[Albion] The elephant in the room - Our defensive record

[Mr Phil]

Belieba

Crikey that’s a stretch isn’t it?

 

[HeaviestTed]

Just to clarify I think RDZ

Our previously solid defence looks shifty now. Tighten up a bit and the wins start again

there were times when we had actual bodies in our own box, the sort of thing West Ham and Villa did - was nice to see that it was the other side who couldn’t score for once rather than Steele/Verbruggen being on their own.

 

[Wardy's twin]

hard to lose two of the best midfielders in the league and not have some effect. not just the defensive side, playing out of the back is not as confident or successful without them.

Spot on, loose 2 world-class(?) Midfielders out of a team which had only 2 world-class players is only ever going to mean things will be a struggle.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Spot on, loose 2 world-class(?) Midfielders out of a team which had only 2 world-class players is only ever going to mean things will be a struggle.

Losing the players was always part of the deal. Failing to have a plan B is the problem. Either a short-term rental or not loaning Alzate out would have given breathing space while Baleba is got ready.

 

[raymondo]

Who?

Justin Time ...

 

[Wozza]

144 days since a clean sheet in a competitive match...

 

[Pavilionaire]

You wonder how our defensive record would look had Colwill signed for us instead of returning to Chelsea. His ability to cover left back, his speed and intelligence, his understanding of De Zerbi's style are all sorely missed.

 

[dangull]

Would have been only 14 goals if it wasn't for last Saturday.

 

[um bongo molongo]

The West Ham game was a blueprint. We miss Caicedo style defensive cover and a bit more pace at the back. I think Baleba can plug that gap with time and the rest is annoying fine margins and errors. Let's not panic people.

Think this is exactly right. We miss Caicedo and Colwill’s pace. Their replacements are currently a downgrade, though hopefully will come good with more minutes. Just have to be patient.

 

[um bongo molongo]

Statistically there’s less than a 2% chance of scoring from a corner. Yet fans get so excited when we win one, despite reality being the opposition now have 11 men back and time to organise them. Which is why it’s less than 2% chance!

With our corners I’d be amazed if it’s not less than 0.2% never mind 2%. And when we did manage to meet one with a bullet header tonight we hit our own man!

 

[BadFish]

Crikey that’s a stretch isn’t it?

I have to suffer this connection in my brain every time his name is mentioned

 

[macbeth]

They way RDZ works is to try to achieve attacking overloads. To do this requires us to outnumber the opposition in key spaces and this means leaving us 1v1, 2v2 or 3v3 at the back. The challenge is to retain the ball, to use it effectively to score goals and make as few errors as possible. The opposition will always be a threat, particularly in transitions but our "rest defence" is generally decent so we're in a good position to recover.

I don't think anything will change massively. We're as likely to score 4 as ship 4. Th best thing is that even 2-0 down tonight, I thought we could win it, same as I did against AEK. Some days we win, some we lose, some we draw but it's always fun to watch.

I'd take the entertainment above a 1-0 every day of the week and hope that over the course of the season, the team grows in capability and strength.

generally agree with the vast majority of that, except for the rest defence aspect. it’s average at the best of times, and appalling when we play against a ‘target man’, who can hold the ball up for pacy wide forwards to run onto, like against west ham. this is something we could’ve, and really should’ve addressed in the summer

 

[HastingsSeagull]

Against the big sides I’m not too worried. Especially as we’re scoring too.

It’s constantly shipping goals against the other sides that’s a concern. It’s exciting for though.

 

[SeagullsoverLondon]

We were bullied off the ball constantly in the first 40 minutes and Wellbeck's ability to hold up the ball was non-existent. He had an awful half.

I agree this was part of the problem, but equally, the CF running back 30 yards to pick up the ball was a tactic they had obviously prepared for and he was marked very tightly. My issue was that we didn't seem to have an alternative option in the first half. The rest of the forward line was too static.
It is noticeable how many more goals we are scoring second half these days. Teams tire and can't man mark our forwards all game, the spaces open up and the chances come flowing.

If we stop giving silly goals away in the first half, I am sure we can win most games

 

[Mont-Colt65]

And surely someone other than Dunky should have fancied that free kick?

It looks like there is a certain hierarchy, doesn't it? (I believe Adingra wanted to take one vs Marseille.) We don't get anywhere, most of the time, with the likes of Gross and Dunk as takers. Players like Gilmour, Adningra, Pedro, or Dahoud should be allowed to take turns. It's a mystery that RDZ has never bothered to rectify/improve our set pieces.

 

[Mont-Colt65]

RDZ came with a reputation for shifting goals but I'm certain he would want more clean sheets. Whilst we lack a full 90 minutes performance and with certain players looking increasingly hesitant in front of goal it's a bit of a concern. It's kind of like a crash course in being zen. But it's hard to fully relax when we look so poor defensively. Overall I think we will be alright bit I suspect both Liverpool and City will have a field day. We do look bloody awful at the back.

We need a fast CB. Dunk is slow, and with the amount of football he's been playing, he must be mentally as well as physically fatigued. I bet we'll continue to concede every match unless we have a pacey CB and an experienced/established, strong DMF.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

The issue is our passing.
at the moment we aren't as crisp with our passing and movement.

There have been so many turnovers this season from misplaced passes.
I think Gross and Dunk have had more incomplete passes this season, than they had in the whole of last season (massive exaggeration, probably)
With our approach, turnovers will often produce high xg opportunities for the opposition.

The issue is RDZ's need to bring the whole squad up to the required level.
Last season he relied on a core group, who knew exactly where to pass to, as they were playing regularly with the same players.
At the moment, the telepathy is understandably not working yet.

In the long run, it should pay off.
But at the moment, we're relying on scoring more than we concede.
Because concede we most definitely will.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

If the boys weren't scoring goals, winning games and generally doing well (past few games aside), it would be a different story. As it is, I'm not fussed in the slightest.

 

[Grassman]

144 days since a clean sheet in a competitive match...

I guess that’s Gross’ fault….

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

It’s hardly an elephant in the room is it?! An elephant in the room is there but not spoken about, our defensive record is pretty obvious and discussed by all and sundry!

It does make life hard for us as we need to score 2 or 3 in every game to get a result but it is exciting!

Not sure what the answer is with our squad and the way we play. Don’t think there are any changes we can make to personnel that is going to change things dramatically at the moment. Caicedo, Mac Allister and also Colwill obviously massive losses. We need Baleba and Igor to catch on quickly and be stars.