Minority Report v Huddersfield Town

Discussion in 'Bulletin Board' started by Red Rain, Dec 4, 2021.

  1. Red

    Red Rain Well-Known Member

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    Our last home game was awful. We had only 21% possession. In the away game that followed, we had just 39% possession. Asbaghi explained it all away by suggesting that we had been conceding too many goals, and that we had to go back to basics defensively with scoring goals a less important priority. Since the Peterborough game, Asbaghi has had a week with the players and I hope he has dealt with all the issues, both in defence and in attack, because the Huddersfield game represents a chance to get going again. The Terriers are currently 8th, but my Entertainment Index Table places them in 21st position, and even the Performance Index Table places them 13th. Let us hope that the team show more going forward than they have of late, because if we sit back and hope for a break on the counter, it will play into their hands.


    I see lots of comments which accuse some of the players of not being good enough. Minority Report assumes that as individuals, our players will not be the best in the league. It is the job of our coach to pick 11 players, and to blend those players together so that the whole is better than the sum of those individuals. It always has been. I still remember Danny Wilson taking over from Viv Anderson and turning a struggling team into one promoted to the Premier League. In order to do that, the coach has to pick the right tactics (including the system) and he has to pick the right player for each position. Even then, there is still one missing ingredient. The players must understand their roles, they must understand the system and it all must happen automatically, otherwise the game can be lost because of thinking time. Today we returned to 3-4-3. OK, it was not quite the same version of 3-4-3 as Markus Schopp employed, but frankly the differences appeared mostly cosmetic. Yet it did not work as well. I lost count of the times in the first half when there was no-one taking responsibility for a defensive situation, the moment of thinking time that I refer to above. As I said above, some of the defensive changes were cosmetic, but one of those cosmetic changes was that Helik and Kitching were encouraged to play further forward when we had secure possession, with Mads Andersen trying to secure the back door on his own at times. Unfortunately, Helik misplaced his pass whilst he was further forward, and Huddersfield took advantage of unexpectedly regaining possession and Helik being missing from the heart of our defence, to score with ease. Last season, Helik was superb, but if we ask him to leave his comfort zone to play in a different way, a way that means he has to think differently, there are going to be errors, at least in the short term.


    My problems with 3-4-3 today were more than that though. Once again, I was sitting in my seat growing more and more frustrated. As Manchester City show us every week, the game is about pace and movement. It is about catching the opposition defence unprepared, and in order to do that, your team has to get the ball forward quickly. There are two components to getting the ball forward quickly. Movement of the players ahead of the ball in search of space and time, and players in possession of the ball prepared to hit the ball forward more often than not, because the first aimless back pass means that momentum is lost, and the chance to catch your opponent unprepared is gone. I know that we are not Manchester City, but somehow we have found the one Manchester City player who habitually passes the ball backwards. Can the answer really be to return to a midfield four with 2 defensive midfield players at its core? A defensive midfield player will always regard ball retention as a more important factor than is risk. Consequently, he will always have a tendency to pass negatively, and a team in trouble will have no problem finding negativity, without employing even more at the centre of midfield.


    However, as I said earlier, in order for it all to work, we have to have movement ahead of the ball. On the left, the movement was fine, and consequently, Carlton Morris was our main outlet and our biggest threat. However, on the right, the only movement I saw from Iseka was in his attempts to go into hiding. He was awful from the start, but he gradually got worse. Cauley Woodrow does not lead the line in the manner of a true centre forward. He does not have the pace or the physical attributes to do so, but at least he does not hide, and his work rate earned him a thumbs up from me today. Cauley is having to do a job to which he is not truly suited. He does not complain. He simply gets on with it. If he is to be replaced, there must be a candidate who will do the job better. We have now seen all the prospective candidates, and personally, I do not see anyone knocking on the door.


    Finally, I would like to return to the subject of negativity. I had been calling for the substitution of Iseka from about the half hour. I had told anyone around me willing to listen that what we needed was someone to attack them with pace on the right side, as Morris was doing on the left. I fully expected his replacement to be Devante Cole, but what we got was Victor Adeboyejo. Now, I am sure that Adeboyejo has many positive attributes, but pace is not one of them. From being the team mostly likely to find a winner, we turned into the team hanging on for a grim home draw. So why was our new coach so reluctant to go in search of a much needed winner? Why was he content to defend deeper and hold on for the draw? Frankly, I do not know for certain, but I am not enjoying the process of considering the possibilities, and negativity is one of them.



    Entertainment Index:

    Barnsley 71

    Huddersfield Town 133

    Match 204


    Performance Index: -68


    PotM Carlton Morris
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2021
  2. Sim

    Simon De Montforte Well-Known Member

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    Best one yet. 100% agree with your last paragraph.We need wins but it looked very much like the manager was happy with the draw. Cole must be abysmal in training if he can't get on the pitch ahead of Victor.
     
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  3. Farnham_Red

    Farnham_Red Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    Fair summary I particularly dislike the way we pull everyone back to defend. For their corners our furthest forward player is on the edge of our box. That means if we do get the ball there isn’t a pass on and the ball invariably comes straight back

    The times when we did break and then stop and pass back were very frustrating.

    That said we were far better today than any game in the last couple of months
     
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  4. dod

    dodgey defence Well-Known Member

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    Agree with a lot of that especially not bringing Cole on but surprised that you've singled out Gomes for ball retention when that is Cauleys primary concern these days. The killer pass is what the main players are paid for
     
  5. Jay

    Jay Well-Known Member

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    I thought it was little bit better than you have painted it but can't argue with the points that Gomes goes backwards too often, Iseka was poor and his replacement should have been Cole. I can't think of a single reason why it wasn't Cole. I would have brought Victor on too, but as a replacement for Woodrow who had worked hard and was shattered.
     
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  6. red

    redrum Well-Known Member

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    Victor's hit and miss at times he adds things to the game with his work rate and hold up play, today we saw none of that. I thought the game was crying out for Cole with their high line at times and abit of pace to run at defenders.
     
  7. Gegenpresser

    Gegenpresser Well-Known Member

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    That report is just a plumped up version of the bleedin obvious.......that other experts like me (heh heh) have already posted.

    For example, your last paragraph takes 4 lines to say that Cole should have replaced Iseka who was crap, rather than Vic. Plus we all know Woodrow was OK today but isn't a centre forward.

    The only minority aspect of your report is in my opinion your description of Man City as a team that wins games by moving the ball forward quickly, and not playing it backwards. Every Man City player regularly plays it backwards. All the time. That's how they eventually find the gaps.

    Have you watched them regularly? They will break if they can but Man City generally roll up to the other side's penalty box after playing it around. Then they camp there playing it back and forward until the other team's defenders fall asleep, and then they're in business.

    I could go on, but I might be accused of mega negativity.
     
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  8. Red

    Red Rain Well-Known Member

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    Perhaps I need to change the name of Minority Report to Stating the Obvious.
     
  9. Gegenpresser

    Gegenpresser Well-Known Member

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    Well if we all left the obvious out of our posts I must admit that there'd be a mass bundle of tumbleweed blowing through the BBS.
     
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  10. Jimmy viz

    Jimmy viz Well-Known Member

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    Decent write up. Thought the Vic sub was a poor call and Vic just looked not up to the task and disinterested.
     
  11. Duntpasstome

    Duntpasstome Well-Known Member

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  12. nezbfc

    nezbfc Well-Known Member

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    Think you have that one spot on.

    The getting forward with pace.

    Yes, I saw that and was frustrated with it.

    I thought one of the main culprits was iseka. We did at times start to break with pace, and it arrived at his feet. Now either run at them, or give to the overlapping wing back. Unfortunately he did neither. And I like the kid, but he wasn't at the races today.

    We were better, no doubt. And slowly getting better. Can we push on and start attacking.... Dunno, like you, I'm concerned. But at least it's not the performance from earlier in the season.
     
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