Why have we been getting worse in recent weeks?

[WamRam]

Sorry if anyone has already touched on this but the servere lack of quality in midfield is really killing us and quite frankly it's painful and embarrassing to watch at times.

None of the midfield 3 we have (Shinnie, Bird, Knight) have enough quality to really worry the opposition midfield. They're neither good technical passers who can break lines with one pass, becuse they're not brave enough on the ball. The simple pass to the full back is the easy option and we take it every time. Nor are they 'enforcers' like Cardiff had, or like we used to have under Rowett with Johnson, Ledley and even Huddlestone to an extent. 

It still wasn't amazing but it's absolutely no surprise how much more fluid we look when Watson comes on. He's always moving, always showing for the ball. Wants to try and play around players. He happy to pick the ball up in tight areas and that pulls their players out of position, opening up spaces for other players.

I know we need a new striker in the summer but we really need to address the midfield issue and find some creativity.

[Chris_Martin]

11 hours ago, rammieib said:

We started 4-5-1 (4-3-3) and very quickly went to 4-4-1-1 and then second half came back out with 4-3-3.

They were all awful.

I thought we looked a different team when CKR got some support up there but I’m not sure Gregory is the man for this.

We definitely started 4-4-2 with CKR and Waghorn up front.

Have to disagree with you on CKR, thought he was quiet the entire game. (apart from moaning to the ref a lot)

[DCFC Kicks]

On 08/03/2021 at 06:45, WamRam said:

Sorry if anyone has already touched on this but the servere lack of quality in midfield is really killing us and quite frankly it's painful and embarrassing to watch at times.

None of the midfield 3 we have (Shinnie, Bird, Knight) have enough quality to really worry the opposition midfield. They're neither good technical passers who can break lines with one pass, becuse they're not brave enough on the ball. The simple pass to the full back is the easy option and we take it every time. Nor are they 'enforcers' like Cardiff had, or like we used to have under Rowett with Johnson, Ledley and even Huddlestone to an extent. 

It still wasn't amazing but it's absolutely no surprise how much more fluid we look when Watson comes on. He's always moving, always showing for the ball. Wants to try and play around players. He happy to pick the ball up in tight areas and that pulls their players out of position, opening up spaces for other players.

I know we need a new striker in the summer but we really need to address the midfield issue and find some creativity.

I agree, I would say Shinnie can be very good at pestering, and does win the ball back well, Let's not forget Bird & Knight are still learning. It's annoying that for many seasons we were so blessed with midfielders and the one midfielder we didn't have a time's. like the Kalifa Cisse era, was a Shinnie type to just win the ball and give to the others.

Hopefully Sibley can get back to his best soon because we need him

[Chris_Martin]

On 09/03/2021 at 20:52, DCFClks said:

I agree, I would say Shinnie can be very good at pestering, and does win the ball back well, Let's not forget Bird & Knight are still learning. It's annoying that for many seasons we were so blessed with midfielders and the one midfielder we didn't have a time's. like the Kalifa Cisse era, was a Shinnie type to just win the ball and give to the others.

Hopefully Sibley can get back to his best soon because we need him

i think shinnie offers a little more going forward than Khalifa Cisse has ever done

[DCFC Kicks]

I'm beginning to think more and more that the season's upturn and now downturn were mainly down to Bielik's return and then injury. Was today's performance against Millwall really that far away from a Cocu performance? apart from the more direct balls.

[IslandExile]

Tactics.

Quality of the squad.

[G-Ram]

Midfield can't play a through ball and always take the easy option to play a 5 yard ball the way they are facing. Turn and pass. Too slow

CKR isnt prolific enough. He's added character and won't be be bullied and i like him but he isn't the 20 goal a season striker we need

Not enough players committing forward to get on the end of crosses 

Simply don't shoot enough. We get in good positions then instead of shooting try to pass

On paper lawrence, ibe, roberts and jozwiack should be able to play on the wings or each side of a front three. But two are unavailable & the other two are played out of position and waggy is preferred out wide. We play too many players out of position. Knight needs to be central but knight or shinnie not both  

[IslandExile]

11 minutes ago, G-Ram said:

Midfield can't play a through ball and always take the easy option to play a 5 yard ball the way they are facing.

Which is why Watson should be starting. That through ball today was sublime.

[brady1993]

2 minutes ago, IslandExile said:

Which is why Watson should be starting. That through ball today was sublime.

He's a genuine breath of fresh air... And it's going to getting increasingly more frustrating when he doesn't start because "wE nEeD tO mAtCh tHeIr PhYsIcAlIty"

[Chris_Martin]

7 hours ago, DCFClks said:

I'm beginning to think more and more that the season's upturn and now downturn were mainly down to Bielik's return and then injury. Was today's performance against Millwall really that far away from a Cocu performance? apart from the more direct balls.

Unfortunately, no.

[jcidaho]

We're setting up with a team of Jacob Butterfields.

[RAMblingONagain]

Not read the whole post, so apologies if its already been discussed.

Do you not think that the 3 at the back, & all 5 when defending is somehow restricting us going forward.  I know this brings the wing backs in to play and Byrne's crossing is particularly good. Probably best we've seen for a long time.

But I just feel it puts all the emphasis on the defensive side of things.

I would like to see us go back to 4 at the back and add a more attacking player in the midfield.

I know we've lost Bielik who has proved himself to be almost irreplaceable. But 4 at the back with a sitting midfielder would give a bit more licence for the other two midfielders to get forward.

For the last 10 games I would much rather we went down "all guns blazing".  Well not quite so cavalier, but christ if we are going down lets go down with a fight. And at least try  to find a way to be more on the offensive....(Although the last 5 games have been pretty offensive in other ways ?)

 

[jcidaho]

There's risk of changing up, but a bigger risk in banging your head against the same wall hoping you'll knock it through.

[VulcanRam]

The players aren't good enough in key areas

Inexperienced manager chopping and changing to find a solution

A random coaching team just thrown together 

No investment meant a January transfer window of quantity over quality

Too much worry about how the opposition will set up and play

Bielik's injury

Negative tactics (though this is mitigated by the players' collective lack of ability to do anything else that's a lot more advanced)

The players are too risk-averse

Lack of regular goalscorers. (15 plus over a season)

Playing twice a week meaning very little time on the training ground to look at the next game.

 

[jono]

There are always 2 or 3 players in an opponents team that stand out, catch the eye, you can see they’ve got a bit of star dust, quality, competence, composure, whatever. When that player has the ball you think uh oh ..careful this guy knows his stuff.
 

Bielik was one of ours. But the only ones I can think of at the moment that I’d put in my Championship “select” 11 are Byrne and Clarke. Both defenders. 

I like Knight a lot, but he is an engine not a creator, Joz is handy but not much more than that at the moment. The others ? Colin is a brave leader but that isn’t enough when you need magic

When a player gets the ball you want that feeling that something dangerously good is going to happen .. I just don’t get that sense from our lads at the moment. It’s all just holding on for dear life right now and it isn’t fun one little bit. 

[1967Ram]

We're not brave enough on the ball. Too often we take the 'safe' option. As others have mentioned we don't shoot enough. If we made loads of chances it probably wouldn't matter but, with the few chances we're creating, we have to shoot when we get a chance like Jozwiak had Saturday.

[Old Spalding Ram]

Why have we been getting worse in recent weeks?
 

In three words........................injured Krystian Bielik!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pearson.]

Incompetent management!

[jono]

41 minutes ago, Pearson. said:

Incompetent management!

Nothing to do with player ability relative to opponents then ? 

[Alty_Ram]

21 hours ago, Old Spalding Ram said:

Why have we been getting worse in recent weeks?
 

In three words........................injured Krystian Bielik!

 

 

I know our results didn't drop off a cliff immediately the very moment he was injured but they have got steadily worse so this is surely a massive factor. I think we we briefly rode a wave of confidence brought about by the good form we were in but as results turned and realisation dawned that there was a massive Bielik-shaped hole in our midfeld (and the fact that we lacked anyone else in the squad to do that role) and we have started looking down the table again rather than up and there is a fretfulness setting in again and we are falling back on old habits. This is really not looking good I'm afraid and I just don't know where the spark is going to come from to get us over the line.