The Blobster
Prediction Champ
4 mins extra time , coyjb let's get a winner
Some Crumbs for the Robins
- Thread starter The Blobster
- Start date
Yes, we were shit for much of that game and I'll take the draw as well. We had a lot of the ball but never got out of third gear using it. We'll get nowhere unless we inject some pace into our game instead of walking through it. Notice that Obafemi gets knocked off the ball a lot when it's played into him. As a central striker he needs to address that.
CroJack
Key Player
His first touch is not poor, he doesn't have one.
Cullen's first touch in the box often has resulted in a goal!His first touch is not poor, he doesn't have one.
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
Flex scored his first goal for us today. He may not get credit, but his deflection took the ball away from the keeper and inside the post.
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
Crazy stuff going on in the Prem today. Brighton stuffed Chelsea, and Leeds did the same to ‘Pool
Victoria Swan
Key Player
Yes, when it comes to our Prediction League how are we expected to do anything better than a blindfolded dart throw in the face of results like that?!
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
“Highlights”.
the first minute or two is an indictment of Darling at CB. Each time he allows a forward to beat him physically. And on the goal, all Darling had to do to kill the play, as the last defender, was to step forward and the scorer would have been offside before the ball was played. In fact, the scorer was offside during the play but Darling’s run played him on side.
Terribly poor defending and lack of physical strength, awareness and thinking. And yet later in the game it was Cabango subbed and not Darling. I don’t get it.
darling cannot start again in that role.
the first minute or two is an indictment of Darling at CB. Each time he allows a forward to beat him physically. And on the goal, all Darling had to do to kill the play, as the last defender, was to step forward and the scorer would have been offside before the ball was played. In fact, the scorer was offside during the play but Darling’s run played him on side.
Terribly poor defending and lack of physical strength, awareness and thinking. And yet later in the game it was Cabango subbed and not Darling. I don’t get it.
darling cannot start again in that role.
Despite our terrible start and the fact that we never seemed to get going we racked up some impressive stats:
POSSESSION: 28-72 SHOTS: 10-15 OT: 4-3 CORNERS: 7-11 FOULS: 13-5 GOALS: 1-1
To anyone with half a football brain it is obvious that we need more pace in our game; a lot more pace. Actually something like Burnley, who in my mind are a de-luxe version of us. By pace I mean team pace, not individual pace. We don't have speedsters. But we can definitely increase the tempo of our game by putting more zip on the passes instead of rolling them; by playing forward more often and more quickly and by more positive movement off the ball.
Brizzle achieved 40% accuracy with their shots against our 20% but they committed almost 3 times as many fouls to keep us out. Despite our poor start to the game which could have seen us losing on another day, I feel we aren't far from getting it really right. I'd like to see more of Oko because he does have pace and can beat a man. We also have some quick players doing well on loan whom I'd like to see brought back to give us even more options. For me, pace of play is the key; just keep on doing what we do but do it quicker.
POSSESSION: 28-72 SHOTS: 10-15 OT: 4-3 CORNERS: 7-11 FOULS: 13-5 GOALS: 1-1
To anyone with half a football brain it is obvious that we need more pace in our game; a lot more pace. Actually something like Burnley, who in my mind are a de-luxe version of us. By pace I mean team pace, not individual pace. We don't have speedsters. But we can definitely increase the tempo of our game by putting more zip on the passes instead of rolling them; by playing forward more often and more quickly and by more positive movement off the ball.
Brizzle achieved 40% accuracy with their shots against our 20% but they committed almost 3 times as many fouls to keep us out. Despite our poor start to the game which could have seen us losing on another day, I feel we aren't far from getting it really right. I'd like to see more of Oko because he does have pace and can beat a man. We also have some quick players doing well on loan whom I'd like to see brought back to give us even more options. For me, pace of play is the key; just keep on doing what we do but do it quicker.
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
We do have to find a system to get Flex on the field from the start. He is a real threat. Drop the 3+2, play a back 4, and get Flex on a wing.
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
We could play 4-2-3-1.
Naughton - Wood - Cabango - Manning
Grimes - Fulton
Cundles - Cooper - Flex
Piroe or Obafemi or Cullen
Pretty potent attack. Plenty of tempo and energy in the CCF line. Two strong FBs itching to get forward also.
Naughton - Wood - Cabango - Manning
Grimes - Fulton
Cundles - Cooper - Flex
Piroe or Obafemi or Cullen
Pretty potent attack. Plenty of tempo and energy in the CCF line. Two strong FBs itching to get forward also.
In terms of getting all the best players on the field together, this shape definitely works. Room for Pato and/or Ntcham either starting or from the bench in that three behind the 9 too.
I actually like the 3-4-2-1 on paper, but when a team plays wing backs they need to be among the best players on the team, because they're effectively contracting two positions into one. I think Manning is solid at WB but the team needs at least 2 more Mannings - one for the right and one for cover - and they don't have that.
Sori and Lati are decent players in the right situation, but they both suffer from no longer having a specialised position. They've become utility players by working under a manager who likes to move players around a lot. I think at this stage in both of their careers, it would be better for them to learn one position extremely well, then worry about being adaptable later.
For example if you were selling either player right now, how would you advertise them?
Sori's nominally a full back, has played his best (one or two) games as a winger, but lacks the individual flair or attacking mindset to excel there. "For Sale. Wide player. Too attacking for full back, too defensive for winger. Good luck."
Lati came to Swansea as a central defender, a skill-set that doesn't obviously translate to wing-back, though he's done ok here and there. Having said that, he doesn't have a single assist in a Swansea shirt, which isn't great. "For sale. Burly wing back with average pace and zero assists. Might good in the air, for all that's worth on the flank."
Without Manning and with a 3-4-2-1, Swansea are playing two weaker players in precisely the positions their formation demands quality. Even with Manning, there's no equivalent on the right. Not the only issue, but one of the bigger ones in my view.
CroJack
Key Player
Sorinola is doing ok on the right flank. He has one goal and 2 assists in 1157 minutes which is 4 goals and 8 assists over the course of a season. Manning has 2 goals and 2 assists in 1128 minutes. That said, I agree we should give chance to Oko-Flex who looks like the real deal and who also has more physical strength than Sorinola. I don't think our wing-backs have been such a huge problem this season. It's more Piroe and Obafemi who have missed a lot of clear-cut chances and our terrible defending. We have created enough, and if you follow my threads with Expected Goals & Points then you know we are one of the top teams when it comes to creating high-quality chances. The trouble is we are also one of the worst teams when it comes to allowing high-quality chances. I think we have gifted 80 % of all goals scored against us this season. That's the problem, not our wing-backs.
Wing backs still have a defensive responsibility so when allowing chances is a problem, I'd say they are part of it. Look at those two copy-cat far-post goals Swansea allowed from crosses recently - a cross comes in because there's space on one flank for the crosser, and it's turned into a goal at the far post because there's nobody covering the opposite flank. That's not purely a central defender issue.
CroJack
Key Player
Agreed, but we have discussed their offensive qualities.
What I pointed out is that our problem is not the lack of chances.
Sure, but I was talking about both offense and defense. My point is I don't think Swansea have anyone beyond Manning who can do enough of both to convince at WB. That being the case, I'd rather Oko-Flex was tried there - he'd be as much a defensive liability as the others but probably better in attack, which means an overall gain.