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Decent players, Poor System.


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What does everybody else think, on paper we have a decent team but the negative system does us no favours at all.

All we hear from fans is we need a new striker, but would it really make that much difference with the lack of chances we create. The problem is not so much away from home but at Hillsborough ,the lack of creativity from central midfield plus the defending deep tactics make our play less compact than most other sides. Its fine playing counter attacking football away from home but on your own patch its not working.

There always seems to be that 40 yard gap between central midfield and the strikers, every second ball seems to be won by the opposition, and imagine playing with your back to goal in our strikers role or wide midfield where virtually every pass is head high.

Our best player Antonio comes in for lots of stick but how is he supposed to receive the ball with his back to goal,be expected to beat 3 men then cross with little or no support. His strengths are running at opponents with the ball in front of him ,its took too long to bring in a quality central midfielder (McPhail)to provide the passes.

Look at other sides who have ball playing centre halves and attacking full backs, we play too deep to get the best out of ours, Reda and Buxton offer loads going forward but we dont see it often enough.

In a nutshell we are ok without the ball and Birmingham apart we have defended fairly well most of the season, its the attacking side to our game that is lacking, with the ball its like a hot potato because we don't commit enough players forward apart from at set pieces, I'd rather we went down having a go and gambling for 3 points than playing for draws.

WEDNESDAY FOREVER !

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Poor players, poor system for me, we have plenty of big and strong, athletic blokes, but not many footballers at all.

 

No direspect to the lad, he has his strengths and he's certainly useful, but if Michail Antonio really is the best player at a championship club, then that club has a very poor squad for the level they're playing at.

Edited by Lee A
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mediocre players - poor system.  If the team was set up correctly, round pegs, tactically aware and confident of their roles - we could be a middtable side. unfortunately the lack of quality in the team cannot transcend this, hense the dismal showing being reflected in our current league postion.

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....engine room. Central midfield has been our main problem for years. Still not convinced it's good enough but it's looking better with McPhail/Olif/Coke...still think we need someone who can have that skill of making time to play a decent pass or switch the pace of play...

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Guest Big Guns

Our players as a whole for this league are well below par, I mean seriously poor.

We have no system.

= relegation material.

It's hard to disagree with that but I want to judge them under a proper manager

That's why I haven't slagged the players off this season

I actually feel a bit sorry for them playing under jones

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Guest wilyfox

Under performing players need to get their mojo back, simple as. Tweak the formation as much as you like, won't make any difference if the players aren't at it.

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Guest Retfordowl74

mediocre players - poor system. If the team was set up correctly, round pegs, tactically aware and confident of their roles - we could be a middtable side. unfortunately the lack of quality in the team cannot transcend this, hense the dismal showing being reflected in our current league postion.

I'd go with this......

I believe our midfield is the weakest area, we don't score enough goals because we don't create enough quality chances

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We are caught between two systems. The physical bully boys effective football from under Megson, and the more passing focused game which Jones would probably like to introduce and play. We are carrying a mix of players from the former system whilst trying to introduce some new signings from Jones' attempt to achieve the latter.

The result is stuck somewhere in the middle, leaving us without any real system and any real identity as a team.

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When you look at the players signed, you do wonder why we play the way we do.

You don't sign players like Maghoma, Maguire, McCabe, Helan, Lita, Nuhiu (to an extent), Mcphail if your plan is to bully teams into submission.

To me it looks like our plan is to knock teams about until they give up possession then hope the long ball finds its way to our widemen.

In possession we're utterly clueless. But we play the players that are clueless in possession and banish the creative ones.

Teams combat this by giving our back four tons of time on the ball. Because they know they'll eventually force the ball forward and we'll concede possession. Then the cycle starts again. The successful system of early this years has been sussed out and that was obvious in the last 5 games of last season. He should've looked to change it in Pre Season. We're far to predictable with the ball.

I reckon we'd be a training excerise for most Prem teams. We set up like the defence in a defence vs attack training game.

I like Coke's drive but he's poor on the ball. McCabe, although naive at times, can pick a pass and moves the ball a lot better. Maguire uses the ball better, passes then moves instead of the statues in the 11 currently. Maghoma has neat feet and is clever on the ball. After those three though you struggle to find anyone that sticks out.

He's assembled a real mismatch. They can't bully teams into submission because they're too lightweight in midfield. And the 'footballers' he's signed don't suit the system so constantly look shïte.

I reckon if he told them that if anyone played a pass further than 40-50 yards they'd be fined £50 for each pass. We'd do a whole lot better. I don't see how the physical approach gains us anything from the limited squad we have. I'd rather see us try and pass it around before we definitively decide whose shït or not. Because I think a fast paced passing game would suit the squad better than the current system. I'm not saying we'd be 10x or even 2x better than we are, but I reckon we'd win at least one.

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I go back to the fact we have signed players in the last 6 weeks (I accept some on loan) who have been Championship players historically in McPhail, Roger Johnson, Oli and Fryatt.

That's 4 new players with Championship pedigree yet we still cant win a game and are bottom of the league.

The system is way, way to negative. The players are under performing without doubt. Responsibility for both lies with Jones.

I posted a thread about a month ago saying why doesn't Jones set up with a more attacking formation especially at home. Granted we would lose more games but we would win more too.

Trouble is, Jones is a stubborn manager who thinks he's a tactical genius and he cannot see what is staring him in the face.

I wonder how many more Championship players he will need to sign before realising its his tactics and motivational skills that are at the heart of the current inability to win a game.

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I go back to the fact we have signed players in the last 6 weeks (I accept some on loan) who have been Championship players historically in McPhail, Roger Johnson, Oli and Fryatt.

 

See your point, but the problem is how much does that really add to the squad? to the point where it influences our chances of winning games, although some of those are good signings, especially Johnson, he is just cover for an injured player, it doesnt improve us it just fills a gap, which is the problem with most of the players we bring in.

 

Olofinjana is just cover for Semedo, and in fact Semedo probably offers more when he's available.

 

Fryatt is quality, but he wont get enough chances here, got 1 against Barnsley and took it, but we need to give him more than one chance a game, and we wont with what I consider to be our weakest points, central midfield and especially the wingers, those 2 areas simply have to do a lot more.

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See your point, but the problem is how much does that really add to the squad? to the point where it influences our chances of winning games, although some of those are good signings, especially Johnson, he is just cover for an injured player, it doesnt improve us it just fills a gap, which is the problem with most of the players we bring in.

 

Olofinjana is just cover for Semedo, and in fact Semedo probably offers more when he's available.

 

Fryatt is quality, but he wont get enough chances here, got 1 against Barnsley and took it, but we need to give him more than one chance a game, and we wont with what I consider to be our weakest points, central midfield and especially the wingers, those 2 areas simply have to do a lot more.

The point is Jones has signed 4 players with Championship experience and pedigree.

We were weak in midfield - McPhail improves it.

We were weak upfront - Fryatt improves it.

We had little central defensive cover - Roger Johnson improves it.

The jury is out on Oli but he's a better option than Prutton.

So even though we are signing better, proven players we still cant win games.

Where does it end? Another 2 or 3 players and Jones will have almost a new team.

It's the negative formation and tactics at the heart of the problem.

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