Tactically better but still massive room for improvement

[stss30]

Positives tonight- 1) Playing two wingers in their correct positions gave us many more options going forward
2) Defence seemed to push forward/get caught out of position less and were never seriously troubled

Negatives- 1) We couldn't keep hold of the ball for large parts of the game and Wigan dominated position, this is down to our weak midfield. Gardner, JFC, Texiera are too lightweight to all play together, we need Ince/Holla playing at a minimum
2) Baldock seemed largely isolated and some of our long balls in his direction were pointless and aimless.

Good to see us take one of our few chances for once but we'll need to play much better in upcoming matches against better teams.

 

[portslade seagull]

Midfield non existent must try harder

 

[Albion Dan]

Positives tonight- 1) Playing two wingers in their correct positions gave us many more options going forward

Wow. Other than a first minute goal and one other shot in the first half I didn't see any options going forward at all. That was up there with our very worst performances of the season but at least we somehow got 3 points. That's the only positive I can take.

 

[Skaville]

Better formation, wrong personnel. The midfield was laughable. Could easily have lost that and been in the bottom three now. Sami dodged a bullet.

 

[aolstudios]

Tactically less sh** would be more accurate, I feel. We got away with it tonight. If he goes back to his favoured formation any time soon we'll be relegated

 

[BUTTERBALL]

The performance was dreadful no getting away from it. We are a long way from a good side.

 

[Rookie]

Better formation (has jones had a word/got his way?) and the defence looked far more solid with full backs in the proper positions.

 

[Since1982]

We were fortunate Wigan can't finish.

 

[stss30]

Better formation, wrong personnel. The midfield was laughable. Could easily have lost that and been in the bottom three now. Sami dodged a bullet.

Agree 100% still not convinced at all, just hope if we're going to stick with him he's woken up to the fact that his previous 'system' will not work.

 

[The Terminator]

Id personally try out a 4-2-3-1.

Ince and Holla as the two pivots in front of the back four, with one of them having licence to get forward when suitable.
Either can also fill in at full back positions when calde or Bennett go marauding forward.

LuaLua and Bennett out wide, giving us pace on the counter attack, with both able to score from distance this gives us another goal scoring threat. They are also both capable of tracking back to support the full backs.

McCourt as the central attacking midfielder. Full of flair and creativity, he can run with the ball and he can pass, he's ideal for that position.

Baldock up front, as I've said in a different thread I believe that Baldock will score goals at this level if he is given the service. With that line up, it's the best chance he's got of getting that IMO.

 

[The Terminator]

Id personally try out a 4-2-3-1.

Ince and Holla as the two pivots in front of the back four, with one of them having licence to get forward when suitable.
Either can also fill in at full back positions when calde or Bennett go marauding forward.

LuaLua and Bennett out wide, giving us pace on the counter attack, with both able to score from distance this gives us another goal scoring threat. They are also both capable of tracking back to support the full backs.

McCourt as the central attacking midfielder. Full of flair and creativity, he can run with the ball and he can pass, he's ideal for that position.

Baldock up front, as I've said in a different thread I believe that Baldock will score goals at this level if he is given the service. With that line up, it's the best chance he's got of getting that IMO.

With Ali (or Walton) in goal and the usual centre back pairing I think that starting 11 looks very strong.

 

[stss30]

Wow. Other than a first minute goal and one other shot in the first half I didn't see any options going forward at all. That was up there with our very worst performances of the season but at least we somehow got 3 points. That's the only positive I can take.

We had many more options than we have done in previous matches, unfortunately they were rarely utilized as our midfield was largely lacklusture and LuaLua was having a poor game. I liked the formation but the team selection was all wrong, thankfully we got lucky.

 

[dazzer6666]

Id personally try out a 4-2-3-1.

Ince and Holla as the two pivots in front of the back four, with one of them having licence to get forward when suitable.
Either can also fill in at full back positions when calde or Bennett go marauding forward.

LuaLua and Bennett out wide, giving us pace on the counter attack, with both able to score from distance this gives us another goal scoring threat. They are also both capable of tracking back to support the full backs.

McCourt as the central attacking midfielder. Full of flair and creativity, he can run with the ball and he can pass, he's ideal for that position.

Baldock up front, as I've said in a different thread I believe that Baldock will score goals at this level if he is given the service. With that line up, it's the best chance he's got of getting that IMO.

Yup, like this. Was crying out for Paddy to replace Tex in the second half tonight.

 

[Eeyore]

There was nothing superior over previous performances this year. We've played much better and lost.

We won, which makes up for some earlier misfortunes this season. But no more than that.

 

[Skaville]

Yup, like this. Was crying out for Paddy to replace Tex in the second half tonight.

Really? I thought the one thing Sami got right was sacrificing Tex (who played well) to shore up the gaping holes behind him.

Actually. I'd also add the willingness to use row Z as a plus. How many times has a pressing game from the opposition left us exposed to mistakes in recent weeks. Playing percentages a little more wasn't pretty but the clean sheet suggests it worked

 

[Hillian1]

I'll take the win all day long, but FFS, Wigan deserved at least a point.

 

[Eggmundo]

it was a fugly win.
Some of the negative play in the second half was depressing, let's have some confidence and go for it.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Wigan reminded me of us under Garcia at our worst in that era. They dominated the ball without ever looking like scoring. We were much tighter, grabbed the lead well and could have kicked on if Tex had scored instead of hitting the bar. There is huge room for improvement but everyone has been calling for us to tighten up in order to get 3 points. We can't really complain when we achieve that.

 

[Pondicherry]

We are moving backwards fast. OK we won but that was one of the worst performances I have seen from us at the Amex, We had very little possession and when we did get it we often resorted to hoofball. Only positive for me was Walton.

 

[London Irish]

We had many more options than we have done in previous matches, unfortunately they were rarely utilized as our midfield was largely lacklusture and LuaLua was having a poor game. I liked the formation but the team selection was all wrong, thankfully we got lucky.

Except that midfield got the first goal and LuaLua laid on the second to Texeira on a plate. Then the midfield soaked up the pressure from Wigan in the second half. These are steps forward compared to watching the likes of Holla and Ince having no influence on proceedings whatsoever