Colchester team analysis and player ratings

The team formation seems to have got into a muddle. We won the first game against Swindon with some players (eg Austin) playing out of position. We then lost at Scnuthorpe. Maybe Ritchie thought that our weakness was down the flanks and decided to bolster our wide defensive capabilities by including Kay at right midfield to cover in front of Tonge and Williams at left midfield in front of Austin. Maybe the idea was then to hold Colchester at bay for, say, the first hour and then bring on substitutes, change to a more attacking formation and go for the win. I can't otherwise explain this strange formation, which did not produce coherent football and seemed to confuse the players. The defence was sound enough, but against a target-man striker in Iwelumo who, on that form, will be a handful for any defence. There was no coherence at all in midfield and this is where it just did not happen for us. I would have thought at least that Burns and McPhail were used to playing alongside each other, but there was no midfield hub controlling our passing game and, as a result, there was no passing game, just a few attempted passes and lost possession.

The other problem was that this formation gave us no obvious 'out ball' from defence. This was notable when Colgan was kicking from hand or dead ball and also when defenders were trying to convert defence into attack.

Colgan's main ploy was the long ball to the left wing where Williams was meant either to control it, or (more likely from the balls he received) head on for a forward. Neither ploy worked convincingly and we seldom turned defence to attack by this route.

The other really worrying weakness was the inability of the two strikers to get into the channels for balls played wide and to hold possession and turn towards goal. The balls were regularly played with the idea in mind as per Chopra last year of getting the striker into the channel down the wing and then turning for goal. When these balls were played to Nardiello, he either didn't have the pace, nor the timing to gain and then keep possession of the ball, or, as happened virtually all game long, he was simply brushed off the ball by the minimal of physical challenges and Colchester were not a rough side by any means. Hayes had the same problem down the other flank, seldom gaining, nor holding possession as was necessary in this formation of two running strikers. It was no good expecting Hayes or Nardiello to do a Conlon as a target man, although some of the more optimistic balls were pumped forward in this manner, with the inevitable and regular loss of possession against defenders who were much more adept at this high ball style of play.

The formation in midfield lacked the width and pace down the flanks to put pressure on the Colchester defence that way.

So, altogether a performance until the substitutions in which possession was seldom held for long and in which there was no clearly understood route to turn defence into attack and generate passing moves in the Colchester half of the field.

When the formation changed, we looked more threatening. Conlon was not as great a threat as Iwelumo, but he was worth his place for twenty minutes or so. Hayes and Nardiello seemed to do well against Swindon, pulling the defence apart with well-timed runs, so perhaps that will be the best combination for home games. I would have started with Conlon and kept Nardiello as substitute in order to give us a better 'out ball' in the defensive formation and also having two good attackers to bring on in Shuker and Nardiello when we wanted to change to a more attacking formation. Maybe that should be our away formation.

The other thing which really was a cause for concern was the players' body-language. Particularly when 1-0, the heads dropped and I could see us getting a thumping. At this stage of the season, I would expect a lot of pride and commitment and a real desire to bounce back from the disappointment of Scnuthorpe. This was absent and that has to be one of the most worrying aspects of our performance. Ritchie and Holden must sort this out, otherwise mid-table will seem like a good result for the season.

Player ratings to come soon.

 

Agree with most of that especially the body language comment - One thing I don't normally pick up on being in the East stand upper is how quiet our team is. There were 2-3 occasions where players lost the ball because no-one gave a 'man on' shout, and when Tonge made the mistake that led to the goal where were the experienced pros telling him to keep his head up. The term 'leader on the pitch' springs to mind.