I was left feeling very down after the game today. For long periods I thought we had the majority of possession and looked more comfortable on the ball than the opposition BUT I must confess to seeing the same game pan out everytime I watch the reds. Basically, we play neat tidy football in the middle most of the time but while we build we build too slowly and allow the opposition to get numbers behind the ball. When we have done this we then run out of ideas and cant deliver a good ball into the box because its too well guarded by the opponents. Similarly, when we are defending we are unable to adequately defend balls pinged into the box (especially in the air) and when we concede we then find it difficult to react because we continue to play the pretty stuff in midfield. We are thus caught in a trap and something has to happen quickly otherwise we will go down for sure. We were, in many respects 'better' than Brum. We were in many respects better than Wednesday. We lost both games. The manager for me has to get the players moving the ball upfield more quickly to take pressure off the defence. We are also seriously lacking someone with good reactions in the box (Davies, apart from the dreadful penalty does not have a predators instinct). We are, and have been lacking for some time, a really strong, combative centre-half (Hassell did ok today but faced with really big guys he's not good enough in that position). I have backed Hill all the way to date and believe in the style of football that he tries to get his players playing. However, its now horses for courses stuff for me and we need to get points on the board. If the pretty stuff isnt working in the medium term then the horse has to be altered. If Hill is the good manager I still think he is then he will now know he is in a dogfight and will be flexible enough to cut his cloth. I am a season ticket holder and like we all do I love the club but I am seriously considering not going on saturday just because I dont want to leave the ground thinking 'exactly the same as last game' and feeling completely fed up. I know I'll probably change my mind in a day or so and turn up and support but thats the way I'm feeling at the min. Cheers
I agree, I used to get frustrated with Doyle passing the ball sideways, that seems radical compared with Greening and his back-pass-tastic "vision". I think KH looks at his Pro-zone stats and thinks we're doing well, but if your 2 centre halfs are in the top 5 number of passes attempted pot then you need to have a word with yourself and recognise that 65% possesion in your own half isn't going to win you football games.
