The FL Show,

[BensGrandad]

Just watched the show having recorded it last night abd thought that Steve Claridge summed up the situation exactly.

Our full backs are too slow getting out and back and then we do not support them and every manager has twigged this.

 

[perseus]

Claridge is an IDIOT

Just watched the show having recorded it last night abd thought that Steve Claridge summed up the situation exactly.

Our full backs are too slow getting out and back and then we do not support them and every manager has twigged this.

Steve Claridge is an idiot and he summed up the situation superficially and completely WRONG!

The problem is losing possession at vital times mostly by getting dispossessed and less often by failing to trap or control the ball completely. Teixeira had a mare, responsible for the first goal and made suicide passes and rotten crosses from good positions. This is down a daft team selection.

http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/830109/MatchReport

Attacked down the right hand side. Not surprising with all our right footed players signed. We passed well enough most of the time. Could not shoot for toffee and made wrong decisions in the attacking third. Same old story.

Last season three seasons and the Millwall home games were even worse!

Bruno could get back and forward without any trouble from Millwall, who were gifted a goal and defended soundly. Lack of creative ability and one-footedness in midfield allowed Millwall an easy time.

I don't think it is tactics, but team selection and recruitment. 4-2-1-2-1 is not my preferred system, but it is not bad. It is the 3-5-2 that is bad.

 

[Bob!]

Just watched the show having recorded it last night abd thought that Steve Claridge summed up the situation exactly.

Our full backs are too slow getting out and back and then we do not support them and every manager has twigged this.

I'm guessing that there's one Manager that hasn't twigged it yet!

 

[BensGrandad]

Steve Claridge is an idiot and he summed up the situation superficially and completely WRONG!

The problem is losing possession at vital times mostly by getting dispossessed and less often by failing to trap or control the ball completely. Teixeira had a mare, responsible for the first goal and made suicide passes and rotten crosses from good positions. This is down a daft team selection.

http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/830109/MatchReport

Attacked down the right hand side. Not surprising with all our right footed players signed.

Bruno could get back and forward without any trouble from Millwall, who were gifted a goal and defended soundly. Lack of creative ability and one-footedness in midfield allowed Millwall an easy time.

I am talking about the Millwall game which game are you talking about obviously not the same game.

SC was talking of our problems generally under SH and was exactly right.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

I'd say the problem is that we are not getting bodies into the opposition penalty area when attacking, i've lost count of the number of times we have the ball out wide in an advanced area and there is just one Brighton player in the box to aim at. Our supporting players tend to go out wide too rather than to provide targets for a cross.

Also there arn't any players making late runs into or around the box for others to play a through ball in a hope they can get on the end of it and create a good chance too. (like Buckley did with great effect time and time again)

 

[Kazenga <3]

The system makes no sense. Essentially it looks like this:

Goalkeeper
Centre Mid CB CB Centre Mid
Defensive Mid
Right back----------------------Left back
----Right Winger-Left Winger
Striker​

-Here we have the full backs pushing forward, however largely not forward enough to make an real attacking impact, yet far enough forward to leave a hole at the back

-This hole is then filled by our centre midfielders, who do not have the positional experience or ability defending one v one to be a full back (hence why they aren't full backs)

-Given the centre mids are now playing in the full back position, there is a big hole in the middle of the park now. This hole is covered by our natural wide players tucking right in. They don't have the physical presence of centre mids, so they are easy to bypass.

-Now that the wide players are dropping back central, and the full backs are only halfway up the pitch, there is no width and the striker is left completely isolated.


Positives of this system: We have an abundance of players across the middle in 2nd quarter of the pitch and are extremely adept at passing sideways across this quarter.

Negatives of this system: We lose most weeks


With only 5 players playing in a position natural to them, and without the support of surrounding players who are comfortable in their 'new positions, we are left with a difficult problem to remedy I'm sure everyone would agree. Call me a radical but I would propose setting up something like this if we are to persist with one up top:

Goalkeeper
Right Back CB CB Left Back
Defensive Mid
Centre Mid Centre Mid
Right Winger-----------------Left Winger
Striker​

Never know, it might just work.

 

[Surrey_Albion]

Steve Claridge is an idiot and he summed up the situation superficially and completely WRONG!

The problem is losing possession at vital times mostly by getting dispossessed and less often by failing to trap or control the ball completely. Teixeira had a mare, responsible for the first goal and made suicide passes and rotten crosses from good positions. This is down a daft team selection.

http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/830109/MatchReport

Attacked down the right hand side. Not surprising with all our right footed players signed. We passed well enough most of the time. Could not shoot for toffee and made wrong decisions in the attacking third. Same old story.

Last season three seasons and the Millwall home games were even worse!

Bruno could get back and forward without any trouble from Millwall, who were gifted a goal and defended soundly. Lack of creative ability and one-footedness in midfield allowed Millwall an easy time.

I don't think it is tactics, but team selection and recruitment. 4-2-1-2-1 is not my preferred system, but it is not bad. It is the 3-5-2 that is bad.

Are you implying we have a formation and tactics? !

 

[perseus]

Losing Our Way

I am talking about the Millwall game which game are you talking about obviously not the same game.

SC was talking of our problems generally under SH and was exactly right.

God forbid we go back to kick 'n rush again. I am thoroughly sick to death of Claridge and his comments are a waste of time listening to.

Why did Sami persist with Tex when it was a complete and utter failure against Derby? That cost us a goal and the game.

Playing the ball out of defence is the best way, but the players have got to be capable of doing it against a pressing side. They (Millwall) are meant to chase shadows not win the ball. Was it Rosler who sent Tex back to Liverpool from Brentford?

If it is shades of 80-81, we have to win our next three matches.

No running off the ball into positions to collect a pass especially in the second half. This has happened before though. And under Oscar Garcia as well.

Wolves are unknowns. Reading should have be beatable. Then Fulham away!

Chicksen was a horrendous error as well.

The system has not changed much under Sami. It is the players that have changed.

 

[Mr Blobby]

I think Claridge got it right, the positioning of the 2 "full backs" has left our defensive capabilities badly exposed, it pulls the CBs out wide to cover along with the midfield players. Then when we push forward we end up will full backs who generally cannot cross the ball, so we lose it and the they are put out of position!

Friday night E Bennett was played out of the game by Bruno & March was wasted as he is dangerous out on the wing cutting in, but in our formation that is not allowed to happen.

JFC/Gardner partnership was a disaster at Derby, did Hyypia learn anything from the Derby debacle? Obviously not! Then again this stupid formation has seen 3 wins in 21 league games, has Hyypia learnt anything from that? Obviously not as we keep playing it!

My team at the moment would be
...............Walton.........
Calderon...Dunk..Greer (or Hughes)....J Bennett
E Bennett.......Ince.....Holla............March
..........Colunga.....Bent.................

The back 4 need to start concentrating on defending, all the time we are gifting away goals then we are not going to win games.

 

[perseus]

The system makes no sense. Essentially it looks like this:

Goalkeeper
Centre Mid CB CB Centre Mid
Defensive Mid
Right back----------------------Left back
----Right Winger-Left Winger
Striker​

-Here we have the full backs pushing forward, however largely not forward enough to make an real attacking impact, yet far enough forward to leave a hole at the back

-This hole is then filled by our centre midfielders, who do not have the positional experience or ability defending one v one to be a full back (hence why they aren't full backs)

-Given the centre mids are now playing in the full back position, there is a big hole in the middle of the park now. This hole is covered by our natural wide players tucking right in. They don't have the physical presence of centre mids, so they are easy to bypass.

-Now that the wide players are dropping back central, and the full backs are only halfway up the pitch, there is no width and the striker is left completely isolated.


Positives of this system: We have an abundance of players across the middle in 2nd quarter of the pitch and are extremely adept at passing sideways across this quarter.

Negatives of this system: We lose most weeks


With only 5 players playing in a position natural to them, and without the support of surrounding players who are comfortable in their 'new positions, we are left with a difficult problem to remedy I'm sure everyone would agree. Call me a radical but I would propose setting up something like this if we are to persist with one up top:

Goalkeeper
Right Back CB CB Left Back
Defensive Mid
Centre Mid Centre Mid
Right Winger-----------------Left Winger
Striker​

Never know, it might just work.

All systems have their weaknesses.

Two wingers is silly as you cannot play on both wings at the same time and a player is wasted.

As we are hopelessly right-sided it would be best to play a right winger (there are alternatives*) and have an overlapping left back. But that is more 4-3-3. (*Play a left winger and overlapping right back.)

Playing one defensive midfielder and he cannot cover the width of the pitch so any side half worth their salt (and I am not sure Millwall qualify on that count) and the opposition can simply pass around him (which is how we beat QPR last season).

4-2-1-2-1 is the flipping diamond and by putting Tex at the fulcrum and the opposition can simply can pressurise him and he loses the ball and that costs us the first goal. And is is slow as well. Play a classic 4-3-3 and the defence can play the ball into space in front of the central midfielder, but the opposition can see that coming as well, so there is not an absolute right way, just the best for our team.

It is the players and the team selection. And Sami was criticised at Bayer for his team selection. It is down to playing the ball out of defence and losing it at vital times. I reckon that has cost us about eight goals this season and that is the difference between last season and this one. Shooting is just as bad as last year.

 

[perseus]

I think Claridge got it right, the positioning of the 2 "full backs" has left our defensive capabilities badly exposed, it pulls the CBs out wide to cover along with the midfield players. Then when we push forward we end up will full backs who generally cannot cross the ball, so we lose it and the they are put out of position!

Early in the season, I would say you were right. But that has been rectified now. Millwall did not expose our full backs even when we were chasing the game. They were not good enough to do so.

We did seem to play three right wingers in the team: Tex, Solly and Elliott Bennett. Then McCourt. Baffled by that. None of three are much cop at retaining the ball. Maybe Sami thought it would be easy. Millwall were not much good at going forwards. I think the same criticism was levelled when Sami was at Bayer playing the "weaker" teams.

 

[Kazenga <3]

All systems have their weaknesses.

Two wingers is silly as you cannot play on both wings at the same time and a player is wasted.

Ridiculous comment, by that logic we may as well only have one full back as the opponent can only attack on one wing at a time.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Just watched the show having recorded it last night abd thought that Steve Claridge summed up the situation exactly.

Our full backs are too slow getting out and back and then we do not support them and every manager has twigged this.

I completely agree. I have a lot of time for Steve Claridge actually, even though many people don't. Football is all about opinions anyway. No two people will ever agree all of the time.

 

[Soulman]

The back 4 need to start concentrating on defending, all the time we are gifting away goals then we are not going to win games.

Not for the first time JFC was caught in possession for the goal, this time on the edge of the box, i don't think the back four were to blame in this instant.

 

[5mins-from-amex]

I completely agree. I have a lot of time for Steve Claridge actually, even though many people don't. Football is all about opinions anyway. No two people will ever agree all of the time.

This, i like Claridge he seems to talk a lot of sense.

 

[Surrey_Albion]

Steve Claridge is an idiot and he summed up the situation superficially and completely WRONG!

The problem is losing possession at vital times mostly by getting dispossessed and less often by failing to trap or control the ball completely. Teixeira had a mare, responsible for the first goal and made suicide passes and rotten crosses from good positions. This is down a daft team selection.

http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/830109/MatchReport

Attacked down the right hand side. Not surprising with all our right footed players signed. We passed well enough most of the time. Could not shoot for toffee and made wrong decisions in the attacking third. Same old story.

Last season three seasons and the Millwall home games were even worse!

Bruno could get back and forward without any trouble from Millwall, who were gifted a goal and defended soundly. Lack of creative ability and one-footedness in midfield allowed Millwall an easy time.

I don't think it is tactics, but team selection and recruitment. 4-2-1-2-1 is not my preferred system, but it is not bad. It is the 3-5-2 that is bad.

Are you implying we have a formation and tactics? !

 

[Box of Frogs]

Why play Solly on the right? The full back knows he is going to cut back onto his left every time and means we can't get an early cross in?
And I just don't get why JFC keeps getting picked when he brings nothing to the team played in a holding role. Either play him as an attacking midfielder or not at all.

 

[BensGrandad]

I would rather accept S Claridge assessment than perseus if as he says Tex was poor. He was the only one who looked like he might do something but his final ball let him down most times.

 

[perseus]

Not for the first time JFC was caught in possession for the goal, this time on the edge of the box, i don't think the back four were to blame in this instant.

Wasn't it Tex who got caught? Too far away for me to see clearly.

This is where we are going wrong though. Getting dispossessed in midfield. Tex is the worst. Chicksen is bad at losing the ball as well. Dreadful choices in the starting line-up.

McCourt is better at keeping the ball than Teixeira and when he does lose it it is not so often in dangerous positions for the quick counter-attack.

 

[BensGrandad]

Wasn't it Tex who got caught? Too far away for me to see clearly.

No it wasnt, it was JFC. Tex is the little slim fellow with no 17 on his shirt not little fat man with no 18 on his shirt. There is not much similarity except for colour of kit.