Our top 3 goalscorers this season were out on Saturday
1) Grant (Sold)
2) Taylor (suspended)
3) Aribo? (Injured)
Do we need to change the formation to get our midfielders scoring more goals, as its simply not good enough, (obviously we'd like to change the owner!).
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That said, Reeves is a good finisher on his day, and he's come real close a few times in recent weeks, drew a good save from Holy, had a free kick go just wide, had one last week (I think) with his right foot go just wide. It's one of those where sometimes they fall for you and sometimes they don't.
I think the larger issue is actually creating quality chances. We created very few over the last two matches. One thing Taylor and Grant have been very good at this season is creating high quality chances for each other, and taking them. And it's why Grant will be missed for more than just his goals.
Bowyer was targeting Otzuhmer (sp?) for just this reason. I do think getting Aribo back will help, he is just so clever in and around the box. I think a fit and firing Igor (obviously with a huge caveat there) is capable of creating and scoring. Parker isn't super prolific throughout his career but with our midfield behind him he could still chip in with four or five.
To be successful in the second half, we will need to spread the goals around more than we did in the first half. But I also think we can get more from Bauer and Sarr, both of whom are good from set pieces and Sarr is of course an incredibly classy finisher. Bielik has a couple really important ones. I hope, perhaps naively, that losing Grant makes us more dynamic in possession and forces us to find goals from places other than just our two center forwards on the counter.
Seriously, it's time the midfield weighed in with some goals.
But if we want some goals from midfielders then we have to play midfielders who are capable of chipping in, which we are not currently doing.
Very few midfielders are good finishers. Lampard and Gerrard were the exceptions, Nicky Butt etc were the rule. No different in the third tier. If anyone saw the two goals from Glenn Murray in extra time last night when he was cocksure he would score with the first ! and the second was easy peasy for the 35 year old maestro. He was only on the field for a short time. That's why strikers are always in demand.
Reeves does try shots, either blocked or gone wide, Cullen and Bielik aren't attacking midfielders, Williams only has 3 goals in 123 career matches and Aribo is capable but can also miss sitters as he proved at the Jimmy Seed end. The enigma which is Fosu, an attacking midfielder in my eyes, a winger in others, has the talent to score but the doubt over his decision making and ability to stick or twist has meant he is a bench player on many occasions and even the limited but hard working Pratley can keep him out the team. Morgan and Lapslie, the youngsters both have promise but aren't scorers judging by George's attempts so far.
Houston we have a problem.
Personally, I do think since Cullen came back, our midfield has been a little defensive. With no strikers to speak of, I'd definitely play Fosu behind the strikers (as hit and miss as he is, he makes things happen). I imagine on Saturday, Bielik will play alongside Sarr and Cullen will go back to the base of the diamond.
Reeves and Fosu ought to be scoring more goals.
A midfield of Bielik, Cullen, Pratley and one of Reeves or Williams don’t have anywhere near enough goals in it, making the reliance on the strikers so huge. Bielik is a centre back, Cullen is a defensive midfielder, Pratley the same, Williams hasn’t scored much at all in his career, and then you have Reeves who should maybe be scoring a few more.
We need a midfield more like Cullen, Reeves, Williams, Fosu. Especially at home. That’s far more attacking and far more likely to get goals from midfield.
Ultimately, we do desperately miss Aribo and Foster-Caskey as they have different qualities to get into the box and score. This may seem like a ridiculous comparison but Aribo is a little like Pogba, as in they are tall, good in the air, able to carry the ball forward extremely well, and both have reasonable speed.
There are ways but maybe we need to be a bit more brave in the selection we make as well as shooting more than we do.
Last season he had 5/6 blinders in a row then 1 average then another 5/6 blinders.
This year its the complete opposite, and until he gets his form back we cant risk it, we are not someone who can carry a passenger every game in the hope he finds his form and plays a few blinders, we are not in that position.
Many of their goals were scored from a late run, ghosting into the box unmarked.
We don't seem to see much of that tactic, these days.
Are you listening, Jacko .....?
Jacko and Bowyer are well aware of this.
Reeves did this 3 times in a recent home match, scoring once from great pass by Fosu, missing one by save from keeper and one blocked by defender, even more important this Saturday as we may have no out and out strikers playing against Southend. Williams has lovely feet and talent for the third tier but 3 goals in 123 games tells you unless he runs and dribbles round the keeper he won't score. Some stats do tell the truth. If JW scores hat trick I'm prepared for omelette on my face.
Getting into good positions in the opposition’s penalty box is the key.