Hence why he should never bother explaining himself, will never please everyone
The truth will only ever be what the fans decide it'll be
Has he pleased anyone ?
Good point, you're right, he didnt please anyone when we got promoted...
Out of curiosity if he doesnt go with the same defensive rubbish, will you and other fans happily admit you were wrong?
We're talking about his explanation for the Swindon fuck up or at least I was & I'm sure that you're well aware of that.
I would be delighted if when leading by the odd goal with 20-25 minutes to go we kept attacking teams, kept a balanced midfield that pushed forward at every opportunity & if they needed substituting bring on an attacking player like for example somebody who the previous week had been a major influence in turning defeat into a win. Maybe a Johnny Williams type player who would occupy the opponents midfield rather than surrender the offensive & sit back to defend with 4 full backs when there was absolutely no need & if that was something that we did on a regular basis I would definitely hold my hands up & say well done LB I was wrong, you can see that your tactics were wrong & you have taken steps to address the situation. Everyone would be happy. (I think ?)
Think we all agree that substitutions that fail to give, or remove an outlet into the oppo half made to protect a lead are not what any of us would call positive subs.
If we are being overrun and need to make a change to counter that, would still prefer an attacking sub but can see why a more defensive setup might be ok.
if we are ahead against a limited side, which is most sides in this league, freaking up the attack and bothering them in their final third is much more likely to benefit us.
Sitting back invites pressure and you only need one of their numptys to do something good for us to concede points. Hate conceding points.
Hence why he should never bother explaining himself, will never please everyone
The truth will only ever be what the fans decide it'll be
Has he pleased anyone ?
Good point, you're right, he didnt please anyone when we got promoted...
Out of curiosity if he doesnt go with the same defensive rubbish, will you and other fans happily admit you were wrong?
We're talking about his explanation for the Swindon fuck up or at least I was & I'm sure that you're well aware of that.
I would be delighted if when leading by the odd goal with 20-25 minutes to go we kept attacking teams, kept a balanced midfield that pushed forward at every opportunity & if they needed substituting bring on an attacking player like for example somebody who the previous week had been a major influence in turning defeat into a win. Maybe a Johnny Williams type player who would occupy the opponents midfield rather than surrender the offensive & sit back to defend with 4 full backs when there was absolutely no need & if that was something that we did on a regular basis I would definitely hold my hands up & say well done LB I was wrong, you can see that your tactics were wrong & you have taken steps to address the situation. Everyone would be happy. (I think ?)
Well when I said he'll never please everyone I was talking in general, hence why I said he shouldnt ever bother explaining himself
There will always be aspects and things he comes out with that people will / wont like so why should he waste his energy even trying?
I take it you mean that same Jonny Williams when we were leading against Shrewsbury and got taken off because he ducked out of a challenge? - Bowyer got shown against Shrewsbury and Wimbledon that Williams is a great asset to come off the bench if we're chasing a game, but like Morgan was, is questionable if we're leading
As highlighted in the tweets I posted earlier in this thread, we didnt just sit back did we, we took to hitting them on the counter attack which did happen whenever we could - As for Bowyer admitting he was wrong, he's never taken that approach, so think you'll be waiting a long time for that to happen - If that means your in a group that questions how long he has as Manager (because he alienates a few fans) then its ridiculous, as a Manager he has to be judged on a season, not per game and so far based on the start he's had, he's actually exceeding my expectations as thanks on our disruptive start I wont be surprised if we dont get promoted... I'm still very much on the fence with that matter
I said it for weeks during the takeover that this year should always be about consolidation and rebuilding after the disruption we've had
Wow... Bet that last bit is a shock to everyone seeing I'm the optimistic one on this forum!!
Think we all agree that substitutions that fail to give, or remove an outlet into the oppo half made to protect a lead are not what any of us would call positive subs.
If we are being overrun and need to make a change to counter that, would still prefer an attacking sub but can see why a more defensive setup might be ok.
if we are ahead against a limited side, which is most sides in this league, freaking up the attack and bothering them in their final third is much more likely to benefit us.
Sitting back invites pressure and you only need one of their numptys to do something good for us to concede points. Hate conceding points.
We all hate conceding points... An example last night was Doncaster v Shrewsbury that I watched, of course its a bad example as Doncaster were the better team but how they got pushed back was no different to us on Saturday
Doncaster got desperate so started playing at the higher tempo and fortunately on that occasion didnt break through... Shrewsbury didnt make the sort of subs that we made on Saturday yet it still happened because the losing side will more often put the opposition under more pressure than the team protecting (as the latter wont want to needlessly create gaps for the opposition to exploit).
Yet for those with hindsight on here... I presume they know we'd have won had Williams etc. been introduced, how do you all know we wouldnt have lost, going for an extra goal we didnt need? - Whose fault would it have been for bringing on Williams instead of Matthews etc.?
We'd be asking these same questions of Bowyer can guarantee you that
He made a decision, it didnt work this time, whats to say it wont next time?
We've been doing this under LB for too long and I really do not think that he understands how his short term decision making has ultimate ramifications.
Take the Hull game last season. We were winning 2-1 and in the 67th minutes LB took off Morgan and brought on Oshilaja. That meant that we had, effectively, seven outfield players with a defensive mindset on the pitch. The seven were Matthews, Purrington, Sarr, Lockyer, Pearce, Pratley and Oshilaja. Sounds familiar?
At the point when the cross is delivered for the equaliser we have all 11 behind the ball defending the box. Not only is there no out ball for someone to hold a cleared ball up but, with that number of defenders, we made it easy for crosses to come in because no one was actually trying to close down the crosser in the first place.
This is what Sky reported:
Charlton sat back, desperate to hold on to their lead, but in the 96th minute of the match another Grosicki cross caused chaos, and Lewis-Potter's header hit the post before rebounding of 'keeper Dillon Phillips and into the net.
The Addicks have now dropped 17 points from winning positions.
That game was on the 17th December and it wasn't the last time we dropped points late on and ultimately we were to go down by just a single point. Preventing that one goal would have been enough to do so.
Bows refers back to that Cov game (which I have to say I’d completely forgotten about), but off the top of my head... hull, sheff Wednesday, brentford last season, Shrewsbury and Swindon alone the last couple of weeks. I’m sure there are more and I would arguably include Barnsley at home last year which we won 2-1 but were annihilated the last 15 mins having been comfortable and really deserved to draw it in the end.
There’s a time and a place for men behind the ball but there’s also a time and a place for letting a better side run it’s natural course and put the game to bed... really hope we can crack on and win a few 2 and 3 nils at some point this season
He made a decision, it didnt work this time, whats to say it wont next time?
Because he has made the decision quite a few times over the past 2 years & it has usually led to us conceding late goals. Hull Birmingham Shrewsbury Swindon
Are just 4 that I can remember off the top of my head. If he just tried a different tactic for once to see what happens because currently its plainly not working.
paulsturgess said:There’s a time and a place for men behind the ball but there’s also a time and a place for letting a better side run it’s natural course and put the game to bed...
Exactly , when you’re playing against better sides who will inevitably, whether we pack the defence or not, create chances then yes go defensive earlier on to defend the lead but when we’re playing against utter shit like Swindon who we could finish off with a bit more attacking intent and aren’t a massive threat going forward then inviting them on will increase their odds on scoring , it’s a numbers game and what LB’s currently doing regarding closing out games doesn’t add up .
He made a decision, it didnt work this time, whats to say it wont next time?
Because he has made the decision quite a few times over the past 2 years & it has usually led to us conceding late goals. Hull Birmingham Shrewsbury Swindon
Are just 4 that I can remember off the top of my head. If he just tried a different tactic for once to see what happens because currently its plainly not working.
Thats fair - But how we know that bringing on Williams on for Maddison instead of Matthews would have worked any differently on Saturday?... You could say Bowyer was wrong whatever happened (unless we'd won) as you've got the hindsight that he doesnt have, eg. all three options could have resulted in different outcomes
- We make no changes what so ever... We win - Defensive subs come on ... We draw - Williams and Levitt come on ... We lose
Everyone would be coming on here regardless saying that Bowyer got it wrong and should have done, this and that
Saying that Williams should have come on because he was effective against Wimbledon is rubbish (which has been one argument); Swindon arent Wimbledon, they've different players, different systems, how do WE know that it wouldnt have been another game that would have passed him by with him making zero impact?
Its those reasons why I dont agree with people saying that Bowyer should be coming out and simply admitting he got it wrong
Bows refers back to that Cov game (which I have to say I’d completely forgotten about), but off the top of my head... hull, sheff Wednesday, brentford last season, Shrewsbury and Swindon alone the last couple of weeks. I’m sure there are more and I would arguably include Barnsley at home last year which we won 2-1 but were annihilated the last 15 mins having been comfortable and really deserved to draw it in the end.
There’s a time and a place for men behind the ball but there’s also a time and a place for letting a better side run it’s natural course and put the game to bed... really hope we can crack on and win a few 2 and 3 nils at some point this season
Bowyer was referring to Coventry two years ago instead of any game last season because it was a game we utterly controlled throughout and then somehow lost it at the end, if I remember rightly Coventry looked rubbish until they equalised, we had the three points
Cant say that was the case in any Championship game last season
It’s all very well Lee Bowyer harking back to the Coventry game. How many times have we heard “you’re only as good as the team you’re facing”. Lee, we were facing Swindon and they obviously had little threat and we were the better team by quite a long way. Why go all defensive against them! Don’t go back to the Coventry game, focus on who is in front of you on the day. Anyway, Lee Bowyer has just said that to give the Press a bone. We’ll see if he has learned from that or will still make his decisions based on a Coventry game from ages ago!!
Watching the Swindon game with my son, we were predicting the goal from the moment Bowyer made his last sub. For a late free kick, we counted eleven players deep behind the ball. What this does, even if you are playing a pub team is ensure any clearance from a ball played in goes back to your opponents.
Of course, when you look at the goal, there was luck involved as Pitman couldn't have meant to place that header so accurately. But he is the sort of player that has the quality when you play to his strengths. He is too old to beat defenders and be the threat he used to be when the game is properly spaced out. With luck, the more tickets you give somebody, the more chance they have of winning!
We needed a midfielder like Williams to provide an outlet. So when a ball was cleared there was somebody to try and clear it too who could win it/receive it and draw a foul or hold it up sufficiently to be joined by others.
Doesn't the fact that Bowyer mentions one game: the Coventry home match, defeat his argument. We were going for 3 points at 1-1 at home and on that occasion it didn't come off. It was two years ago, FFS. I was gutted with losing but we tried to win and played on the front foot ;You take that over a season.
When we played Leeds and Brentford at home in the Championship, they were vastly superior and we decided to park 2 buses after we nicked a goal. Yes by some miracle and wayward finishing we won both games but they were very talented teams not Shrewsbury, Swindon, Gillingham etc, poor sides in a very mediocre League 1. Why retreat against poor sides; where is that taught in the coaching Manuals ?
Wimbledon's downfall in the 5-2 defeat was instead of playing how they did in the first half by putting Cafc wobbly defence under pressure they started to go backwards and lose momentum. Two attacking Subs in Williams and Aneke and the dynamics of the match changed and we scored 4 goals in the 2nd half. It won't always come off but being positive and giving the likes of Williams a chance to attack the opposition must be favourite. Yet we revert back to default mode in the next match ! I call it when it happened like many others did in the second half on the match thread on CL, I said I was baffled with the tactics as they unfolded before our eyes at 2-1 when we suddenly retreated yet again.
Since we lost our rocks at the back in Famewo and Inniss we never look like keeping a clean sheet and we rely on Amos making great saves which TBF he does most of the time but why give a life line when you have your opponent on the ropes and one more decent hit and it's goodnight Vienna.
The caveat is I continue to support Lee and hope when Morgan, Shinnie with Maddison and say Pratley or Watson in the anchor role we can play more on the front foot and supply the likes of Aneke, Washington and hopefully Ronnie Schwartz with plenty of passes in the weakest League 1 I can remember.
I would rather have the inquest now why we have dropped many points from winning positions than at the end of the season when we finish 7th. Because other coaches will see our weakness and exploit it.
I believe one CB and a Striker to supplement Aneke and Washington with Bogle reverting to being the 4th striker and coming off the bench to run at tired defences in the last ten minutes an option. But only if we are playing on the front foot, not defending for our lives as Bogle does appear to be more League 2 standard (on a good day!)
Plus the young hopefully fit Loanee to replace Levitt which just hasn't worked out.
We can still finished top 2 but only if we stop the injuries and play to our strengths not our weaknesses.
"They didn’t actually have a shot on target until they scored, in the second-half."
I think LB focuses heavily on individual mistakes made in the final third and feels if he has enough troopers at the back we'll be fine.
How many more troopers do you need than Pearce, Pratley and Watson....all ex-captains. With those 3 in the side, I expected a bit more game management and leadership. (Add Gunter, Maddison, Gilbey - we actually have 6 ex team/club captains in the team, so maybe that's why LB is a bit lost atm).
AFC Wimbledon have 4 points more and a goals diff of 8 better than Swindon they have both scored 24 but Swindon have let in 37 in their 19 games and Swindon were coming off the back of 4 defeats , sitting ducks yet we retreated against one of the poniest teams in this division , weak
I’ll tell you want doesn’t help, is the lack of pace in our team in general. I think a big part of us hitting teams on the break was watching Lyle Taylor come further wide in the second half of games on the right side, pulling and stretching defenders. I remember a lot of games when attacks would start with Lyle pulling wide, get the ball, and link up with oncoming midfielders.
to sit back is a good option, if you’ve got a bit of pace to expose a team on the break.
Washington, Bogle, Aneke, Williams, Maddison, none of them have the sort of pace we need for the sitting deep game.
I think what’s happened is that Bowyer knew we weren’t as good as some of the other teams in the Champ last year and probably quite rightly, set up to be more resolute and tight. This has just crept further and further into his thinking more so out of habit I think.
There’s a couple of things to consider. We’re not playing in the Champ anymore, so I don’t think we’re up against the sort of opponent where we need to sit deep. Secondly, with that lack of pace, why are we trying to hit teams on the counter? We don’t have the mobility. We may have the guile in Maddison and Williams to craft a pass, but they need a runner creating space.
I think you’ve also got to take into account that the players might just not be good enough to play on the break.
Well, we know TS would prefer to win 5-2, lose 3-2, lose 1-0 than 3 games of turgid 1-1. All it will take is a few questions on the "pre match call" asking "Why do we let these last minute goals in?" or "Why do we hit the defensive so early when ahead" and that will make the current coaching team assess their current ways.
We cannot comprehend that we used the tactics V Swindon considering their quality of play during the game.
It's all very well saying we might have lost if he'd brought Williams on, but football is meant to be entertainment (yeah, I know I'm a Charlton fan, what was I thinking?). I feel gutted if we drop points, but if we lose or draw against a team playing better, it's a lot easier to take than sitting back and inviting the pressure. We're not invincible and I'd like to see us attack, particularly a team like Swindon who were rubbish. Bows says he wants us to win every game, I wish I believed him. I'm a lot more prepared to cut him some slack if he's trying something new to win games than the same old that we can all see to hang on.
Doughty and Smyth have pace and they are injured. Bogle has pace but his football brain is problematical, but the first time I saw him he did win a penally when he got the wrong side of a defender and a red card ensued.
Other than young Dutch master Ruud Maatsen our latest young Chelsea teenager we are a one paced team.
It is possible in game management to have a good defensive shape without having all 11 players on the edge of your own box. Even on corners if you leave two players, say Williams or Smyth up field (smaller guys who can't defend corners anyway and get in the way) then normally two defenders would go with them leaving the keeper more space to see and not be blinded by a sea of bodies. (Amos appeared unsighted against Swindon)
Hence why he should never bother explaining himself, will never please everyone
The truth will only ever be what the fans decide it'll be
Has he pleased anyone ?
Good point, you're right, he didnt please anyone when we got promoted...
Out of curiosity if he doesnt go with the same defensive rubbish, will you and other fans happily admit you were wrong?
If he 'doesn't go with the same defensive rubbish' against teams that are equally rubbish then we won't have to admit we're wrong because we won't be.
But what if he replaces Maddison with Williams next time and we go from a winning position to a losing one?
Whose fault is it then?
Its still Bowyer's isnt it because he's made the wrong decision
Hence, why bother trying to explain yourself to people as you'll never please everyone
Who the hell are we to say that Bowyer got it wrong, when the decision we'd have made could have been even worse!!
You may not please everyone but it's all about percentages. Firstly the majority of people would feel like me that if we carried on with the same formation and let in an equaliser to a team through their own attacking endeavour, it would be acceptable. Secondly, nine times out of ten against a bottom 10 team, we would win if we attack simply because it makes an open game and so the team with the best attack wins, much like Liverpool do.
If the argument for defending a lead is because a goal conceded causes two points to be dropped then surely we should be going all out for a win when we are drawing. Otherwise we potentially end up losing both ways!
Total support for all of the management after what they have had to put up with the last 12 months and as everyone knows and expects this is all a learning curve for everyone, after all it is a very long time since we had a club with ambition. However there would be absolutely no excuse for us to not get promoted this season when you look at the opposition. If we dont then it would be a very bad slip up imo.
Dear o dear - can't see this ending well for him if he thinks he managed that game at Swindon well. Maybe he has chosen to ignore the real issue which is learning from the negative approach of the last 9 months rather than some random game from 2 years ago . Worse than ignoring it however would be if he doesn't even recognise it.Rapidly losing faith in him either way, which is a shame but a fact.
The key question is whether the defensive subs have secured or lost more points. Without looking at all the stats it feels much more likely to be the latter
The key question is whether the defensive subs have secured or lost more points. Without looking at all the stats it feels much more likely to be the latter
that's true - u could argue the 6 games we won on the bounce were because of it but i'm not so sure - in my opinion, the relegation battle certainly wasn't helped by it and neither was Swindon and quite a few others this season - there's a lot of people who have played and watched a lot of football over the years and the vast majority want Lee to do well, so there's no agenda, but think he's getting it wrong.
lets hope we do the business we want in the window - in and out - and can look back on this as a necessary negative football patch rather than an ongoing strategy
Comments
I would be delighted if when leading by the odd goal with 20-25 minutes to go we kept attacking teams, kept a balanced midfield that pushed forward at every opportunity & if they needed substituting bring on an attacking player like for example somebody who the previous week had been a major influence in turning defeat into a win. Maybe a Johnny Williams type player who would occupy the opponents midfield rather than surrender the offensive & sit back to defend with 4 full backs when there was absolutely no need & if that was something that we did on a regular basis I would definitely hold my hands up & say well done LB I was wrong, you can see that your tactics were wrong & you have taken steps to address the situation. Everyone would be happy. (I think ?)
if we are ahead against a limited side, which is most sides in this league, freaking up the attack and bothering them in their final third is much more likely to benefit us.
There will always be aspects and things he comes out with that people will / wont like so why should he waste his energy even trying?
I take it you mean that same Jonny Williams when we were leading against Shrewsbury and got taken off because he ducked out of a challenge? - Bowyer got shown against Shrewsbury and Wimbledon that Williams is a great asset to come off the bench if we're chasing a game, but like Morgan was, is questionable if we're leading
As highlighted in the tweets I posted earlier in this thread, we didnt just sit back did we, we took to hitting them on the counter attack which did happen whenever we could - As for Bowyer admitting he was wrong, he's never taken that approach, so think you'll be waiting a long time for that to happen - If that means your in a group that questions how long he has as Manager (because he alienates a few fans) then its ridiculous, as a Manager he has to be judged on a season, not per game and so far based on the start he's had, he's actually exceeding my expectations as thanks on our disruptive start I wont be surprised if we dont get promoted... I'm still very much on the fence with that matter
I said it for weeks during the takeover that this year should always be about consolidation and rebuilding after the disruption we've had
Wow... Bet that last bit is a shock to everyone seeing I'm the optimistic one on this forum!!
Doncaster got desperate so started playing at the higher tempo and fortunately on that occasion didnt break through... Shrewsbury didnt make the sort of subs that we made on Saturday yet it still happened because the losing side will more often put the opposition under more pressure than the team protecting (as the latter wont want to needlessly create gaps for the opposition to exploit).
Yet for those with hindsight on here... I presume they know we'd have won had Williams etc. been introduced, how do you all know we wouldnt have lost, going for an extra goal we didnt need? - Whose fault would it have been for bringing on Williams instead of Matthews etc.?
We'd be asking these same questions of Bowyer can guarantee you that
He made a decision, it didnt work this time, whats to say it wont next time?
Whose fault is it then?
Its still Bowyer's isnt it because he's made the wrong decision
Hence, why bother trying to explain yourself to people as you'll never please everyone
Who the hell are we to say that Bowyer got it wrong, when the decision we'd have made could have been even worse!!
Take the Hull game last season. We were winning 2-1 and in the 67th minutes LB took off Morgan and brought on Oshilaja. That meant that we had, effectively, seven outfield players with a defensive mindset on the pitch. The seven were Matthews, Purrington, Sarr, Lockyer, Pearce, Pratley and Oshilaja. Sounds familiar?
At the point when the cross is delivered for the equaliser we have all 11 behind the ball defending the box. Not only is there no out ball for someone to hold a cleared ball up but, with that number of defenders, we made it easy for crosses to come in because no one was actually trying to close down the crosser in the first place.
This is what Sky reported:
Charlton sat back, desperate to hold on to their lead, but in the 96th minute of the match another Grosicki cross caused chaos, and Lewis-Potter's header hit the post before rebounding of 'keeper Dillon Phillips and into the net.
The Addicks have now dropped 17 points from winning positions.
That game was on the 17th December and it wasn't the last time we dropped points late on and ultimately we were to go down by just a single point. Preventing that one goal would have been enough to do so.
There’s a time and a place for men behind the ball but there’s also a time and a place for letting a better side run it’s natural course and put the game to bed... really hope we can crack on and win a few 2 and 3 nils at some point this season
Hull
Birmingham
Shrewsbury
Swindon
Are just 4 that I can remember off the top of my head. If he just tried a different tactic for once to see what happens because currently its plainly not working.
but when we’re playing against utter shit like Swindon who we could finish off with a bit more attacking intent and aren’t a massive threat going forward then inviting them on will increase their odds on scoring , it’s a numbers game and what LB’s currently doing regarding closing out games doesn’t add up .
- We make no changes what so ever... We win
- Defensive subs come on ... We draw
- Williams and Levitt come on ... We lose
Everyone would be coming on here regardless saying that Bowyer got it wrong and should have done, this and that
Saying that Williams should have come on because he was effective against Wimbledon is rubbish (which has been one argument); Swindon arent Wimbledon, they've different players, different systems, how do WE know that it wouldnt have been another game that would have passed him by with him making zero impact?
Its those reasons why I dont agree with people saying that Bowyer should be coming out and simply admitting he got it wrong
Bowyer was referring to Coventry two years ago instead of any game last season because it was a game we utterly controlled throughout and then somehow lost it at the end, if I remember rightly Coventry looked rubbish until they equalised, we had the three points
Cant say that was the case in any Championship game last season
Anyway, Lee Bowyer has just said that to give the Press a bone. We’ll see if he has learned from that or will still make his decisions based on a Coventry game from ages ago!!
Of course, when you look at the goal, there was luck involved as Pitman couldn't have meant to place that header so accurately. But he is the sort of player that has the quality when you play to his strengths. He is too old to beat defenders and be the threat he used to be when the game is properly spaced out. With luck, the more tickets you give somebody, the more chance they have of winning!
We needed a midfielder like Williams to provide an outlet. So when a ball was cleared there was somebody to try and clear it too who could win it/receive it and draw a foul or hold it up sufficiently to be joined by others.
I was gutted with losing but we tried to win and played on the front foot ;You take that over a season.
When we played Leeds and Brentford at home in the Championship, they were vastly superior and we decided to park 2 buses after we nicked a goal.
Yes by some miracle and wayward finishing we won both games but they were very talented teams not Shrewsbury, Swindon, Gillingham etc, poor sides in a very mediocre League 1. Why retreat against poor sides; where is that taught in the coaching Manuals ?
Wimbledon's downfall in the 5-2 defeat was instead of playing how they did in the first half by putting Cafc wobbly defence under pressure they started to go backwards and lose momentum. Two attacking Subs in Williams and Aneke and the dynamics of the match changed and we scored 4 goals in the 2nd half. It won't always come off but being positive and giving the likes of Williams a chance to attack the opposition must be favourite.
Yet we revert back to default mode in the next match ! I call it when it happened like many others did in the second half on the match thread on CL, I said I was baffled with the tactics as they unfolded before our eyes at 2-1 when we suddenly retreated yet again.
Since we lost our rocks at the back in Famewo and Inniss we never look like keeping a clean sheet and we rely on Amos making great saves which TBF he does most of the time but why give a life line when you have your opponent on the ropes and one more decent hit and it's goodnight Vienna.
The caveat is I continue to support Lee and hope when Morgan, Shinnie with Maddison and say Pratley or Watson in the anchor role we can play more on the front foot and supply the likes of Aneke, Washington and hopefully Ronnie Schwartz with plenty of passes in the weakest League 1 I can remember.
I would rather have the inquest now why we have dropped many points from winning positions than at the end of the season when we finish 7th. Because other coaches will see our weakness and exploit it.
I believe one CB and a Striker to supplement Aneke and Washington with Bogle reverting to being the 4th striker and coming off the bench to run at tired defences in the last ten minutes an option.
But only if we are playing on the front foot, not defending for our lives as Bogle does appear to be more League 2 standard (on a good day!)
Plus the young hopefully fit Loanee to replace Levitt which just hasn't worked out.
We can still finished top 2 but only if we stop the injuries and play to our strengths not our weaknesses.
"They didn’t actually have a shot on target until they scored, in the second-half."
I think LB focuses heavily on individual mistakes made in the final third and feels if he has enough troopers at the back we'll be fine.
How many more troopers do you need than Pearce, Pratley and Watson....all ex-captains. With those 3 in the side, I expected a bit more game management and leadership. (Add Gunter, Maddison, Gilbey - we actually have 6 ex team/club captains in the team, so maybe that's why LB is a bit lost atm).
they have both scored 24 but Swindon have let in 37 in their 19 games
and Swindon were coming off the back of 4 defeats , sitting ducks yet we retreated against one of the poniest teams in this division , weak
to sit back is a good option, if you’ve got a bit of pace to expose a team on the break.
last year and probably quite rightly, set up to be more resolute and tight. This has just crept further and further into his thinking more so out of habit I think.
There’s a couple of things to consider. We’re not playing in the Champ anymore, so I don’t think we’re up against the sort of opponent where we need to sit deep. Secondly, with that lack of pace, why are we trying to hit teams on the counter? We don’t have the mobility. We may have the guile in Maddison and Williams to craft a pass, but they need a runner creating space.
I think you’ve also got to take into account that the players might just not be good enough to play on the break.
let’s hope we have learned going forward.
We cannot comprehend that we used the tactics V Swindon considering their quality of play during the game.
Doughty and Smyth have pace and they are injured.
Bogle has pace but his football brain is problematical, but the first time I saw him he did win a penally when he got the wrong side of a defender and a red card ensued.
Other than young Dutch master Ruud Maatsen our latest young Chelsea teenager we are a one paced team.
It is possible in game management to have a good defensive shape without having all 11 players on the edge of your own box. Even on corners if you leave two players, say Williams or Smyth up field (smaller guys who can't defend corners anyway and get in the way) then normally two defenders would go with them leaving the keeper more space to see and not be blinded by a sea of bodies. (Amos appeared unsighted against Swindon)
Firstly the majority of people would feel like me that if we carried on with the same formation and let in an equaliser to a team through their own attacking endeavour, it would be acceptable.
Secondly, nine times out of ten against a bottom 10 team, we would win if we attack simply because it makes an open game and so the team with the best attack wins, much like Liverpool do.
The best teams, of course, try to win every game.
No manager should ever need to explain himself but mentioning a game from two years ago sounds like he's still in therapy for it!
Let us all hope that Lee pulls himself and the team together as let's be honest it's a shocking league that we should be able to get out of.