Yesterday’s Performance

[sainthelens]

I mean we had a go first half. We had them penned in for most of it, just couldn't brake them down. Quality in the final third was woeful, no idea from corners or how to penetrate the penalty area.

Second half was different. We weren't nearly as in control of the game. As much as we looked more threatening we looked completely open, if they're players decided to get at us on the counter attack they would have got another, Sorba Thomas and their number 7 turned down the chance to have a go 1v1 fortunately for us. Too often Cabango and Darling were left exposed to their wide players and a better team scores 2 or 3 of those chances.

We been dominating possession for years pal. Teams are wise by knowing we struggle to penetrate defences so sit back. Saying that, Huddersfield were fckn awful....and we still couldn't break em down. We have the players to do it, but the coaching/managing is total crap.

 

[SwansInTheLake]

We been dominating possession for years pal. Teams are wise by knowing we struggle to penetrate defences so sit back. Saying that, Huddersfield were fckn awful....and we still couldn't break em down. We have the players to do it, but the coaching/managing is total crap.

Has nothing to do with us as a team, Huddersfield's possession over their last 4 games has been in the 20-30% range. They're game is about being solid and getting goals on the counter. We knew exactly what was coming, yet had no idea what to do to create some decent chances against it, and were completely open to their counter attacks.

You say Huddersfield were awful? I don't think that's true at all, they put in a decent defensive display away from home. That's exactly why we struggled to break them down, we were the awful team, and they will be gutted not to have come away with the win.

 

[Pegojack]

I agree with Darren. I think many posters on here forget there are two teams of professional footballers on the field. No team is going to roll over for us, Huddersfield were always going to bust a gut to take home the three points after Bango gifted them a goal.
I thought we really went at them in the second half. The three subs were well judged, but they begged the question why weren't Patino and Key on from the start? Why the hell was Naughton in the starting line up? And why is Duff wasting Cullen out on the wing where he's not confortable?
The second half also showed up our striker limitations. Lowe's first touch was frequently awful, and Yates was just - awful.
Fulton is getting a lot of stick on here but I thought he had a great second half. Worked his socks off. I also think many don't appreciate the work Grimes gets through, virtually everything goes through him in midfield.
Bolasie looks like a great impact sub but maybe doesn't have a full 90 minutes in his legs yet. Pato was industrious but I wish he could learn not to lean back when shooting from distance. And our centre backs need some intensive coaching on directing free headers from corners into the net. Darling's miss in the last ten seconds was heart breaking.
No bizarre team selections against Rotherham please, Mr Duff, play your best eleven from the start:
Rushworth
Key, Humphries, Darling, Tymon
Grimes, Fulton, Patino
Pato
Cullen, Lowe

 

[Darran]

I agree with Darren. I think many posters on here forget there are two teams of professional footballers on the field. No team is going to roll over for us, Huddersfield were always going to bust a gut to take home the three points after Bango gifted them a goal.
I thought we really went at them in the second half. The three subs were well judged, but they begged the question why weren't Patino and Key on from the start? Why the hell was Naughton in the starting line up? And why is Duff wasting Cullen out on the wing where he's not confortable?
The second half also showed up our striker limitations. Lowe's first touch was frequently awful, and Yates was just - awful.
Fulton is getting a lot of stick on here but I thought he had a great second half. Worked his socks off. I also think many don't appreciate the work Grimes gets through, virtually everything goes through him in midfield.
Bolasie looks like a great impact sub but maybe doesn't have a full 90 minutes in his legs yet. Pato was industrious but I wish he could learn not to lean back when shooting from distance. And our centre backs need some intensive coaching on directing free headers from corners into the net. Darling's miss in the last ten seconds was heart breaking.
No bizarre team selections against Rotherham please, Mr Duff, play your best eleven from the start:
Rushworth
Key, Humphries, Darling, Tymon
Grimes, Fulton, Patino
Pato
Cullen, Lowe

Of course you do and that’s because ew knows ew stuff like me.

 

[Vetchonian]

Giving it a go? Can you imagine what we could be like if Duff played to our strengths?

Playing Fulton at right back isn’t one of these. I’d love to see the thinking behind some of his tactical and selection decisions. The mind boggles.

At half time Duff set us up 2-3-5 when we had the ball in the first half we bossed possession spent most of our time camped in the Huddersfield half but they gad numbers back so Duff decided to bolster the attack. He pushed Walsh and Pato up front with Boalasie, Yates and Lowe with Tymon pushing up into midfield with us switching ro 4-3-3 without the ball with Fulton dropping to RB Tymon to LB ,Boalasie and Lowe dropping to midfield.
For.me ot was good tactics but I think he should have left Cullen on and put him in the middle and stopped Fulton for Key but using the same set up.
I know many will not agree bit I think that half time change showed some tactical nous.....I don't have answers for the starting.line up but I wonder if the off field forces talked about involve fiscal presuures in selections especially with the Key fee tribunal looming

 

[Longlostjack]

Having a go is the bare minimum I would expect. The first half we were shocking, there was no tempo and no pace to our play. Huddersfield clearly came to camp 11 behind the ball and play for a point and Cabango commits the cardinal sin of the defender by sliding in towards your own goal to cut out a ball across his own six yard box, no surprises that the lead is gifted to them and they clam up even more.

The walking pace 3 or 4 touch football we played in the first half was never going to break them down if we played for 450 minutes let alone 45. Fulton and Grimes were guilty 9 times out of 10 of looking for the easy pass back and not even getting their heads up or their bodies side on to the ball to have the option of moving forward.

Walsh and Paterson were picking up some great positions between the defence and attack but we were hardly ever looking to thread the ball through to them, no surprises that on the few occasions we did we looked a threat and created chances.

Cardinal sin? Sorry Baka but what if he hadn’t tried to block the cross? He‘d have had pelters. We agree normally but on this one I reckon you‘re being harsh.

 

[magicdaps10]

Cardinal sin? Sorry Baka but what if he hadn’t tried to block the cross? He‘d have had pelters. We agree normally but on this one I reckon you‘re being harsh.

Cabango is taking the pelters but Grimes was the source for a stupid pass that started it all.....fasy forward the cross and there is very little danger, one attacker at the far post with Humphreys goalside.
Rushworth needs to be commanding the situation there and telling Cabango that it's his ball.

Grimes takes the blame for being source for a nonsense pass.

 

[J_B]

Yeah, communication was either non existent or poor. Cabango should have got a shout of keeper or leave it.

Having said that Cabango was terrible all game.

 

[Whaleoilbeefhooked]

Basically, we have a lack of pace in most positions. You could see that instantly when Bolasie came on.
In my humble opinion you can’t beat 2 wide players (wingers in old money) with pace.
You can see it when we play against sides with them, we find it hard to cope with it, as do most sides.
In retrospect, Ginnely was a huge loss for us, when you consider half the time Cullen is played out wide. Enough said !
Where is the pace in our side?
Lowe and Paterson, and now (thank gawd) Bolasie, that’s it.
When you have a midfield of Grimes, Fulton, Patino you are not going to move the ball quickly.
I’m not a fan of Yates, but this is not helping his game either.
What price a Leighton James now?
Hope he’s recovering, and get well soon YJB

 

[bakajack]

Cardinal sin? Sorry Baka but what if he hadn’t tried to block the cross? He‘d have had pelters. We agree normally but on this one I reckon you‘re being harsh.

I'm sticking to my opinion on this, there are times where you try to block the cross and times that you don't. When you are behind on the play and the ball is going between you and the six yard box and you know you can't get your foot goal side I was taught not to slide in to try to cut it out because the odds are very high that you will see exactly what happened on Saturday.

 

[Pegojack]

I'm sticking to my opinion on this, there are times where you try to block the cross and times that you don't. When you are behind on the play and the ball is going between you and the six yard box and you know you can't get your foot goal side I was taught not to slide in to try to cut it out because the odds are very high that you will see exactly what happened on Saturday.

I agree, although Rushworth should have shouted him to leave it; I don't know, perhaps he did I know Bango hasn't got eyes in the back of his head, but Humphries was there between the cross and the attacker too, he would probably have cleared it.
I remember Tatey doing that many years ago at Northampton. He was facing out to the touchline and as the cross came in, he went to boot it away to touch with his right. Instead it sliced off the side of his boot and went into the roof of the net like a bluddy rocket.

 

[SwansInTheLake]

I'm sticking to my opinion on this, there are times where you try to block the cross and times that you don't. When you are behind on the play and the ball is going between you and the six yard box and you know you can't get your foot goal side I was taught not to slide in to try to cut it out because the odds are very high that you will see exactly what happened on Saturday.

Sorry, but you are talking bollox. What level did you get taught to play at?

Attached the image of the cross as it comes in, there's no way Cabango or Rushworth can see whats going on in the box and how many Huddersfield players are there or where they are, so they have to deal with the cross. That's literally Cabango's job here to stop crosses. He's basically on the wide edge of the six yard box so not even in the width of the posts. If he leaves that and it rolls to the far post where Sorba-Thomas gets a tap in, he's getting pelters. Humphreys isn't 100% sure where the player behind him is, and he is within the width of the goal, so very difficult to get the ball away, and much riskier if he calls 'leave it'.

What he does happens hundreds of times without consequence throughout a season, its a freak incident in which the ball is whipped across at pace and he's got a few milliseconds to react. If the ball goes a couple of inches to the left its a great block that goes behind for a corner, a couple to the right and it hits Rushworth who can catch it and no one looks at the incident again. Mistakes happen, its part of football. That was the second minute of the game and not an excuse for the result. Let's look at the previous 10 seconds where we give the ball away from a misplaced pass in their half and fail to stop the counter attack despite having players back.

 

[swansvalleyjack]

Basically, we have a lack of pace in most positions. You could see that instantly when Bolasie came on.
In my humble opinion you can’t beat 2 wide players (wingers in old money) with pace.

You are bang on the money about pace, we need fast outlets on the flanks.

Ginnelly gave us brief hope before his injury, but we need more pace in the team.

Bolasie at 34 is showing what we need...as well as being bloody exciting to watch....but I guess he can't do 90 mins.

Hell, what I'd give even for Paul Anderson. Let alone, for example, Dyer, Sinclair, Montero ( when fit !). And we all remember Dan James' impact straight from the Academy. That's the last we saw of wingplay pace.

Yet most of the good teams down here this season have tormented us with direct pace on the touchline.

Apart from being bloody good to watch...it's SO effective. Stretches defences, none of this slow build up and tippy tappy outside the penalty box, with 10 defenders blocking any way in.

Plus an outlet for our defenders to aim for. Rather than ineffective balls to Yates surrounded by a couple of 6ft + defenders. That's only good for a Bony, Scotland or Danny Graham.

I know pace costs money, but a far better return on spend than someone like Tymon. Pay a bit more for some quality pace !!

But it won't happen under these owners....

 

[jasper_T]

I know pace costs money, but a far better return on spend than someone like Tymon. Pay a bit more for some quality pace !!

But it won't happen under these owners....

Tymon and Yates cost a fortune.

 

[swansvalleyjack]

Yes, true....but neither of them are making the difference we need.