Sheff. Wednesday v Swans.

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Connor on his weak foot with a great cross after a superb run. We need far more runs like that - and an excellent header from Jay. The header itself was routine but the position he took up was brilliant. More please!!
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Low key but efficient win against a team even more toothless in attack than we usually are. Decent performance nevertheless and a well deserved three points. If we fail to go up I would suggest Barry Bannan would be a good signing for us. He didn't shine tonight but he's good on the ball, busy and creative with his passing. We could do far worse. Agree with @CroJack about Fulton and Grimes. Solid performers both.
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Barring a disaster of epic proportions we should make the playoff games now - assuming we beat bottom club Wycombe on Saturday. Don't quite know what to make of tonight's performance. We did what we had to but we were playing against a team who played pretty enough football without any cutting edge. Could we have gone up a gear if we had been tested more?

I still hate the leisurely way we roll our passes about. I like to see the ball zipped into players. I would also like to see better movement off the ball such as the run made by Connor. His run made the pass possible and the speed of the run split the defenders and gave him time to collect the ball and measure a cross with his weaker foot. People who have played will know that you take just that little extra time to cross the ball with the weaker foot as it doesn't come naturally. As for his run, our strikers would do well to emulate it. Google Ian Rush who was a master of the diagonal run across the box and scored so many goals as a result. Some stats:

POSSESSION: 50-50 SHOTS: 6-6 OT: 1-3 CORNERS: 6-3 FOULS: 5-9 GOALS: 0-2

We should move to 78 points after Saturday and a good win would improve our goal difference. But you never know with Cooper's Swans. Hot and cold doesn't begin to describe them! :cautious:
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
If we had just scavenged 6 points from the 12 we pissed away in that losing streak we'd be right behind Watford now breathing down their neck.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Fulton MOTM for me. Grimes had an excellent game as well.
both of these players combined to impact the game and control midfield. They were busy, available and played with high quality.

Hourihane, in comparison, was largely anonymous. Against the likes of Wednesday, a two man midfield can win the day. However, against better opposition, Hourihane’s “drifting out” - a term used by Trundle to politely describe Hourihane’s performance when he was sub’d - is not acceptable and places an often overwhelming burden on Grimes and Fulton,

hourihane is a luxury we cannot afford, especially when the “luxury” fails to deliver something impactful when “drifting in”. He is a light weight player physically, a slow player kinematically, and is not a busy player when compared to Fulton and Grimes - he doesn’t work to make himself available to others and when he has the ball his predominant move is to dish it backwards. It’s easy to see why his home club released him on loan.
 

Jackflash

Midfield General
Staff member
both of these players combined to impact the game and control midfield. They were busy, available and played with high quality.

Hourihane, in comparison, was largely anonymous. Against the likes of Wednesday, a two man midfield can win the day. However, against better opposition, Hourihane’s “drifting out” - a term used by Trundle to politely describe Hourihane’s performance when he was sub’d - is not acceptable and places an often overwhelming burden on Grimes and Fulton,

hourihane is a luxury we cannot afford, especially when the “luxury” fails to deliver something impactful when “drifting in”. He is a light weight player physically, a slow player kinematically, and is not a busy player when compared to Fulton and Grimes - he doesn’t work to make himself available to others and when he has the ball his predominant move is to dish it backwards. It’s easy to see why his home club released him on loan.
Exactly, no room for passengers at this stage, Far to high a price for nothing more than a dead ball kicker.
 

Jackflash

Midfield General
Staff member
What do you think about this line-up:

Roberts on the right, and Lowe on the left wing. Whittaker up front, and Ayew as attacking midfielder. Grimes and Fulton in the midfield.
Yes, we need a settled side now for the final run in, think Aywew more suited as a AM. would probably like to see Bidwell in as cover for Lowe, who has the tendency to drift infield.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
To borrow from Big John when asked in an interview what is his best position - center forward or center half - he replied: "On the field".

Roberts needs to be on the field. His utilization is driven by circumstances, but he is a leader statistically and inspirationally. He is one of our top athletes, top technical players, courageous, and willing to risk limb for outcome ... he has to be on the field.

The same can be said similarly, though perhaps to a lesser degree, about Bidwell. The player is just solid in everything he does, a work horse, and a leader statistically and inspirationally. Manning is fine, but Bidwell is decidedly the more complete player and in better in terms of output.

At this point, Grimes and Fulton are our two foundational elements in midfield, who complements them and in what role can be one of many players .... but the player (as @Jackflash stated) cannot be a passenger, he must deliver value for a full 90. Roberts, Dhanda, Smith, Ayew (as AM), even Manning ... but Hourihane has been too weak for too long a period of time; after his flash start, he now plays like a damp squib. Watch the Wednesday game closely and you will see just how deep Ayew was playing - effectively a midfield player.

@CroJack has one idea, but there could be many, depending on the rotation needed to keep players fresh.

We need to play our strongest players in their best positions. Routs as a #9 offers something different.

To earn promotion, we cannot lose matches. It's that simple and becomes critical as we enter the play-offs. We lose we're done. Not losing is a habit we need to get into and never let lapse.
 
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