Going defensive when we are ahead

[Wilko]

Time to stop it and just keep attacking? 30 mins to go and decide to go attacking and taking off both strikers.

If we kept attacking I think we would be out of sight for most teams.

Delighted with out start obviously but this does seem to be our weakness this season.

 

[Pavilionaire]

With no strikers and 10 men on the field, 40-odd years of watching football tells me the chances of conceding a goal in the remaining 17 mins of football are high. Always leave a striker on.

 

[martin tyler]

Hopefully we learn a bit from it. It is 2 points dropped today. I do not mind defensive changes but you always need an outlet

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

I think we have taken off our two starting strikers in just about every game this season. We let the opposition back into games, even poor teams like Rotherham. It's not a good trait.

 

[theboybilly]

Hindsight's a wonderful thing but it sounded like Bolton were offering little threat when we were down to ten men - just a close shot saved by Stockdale and a dubious last-gasp equaliser. My concern was the introduction of the wasteful Solly March. I'd have prefered Calde to come on and offer Rosenior help. It's not all doom and gloom, we did go 2-0 up without playing well and should have controlled it from then on. A silly slip before half-time shouldn't have been too costly but it sounds like the referee helped Bolton with a harsh sending off and ignoring a foul for the equaliser. This is still a very good side and light years away from what we were watching last season

 

[We're the Stripes]

I think we have taken off our two starting strikers in just about every game this season. We let the opposition back into games, even poor teams like Rotherham. It's not a good trait.

It would be a poorer trait to be conceding first in every game we play, as opposed to the opposite. Which people seem to be taking for granted a little.

But yes, I get and agree to an extent with the general point of the thread. Though it's not as if we haven't had the chances to kill off teams in many of the games people are referring to, which suggests it's not always down to a reluctance to extend a one-goal lead. Need to be taking advantage of our more dominant spells, as it's inevitable teams will have their own spells where we're forced to soak up pressure.

 

[TonyW]

You simply cannot play without a striker on the pitch.
Anyone that thinks otherwise has no business in football.

 

[CaptainDaveUK]

Did Zamora run out of puff? He was key for us today and set up both goals. The red card and Zamora sub were key to dropping 2 points today.

 

[Driver8]

Did Zamora run out of puff? He was key for us today and set up both goals. The red card and Zamora sub were key to dropping 2 points today.

Was getting cramp.

 

[scousefan]

Just home from the game. Bolton offered a threat of scoring throughout and Stockdale was very good.. We were only one goal up when Zamora came off. Then after the sending off we were wholly defensive. In my opinion it was far too negative and we were very likely to concede playing like that.

 

[LamieRobertson]

It would be a poorer trait to be conceding first in every game we play, as opposed to the opposite. Which people seem to be taking for granted a little.

But yes, I get and agree to an extent with the general point of the thread. Though it's not as if we haven't had the chances to kill off teams in many of the games people are referring to, which suggests it's not always down to a reluctance to extend a one-goal lead. Need to be taking advantage of our more dominant spells, as it's inevitable teams will have their own spells where we're forced to soak up pressure.

Is more the point than this ''going defensive bit''

imho

 

[Deleted member 2719]

Hughton defensive mind has always been a problem for me, we will just have to see how CH copes if we start to slide down the table. A betting man might say he will do a ' steady as she goes'.
I look forward to him proving me wrong.

 

[pottert]

What are we supposed to do.we had a 35 year old striker who was worn out.
We have won 6 out of 9 games this season & we could & should have won all 9.

 

[GT49er]

Hughton's defensive mind-set (P9, W6, D3) suggests he isn't getting much wrong. Perhaps he thinks we just haven't got the nous, the class, or the ability to stay gung-ho and finish of other teams yet.

I think I'll go along with his judgement for now,,,,,,,,,

 

[spence]

What are we supposed to do.we had a 35 year old striker who was worn out.
We have won 6 out of 9 games this season & we could & should have won all 9.

Best post

 

[spence]

Hughton defensive mind has always been a problem for me, we will just have to see how CH copes if we start to slide down the table. A betting man might say he will do a ' steady as she goes'.
I look forward to him proving me wrong.

He has already by playing two upfront. Again you are spouting drivel like before. We have played 11 matches to date and only failed to score in one of those games. We even missed a pen in that game. Why not actually watch the football being played before your eyes then living off past comments from other fans regarding Hughton?

I really don't know what you have been watching but some of our football has been brilliant and is easily the best since we arrived at the Amex. I'm very much enjoying it.

 

[Skaville]

A mate of mine is a Norwich season ticket holder. When I asked him what he thought about CH it all came down to his negativity generally, but especially once his teams go ahead. Apparently Norwich really struggled in the year they got relegated because they often squandered great situations, sitting back when they were ahead. Sometimes they drew but all to often they lost.

I find it perplexing too. We seem to dominate, go ahead, give it another five minutes then invite teams onto us, withdrawing attacker after attacker as we go. Fulham was the first time I saw it. We were all over them for the vast majority of the first half, then we conceded the momentum and they arguably deserved the winner rather than us.

We were ahead against Walsall, then we started to sit back and lost. Huddersfield was notable for the trademark swap from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1. Ince for Hemed is a real feature now. Baldock also came off in that one and it sounded like we were fortunate in the end after winning the first half.

Most alarming for me was Rotherham. Both Baldock and Hemed came off again and they could have sneaked a point in a game where we should have been out of sight. Then you have yesterday. Admittedly, it sounded like that was largely down to Boltons potency and hemed's injury but March up top on his own?

So, that's seven out of nine league games where we've taken off both of our strikers and gone more defensive. You have to hand it to CH, he's done BRILLIANTLY, but i do have a niggling concern that we are going to drop a lot more points as teams realise they really can go gung Ho in the last half an hour against us.

 

[Hastings gull]

A mate of mine is a Norwich season ticket holder. When I asked him what he thought about CH it all came down to his negativity generally, but especially once his teams go ahead. Apparently Norwich really struggled in the year they got relegated because they often squandered great situations, sitting back when they were ahead. Sometimes they drew but all to often they lost.

I find it perplexing too. We seem to dominate, go ahead, give it another five minutes then invite teams onto us, withdrawing attacker after attacker as we go. Fulham was the first time I saw it. We were all over them for the vast majority of the first half, then we conceded the momentum and they arguably deserved the winner rather than us.

We were ahead against Walsall, then we started to sit back and lost. Huddersfield was notable for the trademark swap from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1. Ince for Hemed is a real feature now. Baldock also came off in that one and it sounded like we were fortunate in the end after winning the first half.

Most alarming for me was Rotherham. Both Baldock and Hemed came off again and they could have sneaked a point in a game where we should have been out of sight. Then you have yesterday. Admittedly, it sounded like that was largely down to Boltons potency and hemed's injury but March up top on his own?

So, that's seven out of nine league games where we've taken off both of our strikers and gone more defensive. You have to hand it to CH, he's done BRILLIANTLY, but i do have a niggling concern that we are going to drop a lot more points as teams realise they really can go gung Ho in the last half an hour against us.

Good post, though it is hard to think we would all have had this chat, had we won yesterday. I too thought it odd against Rotherham -yes, there was only one goal in it, but they had offered very little and we could have gone for the jugular rather more. As you say, can't argue with his success so far and one has to trust him, but there are little niggles -perhaps there always will be. With no Hemed, and BZ being too tired, it does mean that we are one striker short -had CH that luxury up his sleeve, then he might re-evaluate his tactics. HEADS UP for Cardiff!

 

[Barry M]

If we bury teams when we are dominating them and then sit back for the last ten minutes then that's great. But we seem to get a one goal lead and sit on that for at least half hour and not offer any attacking threat. A good stat to see would be our possession and shots in the last half hour of all our games.
Rotherham was a prime example of not finishing a team off and going too defensive too soon, I think we were lucky they didn't snatch a point. Obviously it's working so far but better teams will score goals against us when we invite pressure on.

 

[Wilko]

What are we supposed to do.we had a 35 year old striker who was worn out.

Keep your other striker (Baldock) on. No worries with Bobby coming off but to then take off your other striker (who was not happy about it one bit) to replace him with a poor Solly March was a very odd decision.