riddlesdown red Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 NP really needs to address this asap. The squad has shown they are not up to it defensively. Firstly the question that needs to be asked is will Baker play again. Ideally this needs to be answered before the end of the window. If he not fit to play I would suggest he needs to be paid off, this will free up another wage. We need a championship pedigree defender to play alongside Kalas and this has to be the priority. Previously with either diedhiou or martin starting provided more defensive cover from set pieces. Somenyo or wiemann do not do this. NP as a defender should be all over this 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordy62 Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 I’m not sure paying off a player frees up another wage! 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDOXO Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 1 minute ago, riddlesdown red said: NP really needs to address this asap. The squad has shown they are not up to it defensively. Firstly the question that needs to be asked is will Baker play again. Ideally this needs to be answered before the end of the window. If he not fit to play I would suggest he needs to be paid off, this will free up another wage. We need a championship pedigree defender to play alongside Kalas and this has to be the priority. Previously with either diedhiou or martin starting provided more defensive cover from set pieces. Somenyo or wiemann do not do this. NP as a defender should be all over this Bakers future will ultimately be a question for the player the club and the insurers. Who knows what hoops there are there one way or another. I’m pretty confident Pearson knows where are defensive frailties are, however our financial frailties are a matter of public record and to fix issues with money is how Johnson Ashton and the Lansdowns got us here. The exact reason Pearson was brought in was to build the club on limited funds using the academy over a three year period. That’s why he has a three year contract. The fact of the matter is we can all see what we need but even if we had the cash to get that player it’s a crap shoot as to if he will be the right one. For every Webster LJ had five Engvals (minimum) Right now we are left in a place where we build from within. Maybe move a couple and perhaps get someone, but don’t hold your breath and to be frank I like the fact we are playing these kids as that will stand us in good stead in future. This season is a non starter as a top six competitor. Keeping well clear of the bottom 3 is what is important. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddlesdown red Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 Just now, Fordy62 said: I’m not sure paying off a player frees up another wage! I would assume there would be an element of insurance claim to assist. We cant wait indefinitely for baker, who has been a good servant to the club or for medical experts to come to their conclusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Just now, REDOXO said: Bakers future will ultimately be a question for the player the club and the insurers. Who knows what hoops there are there one way or another. I’m pretty confident Pearson knows where are defensive frailties are, however our financial frailties are a matter of public record and to fix issues with money is how Johnson Ashton and the Lansdowns got us here. The exact reason Pearson was brought in was to build the club on limited funds using the academy over a three year period. That’s why he has a three year contract. The fact of the matter is we can all see what we need but even if we had the cash to get that player it’s a crap shoot as to if he will be the right one. For every Webster LJ had five Engvals (minimum) Right now we are left in a place where we build from within. Maybe move a couple and perhaps get someone, but don’t hold your breath and to be frank I like the fact we are playing these kids as that will stand us in good stead in future. This season is a non starter as a top six competitor. Keeping well clear of the bottom 3 is what is important. Pretty sure @Coppellosaid that clubs tend not to have insurance for injuries….but might do if they are at at international tournament for example. Baker, if stories have any substance, could be covered under something else though…just guessing from me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDOXO Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Davefevs said: Pretty sure @Coppellosaid that clubs tend not to have insurance for injuries….but might do if they are at at international tournament for example. Baker, if stories have any substance, could be covered under something else though…just guessing from me. Certainly they have had external insurance in the past. But perhaps clubs self insure now and it’s contractual per the players contract. The PFA will have insurance and of course the player himself will carry career termination insurance! Also clubs will insure their assets , but that does not mean the player is a beneficiary of course which is what I suspect Coppello is referring to Who knows the actual construct but one thing for sure it won’t be left to a agh well mate your done! Edited January 15, 2022 by REDOXO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Robin Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 The defence looked dreadful today. Is it tactics or player quality..... whatever, Nige needs to sort this soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDOXO Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 1 minute ago, Top Robin said: The defence looked dreadful today. Is it tactics or player quality..... whatever, Nige needs to sort this soon. They looked like they couldn’t defend a high ball. But also they were struggling to defend runners from deep. That was as much as the midfield as the defense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgy Red Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 We haven't been a physically dominant team for about 3 years. When we had players like Flint, Baker, Magnússon, Wright, Pack etc we were able to compete, but this team struggles. I've said before that Kalas is not a dominant first ball defender and Vyner (unfortunately) isn't Champ level. The fact that Nige isn't picking Atkinson when we don't have Baker available is a worry. The most basic requirement of any team is being able to compete physically and i'm afraid this squad struggles badly. I don't blame Nige solely for that as its been a problem for a while, but he certainly hasn't rectified it in the last 12 months. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfc01 Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 1 hour ago, Top Robin said: The defence looked dreadful today. Is it tactics or player quality..... whatever, Nige needs to sort this soon. Its most definitely the latter imo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltshoveller Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Some times you just need to give credit to the teams you play Fulham were great today 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grifty Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 17 minutes ago, bcfc01 said: Its most definitely the latter imo. It's a bit of both. COD man marking Mitrovic at corners is suicide. Mitrovic must have looked at the pathetic way Vyner challenged him in the air and then COD standing next to him at a corner and been rubbing his hands. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 49 minutes ago, Edgy Red said: We haven't been a physically dominant team for about 3 years. When we had players like Flint, Baker, Magnússon, Wright, Pack etc we were able to compete, but this team struggles. I've said before that Kalas is not a dominant first ball defender and Vyner (unfortunately) isn't Champ level. The fact that Nige isn't picking Atkinson when we don't have Baker available is a worry. The most basic requirement of any team is being able to compete physically and i'm afraid this squad struggles badly. I don't blame Nige solely for that as its been a problem for a while, but he certainly hasn't rectified it in the last 12 months. We were outclassed today, but we did exactly what you say when winning at Cardiff this season. Under Mick they relentlessly hit aerial stuff, so this isn’t true, is it? Bit about Baker’s absence is fair but as he managed 2 games last season I think we need to look elsewhere. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon79 Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 15 minutes ago, grifty said: It's a bit of both. COD man marking Mitrovic at corners is suicide. Mitrovic must have looked at the pathetic way Vyner challenged him in the air and then COD standing next to him at a corner and been rubbing his hands. Was definitely a strange set up with COD marking him, possibly doubled up with Scott (only saw a quick glimpse on the highlights). Also was worth taking note how Mitrovic just gives a little nudge while the ball is in flight, clever from him & we need to be stronger. COYR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollydog Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 1 hour ago, bcfc01 said: Its most definitely the latter imo. I think that you’re right but how do we end up with O’Dowda marking Mitrovic from a corner? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfitInMyPocket Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 The midfield left the defence open on countless occasions today. We have James or Williams in there and we don't get walked through time and time again. Yes, the defence made mistakes today but Scott, King and Massengo did not contribute defensively at all. Every time we have won at Fulham in recent years, we've won the midfield battle and defended as a team, not leaving the defence to deal with their attackers and fullbacks who were constantly overlapping and stretching us wide open which is what happened today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivorguy Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 9 hours ago, REDOXO said: Bakers future will ultimately be a question for the player the club and the insurers. Who knows what hoops there are there one way or another. I’m pretty confident Pearson knows where are defensive frailties are, however our financial frailties are a matter of public record and to fix issues with money is how Johnson Ashton and the Lansdowns got us here. The exact reason Pearson was brought in was to build the club on limited funds using the academy over a three year period. That’s why he has a three year contract. The fact of the matter is we can all see what we need but even if we had the cash to get that player it’s a crap shoot as to if he will be the right one. For every Webster LJ had five Engvals (minimum) Right now we are left in a place where we build from within. Maybe move a couple and perhaps get someone, but don’t hold your breath and to be frank I like the fact we are playing these kids as that will stand us in good stead in future. This season is a non starter as a top six competitor. Keeping well clear of the bottom 3 is what is important. So is that the priority for next season too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1960maaan Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 10 hours ago, Edgy Red said: We haven't been a physically dominant team for about 3 years. When we had players like Flint, Baker, Magnússon, Wright, Pack etc we were able to compete, but this team struggles. I've said before that Kalas is not a dominant first ball defender and Vyner (unfortunately) isn't Champ level. The fact that Nige isn't picking Atkinson when we don't have Baker available is a worry. The most basic requirement of any team is being able to compete physically and i'm afraid this squad struggles badly. I don't blame Nige solely for that as its been a problem for a while, but he certainly hasn't rectified it in the last 12 months. A bit of short term perspective. Last week, Fulham (9changes) put out a 'decent' Championship team. We competed well, caused problems and dominated the ball for long spells. This week, Full first team out which would probably be lower Prem standard. Our midfield couldn't dominate, the forward line was too good , but we still caused problems. IMO Pearson made mistakes with the line up, easy in hindsight, but I couldn't see how we were going to win the ball in MF. Very technical side chosen, and in Nige's opinion Vyner had been a stand out CB so chose him over Atkinson. He also wanted COD in the side, which I understand . What I would have wanted, after a very good game last week, why not have - Vyner/Kalas/Atkinson ? Stronger in the air. If you want Pring in, move Vyner to RWB. The only real physical battle we lost yesterday was Mitrovic, who was just too good for all our defence. I don't think we lost out all over. I think Nige is getting stuck between 2 stools. Wanting to get certain players involved, while wanting a system that doesn't suit. Not having a RB/RWB is really causing problems. Simpson must be absolute garbage in training. 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clevedon Red Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) 12 hours ago, Davefevs said: Pretty sure @Coppellosaid that clubs tend not to have insurance for injuries….but might do if they are at at international tournament for example. Baker, if stories have any substance, could be covered under something else though…just guessing from me. I’d be putting in a claim on home insurance let’s hope we’ve got old for new replacement. Edited January 16, 2022 by Clevedon Red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eardun Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 28 minutes ago, 1960maaan said: A bit of short term perspective. Last week, Fulham (9changes) put out a 'decent' Championship team. We competed well, caused problems and dominated the ball for long spells. This week, Full first team out which would probably be lower Prem standard. Our midfield couldn't dominate, the forward line was too good , but we still caused problems. IMO Pearson made mistakes with the line up, easy in hindsight, but I couldn't see how we were going to win the ball in MF. Very technical side chosen, and in Nige's opinion Vyner had been a stand out CB so chose him over Atkinson. He also wanted COD in the side, which I understand . What I would have wanted, after a very good game last week, why not have - Vyner/Kalas/Atkinson ? Stronger in the air. If you want Pring in, move Vyner to RWB. The only real physical battle we lost yesterday was Mitrovic, who was just too good for all our defence. I don't think we lost out all over. I think Nige is getting stuck between 2 stools. Wanting to get certain players involved, while wanting a system that doesn't suit. Not having a RB/RWB is really causing problems. Simpson must be absolute garbage in training. Agree that we’re always going to struggle against the better teams with an inexperienced defence and wing backs playing out of their usual position. At the start of this season, who would have thought that Scott, O’Dowda and Benarous would have turned out at wing back and Dasilva would have played RWB? I accept that injuries have played a part, but feel we need to get round pegs in round holes: Pring or DaSilva at LWB/LB and Vyner or Simpson at RWB/RB. Atkinson needs to be playing CB. If we don’t then have enough fit CBs to play 3 at the back, then we might have to go to a back 4 - or ideally recruit some defenders in the window. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuffle Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 To only have one team conceding more than us clearly shows where our problems are. The frustrating thing is that as Pearson is a central defender, I thought we would be hard to beat and score against and that’s my biggest disappointment. As @Davefevssaid to play Vyner central after Brum was plain stupid. With us having no money he spent £1.7m on Atkinson and he’s now not a starter. In addition he resigned Simpson all to boost our defence who also doesn’t start. The injury to Baker is devastating as probably our best defender and would make a huge difference. From comments, I don’t think we will see Baker again this season. However, with such a small squad and playing 3 at the back we are desperately short of options. We have no idea if Cundy can step up & god help us if we lose Kalas. No interest in recalling Moore but with Towler needing development, is he a better bet to have in the building although our cost base increase if we recall. if there is a deal to be done for Palmer in swapping with Harlee Dean on loan then do it as whilst not reducing our wages, it gives us another body in an area that we are exposed in and nets out the same as nobody else is coming in for KP. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexhill reds Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 12 hours ago, REDOXO said: They looked like they couldn’t defend a high ball. But also they were struggling to defend runners from deep. That was as much as the midfield as the defense. Exactly this, the first 20 mins or so yesterday Fulham we denied space and time and we were keeping the ball, after that the energy levels seemed to drop and press faded away and we reverted to form not getting close enough to their midfielders and giving the ball away cheaply either through aimless longer balls or trying to be too clever. Give that midfield that much ball and time and they’ll tear you apart which is largely what happened. Mitrovich is going to be a handful and I would suggest given he has 27 goals already, nobody this season has really dealt with him, therefore perhaps the focus should have been preventing the ball coming into the box rather than trying to directly counter him. You’re wasting your time if you expect Vyner to win any sort of aerial battle, and if I see him facing goal again in the 6 yd box with no idea of who is behind him it will be one time too many. That was for me one of the puzzling selections, surely Atkinson would have been a better match to go up against Mitrovich? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1960maaan Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 9 minutes ago, eardun said: Agree that we’re always going to struggle against the better teams with an inexperienced defence and wing backs playing out of their usual position. At the start of this season, who would have thought that Scott, O’Dowda and Benarous would have turned out at wing back and Dasilva would have played RWB? I accept that injuries have played a part, but feel we need to get round pegs in round holes: Pring or DaSilva at LWB/LB and Vyner or Simpson at RWB/RB. Atkinson needs to be playing CB. If we don’t then have enough fit CBs to play 3 at the back, then we might have to go to a back 4 - or ideally recruit some defenders in the window. If we do offload some players, then have money to spend , the question is where to spend it. Popular shouts; Striker ..... Our scoring record isn't that bad, and yesterday we caused them problems and could have scored more. Winger .... Why? We haven't played with a winger for an age. If we "need" one, we have COD & Benarous. Midfielder .. With Williams nearing fitness, James almost there and King, HNM, Bakinson and Scott already around. Do we need more? Defence ... Just looking at goals conceded you'd have to think yes. Depending on how highly rated Cundy is/was , we have Kalas, Vyner, Atkinson and Pring at a push. I'd say at least one short , I don't think Baker will back sadly. With Vyner looking short on confidence, Atkinson still learning this level and Pring not a true CB, another central defender could be on the Radar. We have cover at LB/LWB Pring & JD at RB/RWB we have Simpson or Vyner. Neither of which Pearson wants there so with Tanner out for most of the season , this has to be a priority. However bad Simpson has been in training, and can he have been that bad, as he has made the bench. Why has he not been given a try, at least it would be round peg, round hole. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 2 hours ago, Shuffle said: To only have one team conceding more than us clearly shows where our problems are. The frustrating thing is that as Pearson is a central defender, I thought we would be hard to beat and score against and that’s my biggest disappointment. As @Davefevssaid to play Vyner central after Brum was plain stupid. With us having no money he spent £1.7m on Atkinson and he’s now not a starter. In addition he resigned Simpson all to boost our defence who also doesn’t start. The injury to Baker is devastating as probably our best defender and would make a huge difference. From comments, I don’t think we will see Baker again this season. However, with such a small squad and playing 3 at the back we are desperately short of options. We have no idea if Cundy can step up & god help us if we lose Kalas. No interest in recalling Moore but with Towler needing development, is he a better bet to have in the building although our cost base increase if we recall. if there is a deal to be done for Palmer in swapping with Harlee Dean on loan then do it as whilst not reducing our wages, it gives us another body in an area that we are exposed in and nets out the same as nobody else is coming in for KP. Agree with every word of this. Simpson has been a mistake & if he cannot even make the 18 at present then the judgement surely has to be his legs have gone. It seems highly likely that Baker won’t be back this season & who knows beyond that? This means we are left (Kalas aside) with a lot of inexperienced defenders, though it is arguable that Vyner at 24 with circa 100 games at this level, including the Rotherham loan, cannot be seen in quite the same way as Pring, Tanner or Atkinson. Any arrival this month therefore has to be a defensive one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 3 hours ago, 1960maaan said: A bit of short term perspective. Last week, Fulham (9changes) put out a 'decent' Championship team. We competed well, caused problems and dominated the ball for long spells. This week, Full first team out which would probably be lower Prem standard. Our midfield couldn't dominate, the forward line was too good , but we still caused problems. The big difference to last week until they made subs was Mitrovic, and to a lesser extent Wilson…more on this below…and of course Nige’s team selection. IMO Pearson made mistakes with the line up, easy in hindsight not sure it’s in hindsight Mike, think plenty of posters voiced concerns with the line-up, and that was before we saw how it actually lined-up…which surprised me. but I couldn't see how we were going to win the ball in MF. I was less worried about that, my biggest concern once I saw the positions of each player was how the hell is a non-physically dominant Zak Vyner gonna cope with Mitrovic? I might also have been concerned how Vyner at RCB (had he played there) coped with Kebano too!! But Mitro is never gonna run away from you, so you have to match him physically. The selection of Vyner to play centrally was a mistake…and that’s not in hindsight. @Shuffle‘s highlights Brum (a) v Deeney as another example where it didn’t work. So although Zak didn’t execute yesterday, I hold Nige responsible. Unlike some fans, Nige making a mistake doesn’t suddenly mean he needs to be knee-jerked sacked. Nige might argue for 25-30 mins at 2-1 up he was justified! What was successful last week was Kalas and Pring happy to mark wide, whilst Atkinson handled whichever rotating forward found themselves central. It enabled Scott and O’Dowda to push on, and the midfield could press with confidence that if Gazzaniga or Hector / Tosin went long, our 3 CBs would win the ball, but also our midfield would pick up the bits and pieces. I worried all week whether Atkinson (because I expected him to start) would deal with with Mitro in the same set up, and whether our CBs might have to tuck in a bit more, thus meaning our WBs might not be able to press so high. Our midfielders might less commit to the press if they thought the ball might stick and then see their midfield markers start running past them. Very technical side chosen, and in Nige's opinion Vyner had been a stand out CB so chose him over Atkinson. He also wanted COD in the side, which I understand. I understand that too, but I have started to see a slight trend (and I use both of those words on purpose) of decreasing levels of performance, but still acceptable. What I saw yesterday was a significant drop below “acceptable”. I felt he offered Pring little to no support against Wilson, nor did he stop Tete either. The two had formed a good partnership last week. Yesterday it was awful. It meant Pring couldn’t support Vyner. Last week, when Atkinson was struggling in a situation it was Pring covering round to get rid of any danger. Yesterday he couldn’t do that. I don’t agree with O’Dowda tracking Mitrovic on corners (another poor set up from Nige and his team) either, but the way he lost out to Kebano for their 6th showed up his technical and physical weaknesses in certain situations. One player wanted the ball, the other didn’t. So, through a combination of things, after the opening 15 mins our press broke down. We stayed in the game, even got ahead, but we got picked off with ease. I felt sorry for King and Massengo, constantly dragged left, then bypassed by a ball infield. What I would have wanted, after a very good game last week, why not have - Vyner/Kalas/Atkinson ? Stronger in the air. If you want Pring in, move Vyner to RWB. The only real physical battle we lost yesterday was Mitrovic, who was just too good for all our defence. I don't think we lost out all over. you could of course have done either of those things. I just would’ve kept the same back 5 as last week. James not fit might’ve influenced team selection too. Dasilva did ok defensively, but he didn’t really help us retain the ball when we had it…most of it was by going back to Kalas. I think Nige is getting stuck between 2 stools. Wanting to get certain players involved, while wanting a system that doesn't suit. Not having a RB/RWB is really causing problems. Simpson must be absolute garbage in training. Last week we played an almost perfect 352, against still a very decent Fulham. Yesterday the weaknesses of a 352 were exploited. Much of that down to Fulham. Some of it down to 2 players playing well below par. You can’t go to Fulham unless everyone has decent games. That’s not scapegoating those two players, just my opinion of their performance yesterday, being well below everyone else. Re Vyner I think Nige was (for once) deflecting from poor team selection. Re O’Dowda, I hope this was a one-off. Comments above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDOXO Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 6 hours ago, Ivorguy said: So is that the priority for next season too. We hope not don’t we. I guess how our players develop and what we can trade will be the mark of that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBW Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 When you've got Vyner and Pring at CB to support Kalas up against Mitrovic. You're bound to get ******. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjak Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 You have to wonder if Pearson is definitely the right man for the job.............when after nearly a year in the job he continues to put square pegs in round holes . While i appreciate he is limited in his selections, tactically he is not helping himself. Fulham are an exceptional side, but we made it so, so easy for them? He needs to show us that he is getting the hang of it with team selection next week, he owes us that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1960maaan Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Davefevs said: not sure it’s in hindsight Mike, think plenty of posters voiced concerns with the line-up, and that was before we saw how it actually lined-up…which surprised me. Well, I said hindsight as I really wasn't sure how we would shape up. If Kalas would have taken Mitrovic, it leaves 2 very mobile sweepers to defend as normal. I agree about Vyner playing RCB, he's done well there. I don't think Pearson has been impressed with Atkinson for a while , and a good game week wasn't enough to make him think he was the right man to go up against Mitrovic. I see it the other way, he much better equipped than Zak and he's much more physical. 1 hour ago, Davefevs said: What I saw yesterday was a significant drop below “acceptable”. I felt he offered Pring little to no support against Wilson, nor did he stop Tete either. COD has done pretty well lately, but having a think about the games, he has had a fairly easy run. QPR , Albert gave him every opportunity to run into empty grass, even Fulham he had plenty of space. He hasn't had to do too much donkey work and yesterday that seemed to show. I thought yesterday was the day for Pring to move to WB, we know they want to supply crosses and COD isn't the best cover. 1 hour ago, Davefevs said: Dasilva did ok defensively, but he didn’t really help us retain the ball when we had it…most of it was by going back to Kalas. I thought it was a big ask for him to play there, against probably the best side in the division. Nige doesn't think he's good enough for RB/RWB, I doubt he'll improve on his wrong side. Bit tongue in cheek there, but it highlights how desperate we are for cover. I do think there was a bit of "nothing to lose" about the team. Sadly, far from throwing up answers, it just posed more questions. Nobody covered themselves in glory, apart from Semenyo of course. You have to think Atkinson comes in against Cardiff, but for who? The other change you would expect is James comes in (fitness allowing). Probably for HNM, who was (like many) below Par. I would have a question mark over COD, but as (I think) Cardiff play WB's, I'd keep him in to exploit the space. I see they had a CB sent off and Flint came on. I wonder if the stars are lining up for Antoine's first hat trick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 21 minutes ago, maxjak said: You have to wonder if Pearson is definitely the right man for the job.............when after nearly a year in the job he continues to put square pegs in round holes . While i appreciate he is limited in his selections, tactically he is not helping himself. Fulham are an exceptional side, but we made it so, so easy for them? He needs to show us that he is getting the hang of it with team selection next week, he owes us that? I won’t be defining Nige by yesterday. Overall I’m still more than happy with the progress we are making. Ultimately we don’t have a very good squad, whatever some say, it is unbalanced in that it requires players to play in less favourable roles / position regardless of formation. Couple that with inconsistency and you’re gonna get games like that, whether it’s Fulham or other team capable on their day (okay maybe not a hammering but a defeat). The “nearly a year” is a bit of an irrelevance in my eyes. That’s just me…last season’s squad that was available to him post-window (let’s not forget he couldn’t change it) and the financial constraints mean he was literally just trying to get us to the seasons end. I honestly think that if relegation was on the cards he’d have set up for some 0-0s and eked us over the line…but it didn’t really become a threat. So he started his reign in the summer for me…his first chance to put a squad together, severely hamstring financially. We are 16th, probably 17th if Swansea pick up points in their game in hand. He will continue to make team selections that look like mistakes but as fans we have short memories. We bemoan playing Alex Scott as RWB when we lose, but not when we win. How does that work. Ultimately we need all the team (or the vast majority) to function to grind out results. We will see more bumps in the road across the remaining 20 games no doubt. Some of those might be in games that fans perceive we should win easily. I don’t think we will any easy games, if we play well in games we will generally pick up points. I think we will pick up enough points quickly enough to not even have to look over our shoulder. We are 11 points clear of Peterborough. Yesterday was a bad day in the office for Nige imho, and I’m sure deep down he knows he got it wrong, hence his somewhat defensive / defective response in the post-match interview. 4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjak Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) Everything you allude to is valid.........it's just things like assigning Vyner to mark the best striker in the Championship, that frustrate me. To me it's just an obvious error, as was leaving out Atkinson. I understand all you are saying, it is just to me, what at times appear to be glaring errors, from a manager who played his entire career at centre back? Edited January 16, 2022 by maxjak 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 14 minutes ago, maxjak said: Everything you allude to is valid.........it's just things like assigning Vyner to mark the best striker in the Championship, that frustrate me. To me it's just an obvious error, as was leaving out Atkinson. I understand all you are saying, it is just to me, what at times appear to be glaring errors, from a manager who played his entire career at centre back? Yep, unfortunately none of the CBs he has at his disposal are probably anywhere near the quality of CBs he partnered for the vast majority of his career! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bs4Red Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 7 hours ago, 1960maaan said: A bit of short term perspective. Last week, Fulham (9changes) put out a 'decent' Championship team. We competed well, caused problems and dominated the ball for long spells. This week, Full first team out which would probably be lower Prem standard. Our midfield couldn't dominate, the forward line was too good , but we still caused problems. IMO Pearson made mistakes with the line up, easy in hindsight, but I couldn't see how we were going to win the ball in MF. Very technical side chosen, and in Nige's opinion Vyner had been a stand out CB so chose him over Atkinson. He also wanted COD in the side, which I understand . What I would have wanted, after a very good game last week, why not have - Vyner/Kalas/Atkinson ? Stronger in the air. If you want Pring in, move Vyner to RWB. The only real physical battle we lost yesterday was Mitrovic, who was just too good for all our defence. I don't think we lost out all over. I think Nige is getting stuck between 2 stools. Wanting to get certain players involved, while wanting a system that doesn't suit. Not having a RB/RWB is really causing problems. Simpson must be absolute garbage in training. The fact he thinks Vyner has been standout is the most worrying part of all this, said it before and il say it again. League 1 at very best, weak as piss 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFC Rich Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 6 hours ago, Shuffle said: To only have one team conceding more than us clearly shows where our problems are. The frustrating thing is that as Pearson is a central defender, I thought we would be hard to beat and score against and that’s my biggest disappointment. As @Davefevssaid to play Vyner central after Brum was plain stupid. I'm not so sure it was stupid. I think we are in a position where (for the most part) we will be working with what we have. Vyner needs to develop skills against more physical players and there is only so much you can teach in training - You can defiantly train to improve physicality and watching for movement, but we don't have a Mitrovic to train against, you are only going to learn what thats like against those players. Pearson literally said that in a way games like this are free games. Challenging players to step up and then working with them on what they got right and/or wrong after could massively help development. Vyner is fine as a lower half championship player, and maybe in an ideal world he moves on and we bring in someone better, but that is not our reality right now. So developing players like him is going to be important. I'm not saying this is what NP was doing, but overall there is signs of individual improvements and very obvious signs of team improvements. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KegCity Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 3 hours ago, TBW said: When you've got Vyner and Pring at CB to support Kalas up against Mitrovic. You're bound to get ******. Pring was the only defender to do themselves any justice imo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KegCity Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 2 minutes ago, BCFC Richard said: Pearson literally said that in a way games like this are free games. Challenging players to step up and then working with them on what they got right and/or wrong after could massively help development. I get what you mean but that's not the right attitude to go into a league match with. We could have competed with Fulham for 90 minutes. We did it in the first two meetings with them this season and we did it for the first 30 minutes of yesterday. It was the complete collapse of Kalas/Vyner that threw the game away. Yes they were against excellent players, but it wasn't any opposition magic that lost us the game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFC Rich Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 1 minute ago, KegCity said: I get what you mean but that's not the right attitude to go into a league match with. We could have competed with Fulham for 90 minutes. We did it in the first two meetings with them this season and we did it for the first 30 minutes of yesterday. It was the complete collapse of Kalas/Vyner that threw the game away. Yes they were against excellent players, but it wasn't any opposition magic that lost us the game. I think form a fans perspective this is true I would much rather watch us be competitive, but if you're the manager and your overall job is competing week in week out so that we get back to being genuine contenders for promotion again (I mean in the long term - before this gets taken out of context) then it makes sense to take opportunities to develop the players we have. The only way to gage how far players have come is by giving them opportunities and letting them learn harsh lessons. Look at Semenyo - lots of people (including club staff/coaches) have talked about how finishes so well in training. The Fulham game was the first time he has really demonstrated that in a match (although I'm a fan of his and the signs have been there). With a different manger or if we had money to spend in Jan he could easily have missed his chance and be out, or at least benched. If we except that we mostly need to work with the players we have then developing them and testing them is going to be a vital part of that. I would think he probably expected a better showing than he got, but when Kalas also struggles physically we don't exactly have better options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 53 minutes ago, BCFC Richard said: I think form a fans perspective this is true I would much rather watch us be competitive, but if you're the manager and your overall job is competing week in week out so that we get back to being genuine contenders for promotion again (I mean in the long term - before this gets taken out of context) then it makes sense to take opportunities to develop the players we have. The only way to gage how far players have come is by giving them opportunities and letting them learn harsh lessons. Look at Semenyo - lots of people (including club staff/coaches) have talked about how finishes so well in training. The Fulham game was the first time he has really demonstrated that in a match (although I'm a fan of his and the signs have been there). With a different manger or if we had money to spend in Jan he could easily have missed his chance and be out, or at least benched. If we except that we mostly need to work with the players we have then developing them and testing them is going to be a vital part of that. I would think he probably expected a better showing than he got, but when Kalas also struggles physically we don't exactly have better options. Definitely some “wins” in some of the squad’s individual performances. Semenyo and Scott most definitely. We will reap the benefit of giving them minutes, in Scott’s case it’s out of position, but it will also prove invaluable to his own development to appreciate positional play of his teammates going forward. In OTIB’s eyes Semenyo is out of position too! Whikst not forgetting Tanner, playing ahead of expectation, Benarous. Atkinson probably wasn’t expected to take as many minutes from Kalas and Baker, and will come again. The long game (and I’m not talking hoof-ball) is in operation. We have to hold our nerve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippin cider Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Our defence yesterday was nothing short of comical …. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelts Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Bs4Red said: The fact he thinks Vyner has been standout is the most worrying part of all this, said it before and il say it again. League 1 at very best, weak as piss Yes but he's one of our own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1960maaan Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 28 minutes ago, Slippin cider said: Our defence yesterday was nothing short of comical …. I didn't laugh much 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanterne Rouge Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 We are missing Bakes badly. He would have put a couple on Mitrovic early doors yesterday. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjak Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 2 hours ago, Bs4Red said: The fact he thinks Vyner has been standout is the most worrying part of all this, said it before and il say it again. League 1 at very best, weak as piss I was not aware that NP said that about Vyner?...........if that is truly the case, it's not only astonishing, but also a concern. It's one thing to support a player to increase his confidence, but another to be blinkered and misguided? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waconda Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Centre Half is the one position currently I would look to sign "experience". If Baker is likely to be back next season then a loan but if he has to retire (and in that case is hopefully insured) then we could afford to bring someone in permanently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waconda Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 4 hours ago, Davefevs said: Yep, unfortunately none of the CBs he has at his disposal are probably anywhere near the quality of CBs he partnered for the vast majority of his career! Agreed but even considering the decent all round improvement in the last 3 months sometimes the "detail" of some of the game plans and tactics does seem lacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjak Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 7 hours ago, Davefevs said: Yep, unfortunately none of the CBs he has at his disposal are probably anywhere near the quality of CBs he partnered for the vast majority of his career! Fair point, but then again surely one of the tasks of a coach (Sorry of course Nige is a manager?) is to pass on his experience, tactical nous and hopefully, some tricks of the trade, to his players that occupy the same position as he once did? I have seen little evidence of any improvement in our ability to defend? Despite the obvious class of the Fulham strikers, we were naive and postionally inept for most of the time in the game that mattered. As for Vyner, I don't want to even go there....ha!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 20 minutes ago, maxjak said: Fair point, but then again surely one of the tasks of a coach (Sorry of course Nige is a manager?) is to pass on his experience, tactical nous and hopefully, some tricks of the trade, to his players that occupy the same position as he once did? I have seen little evidence of any improvement in our ability to defend? Despite the obvious class of the Fulham strikers, we were naive and postionally inept for most of the time in the game that mattered. As for Vyner, I don't want to even go there....ha!! Yep, agree. Johnson, Holden nor Pearson have been able to get Vyner to be more physical though! Whatever goal it was where Mitrovic stood his ground under a high ball in the centre circle was a prime example of a defender not willing to “get physical”. It was a prime opportunity to either get in position and be fouled or have the advantage on a header challenge. Zak did neither, Mitrovic took a bad touch sideways, but he shouldn’t have even got that much on it. I like Zak as it goes, just not centrally against a physical opponent…prefer him RB or RCB3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfc01 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 15 hours ago, maxjak said: I was not aware that NP said that about Vyner?...........if that is truly the case, it's not only astonishing, but also a concern. It's one thing to support a player to increase his confidence, but another to be blinkered and misguided? I think there are three considerations here; 1. NP quoted that to defend the player. 2. NP quoted that to justify his selection. 3. NP quoted that as Vyner had a couple of games where he did well with Atkinson out of form/recovering from illness. But those decent performances were not as a CB playing in the middle of a three. I really didn't think he would match up Vyner with Mitrovic and it was a big mistake that certainly cost us. I'm not too bothered about what NP says, but it is a concern to have selected Vyner matched to Mitrovic, he should know Vyners strengths and weaknesses. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Just now, bcfc01 said: I think there are three considerations here; 1. NP quoted that to defend the player. 2. NP quoted that to justify his selection. 3. NP quoted that as Vyner had a couple of games where he did well with Atkinson out of form/recovering from illness. But those decent performances were not as a CB playing in the middle of a three. I really didn't think he would match up Vyner with Mitrovic and it was a big mistake that certainly cost us. I'm not too bothered about what NP says, but it is a concern to have selected Vyner matched to Mitrovic, he should know Vyners strengths and weaknesses. Cashier number 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clutton Caveman Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 On 15/01/2022 at 20:59, REDOXO said: They looked like they couldn’t defend a high ball. But also they were struggling to defend runners from deep. That was as much as the midfield as the defense. Thought leaving out Atkins was a big mistake and the DaSilva section ?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudski Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 One thing I've noticed when defending a high ball into the box, is our defenders are constantly looking at their man and not the flight of the ball. The attacker is watching the ball coming in, adjusting, putting himself in the best position to attack the ball with strength, aggression and a strong jump to head the ball. Our defenders, watch the player, attempt to block him, but it's often way to weak. The end result is a weak unbalanced leap to try and head the ball from a standing position. It's useless...so weak in both aspects. They very rarely watch the flight of the ball ( more concerned with their man ). They rarely give themselves a chance to attack the ball with height, strength and aggression, unless it's a ' free header'. It's very poor imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandro Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 17 hours ago, BCFC Richard said: I'm not so sure it was stupid. I think we are in a position where (for the most part) we will be working with what we have. Vyner needs to develop skills against more physical players and there is only so much you can teach in training - You can defiantly train to improve physicality and watching for movement, but we don't have a Mitrovic to train against, you are only going to learn what thats like against those players. Pearson literally said that in a way games like this are free games. Challenging players to step up and then working with them on what they got right and/or wrong after could massively help development. Vyner is fine as a lower half championship player, and maybe in an ideal world he moves on and we bring in someone better, but that is not our reality right now. So developing players like him is going to be important. I'm not saying this is what NP was doing, but overall there is signs of individual improvements and very obvious signs of team improvements. Without going into the debate about whether NP thought ZV vs AM was the best match up or not. I've felt for a while NP is doing exactly what you've said above - this is a manager who knows his job is pretty damn safe, knows his remit is to work with and develop what we have, with little to no expectations on league position, baring, don't go down. We've seen how he isn't afraid to throw players into matches, sink or swim scenarios. Several are responding to that, Semenyo, Scott etc. Perhaps matching him up against the division's best could well have been part of his thinking with Vyner's development last weekend. Let's see what you've got. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 7 minutes ago, spudski said: One thing I've noticed when defending a high ball into the box, is our defenders are constantly looking at their man and not the flight of the ball. The attacker is watching the ball coming in, adjusting, putting himself in the best position to attack the ball with strength, aggression and a strong jump to head the ball. Our defenders, watch the player, attempt to block him, but it's often way to weak. The end result is a weak unbalanced leap to try and head the ball from a standing position. It's useless...so weak in both aspects. They very rarely watch the flight of the ball ( more concerned with their man ). They rarely give themselves a chance to attack the ball with height, strength and aggression, unless it's a ' free header'. It's very poor imo. You’ve got to be able to do both! The other thing I bleat on about a lot is against big strong aerial threats, you have to jump a split second earlier than normal. It sounds stupid, but an ex-pro taught me that. It stops them using any contact as leverage, or in Mitrovic’s case a little “push” to stop you jumping at all or mistiming it. He’s bloody good at it, and in fairness to Kalas he usually does get up early (sometimes loses his balance as a result), but Vyner often doesn’t get off the ground at all as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudski Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 27 minutes ago, Davefevs said: You’ve got to be able to do both! The other thing I bleat on about a lot is against big strong aerial threats, you have to jump a split second earlier than normal. It sounds stupid, but an ex-pro taught me that. It stops them using any contact as leverage, or in Mitrovic’s case a little “push” to stop you jumping at all or mistiming it. He’s bloody good at it, and in fairness to Kalas he usually does get up early (sometimes loses his balance as a result), but Vyner often doesn’t get off the ground at all as a result. Exactly...but our lot at the moment seem incapable of doing that. Vyner is like a wet weekend. Timing and strength weak imo. Look at the lead up to Fulham's second goal where CoD slipped. Before that, Vyner was defending one on one the goal keepers clearance. He might as well have not been there...literally just stood next to I think Mitrovic...no attempt to win header or put him off balance. As I've said before, our positioning is often ' symbolic'...the coach can't have a go for not being in position or marking their man...but that's it. Very little aggression, or attempt to tackle, put off balance, or stop a cross. It's weak...what's the point of doing the hard stuff, concentrating and getting in the right position, if you do very little when in that position...like I said, Symbolic. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offside Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 10 minutes ago, spudski said: Exactly...but our lot at the moment seem incapable of doing that. Vyner is like a wet weekend. Timing and strength weak imo. Look at the lead up to Fulham's second goal where CoD slipped. Before that, Vyner was defending one on one the goal keepers clearance. He might as well have not been there...literally just stood next to I think Mitrovic...no attempt to win header or put him off balance. As I've said before, our positioning is often ' symbolic'...the coach can't have a go for not being in position or marking their man...but that's it. Very little aggression, or attempt to tackle, put off balance, or stop a cross. It's weak...what's the point of doing the hard stuff, concentrating and getting in the right position, if you do very little when in that position...like I said, Symbolic. Completely agree with this. It’s really frustrating how our players are “there” without actually doing anything to make it difficult for the opposition. Fulham’s first goal - Vyner was so weak. Yes he got a nudge from Mitrovic, but surely we do our homework and know that’s what he does? It was made so easy. The third goal - their player ran with the ball in tons of space with only a weak attempt at stopping him from King, who was the wrong side. Their sixth goal - what the hell was COD doing running in that weird circle? Yes, it’s all token. Not actual determination to win the ball 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjak Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 7 hours ago, Davefevs said: Cashier number 2 Unidentified item in the blagging area? Ha! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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