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The sum of our parts


Eatonram

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I always think it's very worrying when you compare our line-up with that of our opponents and conclude there isn't a single player for player swap I would make in any position, but we go on to lose the game. I remember this happening regularly in the Cox era of Kitson, Johnson, Pembridge, Short etc.

 

There is no doubt Frank has brought in talented players but I do wonder if blending into a coherent balanced team may be elusive. I'm as excited as anyone about Frank's appointment and the potential, but there is a niggling doubt lingering that I can't shake off.

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Just now, Eatonram said:

That is sort of what I was trying to say. In effect we are performing well below that, but it is early days.

..and I was agreeing with you. 

For my part, and I do say this as a distance fan, it seems we've got enough high quality parts to bump along OK for now whilst the squad gels and Frank gets used to the role. I'm more still in the optimism camp about when things really start to take off we'll be good team in the division, but if it were to get to the later stages of the season and we're still kind of disjointed I think there'll be a lot more general concern. 

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We have four defenders who are good players but who need to gel as a unit and become better positionally. That takes time.

We seem to be looking for three midfielders who do specific jobs rather than three who click as a passing unit.

Upfront we have about five wide players but no centre forward whose speed or aerial ability make them easy to find.

All of this will work itself out but as paying customers can be frustrating, especially after fans got carried away by easy victories in the friendlies.

You can sometimes overcome poor form with good team spirit. Maybe that's what Nugent brings.

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19 minutes ago, cannable said:

It’s a drum I’ve been banging for a while but the balance of the midfield is vile; Huddlestone, Bryson and Mount is the midfield closest to being balanced that Lampard appears willing to put out and I still have my reservations about it. 

 

8 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

I posted this is on another thread earlier.

'How long does it take a new manager to figure out how to choose players who fit well in the team, rather than seem good 'on paper'. I think we're getting some of that atm.'

The midfield is the problem. The side is disjointed; it’s about trying different permutations. FL will know this and will be figuring it out. The tempo isn’t right...a bit like an engine that isn’t quite tuned correctly...is it about changing the parts around or do we need a replacement part? When Davis is fit, who makes way? When is Evans back? Still quite a few permutations to go at...I trust Frank will get it right just might take a few weeks yet. 

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Which players dictate the tempo? Sometimes it feels like the tone of the tempo is set in the first few minutes. Could be something as simple as Carson really taking his time at a goal kick or the ball coming back to him slowly after a goal kick. 

Another example, is when the opposition let our defenders have the ball, again, in the first few minutes and it moves sideways slowly. The midfield seems to just not move, resulting in a slow tempo. 

Maybe some players (Mount, Bennet, Jozefoon, Lawerence) should be told to try and go on a run straightway? Get the crowd up, get the urgency up? How would you start with a fast tempo? Seems to be an ongoing problem. (Also feel one of the problems is the inability of our forward players to hold the ball with their backs to goal under pressure during the first half of games before opposition players start to tire).

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I hate it when players play a ball straight back to the player who passes to them without committing an opponent or creating more space for their team-mate.

It just says ' I don't want it, you have it'

I want to see players demanding the ball and bringing others immediately into play. That's tempo.

 

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Agree with all that @HorsforthRam and would add a couple more:

that players should shoot a bit more readily. In the first half there were occasions when we passed across the edge of the box to players on worse positions. 

And wingers should get in behind sometimes instead of cutting inside all the time - we are too predictable until Mason comes on.

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Much of this is to Do with settling new players in, this isn’t exactly the time in the season that everything is going to be clicking, it’s very early days. Of course this is not an excuse for poor results as every team is in a similar position, but it does explain why we’re perhaps not as fluent and more a team of individuals. I’ve no doubt once we’ve got a settled side this element of the team will improve, but it’s up to players to make their mark to remain in the team by getting around the lack of fluidity by being extra aware when passing etc as they may not know where teammates will end up etc, something that hasn’t really happened yet. It’s all about battling through the first couple of months of the season then getting some real fluidity going into the Christmas period imo.

With the coaching staff we’ve got I’m confident training will be working toward that goal of the team being stronger than its parts. The issues I have with lampards reign so far are twofold really. The midfield balance is not right, which is being compounded by the rotation system which won’t work with the players with have, and the defensive organisation of the team is very poor, leading to us conceding too many chances. It’s rectifying these issues which will decide whether Lampard is a success or not. As with any new manager I still hold concerns of whether Lampard will make it as a manager and it could all still go very gianfranco zola at brum, but clearly the time to judge is not yet.

 

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2 hours ago, Eatonram said:

I always think it's very worrying when you compare our line-up with that of our opponents and conclude there isn't a single player for player swap I would make in any position

Just to clarify when you say our opponents do you mean Rotherham or the teams we've played so far or all of the teams in the Championship?

As if you mean the latter then I'll happily debate you on that point.

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2 hours ago, Eatonram said:

I always think it's very worrying when you compare our line-up with that of our opponents and conclude there isn't a single player for player swap I would make in any position, but we go on to lose the game. I remember this happening regularly in the Cox era of Kitson, Johnson, Pembridge, Short etc.

 

There is no doubt Frank has brought in talented players but I do wonder if blending into a coherent balanced team may be elusive. I'm as excited as anyone about Frank's appointment and the potential, but there is a niggling doubt lingering that I can't shake off.

Give it time.

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Early days yet 

intresting little stat I saw today about our top chance creators 

mount 15 

bryson 5

bennett 5

lawrence 5 

mount obviously is our greatest threat whilst Bryson and Bennett have a decent return for limited game time whilst Lawrence has generally had a lot of the ball 

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50 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

Early days yet 

intresting little stat I saw today about our top chance creators 

mount 15 

bryson 5

bennett 5

lawrence 5 

mount obviously is our greatest threat whilst Bryson and Bennett have a decent return for limited game time whilst Lawrence has generally had a lot of the ball 

Only Mount and Wilson (3 in 2 games) have created more than 1 key chance per game.

On average, we're creating about 8.4 good chances per game so I don't think it's too much of a concern

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