16, Leveller said:

Pack? Really? 

Im constantly surprised by how down on him people are this season. For me, he sits deep and keeps us ticking over most of the time, though I thought a Brownhill was better today.

.......... yes, I agree, and the women love him.

[CyderInACan]

9 hours ago, Cowshed said:

Getting hit by a passing Albatross is luck. Hitting the post isn't

Albatross, eh? What flavour is it?

[downendcity]

17 minutes ago, chinapig said:

What if you hit the post because you got hit by a passing albatross? 

Tell the albatross to lay the ball off to Hunt, so he could get a decent cross in rather than an Albatross pass.

[INCRED]

On 13/01/2019 at 17:04, aa_bcfc said:

Yesterday was as dominant a team performance as we have had all season. However I thought weinmann playing wide was poor as he has been, by and large, for some time. Perhaps he needs a goal to kick start his season? But for Saturday I would move Patterson to the right and play Palmer behind Diédhiou.

 

Had a look at the possession stats and we were at 75%. The rest of the games in the Championship were in and around 50/50. I don’t think I have seen so many good crosses put into an opposition box for many years. It’s crying out for a finisher - Prem loan perhaps towards end of Jan??

[Davefevs]

27 minutes ago, downendcity said:

Tell the albatross to lay the ball off to Hunt, so he could get a decent cross in rather than an Albatross pass.

Is Albert Ross a new signing?

[Mr Popodopolous]

5 hours ago, INCRED said:

Had a look at the possession stats and we were at 75%. The rest of the games in the Championship were in and around 50/50. I don’t think I have seen so many good crosses put into an opposition box for many years. It’s crying out for a finisher - Prem loan perhaps towards end of Jan??

Bolton tend to willingly concede the ball as part of their gameplan, even at home so I wouldn't get wildly excited about it all in that respect. However it was good to see and continued improvement.

We generally have not been, though we have been improving of late in this respect, a possession heavy side this season. A few games where we have shone with the ball, but partly due to opposition tactics as well and partly due to us, but we average around 52% I reckon over the season. Finisher? Maybe- Would personally put Eliasson in for Weimann and Palmer for Paterson in the current configuration, see how that goes harsh on Paterson though it maybe.

@Cowshed That is one interpretation and maybe the right one. Another one maybe that it's high in real terms, higher than the average, higher I dare say than any side in this division in say a goals or Shots on target to woodwork ratiom higher than the mean and at some point it will turn and fall into line a bit with expected patterns. That's my hope anyway.