Whilst I do not believe that they are a considerable tier above anyone else in this league, I think that if Inniss and Famewo had stayed fit and played the full season, we would have conceded a lot less. Both Pearce and Oshilaja have both made multiple individual errors across the season and I think that inconsistency has cost us a lot of points. Bowyer also introduced both (albeit mostly due to injuries) Gunter and Pratley into the CB role at different points too, leading to a lack of any consistent partnerships being formed. The closest we've got to it recently has been the Inniss and Pearce combination, but as I've already mentioned, Pearce has had the capacity for crucial errors this season.
The CB area is the main area, but the CM area also massively contributes to this too. By consistently committing to playing the ball out from the back, we put a lot of pressure on our CBs to play quick, sharp passes to our midfield. They often do not look comfortable doing this, but this is due to our midfielders not coming deep enough to collect the ball and provide options, particularly Watson and Pratley. Whilst these two players are (usually) good at breaking up play, they tend to not always start attacking plays and will naturally reserve themselves for runs to make defensive tackles. JFC is the closest we have to this of this kind of "quarterback" style midfielder, but we lack another dynamic, strong, ball-playing midfielder that will give options to defenders to pass to. The gap left by Josh Cullen is absolutely colossal - he made us tick and I wish we had another young equivalent player with his kind of legs.
Finally, as much as I do like Stockley, he makes us incredibly one-dimensional at times - he's the out ball for far to many players when there is a lack of midfield options to pass to. As good as he is in the air, the long ball delivery is easy for many teams to play against, particularly those with big CBs and scrappy midfielders that win second balls. It invites continuous pressure, particularly when our possession is low and we run out of steam towards the end of games. I think the squad has shown it's age at many times this season, lacking a bit of hunger and concentration to see out games.
Perhaps a mixture of complacency and our style being better suited to playing away and absorbing pressure rather than applying pressure and leaving our somewhat ungainly defenders exposed to counter attacks. The teams in this league are much better than many credit and they know how we play and what are our weaknesses.
I don't profess to know the reason for it but the whole team seems more spread out at The Valley and there's way too much space between the lines. and the back line sits deeper.
Easier for the other team to play though and harder for us to support others when we have the ball. How often is a ball pumped up to an isolated Stockley?
Away from home, the whole formation seems more compact, they play further up and press the opposition defence.
That's the main difference I have seen, anyway.
The pitch is bigger, looks bigger to me, apart from Sunderland.
Comments
The CB area is the main area, but the CM area also massively contributes to this too. By consistently committing to playing the ball out from the back, we put a lot of pressure on our CBs to play quick, sharp passes to our midfield. They often do not look comfortable doing this, but this is due to our midfielders not coming deep enough to collect the ball and provide options, particularly Watson and Pratley. Whilst these two players are (usually) good at breaking up play, they tend to not always start attacking plays and will naturally reserve themselves for runs to make defensive tackles. JFC is the closest we have to this of this kind of "quarterback" style midfielder, but we lack another dynamic, strong, ball-playing midfielder that will give options to defenders to pass to. The gap left by Josh Cullen is absolutely colossal - he made us tick and I wish we had another young equivalent player with his kind of legs.
Finally, as much as I do like Stockley, he makes us incredibly one-dimensional at times - he's the out ball for far to many players when there is a lack of midfield options to pass to. As good as he is in the air, the long ball delivery is easy for many teams to play against, particularly those with big CBs and scrappy midfielders that win second balls. It invites continuous pressure, particularly when our possession is low and we run out of steam towards the end of games. I think the squad has shown it's age at many times this season, lacking a bit of hunger and concentration to see out games.