Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Forum index | Previous Thread | Next thread
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts 10:54 - Oct 15 with 1977 viewsjonahwhereru

We have to expect our defenders to be limited if they are playing at L1 level. Every Saturday night on TV I see other sides concede horror goals.

However our centre half partnerships do seem to struggle to gel.

McNulty is limited by only being able to play in a 3 at the back

Delaney cannot dominate and get his head on crosses they way he is able to in the oppositions area.

Ntlhe is naive in positional play but has good feet.

McGahey appears to have all the attributes to be a good stopper but we are conceding goals.

Williams looks as though he should be able to do a job but is not stepping up to the plate.

Finnerty remains an unknown in every respect.

Each player has there positives, but no pairing or trio seem to be able to gel. Which is why I say the whole is less than the sum of the parts.

It has not always been this way we have had centre half pairings which on paper looked dubious but where they built a good understanding. Some may spit their cornflakes out when I say Brown and Cole where in the whole being greater than the sum of the parts category. But to me they worked great together.

Others of you may have other parings that spring to mind.

With the number of centre half we have we should have two that can do build something between them.

Given our goals against tally last year I can’t have it that the management are clueless. Although crosses remain our downfall, like most football teams.

I do think it would help to pick the best perceived pairing and stick with them for at least 6 games in all competitions, barring injury. Even if that needs a fixed formation.

Am I right or will it happen i doubt it, but time will tell.

Just hope in a few weeks the Steady pairing does gets established. The talent pool is there, even with the limitations.
1
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 12:09 - Oct 15 with 1904 views1949er

Individually, Colin Parry and Joe Ashworth were not the most gifted of footballers, but playing together they were brilliant

Poll: Where will we finish this season?

0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 13:01 - Oct 15 with 1832 viewsboromat

I'm not sure it's fair just to look at the back 3/4/5 it's more about the balance of the whole team. It's been mentioned a few times recently on here and I agree we've just not got the players to strike the right balance of offence and defence or if we have we haven't stumbled across the answer yet.

Looking at the team from Saturday as an example. Perkins/Rathbone/Inman/Clough/Williams the only one I would suggest is purely defensive there is Williams. It screams attack rather than defend but then as soon as we play with an extra defensive player we go the other way don't ship as many goals but can't score ourselves.

A fine balance we haven't quite got right but we have played against a lot of the top teams, not all players have featured regularly yet and I'd much rather watch us lose games 3 - 2 than 1 - 0. I think we're look OK if our performances turn into results against teams lower down the table we'll have a decent season.

Poll: What are we more excited for?

2
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 13:06 - Oct 15 with 1826 viewsJimmyRustler

Ntlhe is enthusiastic enough but he's an absolute liability in any sort of defensive capacity. I DO NOT want to see him playing centre half ever again - I'm far from Jim's biggest fan but the fact that KH picked Kgosi over him at centre half is pretty laughable.

McGahey is a class defender but he's more of a ball playing, on the deck sort of player who needs a strong, dominant aerial beast alongside him. Delaney could well be that player in time but we need someone for the here and now that can come in and do that job.

Delaney is only young and has a lot to learn but he's a bit too slow and cumbersome in my eyes to ever make it to the top. Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting the lad to run 100m in 10 seconds flat but for someone so young, he really is disgracefully slow and awkward looking. On the plus side, he is a massive threat from set pieces.

As well as the team defending as one unit, the back four also needs adequate protection. Perkins has always been a bit more of a terrier than a stopper but in the last few games, he's just looked like a wasp trapped in a jar. He certainly isn't the answer.

Finnerty may well be a figment of our imagination at this point and a product of the mandela effect. Did we really sign him? Does he even exist? Is he dead? I would have liked to have gone to his funeral to pay my respects if this is indeed the case.

I like the look of MJ WIlliams in the destroyer role but again, he needs someone alongside him who can carry the ball forward. Fortunately, we already have that player in our ranks - unfortunately, he's too busy picking wooden splinters out of his @rse after spending more time on the bench than a Year 6 gymnast.
2
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 13:36 - Oct 15 with 1767 viewsChaffRAFC

I like Delaney, he's a threat from set pieces but I've lost count of how many times I've watched highlights of games and seen that he's lost his man while defending set pieces. His marking is pretty awful and very costly. This needs ironing out immediately. Reminds me of Gareth Griffiths a bit in stature and being a threat at corners but his inability to mark reminds me of Rory McArdle!

MJ Williams isn't strong enough to play there. Very good footballer but not sure he's hard enough to play centre half on a long term basis.

Kgosi made a lot of mistakes on Saturday and although he had a hand in both goals we scored but defensively I thought he was poor. The squad needs a defensive leader, we don't have a leader in the squad. Exampled by Kgosi getting the armband on Saturday.

If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor

0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 14:22 - Oct 15 with 1714 viewsborntogo

Defending corners and set pieces when the ball is in the air is about bottle, pure and simple. The first to the ball, the player who wants it most, will get his reward.

At our level a high per centage of goals are scored this way and Hill needs to find more players either brave or daft enough to put their heads in where it might hurt, otherwise we will continue to concede goals while, at the other end, fail to score.
0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 15:15 - Oct 15 with 1653 viewsdingdangblue

It has been mentioned before - but Calvin surely could do the job - Hill has made so many more leftfield positional decisions (Bunney left back, Calvin left back, Henderson right back) - strange that he's never tried this pretty obvious one?

Its a BRILLIANT goal to cap a BRILLIANT start by Rochdale - Don Goodman 26/08/10
Poll: Are fans more annoyed losing or not playing Henderson centre forward?

0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 16:30 - Oct 15 with 1584 viewsJames1980

Bringing a defence coach has been suggested, would KH be likely to go for that?

'Only happy when you've got it often makes you miss the journey'
Poll: Is moving to a new location

0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 16:44 - Oct 15 with 1562 viewsrich_dale

Brown and Cole were definitely proper defenders but more to the point we looked generally more solid and organised then when Dolan was manager and harder to break down, though granted the style of football was less expansive. I don't think we're being organised as well defensively now and certainly not from set pieces. That has nothing to do with finding an attack/defence balance, just setting ourselves up better from those situations.
0
Login to get fewer ads

Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 17:33 - Oct 15 with 1512 viewsDaleiLama

Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 15:15 - Oct 15 by dingdangblue

It has been mentioned before - but Calvin surely could do the job - Hill has made so many more leftfield positional decisions (Bunney left back, Calvin left back, Henderson right back) - strange that he's never tried this pretty obvious one?




As Sandydrum points out on the other thread:

Total goals conceded in all competitions so far: 31
Total goals conceded from crosses so far: 18
Goals conceded from crosses from our right back position: 13
Goals conceded from crosses from our left back position: 5
Headed goals conceded from crosses: 12


Don't know who won the header for the 6 goals from crosses which weren't scored by headers but from knock-downs, but we need someone who can attack crosses and win them and clear the ball. Calvin is our best player in the air imo. He can also play with his feet. Like Hendo, he's nippy in spite of his age. He might make a few positional mistakes due to a bit of naivety if played at CB, but we are a team full of defensive mistakes which is costing us games, so what have we got to lose? Our GD is already dismal. I'd be keen to give this a go for a couple of games (especially against team with big strikers who play long balls up to them). It also has the flexibility of being able to move someone into the back 4 and Calvin up top without using a sub if needed. It may be a disaster, but our defence is already a disaster so it will only be more of the same.

Up the Dale - NOT for sale!
Poll: Is it coming home?

0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 18:45 - Oct 15 with 1446 viewsrichfoad32

Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 15:15 - Oct 15 by dingdangblue

It has been mentioned before - but Calvin surely could do the job - Hill has made so many more leftfield positional decisions (Bunney left back, Calvin left back, Henderson right back) - strange that he's never tried this pretty obvious one?


Aren't a lot of goals being shipped from free kicks and corners when Calvin is already back defending?
2
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 19:25 - Oct 15 with 1388 viewssoulboy

Ntlhe isnt tall enough to play in defence, particularly considering whoever he plays alongside in that role is prone to making errors which cost us goals. I like McGahey but its very rare you see him winning a header at an opposition corner or free kick. Williams has a had a couple of half decent games at the back but is unreliable, such as on Saturday when he didnt make a chalenge as they scored the third. McNulty is very limited and is at best a squad player and Delaney has defensive frailties but he looks the most likely of our defenders to get on the scoresheet at the right end. Decent centre halves at this level have historically been in abundance at very little cost and we have had our fair share of them down the years. However, we have what we have until the window re-opens so it looks like we have to hope we simply score more than the opposition!
[Post edited 15 Oct 2018 19:27]
1
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 19:59 - Oct 15 with 1351 views49thseason

We miss having a goalkeeper who can organise and motivate the defenders around him. not to mention someone who catches crosses occasionally.
2
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 08:46 - Oct 16 with 1187 viewsJimmyRustler

Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 17:33 - Oct 15 by DaleiLama



As Sandydrum points out on the other thread:

Total goals conceded in all competitions so far: 31
Total goals conceded from crosses so far: 18
Goals conceded from crosses from our right back position: 13
Goals conceded from crosses from our left back position: 5
Headed goals conceded from crosses: 12


Don't know who won the header for the 6 goals from crosses which weren't scored by headers but from knock-downs, but we need someone who can attack crosses and win them and clear the ball. Calvin is our best player in the air imo. He can also play with his feet. Like Hendo, he's nippy in spite of his age. He might make a few positional mistakes due to a bit of naivety if played at CB, but we are a team full of defensive mistakes which is costing us games, so what have we got to lose? Our GD is already dismal. I'd be keen to give this a go for a couple of games (especially against team with big strikers who play long balls up to them). It also has the flexibility of being able to move someone into the back 4 and Calvin up top without using a sub if needed. It may be a disaster, but our defence is already a disaster so it will only be more of the same.


I'd be more inclined to use Alby at CB as opposed to Calvin for sh!ts and gigs....at least his pearly white gnashers could potentially blind the opposing strikers in 1 v 1 situations
0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 09:46 - Oct 16 with 1129 viewsDaleiLama

Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 08:46 - Oct 16 by JimmyRustler

I'd be more inclined to use Alby at CB as opposed to Calvin for sh!ts and gigs....at least his pearly white gnashers could potentially blind the opposing strikers in 1 v 1 situations


Good call. His pate will provide an extra boost on the rare sunny days at Spotland!

Up the Dale - NOT for sale!
Poll: Is it coming home?

1
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 12:25 - Oct 16 with 1061 viewsParkinsGimp

Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 15:15 - Oct 15 by dingdangblue

It has been mentioned before - but Calvin surely could do the job - Hill has made so many more leftfield positional decisions (Bunney left back, Calvin left back, Henderson right back) - strange that he's never tried this pretty obvious one?


Well he's s"ite up front , so why not could become a Dean Walling.
0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 12:54 - Oct 16 with 1023 viewsTVOS1907

Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 12:25 - Oct 16 by ParkinsGimp

Well he's s"ite up front , so why not could become a Dean Walling.


Are there any Dale players you like?

Undoubted knowledge? Or just the application of common sense and using my brain?

0
Defensively -whole less than sum of parts on 10:26 - Oct 18 with 737 viewsRooleyMoorBlue

I see our defensive frailties being down to coaching. From set pieces they are being coached to defend and get tight to their forwards, when in reality we should be ignoring their forwards and attacking the ball not waiting for it to come over. The number of times forwards get to the ball first is embarrassing, usually because they are trying to keep up with the forwards. Attack the bloody ball!
0
About Us Contact Us Terms & Conditions Privacy Cookies Advertising
© FansNetwork 2024