A few thoughts on the team

I thought we looked very soft especially in midfield.We need some one who can boss the opponents with strong tackles and encourage his fellow midfielders.We didn't have any width which I found disappointing considering our success of the past 2 seasons has been based on 442 with our wingers causing plenty of problems,this might change when Isgrove gets fit.And a comment about Potts.He seems to be getting some stick, some of it justified but I thought we'd bought him to replace Watkins.I expected him to play out wide or up front like he did for Blackpool but we're using him as a central midfielder.I'm sure with a bit of fine tuning we'll be ok but yesterday left me scratching my head at times.

 

Potts got stick all game yesterday and half of it wasn't even his fault. Somebody gave him an absolute shocker of a pass at the edge of our area midway through the second half and some fans ripped into him for it. Seems to the the target for the boo boys, even though some of it is justified.

We've got to have a squad that can play numerous ways and Hecky has to also learn from tactical mistakes. He got it wrong yesterday.

 

The players we've got are young and inexperienced at this level. I believe the game against
Forest must have taken a lot out of them. They played OK on Tuesday and gave a good account
in the first half against Ipswich, so it's mystifying why they didn't turn up yesterday.

I concede United played at Cardiff on Tuesday, but they seemed to have come out of their game
fresher than us, plus they were the home team yesterday. Hopefully we'll put things right against
them at Oakwell.

 

They're a young team with very little experience at this level so it's inevitable they will be inconsistent. I was surprised Hecky went with 2 up front away at Bristol City and we were 3 down in 30 minutes. Ipswich and Forest showed improvement with a more defensive formation, but yesterday doesn't seem to have worked. It's a massive learning curve for Hecky and the players at the moment but there are signs that they could come good...

 

Hopefully we sign a centre back and honestly, maybe another midfielder? Hopefully McGeehan comes back soon enough and can add something, Isgrove will also add some speed. No speed or creativity at all on Saturday and not one clean sheet yet all season.

 

Was a bit too mad/disappointed to say too much yesterday so adopted the old "if tha' can't say owt good, say nowt". After a day's calmer reflection and without personalising things to any particular players, there are a number of real worries:-

1) Pace - The spreadsheet seems to have taken us to a position where the team has a real lack of pace. Thiam may be quick but I'm not sure that the injection of one or two speedy individuals will compensate for a more general lack of pace.

2) Strength - We seem to be all too regularly bullied off the ball, lose tackles and get manoeuvred out of possession far too easily. Someone pointed to the height of some of our players but this isn't equating to power/strength, or even aerial prowess. Leon Clarke, who is hardly a world-beater, totally out-muscled us, for example, yesterday.

3) Leadership - We seem to be devoid of leaders, ie players who roll their sleeves up and battle through adversity, set examples to others, get the communication going and organise. Contrast with eg the Prem promotion team, absolutely full of 'em, Redfearn, Thompson, De Zeeuw, Eaden, Wilkinson, Hendrie, Sheridan (sure I've missed one or two), our lads all seem like rabbits in the headlights. Sadly Angus is not a captain.

4) Fitness - I don't think this is through lack of effort on the club's part. Clearly the programme has worked on some. Adam Hammill for example looks much fitter than last season, but there are other players (younger than him) who just can't keep going and are unable to keep performance levels up for 90 minutes, including at least one who looks shagged out after 20 minutes in every game and has to bend over double every time the ball goes out of play.

There are other things of concern such as the speed of thought (it seems to take an age to play obvious balls) and attacking intent but I mention the four above in particular as they are not necessarily things that come with time or that will be rectified by and after a 'gelling' period. Most are fundamentals that need to be addressed via our recruitment (particularly the first three).

I get the "give 'em 10 games before you judge 'em" thing but unfortunately we don't have another six games before the window shuts, we only have one and then we have to go with what with got. It's not like two years ago when we could whistle up a Kevin Long on loan in the autumn to shore us up.

Therefore, to me, we need to still obtain that hard central spine to the team, a centre-half, centre-midfield and centre forward; a Roberts, a Scowen/Morsy and a Watkins (up-front version), if you will, in order to toughen us up and instil some leadership to the young charges. I'd say that a left-back is also essential, whether Fryers is fit or not. A pacy, effective, right-winger would complete my diagnosis.

Just my view, I know, but if we can't/don't recruit to get the fundamentals in place, we can twiddle about with formations and tactics until the cows come home but will get nowhere fast.

 

That's an interesting post Exile, and I think you rightly identify some of the main areas of concern. I do however view some of these areas slightly differently.

In regard to pace, I would contest the assertion that we don't have this. In the first 20-30 minutes of the Ipswich game and most of the first half against Forest I thought we showed pace in abundance. It perhaps wasn't surprising that we couldn't keep this up for 90 minutes, which really leads on to your point about fitness. I am guessing that with such a young squad as this it will take quite a few games and several weeks before we have built up their stamina to match the shorter-term bursts of pace. I thought that one or two periods of the Forest game were as good as some Premiership games I've seen live, but keeping that up for 90 minutes is a different matter at present.

On the strength issue, I didn't get the impression that we were particularly bullied in the Ipswich or Forest games - in fact I was quite surprised by our showing in this regard. We certainly seem to be building a team with a good bit more height. Again, I suspect that building the players up physically will be a gradual process for our sports science and fitness coaches. I'd argue that the raw material is there though.

On the leadership point, it's hardly surprising is it, given that we have now parted with three captains in eight months? In an ideal world Gus McDonald would still be learning from a steadier, more experienced centre back partner. Being able to retain the likes of Roberts or Scowen might be the main benefit of the new ownership regime? Let's hope so, as we can then start to believe that we are really building, rather than just fighting to retain our current standing. I think the 'speed of thought' point is well made. It will only come with Hecky's instruction (including video replays) and repetition after repetition after repetition. Only further down the line will we know which players are capable of taking this on board.

I share your scepticism about the tactics and formations, and I agree these can't alter the fact of whether the players 'have it'. But I think with the current coaching and fitness staffs, the raw promise of several of our new recruits and the possibility of greater cah resources which would allow us to hang on to what we are building, there are reasonable grounds for optimism. It may well continue to be a roller coaster up until January, but as 2015-16 showed, that's not a cut-off point.

 

We are going to get bullied out of games far too much this season unless we add some steel to our squad.

 

If it's steel like the Blunts had, they can keep it. I believe we'll be putting four past teams like that come the second half of the season.

 

No we wont mate, because by the time that match comes around, these young lads will have lost all heart, unless we get some players in alongside them so they are a bit protected and able to play their football, at the moment these young lads , who all maybe fantastic players individually, are not looking like a TEAM, too little bite in midfield, lack of aggression in defence, alongside the fact that the defenders seem unable to actually mark a man, leaves us with the fact we are going to have to score at least 3 goals a game to get a result ! The central spine of the team needs shoring up