Phew.....but goals and Creativity at times are poor

[Mick De Lyons]

When it was about 85 mins in and looking like a definite 0-0 draw, i was saying to myself " Please......just anyone score " and then i looked at the players on the pitch and thought, where would the goal come from !! Luckily, we got the penalty and Fletcher finished it well and we can all have a good Saturday night after gaining another three points. I hate to think what Owlstalk would have been like this evening, if it had ended in a 0-0 draw against the bottom side, our neighbours, who have conceded lots of goals this season. Rotherham are a boggy side and play a type of football that we struggle with, but the lack of goals and creativity is a cause for concern. It seems that without Fessi, Bannan or Hooper, these two aspects of our game  go missing from the side and in turn make us far too predictable, especially against the struggling teams of the division.

 

It seems that creativity wise, if we don't have Fessi or Bannan playing we go flat and can't create. Likewise, if Fessi and Hooper don't play, then the goals in the team start to dry up. Nuhiu and Joao are a complete waste of time in terms of them contributing with goals and players such as Wallace, Reach and Bannan should be chipping in with far more goals than they do. I don't particularly expect the likes of Hutch or Jones to get the goals, but we need to rely on more than two or three players. Fletcher is on six goals now and the last two have come from penalties, but at least he offers something extra with his link up play. This side can look quite average if two or three players are out, but today we kept going and had some luck for a change, but we need to be more creative and score more, without being reliant upon a few players to do that.

 

Thoughts ?

 

 

[BRADDO]

Agreed 

[aeroswfc]

Good points. 

[gurujuan]

35 minutes ago, Mick De Lyons said:

When it was about 85 mins in and looking like a definite 0-0 draw, i was saying to myself " Please......just anyone score " and then i looked at the players on the pitch and thought, where would the goal come from !! Luckily, we got the penalty and Fletcher finished it well and we can all have a good Saturday night after gaining another three points. I hate to think what Owlstalk would have been like this evening, if it had ended in a 0-0 draw against the bottom side, our neighbours, who have conceded lots of goals this season. Rotherham are a boggy side and play a type of football that we struggle with, but the lack of goals and creativity is a cause for concern. It seems that without Fessi, Bannan or Hooper, these two aspects of our game  go missing from the side and in turn make us far too predictable, especially against the struggling teams of the division.

 

It seems that creativity wise, if we don't have Fessi or Bannan playing we go flat and can't create. Likewise, if Fessi and Hooper don't play, then the goals in the team start to dry up. Nuhiu and Joao are a complete waste of time in terms of them contributing with goals and players such as Wallace, Reach and Bannan should be chipping in with far more goals than they do. I don't particularly expect the likes of Hutch or Jones to get the goals, but we need to rely on more than two or three players. Fletcher is on six goals now and the last two have come from penalties, but at least he offers something extra with his link up play. This side can look quite average if two or three players are out, but today we kept going and had some luck for a change, but we need to be more creative and score more, without being reliant upon a few players to do that.

 

Thoughts ?

 

 

 

Absolutely, but as I said in the other thread, once we were going to be without Hooper and Forestieri, I'd have taken these home wins, however they came. Yes though, with the money Carlos has spent, we shouldn't be so dependent on 2 players for goals and creativity

[Mick De Lyons]

1 minute ago, gurujuan said:

 

Absolutely, but as I said in the other thread, once we were going to be without Hooper and Forestieri, I'd have taken these home wins, however they came. Yes though, with the money Carlos has spent, we shouldn't be so dependent on 2 players for goals and creativity

Agreed. Like you say, with Fessi or Hooper, you just take the wins however they come, but as you say Guru, with the money we have spent, we should be having easier wins than this. Games of late are on a knife edge and it's almost a relief when the 90 minutes is up. At times we make hard work of it.

[modboy]

was looking at the team that finished and reckon only 3 had scored a goal this season, is that correct?

Fletcher, Hutch, Lees

[Mick De Lyons]

2 minutes ago, steveger said:

We have been very very lucky with the timing of this, we have played utter crap by most accounts but still got maximum points from two potential slip ups, albeit with the maximum luck we could have wished for, we could have played top sides and got nothing.....

 

I can't really comment on the performances or individuals as i don't go, but a massive shout out to all who do go

Sometimes you have a full strength team, play well and get nothing. This time, we have played two games with an under strength side, played very average and come away with two wins, an own goal, a disallowed goal and a penalty. It;s how it goes at times.

[Mick De Lyons]

4 minutes ago, modboy said:

was looking at the team that finished and reckon only 3 had scored a goal this season, is that correct?

Fletcher, Hutch, Lees

Joao scored at Cambridge if you can count that.

[Daz]

We lack pace - and that is a quality which can change games.

 

I also think we need to play with more tempo as otherwise we are too easy to defend against as we give teams time to get organized.

 

However, we have the 3rd best home points haul but the 11th best away points - so we need to pick up points away if we are to be any kind of threat to the top 2.

[modboy]

agree re pace, Nuhui, Wallace, Fletcher probably couldnt out run that Wednesdayite on the mobility scooter 

[Mr. Tom]

Agree, and I feel there's sometimes a problem with mobility and getting our players close enough to each other to make the link-ups count that nulls our creativity a bit. We play very well out of defence and midfield but in the final 3rd players are stood 20 yards apart, looking for space, and the knock-downs and flick-ons from penultimate balls never go anywhere. We're forever seeing Fletch, Joao or Nuhiu taking a ball down then immediately being surrounded, looking up and nearest teammate is miles away waiting for a longer pass. Last season we swarmed into attacks much more effectively - so many highlight reels show four, five, six players arriving in the box on breakaway goals. Hard to fathom what's changed.

[modboy]

Just now, Mr. Tom said:

Agree, and I feel there's sometimes a problem with mobility and getting our players close enough to each other to make the link-ups count that nulls our creativity a bit. We play very well out of defence and midfield but in the final 3rd players are stood 20 yards apart, looking for space, and the knock-downs and flick-ons from penultimate balls never go anywhere. We're forever seeing Fletch, Joao or Nuhiu taking a ball down then immediately being surrounded, looking up and nearest teammate is miles away waiting for a longer pass. Last season we swarmed into attacks much more effectively - so many highlight reels show four, five, six players arriving in the box on breakaway goals. Hard to fathom what's changed.

 

doesnt help when we have 2 defensive midfielders on the pitch

[AwokenGiant]

Totally agree Mick De Lyons, started a thread with the same sentiment. 

[Mr. Tom]

Just now, modboy said:

 

doesnt help when we have 2 defensive midfielders on the pitch

 

Aye, true

[Mick De Lyons]

12 minutes ago, Daz said:

We lack pace - and that is a quality which can change games.

 

I also think we need to play with more tempo as otherwise we are too easy to defend against as we give teams time to get organized.

 

However, we have the 3rd best home points haul but the 11th best away points - so we need to pick up points away if we are to be any kind of threat to the top 2.

Agree with this. At times we look too predictable and part of that reason is the pace of the side.

[pgmetcalf]

16 minutes ago, Daz said:

We lack pace - and that is a quality which can change games.

 

I also think we need to play with more tempo as otherwise we are too easy to defend against as we give teams time to get organized.

 

However, we have the 3rd best home points haul but the 11th best away points - so we need to pick up points away if we are to be any kind of threat to the top 2.

 

Bambi has enough pace and so does Bannan. Pace is not an issue, indecision and vision is

[mike312]

We are far too predictable, slow, lack movement and tempo. Fessi gives us pace and invention, Bannan gives us the invention. I'm glad we won of course as Rotherham were awful, we were better but played right into their hands.

[sage owl]

Neither Joao or Nuhiu are good enough both have had enough chances, we also need 2 new full backs.

[Bluesteel]

In the absence of FF and Hooper (and perhaps with Lee and Bannan injured) there was a huge gap between the midfielders and the strikers. The latter just stood in a line as a 3 and waited for a long  ball. I thought someone could've dropped in there and tried to turn.

 

The wingers really grafted, Reach did well before firing a bit, but we lacked pace out wide. Perhaps the loss of hunt hurt here. 

 

It was only the variety of the keeper booming it up from half way that broke the rhythm and seemed to panic Rotherham. 

 

Were down to the bones at the minute but we got through it. Hutchinson made a brilliant last ditch tackle on Danny Ward in the last 15

[S36 OWL]

I agree with a lot of the points, but yet again the match stats prove we ARE creative . 23 shots ,but only 6 on target .

 

 

That tells me our problem is putting the. chances away . we are desperate for a striker who will take those chances , and for me we need Jordan Rhodes badly.