Minority Report v Huddersfield Town

Okay, shoot me here. I've posted before that with an extra quality defender and most importantly a good seasoned target man we could move up a notch, even, top six notch so I'm loathed to criticise this team....Except.....two things.
1. We keep going for first time flick-ons/exhibition back heels/dummies when simple would see us keep position and be more dangerous especially in the final third
2. Walton has come on leaps and bounds but has gone backwards at commanding his six yard box let alone his area. Not sure I recall him cutting one cross out today (okay the wind may have foxed him). He's young and has potential, we need to sign a goalkeeping coach to develop him.

 

My point is that he always plays 3-4-3 no matter what system the opposition plays. Today Huddersfield played 4-3-3 with 2 of the front 3 playing wide. Their coach had watched us and had seen that we are weak at full back when attacked on the break. I have mentioned it in previous games. Today, after those 2 early chances, I thought that Brittain was urged to stay deeper, and was less effective as a result. The 3-4-3 press only changes, as far as I can see, in response to how the opposition want to get the ball up field. If the keeper kicks the ball from his hand to a target man, then there is no press, because there is no point. The front 3 then drop deeper and form a block, but other than that, I see little variation.

I really hope that you are wrong that I only write Minority Report as a way of proving myself right. I always want the best for Barnsley FC, and that certainly does lead me to some very strong opinions. However, I hope that if I am proven wrong, I will be happy to admit to it. That has certainly been the case about first goal winner football. I have explained in a fair degree of depth why I dislike 3-4-3. That does not make me right, by any means, but I will continue to explain the reasons why I hold an opinion so that other can judge me with a better knowledge of my reasoning.

All I ask is that others recognise that I hold the club dear, and that I always have the best of motives for making my comments, even if they are subsequently proved to be inaccurate.

 

I hope that you are right.

 

You mean 3-4-3

IT was stated before his arrival that he plays 3-4-3 no matter what. Based on what I have observed so far, I think that is right. Assuming it is right, he will be looking for players who can play that system better than the ones he has now. I do not see a target man on his shopping list in that case. Sorry, but that is the way I see it.

 

I would quote my entertainment stats, but I have been banned. Only joking!

 

Take care mate, I do like reading your reports, but you do seem a little over analytical at times. Just enjoy a win maybe sometimes....

especially at Christmas

You Boxing Day winning Reds

 

You see, I disagreed with that view last season, and I disagree with it now. Mads got a lot of stick from posters because he made errors, and those errors cost us goals. However, I always believed that he was young, than he was new to the country and he was playing at a level that he had never played at before. There was talent there then, and that talent is beginning to flower now. However, he is being asked to cover left back, and that means he has to tackle and block from his wrong side. He is often required to pass constructively with his weaker foot. He is not that quick, but he is covering in an area where he will come up against players with more pace than he has more often.

As for Sollbauer. He is our best reader. He is in the right place far more often than he is wrong, but sadly, he is not quick. That makes him a poor choice to cover full back.

My basic problem is that we have a back 3 who do not have much pace, but who are required to play a high line and cover at full back. With a back 4, we have more players in their comfort areas, and we have more pace from the full backs, who push inside towards the centre backs. It is only my opinion, of course, and as I have proved many times, I know very little about the game.

 

Red Rain, there will always be those who's glass is half full (or less) and those who feel more positive. However, your determination to report with negativity when we are at a higher position and getting better results than any of us expected is becoming a bit tedious. Why not try to give the coach and team some credit for progress made in regard to results and the league position? A recent post regarding little Lee indicated that you probably enjoy telling us "I told you so". At some point over the next few weeks we might have a less successful run. Some of us might suspect that you are waiting for this to happen so that you can do the same again. I hope not.

 

Be interesting to revisit people’s views should our form decline. Think people overlook a lot of shortcomings when we win - for obvious reasons. Hopefully we continue to win though of course!

 

We had seven shots to their one on target today. That tells you a fair bit I reckon.

 

I did mean 343.
I agree with your observation. What worries me is that we become predictable with no Plan B....something which many on here have complained about before.
No need to apologise for the way you see it. I just see it differently. With my crystal ball I predict he will look for the target man as the only tweak to his preferred system.
...and as for our shared view of the enigma which is Cauley, I also predict that he will play CW "off" that target man, wide, as part of his 343.

 

We shall see, all in good time.

 

It's your report, and you are entitled to your opinions. But reading it, I had to remind myself we'd won.

After 21 games of the 2016/17 season, when lots on the BBS suggested we had a big chance of getting into the playoffs, we were 12th with 28 points.

We are currently 10th with 31 points. We didn't win until game eight.

 

Doesn’t matter what the style of football is, views will be negative if the results aren’t good. There were lots of posts on this forum last season complaining about trying to play out from the back. I don’t think many enjoyed the 17 game winless run last season either.

This style is awful to watch when we don’t play well. When we do play well, we play some good stuff and score good goals. At least with this style, we’re not pushovers, which we have been against more physical sides in the last year or so

 

Statistics eh?

Best not to trust anyone with those.

 

There’s no right our wrong just discussion

I’d agree about a lack of pace. I prefer Williams who had some in the 3 but it’s fair to say that a back 3 will be far more natural than a 4 to our foreign players.

 

We didn’t play well today. We won. That’s the difference. People won’t stomach it for long when results go the other way.

 

Callum styles has the most interception is the whole league not bad for a lad that supposedly “does not have the right defensive instincts”

 

After 43 years on this beautiful planet, I've grown to learn many things.

One of the most valuable has been that the more people talk, the more they reveal about how little they know.

 

If you look back over my posts over the years, you will find that I am more supportive when we are struggling and more critical when we are winning. It is not that I was born awkward, although that is true. It is more that I try to support a team and coach when they are in trouble, and lower expectations when a team is doing well. In my experience, there is nothing worse than a group of fans have had their expectations raised, only find that they have been misled. VI is at the top of his popularity. It can only go down from here. I see nothing wrong with criticising someone when they are on top, although I do have problems with kicking someone when he is down.