| Season changing match hopefully 17:04 - Sep 18 with 2620 views | WalterBoyd |
That will be great for morale.
Russ hopefully has a better idea after that, who to start with. His best players.
Let's use this as a springboard to an improved season.
There is light at end of the tunnel. |  | | |  |
| Season changing match hopefully on 13:07 - Sep 19 with 426 views | jackrmee |
| Season changing match hopefully on 12:19 - Sep 19 by angryjack |
Walsh was one of the problems yesterday..don't work hard enough off the ball.. |
He's just coming back from injury though mate.
He was only meant to play 60mins tops yesterday.
He evidently had a poor half, so was hooked, and rightly so.
Good management. |  |
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| Season changing match hopefully on 13:47 - Sep 19 with 400 views | angryjack |
| Season changing match hopefully on 13:07 - Sep 19 by jackrmee |
He's just coming back from injury though mate.
He was only meant to play 60mins tops yesterday.
He evidently had a poor half, so was hooked, and rightly so.
Good management. |
First goal after 7 minutes he was sleeping left his man run off him to score.if he was alert or maybe just cheating thinking the ball wouldn't drop to his man,but it did and he scored should have at least run with him and put him off. | | | |
| Season changing match hopefully on 13:55 - Sep 19 with 391 views | jackrmee |
| Season changing match hopefully on 13:47 - Sep 19 by angryjack |
First goal after 7 minutes he was sleeping left his man run off him to score.if he was alert or maybe just cheating thinking the ball wouldn't drop to his man,but it did and he scored should have at least run with him and put him off. |
You're probably right about that. I hadn't noticed that. Let's hope Martin has and lets Walsh know he needs to do better.
I really like the look of Walsh, in the long term though. I've already accepted that he won't be up to speed for a while. | |
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| Season changing match hopefully on 20:36 - Sep 19 with 337 views | WalterBoyd |
Walsh looks way of the pace so far. No room to carry players, we already have Grimes. Cup games only. | | | |
| Season changing match hopefully on 00:47 - Sep 22 with 295 views | Rock |
| Season changing match hopefully on 18:49 - Sep 18 by KeithHaynes |
It most certainly will tell the players how this system works, it genuinely needs a player like Ntcham to make it tick, not a Grimes with a Downes for sure. Ntcham was absolutely stunning today. We could have out seven past them in the second half. |
Agreed, Keith, Ntcham was excellent after he came on. Passion, application, ability - everything we need from him going forward. Hopefully he can sustain it, because he will light up the division on that form, and will help bring the best out of Piröe and Obafemi up top top. His movement was excellent, always getting into pockets of space between the lines and his passing was quick, crisp and always to the right spots at the right time in Martin’s system.
Ntcham demonstrated that playing a bit deeper with the play in front of him is where he is suited best, so it will be interesting to see how Martin fits everything together. We spurned four big chances in the second half, hit the woodwork and then obviously scored the three goals. Unbelievable performance, kudos to all involved, everything we needed after the two goalless draws and the terrible first half.
Martin has said Downes is still recovering from COVID and he looks it, and Walsh is quite clearly nowhere near completely matchfit, so there will be time to switch up the XI over the next few weeks as everyone gets their conditioning up. Definitely think Grimes is beginning to look the odd man out, though. He’s got excellent stamina, though, so he’s getting the minutes at the moment. That may change soon, though. |  | | |
| Season changing match hopefully on 00:55 - Sep 22 with 287 views | Rock |
| Season changing match hopefully on 20:56 - Sep 18 by Brynmill_Jack |
Grimes sadly is far to slow in thought and deed for this system. I fully agree with the Doc - the Downes Nitcham Walsh axis must be tried out. I have a feeling that the speeded up possession game will give our wing backs much needed front foot ball. They need to be stealing a March on their opponents and getting in behind.
With a technically gifted striker in Piroe and a pacy partner in Obafemi we could have a very potent attacking game. |
Agreed on the midfield, Brynmill (and Doc and Jackrmee).
For me, Grimes has to be dropped when everyone is matchfit, he’s been mostly pedestrian this season, slowing down the play continuously and putting us under massive pressure constantly because of his inability to control or pass the ball with his right foot. Always wants it on his left, always opens his hips up to his left, nine times out of ten passes to his left, and the opposition are very aware of that. Makes it really difficult to play through pressure when it’s so obvious what he wants to do.
Like you said, I think a midfield three of Walsh, Downes, Ntcham would bring so much to our game - incisive passing and dribbling, intelligence, technique, physicality, tenacity- we would look a much different team than having Grimes on the pitch. For all his unmatched durability and endurance, his game is still rather limited. A three of Walsh-Downes-Ntcham in the centre, along with Piröe and Obafemi up top and Laird out wide, would be one of the best attacking units in the Championship, hands down.
Whether Martin will do that soon remains to be seen, everyone needs to get fit and up to speed first, but it’s an excellent proposition to have. I don’t expect to see this lineup in the XI too soon, but it would be a great way to add some spark in the second half if we are chasing a goal or looking for some creativity. | | | |
| Season changing match hopefully on 01:07 - Sep 22 with 279 views | Rock |
| Season changing match hopefully on 21:02 - Sep 18 by jackrmee |
Yeah I do agree. I would probably go for DOwnes Ntcham Walsh too, but I don't think RM will.
Also agree with the WB comments.
It's strange though. Bidwell is always waiting like a sprinter on their blocks, directly on the shoulder of his defender, ready to latch on to the ball over the top.
But Laird always cuts back inside in order to receive the ball, which causes him to have a player to dribble past. He does manage to win the dribble most of the time though.
Just seems strange that both WBs use different tactics.
Oba and Piroe should compliment eachother perfectly. They simply must start together. |
You’re right, Jackrmee, there are different tactics for the wing-backs, especially whenever Bidwell is on.
On the left, Bidwell’s strengths lie in his crossing, and he has the unique ability of almost always being able to lift the ball over the defender and with pace, even when they are defending him tightly. His precision when passing the ball on the ground is not the best, though. And it’s his natural inclination to want to get in behind, stemming partly from from his crossing and partly from the fact he has a lot of difficulty controlling the ball with his right foot, so he is more reticent to cut inside. Manning is more capable with the ball at his feet and with his passing, so he is used more for ball circulation and to control possession, but he does make some nice off the ball runs when he actually stays upright.
For Laird, his dribbling ability and pace are two of his biggest strengths, and he uses them in different ways to get past his marker. He is much more two-footed and potent when getting into the channels, and his unpredictability allows him to dance by his marker, as they are not sure which way he’s going to go or how he’ll get there. In particular, he likes to shift the ball from one foot to the other and use a burst of speed to set up a cross or a cutback.
Getting Laird in one-on-one situations with his marker allows him to do two things simultaneously - if he beats his man he’s eliminated a defender from the play, and then it drags another player over to cover which opens up space, typically in the penalty area and close to goal. After a couple of these, the defence starts to double-mark him as soon as he gets the ball, which opens up more space. His cutbacks into the box are especially accurate, like we saw with Piröe’s goal against Luton. This is something that comes from his coaching at Man U, as the big clubs have wisened up to the fact that they are far more effective than typical crosses.
These are all elements of their skillsets that Martin would have identified, and he is using their natural abilities to provide different advantages to our attack. Obafemi and Piröe would also provide that upfront, and it is something I am sure Martin is trying to work out how to best utilise them together. Exciting attack we’re shaping up to have, blue skies on the horizon. | | | |
| Season changing match hopefully on 01:09 - Sep 22 with 274 views | Dr_Parnassus |
Has someone been on the sauce or something?
What a binge  |  |
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| Season changing match hopefully on 01:19 - Sep 22 with 265 views | Rock |
| Season changing match hopefully on 21:39 - Sep 18 by dobjack2 |
Under Cooper amongst other things we moved the ball far too slowly. Under Martin we also need to speed things up. Any common denominator?
I know Martin usually played with 2 defensive midfielders at MK Dons however I agree that certainly at home once/provided all are fully fit Downes Walsh and Ntcham should be tried with Piroe and Obafemi.
My concern though is the pace of our central defenders to deal with us giving the ball away in midfield or dealing with counter attacks.
Probably a comment that will come back to haunt me. |
Spot on, Dobjack.
The one clear issue we have playing Martin’s system with three at the back and the wing-backs pushed high is that our centre-backs all lack pace, aside from Latibeaudiere, who can be a bit impatient and reckless at times trying to win a tackle when he should sit off a bit more. We are susceptible to counter-attacks a little too easily as a result, especially when we give the ball away cheaply.
One of the key reasons why possession, dominating the ball and accurate, quick passing is such a necessity for us, and it also opens the opposition up when played to the right spots at the right time, as we saw in the second half against Luton.
But like you say, we have a bit of a conundrum with our central defenders, as none of them truly have the kind of quickness you’d want in Martin’s system, but it can be compensated for. The three quickest we have are Latibeaudiere, Cabango and Williams, but none are sprinters. Cabango is excellent in one-on-one duels and defending space, Williams is a monster in the air with good ability on the ball, and Latibeaudiere brings tenacity and energy. Bennett and Naughton are the old heads and Cooper is physical and likes a diagonal ball, so they’ve all got strengths for us to build on.
Interesting how Martin will make it all work, he has slid in Downes in the backline to help shore up the defence in transitional play recently. Wonder what he’s got up his sleeve as the season progresses, he’s a really unique, intelligent manager with his tactics. | | | |
| Season changing match hopefully on 01:31 - Sep 22 with 257 views | Rock |
| Season changing match hopefully on 13:55 - Sep 19 by jackrmee |
You're probably right about that. I hadn't noticed that. Let's hope Martin has and lets Walsh know he needs to do better.
I really like the look of Walsh, in the long term though. I've already accepted that he won't be up to speed for a while. |
Spot on, Jackrmee.
Walsh isn’t matchfit yet, he’s coming off of a hamstring injury, which are notoriously difficult to manage, and it was a tough away match where we were under the gun almost from the beginning. Not exactly ideal conditions for his full debut, and his performance should be judged accordingly.
Walsh, like Ntcham, is much more suited to playing deeper, with the pitch and play in front of him, where he can use his vision to make line-breaking passes and ability to carry the ball forward much more. He’s a fat more dangerous player in that situation. I understand why Martin was playing him off Obafemi as a right-sided attacking midfielder, but it’s not a position where you’re going to see him at his best.
Having said that, along with Paterson he was our best player in the first half, which is not saying much as everyone was pretty poor, but still that’s the truth. Had some nice touches, played the simple passes to the open man and kept getting into pockets of space between the lines, which opened Luton up several times early on.
But overall our ball movement was too slow and we weren’t doing a good job at playing through Luton’s press. Walsh definitely doesn’t deserve much blame for the overall performance, although he should’ve kept tighter to Berry on the first goal, a lapse of concentration on a throw-in is not the most egregious mistake, though.
He’s nowhere near completely matchfit, that’s going to take a bit of time, but we still saw what he can bring against Millwall, even in limited minutes. The introductions of him and Obafemi completely changed the game, and we should’ve won. He’ll get much better as he gets up to speed, for me he’s the key to the season. | | | |
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