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How do we beat these teams?


BCFCGav

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2 hours ago, JP Hampton said:

Well I think the answer has to be, you do something different. If we can’t go round them, then we have to go direct. Even the occasional ball over the top wouldn’t hurt now and again, when all else is clearly failing. 
 

Yep I agree. If you don't have an elite squad, then you have to have a plan B. 

We could do with a target man, a head on a stick you could say!

(one for the fans of FBC podcast 😉)

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45 minutes ago, SydneyCity said:

We need to break their concentration by being fast and/or physical. Drawing contact and winding them right up.

Semenyo type players - fast and strong

Chris Martin type players - ridiculously strong and can get in an opposition’s head.

Scott type players - move it fast through the middle, or do something skilful and unpredictable.

You mean all the ones that we have lost!

We lack any presence up front. Nakhi tries but gives away a lot of fouls. Tommy just isn’t physical. Bell is even less physical. Cornick has some physicality but it’s little use if he is played out on the wing, which clearly isn’t his best position. Mehmeti is also not really a winger either, as he always cuts in on his right foot and can’t cross a ball, the exception being the low cross on Tuesday for Bell. And Knight isn’t a forward at all. A lot of square pegs in round holes.

That explains a lot about why we lack goals. The days of Weimann, Semenyo and Martin feel a lot more than 2 years ago…

 

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Don't play two holding midfielders against shit teams, imagine the abuse that Southgate gets for the same thing

When it's clearly not working don't replace like for like (Cornick for Bell)

Don't play a non creative pressing midfielder in a crucial attacking position against poor team (Knight)

Don't have our most creative player on the bench and make five subs without using him (Twine)

Play two strikers and get the ball I'm the bloody box

Simple enough

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Do the opposite of what we did today. QPR set up with a rigid 4-5-1 to defend, score on the break and win 1-0. (Admittedly City was so poor they became more adventurous in the second half and could have scored more). With a game plan like QPR’s it’s hopeless playing lots of slow motion passes in midfield as this allows the opposition to retain its defensive shape. It needs players who can beat a defender with a bit of trickery, some pace through the middle and on the wings. City had some success with Bell’s pace before his injury so the substitution of Cornick as a replacement defies belief. He wandered around a bit but was never going to trouble a packed defence. City should have tried to get McCrorie and Roberts into the game more as attacking down the wings forces defenders to turn towards their own goal. Sykes would have been a better sub earlier assuming he was fit. 
 

A proper plan B would also help. LM brought on a lot of subs but was there a proper plan? I don’t think so 

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Still trying to work out what happend today!!! Tactically inept or tired and not up for it? 

Really struggle against these teams who block up. If we can't get through the wings we certainly don't seem to have an answer through the middle yet. Everyone seemed so stagnant through the midfield and attack. It's where that bit of quality we had from Scott being able to roll round players or Semenyo smashing through with pure power is so missed.

I get the whole cycling back and forth possession game manning is trying to instil even though it pains a bit to watch it, but surely we need to work a bit more on quicker passing and movement cutting through the middle. 

On to Sheffield and hopefully a kick up the derrière!

Also.. cornick on the wing? 

 

Edited by Lee Trundles LeftTit
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I think this squad is built to play on the break and without the ball, so it’s absolutely no surprise to me that we’ve played well in the games we have and struggled in games like today. 

It’s on Manning to work it out and change that. 

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3 minutes ago, Kibs said:

I think this squad is built to play on the break and without the ball, so it’s absolutely no surprise to me that we’ve played well in the games we have and struggled in games like today. 

It’s on Manning to work it out and change that. 

I agree with this and surely until LM has a squad that can play the style of football he wants then he has to get the team to play in the style that best suits it.

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The big issue for me is that we just don’t get players or the ball into the penalty box enough. The attacking intent was completely lacking. Time and time again today players wouldn’t take a chance on getting the ball forward into the penalty area, preferring instead to play it backwards or sideways, but in large part that’s because it was so slow, pedestrian and easy to defend against. So few real attempts on goal, especially in the second half, the only one of note being when Wells turned well and played it into Tommy, who then dragged his shot past the far post. That was it. Not surprising that our scoring record is so poor and that both Wells and Conway have scored so few goals in the league from open play.

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5 minutes ago, Back of the Dolman said:

I agree with this and surely until LM has a squad that can play the style of football he wants then he has to get the team to play in the style that best suits it.

Yeah definitely 👍 I also agree with an earlier comment (think from WSM) that’s it’s abit of a mentality issue too!

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4 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

The big issue for me is that we just don’t get players or the ball into the penalty box enough. The attacking intent was completely lacking. Time and time again today players wouldn’t take a chance on getting the ball forward into the penalty area, preferring instead to play it backwards or sideways, but in large part that’s because it was so slow, pedestrian and easy to defend against. So few real attempts on goal, especially in the second half, the only one of note being when Wells turned well and played it into Tommy, who then dragged his shot past the far post. That was it. Not surprising that our scoring record is so poor and that both Wells and Conway have scored so few goals in the league from open play.

Certainly in the attacking third it looked like players were on totally different wavelengths.

That exchange between Wells and Conway was the best opening we created and I do think that these two understand each others play and I’d definitely like to see them play together more instead of the usual of one replacing the other

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I was going to post this in its own thread but I think it sits qutie well here.

I looked back at our possession stats for a number of previous games. On average the less possession we have the more likely we are to win the game. Also, teams that are higher up the table are likely to have more of the ball and we're more likely to play well against them. Its strange but this table seems to show that fact: In this sample range of our last 18 league games, we've never beaten a team when we've had 50 percent or more possession.

Team

City Possession

W/D/L

Home / Away

Birmingham

64%

Draw

Away

Norwich

61%

Lost

Home

Huddersfield

60%

Draw

Away

QPR

59%

Lost

Home

Milwall

54%

Lost

Home

Preston

51%

Lost

Away

QPR

50%

Draw

Away

Hull

49%

Won

Home

Watford

47%

Draw

Home    

Blackburn

46%

Lost

Away

Middlesborough

44%

Won

Home

Coventry

42%

Draw

Away

Watford

41%

Won

Away

Leeds

39%

Lost

Home

Sunderland

33%

Won

Home

Southampton

33%

Lost

Away

Southampton

32%

Won

Home

Middlesborough

30%

Won

Away

 


 

Edited by Midlands Robin
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5 minutes ago, Back of the Dolman said:

I agree with this and surely until LM has a squad that can play the style of football he wants then he has to get the team to play in the style that best suits it.

That assumes that we can afford a team that can play that way in the Championship. Given that there will likely be at least 3 teams with parachute payments next season and considerably more money than us, I think that’s pretty unlikely. We don’t have anyone as good as Ilyas Chair, playing for QPR today, and in reality, even if we wanted to, we wouldn’t be able to afford to buy him anyway. That’s at least one issue with getting a coach who wants to dominate possession - do you have players good enough to play that way.

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1 minute ago, Midlands Robin said:

I was going to post this in its own thread but I think it sits qutie well here.

I looked back at our possession stats for a number of previous games. On average the less possession we have the more likely we are to win the game. Also, teams that are higher up the table are likely to have more of the ball and we're more likely to play well against them. Its a strange fact but this table seems to show that fact: In this sample range of our last 18 league games, we've never beaten a team when we've had 50 percent or more possession.

Team

 

City Possession

 

W/D/L

 

Home / Away

 

Birmingham

 

64%

 

Draw

 

Away

 

Norwich

 

61%

 

Lost

 

Home

 

Huddersfield

 

60%

 

Draw

 

Away

 

QPR

 

59%

 

Lost

 

Home

 

Milwall

 

54%

 

Lost

 

Home

 

Preston

 

51%

 

Lost

 

Away

 

QPR

 

50%

 

Draw

 

Away

 

Hull

 

49%

 

Won

 

Home

 

Watford

 

47%

 

Lost

 

Home

 

Blackburn

 

46%

 

Lost

 

Away

 

Middlesborough

 

44%

 

Won

 

Home

 

Coventry

 

42%

 

Draw

 

Away

 

Watford

 

41%

 

Won

 

Away

 

Leeds

 

39%

 

Lost

 

Home

 

Sunderland

 

33%

 

Won

 

Home

 

Southampton

 

33%

 

Lost

 

Away

 

Southampton

 

32%

 

Won

 

Home

 

Middlesborough

 

30%

 

Won

 

Away

 

 

 


 

Agree with the observation but there is an error. We drew 1-1 against Watford at home. Still less than 50% possession though.

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6 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

That assumes that we can afford a team that can play that way in the Championship. Given that there will likely be at least 3 teams with parachute payments next season and considerably more money than us, I think that’s pretty unlikely. We don’t have anyone as good as Ilyas Chair, playing for QPR today, and in reality, even if we wanted to, we wouldn’t be able to afford to buy him anyway. That’s at least one issue with getting a coach who wants to dominate possession - do you have players good enough to play that way.

And if that’s the case then either LM will have to change the style of football he wants to play or the recruitment of him was wrong in the first place 

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5 hours ago, BCFCGav said:

We were in this exact situation just after Christmas, riding high off the back of successive wins against top 6 challengers. Then came Brum and Millwall where we got one point and no goals.

Same situation today, and many said beforehand (only partly tongue in cheek) that it would be very us to labour and lose. As of course came to pass. 
 

I know we’re not the professional coaches but any ideas what we should be doing differently? Or is it a case of giving LM the windows he needs to build a possession squad given we currently have a squad assembled for transitional play. Which would of course mean another year or more of stagnation, as we’re all too familiar with in the Lansdown reign!

Yep, playing our strongest team

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Just now, Back of the Dolman said:

And if that’s the case then either LM will have to change the style of football he wants to play or the recruitment of him was wrong in the first place 

The first seems unlikely, based on his previous coaching career, while the latter has been discussed at great length and is certainly a distinct possibility.

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24 minutes ago, Midlands Robin said:

I was going to post this in its own thread but I think it sits qutie well here.

I looked back at our possession stats for a number of previous games. On average the less possession we have the more likely we are to win the game. Also, teams that are higher up the table are likely to have more of the ball and we're more likely to play well against them. Its strange but this table seems to show that fact: In this sample range of our last 18 league games, we've never beaten a team when we've had 50 percent or more possession.

Team

City Possession

W/D/L

Home / Away

Birmingham

64%

Draw

Away

Norwich

61%

Lost

Home

Huddersfield

60%

Draw

Away

QPR

59%

Lost

Home

Milwall

54%

Lost

Home

Preston

51%

Lost

Away

QPR

50%

Draw

Away

Hull

49%

Won

Home

Watford

 

47%

 

Draw

 

Home    

Blackburn

46%

Lost

Away

Middlesborough

44%

Won

Home

Coventry

42%

Draw

Away

Watford

41%

Won

Away

Leeds

39%

Lost

Home

Sunderland

33%

Won

Home

Southampton

33%

Lost

Away

Southampton

32%

Won

Home

Middlesborough

30%

Won

Away

 


 

It stinks of LJ where it was forget about possession and just run,that will catch up with you at the end of the day if you can’t control the game,let’s give him till the start of next season though before we put him in the stocks and start chucking bricks at him please 

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2 hours ago, exAtyeoMax said:

I was just about to say, get a new manager 😆

It may be said a little in jest but let’s be honest, what’s the guy achieved as a coach to suggest he is capable of taking this club forward 

He shouldn’t have been given the job. Only got it because he will end up being another Yes man 

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6 hours ago, BCFCGav said:

We were in this exact situation just after Christmas, riding high off the back of successive wins against top 6 challengers. Then came Brum and Millwall where we got one point and no goals.

Same situation today, and many said beforehand (only partly tongue in cheek) that it would be very us to labour and lose. As of course came to pass. 
 

I know we’re not the professional coaches but any ideas what we should be doing differently? Or is it a case of giving LM the windows he needs to build a possession squad given we currently have a squad assembled for transitional play. Which would of course mean another year or more of stagnation, as we’re all too familiar with in the Lansdown reign!

To beat sides like QPR who park the bus, you need some quality to break them down. We have very little. Fact.

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1 hour ago, Back of the Dolman said:

I agree with this and surely until LM has a squad that can play the style of football he wants then he has to get the team to play in the style that best suits it.

We have a squad that used to be very good at playing the style of football the manager wanted.

Trouble is we needlessly changed the experienced manager to a novice head coach.

Now we have to recruit a whole new squad. 

****ing madness.

Edited by Superjack
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1 minute ago, Superjack said:

We have a squad that used to be very good at playing the style of football the manager wanted. 

 

Trouble is we needlessly changed the experienced manager to a  novice head coach.

Now we have to recruit a whole new squad. 

****ing madness.

Or we should have recruited somebody who’s philosophy was more aligned to the squad we had.

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1 hour ago, Midlands Robin said:

I was going to post this in its own thread but I think it sits qutie well here.

I looked back at our possession stats for a number of previous games. On average the less possession we have the more likely we are to win the game. Also, teams that are higher up the table are likely to have more of the ball and we're more likely to play well against them. Its strange but this table seems to show that fact: In this sample range of our last 18 league games, we've never beaten a team when we've had 50 percent or more possession.

Team

City Possession

W/D/L

Home / Away

Birmingham

64%

Draw

Away

Norwich

61%

Lost

Home

Huddersfield

60%

Draw

Away

QPR

59%

Lost

Home

Milwall

54%

Lost

Home

Preston

51%

Lost

Away

QPR

50%

Draw

Away

Hull

49%

Won

Home

Watford

 

47%

 

Draw

 

Home    

Blackburn

46%

Lost

Away

Middlesborough

44%

Won

Home

Coventry

42%

Draw

Away

Watford

41%

Won

Away

Leeds

39%

Lost

Home

Sunderland

33%

Won

Home

Southampton

33%

Lost

Away

Southampton

32%

Won

Home

Middlesborough

30%

Won

Away

 


 

This post felt like a “proud dad” moment 🤣🤣🤣

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6 hours ago, cidercity1987 said:

Don't play two holding midfielders against shit teams, imagine the abuse that Southgate gets for the same thing

When it's clearly not working don't replace like for like (Cornick for Bell)

Don't play a non creative pressing midfielder in a crucial attacking position against poor team (Knight)

Don't have our most creative player on the bench and make five subs without using him (Twine)

Play two strikers and get the ball I'm the bloody box

Simple enough

Have to agree, defensively we are pretty well set up, but we could easily predict what would happen against qpr, those 2 in midfield lack the forward pass, dickie gave that more than those 2 yesterday, and to come out on the last day of the transfer window and say now we know we need a number 9 in the summer is ridiculous.

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