Don’t have much to say on the game, pretty much everyone has summed up my feelings. I thought we were crying out for Kellan Gordon yesterday. Everything kept getting played down the left hand side and it wasn’t working. Having some more width on the right would have helped us and probably prevented Williams’s mistake giving him a right hand option.
Don’t have much to say on the game, pretty much everyone has summed up my feelings. I thought we were crying out for Kellan Gordon yesterday. Everything kept getting played down the left hand side and it wasn’t working. Having some more width on the right would have helped us and probably prevented Williams’s mistake giving him a right hand option.
Agree totally, Gordon isn't great at defending, but he tracks back and offers the support Williams was desperately lacking yesterday. Darcy doesn't offer that as a supposed wing back, he is playing more as an out and out winger. And Will Wright wasn't really dropping back in to help, more to get in the way at times.
I don’t understand Scott’s obsession with a back three when we haven’t the players to do it. Neither Ransom or Williams are outside back 3 players. Why not go to a back four with Conroy and Ransom in the middle with Tsaroulla and Gordon left and right backs and Williams sitting in front of them. We were beaten down the sides far too easily yesterday and I think a back four would have stopped that.
I don’t understand Scott’s obsession with a back three when we haven’t the players to do it. Neither Ransom or Williams are outside back 3 players. Why not go to a back four with Conroy and Ransom in the middle with Tsaroulla and Gordon left and right backs and Williams sitting in front of them. We were beaten down the sides far too easily yesterday and I think a back four would have stopped that.
This. Back four, those players. Williams can be the DM. He was played out of position yesterday and had a nightmare. Forget trying to play it out from the back and constant passing back to the keeper. We can't do it well enough and it's costing us games. Clearly our management see things differently and nothing will change I'm sure. Well, Maguire back in for Ransom. That's a given.
We are miles better than last season it’s night and day.
Credit to SL for recruiting and for basically creating and improving most of the team from scratch.
But as you say home form is now of concern.
Only a short time ago I looked forward to home games with a smug feeling of knowing we’d basically nearly always get a positive result!
I now turn up with feelings of doubt and nervousness. Why?
Because we’re letting teams dictate to us. I turned to the person next to me yesterday and said Salford look like the home team.
They were bossing us.
We need tougher playing staff and harder attitudes towards the opposition.
Why do I need to say that towards professional football players?
One thing I still have, and make no apologies for, is complete confidence in SL.
Please, please let’s sign some more quality and competitive players in this transfer window
Our home form has been good. Yesterday we were playing against a team who were all fired up to be playing for their manager. How often do you see a team who were dreadful suddenly turn it on and get a result when a new manager comes along. The goal they was gift from Williams. We’ve had more good days than bad days this season.
I've looked several times and reckon it's inconclusive from that angle, but certainly looks worth a shout.
My reasons are as follows:
(1) we don't have a good view because the defender's body is between camera and arm/ball
(2) the ball travelled a very short distance before connecting with arm (if it did connect), giving no real opportunity to withdraw the arm
(3) although hard to tell from that angle, the likelihood appears to be that the defender's upper arm was tucked in but the lower arm may have been stuck out
(4) if the ball did connect with the defender's arm, it would probably hinge on whether it connected with his upper arm (tucked in) or his lower arm (possibly flailing), bearing in mind that elbow would probably be tucked in.
I take the view that if the ball connected with a tucked-in part of the arm then no penalty, but if it connected with a flailing part of the arm (if it was flailing), then probably a penalty.
Although the view from the camera was inconclusive, it was better than the view I had on the day. I was near the corner flag on the lino's side and other players obstructed my view. I imagine the lino's view was similar to mine.
My feeling was (and from having a good clear view) the player using his arm to actually control and stop the ball before then going on to clear it.
It was quite something to see, but no use crying over spilt milk as they say.
Indeed, on the day it hinged on whether the ref was unsighted as he was the only official who *may* have had a view. A lot of bodies were around so perhaps he was unable to tell. I'll have a moan at officials as much as anyone, but only if the error is blatant (think Tilley v Leyton Orient where the ball was so far over the line it was nearly in the car park).
Post by broadfielddave on Jan 15, 2024 12:17:14 GMT
A few thoughts. Firstly, it was a dreadful performance. To allow any opposition team to have 35 shots and 12 on target in any game is really bad. To allow it on your own ground is far worse. To allow it against a team fighting relegation (even though they've clearly been underachieving) is absolutely scandalous.
The booing. Personally, I hate it and whatever people want to think, it will never ever help. Letting the players and manager know that you're not happy is one thing, but booing is basically the equivalent of spitting in their faces. Someone earlier justified it by saying that City fans did it the other week. Yes, and they were roundly ridiculed as being entitled morons by all and sundry. Booing should be reserved for teams in crisis, not teams just having a bad day at the office.
That said, I didn't hear any booing in the first half tbh, while the booing at HT I assumed was for the dog**** officials. The booing in the second half I only heard just after they scored, when the very first thing we did was pass the ball back to Corey under zero pressure yet again. I think the booing was simply aimed at that weird tactic where we've decided Corey should not only save us with a million stops, but should also be our chief playmaker. Booing as a weapon of choice is still wrong and sends completely the wrong message. Despite all that, I actually thought the majority of fans did well on Saturday, I heard a lot more shouts of encouragement, which frankly the players hadn't really earned, than boos.
As for the team, kudos to Corey. Panic set in when I saw we had no sub keeper, so I was just praying Corey stayed on the pitch, but I never expected him to have to be so busy.
I'm confused as to why Williams and Wright are playing in each other's positions. Yes, getting Wright closer to the opposition goal seems sensible given his shooting ability, but it's not really been having the desired effect, while Williams' poor passing in our back line cost us the goal and not for the first time. Personally I think they both work significantly better in the roles they started the season in, but maybe there's more to it than I'm seeing.
To that end, especially in home games, there has been a significant rise in recent times of us completely losing midfield runners. I'm sure tracking them was something Williams was excellent at when he was in the middle, but now if an opposition midfielder decides to run forward, he's basically guaranteed to have about 20 yards to himself and a free shot at goal.
I think it can be easy to blame a manager for not making changes, we always like to assume the players on the bench would definitely be better, but Saturday did seem a bit strange. Campbell and Roles were having stinkers, and we had Lolos, Adeyemo and Khaleel on the bench who certainly couldn't have been worse. Then again, barring a late flurry in stoppage time, Lolos had an unusually quiet cameo when he came on. Tbh I'm not sure De Bruyne could even have made a difference given how poorly the team was playing.
Finally, I somewhat agree with what has been said elsewhere about Orsi. He was being assaulted by Vassell all game, though it was quite funny that the ref gave us a free-kick the first time the other CB did the same thing! Orsi put in a great shift as always but he needed to adapt to the ref. If you know he's not going to give those decisions, do something else. Run in behind, stop going over and engaging with a defender who has been given free reign to go all Stone Cold Steve Austin on you as much as he wants. We know more than any other team in this league that the referees are a bunch of incompetent weirdos, so instead of always being surprised by it, adapt to it, or like other teams seem to do, take advantage of it.
Most importantly, learn from all this and make sure we're better next time. It's still a growing team so there will be teething problems. The important thing is to remember we're all on the same team and all want the same thing. Instead of booing our players or the manager arguing with the fans, let's all direct our anger where it belongs. Squarely at the referee and linesmen...
The refs are incompetent. It's important to say that.
Conroy fell over in front of us and the ref gave a foul. Williams deliberately stepped in front of their player to stop him running through and the ref let it go. I swear blind they should of had a penalty for handball as well.
There were instances where both sides had reason to bemoan how poor he was.
My feeling was (and from having a good clear view) the player using his arm to actually control and stop the ball before then going on to clear it.
It was quite something to see, but no use crying over spilt milk as they say.
Indeed, on the day it hinged on whether the ref was unsighted as he was the only official who *may* have had a view. A lot of bodies were around so perhaps he was unable to tell. I'll have a moan at officials as much as anyone, but only if the error is blatant (think Tilley v Leyton Orient where the ball was so far over the line it was nearly in the car park).
I still think I prefer decisions going one way or the other and not be saddled with VAR.
There were a few times on Saturday when the guy and a few more behind me were screaming for offside and lambasting the lino when at least the same number around me were saying it was onside so we shouldn't be surprised when decisions don't go the way we (or at least some of us!) think they should go.