Confidence

[Red-Robbo]

If today taught us anything, it emphasised the key role morale and confidence plays in football.

The players - not to mention us supporters - would have been at a very low ebb following Tuesday night, and in the wake of other disappointments recently.

Nonetheless, look how they started the game. Went off like firecrackers, a smooth, aggressive unit, working together and carving up Preston in a way that was truly a joy to behold.

Freeman continued his new-found directness of purpose, Joe was back to his old self. Running at (and terrifying) his marker, and winning two corners in the first 5 minutes!

Passing was crisp, quick, accurate. The ball fed up the field with purpose.

FFS there was even a spell of about 10 minutes when no-one in a yellow shirt touched the ball!!!

BUT, and this is the point of this post, on the 23rd minute, when they scored against the break from a cross that should have been easily dealt with we fell apart.

The same players who'd looked so assured, so direct, so in control, now couldn't trap a bag of cement or complete a 15ft pass. Joe stopped moving up, Luke was easily hustled off the ball, Flinty and Hordur got the jitters, Bob dropped deep, and as for Tomlin - perhaps the most talented man on the pitch - he was losing us possession left, right and centre.

Their body language told the story. Heads were dropped. Hands on hips. No-one wanted to have a go in case they made a mistake. Balls were repeatedly passed back when there were many red shirts up - not to keep possession, but just because it was the "safest" option. All the fight of the first 22' ebbed away.

Whatever Lee said at half-time had no effect, as the same dismal pattern continued in the second period. It wasn't until the subs were made and Wilbs' goal and prospect of taking all three points that we again started playing with purpose and belief again.

After the second sucker punch (worse than the first. A misskick that somehow trickled over after a run that should have been stopped by at least three players) our guys looked like they could cry.

So I have some sympathy with Lee Johnson when he says the talent is at the club, but the belief isn't. Play like the first 22 minutes and we'll rise back into the play-off places. Play like the next 50 minutes and we'll be relegated.

We're now going into the Christmas period as flat as a pancake. My worry is that Lee is too analytical and understated a character to lift the lads and restore self-belief.

Thoughts?

 

 

[Davefevs]

@Red-Robbo a lot of sense in that mate.  Thought we played well today, apart from the 10 minutes after we conceded.  Maybe a bit flat for 10-15 minutes in the second half, but our final ball wasn't quite there, or when it did fall to Tammy, he dragged it wide or hit the post as the angle got narrower.

Fine lines today, and just as Tuesday reminded me of pre-Xmas 15/16....so did today.  We are maybe getting a bit of a taste of our medicine for those games early season where we got 3 points when perhaps only deserved 1 point.

The challenge is how to change things to turn it around.

[shelts]

Not sure y LJ keeps playing Freeman he doesn't create anything , his corners are poor. Been very disappointed in Tomlin . 

[Davefevs]

4 minutes ago, shelts said:

Not sure y LJ keeps playing Freeman he doesn't create anything , his corners are poor. Been very disappointed in Tomlin . 

Thought Tomlin was great today, but then I reflected.  First 10-15 minutes, he played very advanced, alongside Tammy predominantly as his starting position, and only dropping into no10 hole, dragging Ben Pearson back....and therefore giving Pack and O'Neil the chance to alternate getting advanced.

After that he began to wander.  Don't get me wrong he still was decent, but it upset our rhythm to some extent.  Second half he did a bit of both.  I want him showcasing his skills in the final third, not deep in our own half.  That is part of why Tammy gets isolated.  Not all Lee's fault though, don't get me wrong.

It reminded me a little bit of Beckham v Greece - everyone thought it was a one man effort, and therefore what an effort it was.  I always look at it as his free-kicked bailing him out of an ill-disciplined performance.  Had we lost 2-1 to Greece, I'm sure he would've come in for some serious stick.

[Major Isewater]

Confidence comes from results .

These players must be drilled in their positions and set pieces and when they think they've done enough , they should go again .

No more being clever changing the formation every five minutes. Choose the best formation for our players and let the poor buggers get some confidence and momentum.

Live or die by this but we need something solid to work on .

 

[shelts]

3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Thought Tomlin was great today, but then I reflected.  First 10-15 minutes, he played very advanced, alongside Tammy predominantly as his starting position, and only dropping into no10 hole, dragging Ben Pearson back....and therefore giving Pack and O'Neil the chance to alternate getting advanced.

After that he began to wander.  Don't get me wrong he still was decent, but it upset our rhythm to some extent.  Second half he did a bit of both.  I want him showcasing his skills in the final third, not deep in our own half.  That is part of why Tammy gets isolated.  Not all Lee's fault though, don't get me wrong.

It reminded me a little bit of Beckham v Greece - everyone thought it was a one man effort, and therefore what an effort it was.  I always look at it as his free-kicked bailing him out of an ill-disciplined performance.  Had we lost 2-1 to Greece, I'm sure he would've come in for some serious stick.

Thought Pearson was very good today . Like to see Tomlin getting the ball where he can hurt teams , the last third and not taking it off our defenders. Off the ball his movement is hardly none. Trying to be too clever when simple is better. Not sure how long he will be in the side if we continue to slide as he is a real luxury 

[shelts]

I must add that I love watching Tomlin and Bobby working together, they bounce well off each other and have great football brains, Reid's movement today was very good. 

[Red Rag]

Good summary of the game. What i dont get is the lack of urgency. Wilbs seemed to be the only player willing to bust a gut for the cause. We need to get much more aggressive/determined and drag ourselves out if this downward spiral.

[GrahamC]

OP is spot on.

We are however in a rut now and need to get out of it.

Picking a side that is harder to beat and harder to score against has to be the priority.

Think we have a real issue in goal now, though, Frankie is injured, O'Donnell has lost confidence and Lucic looked out of his depth to me. He never came off his line once and should never have been beaten for their second.

[Jack Dawe]

22 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

 

Picking a side that is harder to beat and harder to score against has to be the priority.

 

This has worked very well for Preston, both this season and last. They have half our resources, and twice the end product

[AppyDAZE]

Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as

28 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Flint won virtually every header against him today, but of course he tried to get on Magnússon to avoid the battle with Flint.  It's a funny one that the right foot, left foot combo seems so ideal, but it can be restrictive.  I'd have let Flint follow him around all game, but we like to pass on marking to keep our left and right footers on their half/side of the pitch.  That's why Hogan exploited the gaps well on Tuesday, playing on one and then darting into the hole behind the other.  If the passing on marking is good, then it's no issue, but when it's slightly out, a player like Hogan can use his movement to good effect.

 

[shelts]

30 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

OP is spot on.

We are however in a rut now and need to get out of it.

Picking a side that is harder to beat and harder to score against has to be the priority.

Think we have a real issue in goal now, though, Frankie is injured, O'Donnell has lost confidence and Lucic looked out of his depth to me. He never came off his line once and should never have been beaten for their second.

Lucic looks good to me. Quicker thinking , better distribution. Some good saves. Second goal shouldn't be beaten . Not a problem for me at last a modern keeper. 

[Davefevs]

10 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as

 

Eh?  That reads like a bit of a blur

[GrahamC]

9 minutes ago, shelts said:

Lucic looks good to me. Quicker thinking , better distribution. Some good saves. Second goal shouldn't be beaten . Not a problem for me at last a modern keeper. 

What saves were those?

Rooted to his line for every single cross that came in, saved by Flint once, Tammy kicked another one off the line.

Looks too early for him to me.

[Northern Red]

But, but, he was at Bayern Munich? 

[pnefcok]

From the outside looking in, I think you need to go back to basics a bit. Be harder to beat, get some clean sheets under your belt, stop conceding soft goals and go from there.

Our goals didn't exactly require much quality to carve you open.

You probably need to add a bit more physicality to your team too in January.

[shelts]

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

What saves were those?

Rooted to his line for every single cross that came in, saved by Flint once, Tammy kicked another one off the line.

Looks too early for him to me.

Oh G u really do see a different game don't you. I was at the game and seed them, then on my phone the very kind people at Channel Five let Sky have the highlights which I saw probably before most of our fans got home. Wasn't like that back in your day eh....keep smiling sunshine 

[Olé]

2 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

Play like the first 22 minutes and we'll rise back into the play-off places. Play like the next 50 minutes and we'll be relegated.

I love your posts mate and always find myself agreeing with you, but while I 100% agree with the confidence point so well made in your post (Joe Bryan the embodiment of destroyed confidence), this point about the first 22 minutes I can't accept, which in turn questions whether it really was a storyline about shattered confidence or simply continually aimless tactics that were never destined to carve up the opposition.

In that supposely joyful 20 minutes what did their keeper have to do? Nothing. We're giving City credit for just finding 20 minutes of decent build up play. For all that passing we did nothing to suggest we could win a game, only that we could dominate a midfield. These two things are not equivalent. The difference was huge. Preston broke with pace and gave options to cross to, we slowly manouvered and left one up top.

Confidence is huge, you're totally right, but playing to win a game also helps, and I'm not convinced that today at least, LJ's desire to entrench his tactics didn't come at the expense of a result. I didn't see players playing to the best of their ability. I didn't see players creating enough chances or making match winning decisions. I saw a slow, hesitant, scared team that may have lacked confidence, but mainly in their tactics...

[Red-Robbo]

7 minutes ago, Olé said:

I love your posts mate and always find myself agreeing with you, but while I 100% agree with the confidence point so well made in your post (Joe Bryan the embodiment of destroyed confidence), this point about the first 22 minutes I can't accept, which in turn questions whether it really was a storyline about shattered confidence or simply continually aimless tactics that were never destined to carve up the opposition.

In that supposely joyful 20 minutes what did their keeper have to do? Nothing. We're giving City credit for just finding 20 minutes of decent build up play. For all that passing we did nothing to suggest we could win a game, only that we could dominate a midfield. These two things are not equivalent. The difference was huge. Preston broke with pace and gave options to cross to, we slowly manouvered and left one up top.

Confidence is huge, you're totally right, but playing to win a game also helps, and I'm not convinced that today at least, LJ's desire to entrench his tactics didn't come at the expense of a result. I didn't see players playing to the best of their ability. I didn't see players creating enough chances or making match winning decisions. I saw a slow, hesitant, scared team that may have lacked confidence, but mainly in their tactics...

Maxwell had to make a couple of smart saves and, of course, we hit the post later on. You could turn the question around and ask what did Lucic have to save? He made one instinctive reaction save from close-up - and he should've done better: No **** it, he should have done anything (!) for their second. No chance for their first.

Robinson had the miss of the season (what, how????!) but Tammy should've been given a penalty early on. No attempt to play the ball there.

I suppose our position isn't that far apart, and in my reply to the Are Players On Their Last Chance thread, I've suggested some tentative things Johnson might consider for the Boxing Day fixture.  

Where we agree is that this poor run has asked big questions about LJ's competence: awfully timed subs on Tuesday, failure to pick up and inspire a worried team yesterday. Concerning. 

[Olé]

1 hour ago, billywedlock said:

Confidence is clearly a major issue, but the underlying impression I had was players not having a clue what they are meant to be doing. LJ is making too many changes to formation and personal , they cannot cope.

I think that was sort of what my reply to @Red-Robbo was trying to conclude, but you've said it a lot better - yes I think it's a confidence issue but I thought they specifically lacked confidence in their tactics. The ability is there, the understanding and belief is not, that's why they don't look like they're in top gear.

I agree we need LJ to succeed. There is nothing in anything I've said this weekend that implies a desire for managerial change (I was still defending the last 3 managers on here when they got sacked!) but what we do need is a whole load of realism about LJ - he is not a top manager, he is a work in progress himself.

The contract extension is all well and good as a vote of confidence but as I said earlier in the week, I thought the timing was unnecessary and the whole thing smacked as egotistical PR by the club after some fawning a month or two ago in the media "we've got a great young manager and we're going places".

I wonder what the new coach has been doing this past month!

1 hour ago, billywedlock said:

If in December he has not worked out how best to use his squad, then I am more than mildly concerned. The squad is not complete, the JK sale clearly messed up the forwards and the younger players signed have had minimal impact too. So the squad is light, but also light in pace and power, we look lightweight and lacking in any chance of countering with speed. Yes like a SOD side, possession, going left to right, minimal penetration in the area that counts.

This is so spot on.

[GrahamC]

2 hours ago, billywedlock said:

My first live game for a couple of  months. Confidence is clearly a major issue, but the underlying impression I had was players not having a clue what they are meant to be doing. LJ is making too many changes to formation and personal , they cannot cope. My conclusion was that I was watching a team heading for a relegation battle, because when you hear of hard luck stories week in week out, that tends to go one way. They need to have more structure. Exactly what Pembo did when he got hold of the team after Cotts. LJ , who has some great ideas, and I hope a long term future, needs to stop himself becoming another SOD very fast . If in December he has not worked out how best to use his squad, then I am more than mildly concerned. The squad is not complete, the JK sale clearly messed up the forwards and the younger players signed have had minimal impact too. So the squad is light, but also light in pace and power, we look lightweight and lacking in any chance of countering with speed. Yes like a SOD side, possession, going left to right, minimal penetration in the area that counts.  It was deja vu, and that worries me. I had expected and expect more from a coach many (in the game) have high hopes for. But as with SOD, who if you listened to him was very plausible and convincing, there is more to the management of a team, there is leadership too. LJ I hope is not going down the SOD road. Another comment of note, that was universally commented on at the game, was the extension of LJ contract. I am actually all for stability, but maybe the timing of that announcement was not the best. It puts him under a bigger spotlight. 

I had not appreciated from radio and tv clips where we really are, but for me there is limited confidence, and I could see players frustrated with each other , player hiding behind the opposition, no space creation, defenders standing off, passing to empty spaces, they are just not a functioning unit. We are dropping like a lead balloon , and that needs arresting asap or we will find ourselves bottom 3 end of Jan. Yes it is going to need some turgid play and hard worked results, we did it last season when it counted, and now is the time to do the same. LJ needs to step up fast and give the team a plan that matches their ability, or we risk a winter of great discontent. We really really do not need that additional pressure, as we must have some stability and clear sense of direction. We need LJ to succeed . 

Brilliant post.

However regarding the JK sale it was already clear before he left that LJ couldn't manage to satisfactorily accommodate him and Tammy, hence the Kodge playing out wide.

Obvious I know, but we need a Wilbs type but with many less miles on the clock up front in January and then with no chance of Tammy staying on, possibly 2 more strikers arriving next summer, unless Engvall turns out to be more prolific than his career so far suggests.

I know many will scoff but we could still do much worse than make Matt Smith one of those that we bring in, no need to worry about him adapting to English football (like Engvall) and a useful player in both penalty areas.

[22A]

12 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

BUT, when they scored we fell apart.

The same players who'd looked so assured, so direct, so in control, now couldn't trap a bag of cement or complete a 15ft pass.

Their body language told the story. Heads were dropped. Hands on hips. No-one wanted to have a go in case they made a mistake.

Thoughts?

Oddly enough similar comments were made by Villa fans when we equalised against them earlier in the season.

Back then though, the City players had the determination to turn things round and we won 3-1.

[cidered abroad]

We're going nowhere except back to whence we came two years ago. No creativity from midfield, a defence that is all over the place far too often, no pace anywhere in attack, relying on Abraham to score goals even if Old Father Time did get one yesterday. And picking one player only, Tomlin rarely hits the target with any shots, tries to go past everyone instead of simple give and goes, and when did he score other than from a free kick or penalty. His salary is being wasted.

We have an Head Coach who is still a novice, tinkering with formations and personnel; at least three different formations per game, leaving many of the players, unaware of or unable to understand what is needed from them. The PNE fan in a previous post was spot on. Go back to basics, make the team hard to score against and get some pace up front.

I'd take Grayson for the job if he was available.He has built a squad with little money to spend, a freebie here and a loanee there, that isn't too pretty to watch but they are very effective. A helluva lot more than us.

I'll start the campaign now. Johnson Out! 

[Red-Robbo]

1 hour ago, 22A said:

Oddly enough similar comments were made by Villa fans when we equalised against them earlier in the season.

Back then though, the City players had the determination to turn things round and we won 3-1.

Yep, it's the relentlessness of the thing. Groundhog Day indeed.

When you're down, nothing seems to fall right for you.  It's got us all down on here, small wonder it affects the players.

Only way to pick ourselves up is a change - and I don't mean of management.