Matchday Thread: 19/7/22Stevenage (a) 19:30ko.

[StaffsRam]

I would think we picked up some valuable learning from last night’s game. More so than had we steamrollered them.

Would rather lose this one, learn a few things, and then beat Oxford than the other way around.

A few observations:

I thought Wildsmith and Oduroh had decent games. Not sure why anyone would think Wildsmith was the worst performer myself, but hey-ho, opinions and all that. Oduroh had that one moment where he fell over, but other than that didn’t do much wrong. His smaller stature doesn’t seem to be that much of a limitation, so far at least.

Sometimes we’re quite slow in transition. Perhaps it was the weather but against a team like Stevenage I’d have thought quick breaks would cause them most problems. Most of the time though we overplayed getting out from the back and struggled to penetrate their massed ranks when we’d given them time to get back into position.

Rustiness/Sloppiness - very evident that we’re probably a couple of weeks behind other teams. Plenty of individual mistakes last night. These will be eradicated obviously but highlights the risk, with only one friendly left, that this may overhang into the season proper.

Fozzy - started again. Hard to believe he’d be this involved if a new contract wasn’t looking extremely likely. That said, I’ve liked the look of Roberts so far so hopefully we’ll have options there.

[vonwright]

1 hour ago, duncanjwitham said:

Usual caveats about preseason/heat etc, but the thing I found most worrying last night is that we seemed to have no answer to them stopping us playing out from the back.  It's not a case of our midfielders passing sideways/backwards because they're lazy or scared, it's because Stevenage were blocking off their forward passing options.  A certain amount of that is definitely down to preseason+heat - you need players busting a gut to get into space to receive the ball, and the conditions were definitely not ideal for that.  Likewise when we did manage to break the lines, the player often found themselves isolated and ended up going backwards anyway, but players won't be sprinting up to support and sprinting back afterwards as much in a game like last night.

The thing I find most interesting is the way we've used James Collins.  He's barely touched the ball in the 2 games I've seen this week - he's played much further forward than Plange and CKR have previously, basically like a proper striker rather than dropping off to link the play.  Which means we've basically been playing with 10 men for large parts of the game.  If you want to play possession football, you can't afford to be a man down like that.  But we also haven't (as far as I can remember anyway) gone direct to him even once.  When we have been more direct, it's been balls over the top for wingers to run onto.  If the opposition are doing a high-press, then one of the ways to beat it is to go direct to a striker and play from there - at the very least it will force the opposition to sit back a bit more because they have to be wary of a longer ball - but we haven't even tried that.  It seems to be like we're not playing to his strengths, and his strengths don't seem to suit the way we want to play.  Obviously early days etc though.  (And I'm not saying play direct all the time, just mix it up occasionally so you don't become predictable.)

It could also be the case that Rosenior is deliberately telling our players to not go direct in preseason, to force us to get used to moving the ball under pressure, and he's going to mix it up a bit more when the real games start.  And if that's the case them fine.

Was definitely hoping signing quick wingers and the likes of Collins meant we were going to mix things up a bit more this season. We got caught out a lot last year when teams decided we weren't going to hurt them if they pressed high and stopped us playing out. We didn't seem to have any plan B. 

If we aren't going down that route then Collins is an odd signing really - we'd have been better off with someone more mobile and more able to drop back, hold up the ball, bring others in etc. 

Still plenty of time to figure out what works though. I guess that's what these games are for. 

 

[Srg]

4 minutes ago, StaffsRam said:

I would think we picked up some valuable learning from last night’s game. More so than had we steamrollered them.

Would rather lose this one, learn a few things, and then beat Oxford than the other way around.

A few observations:

I thought Wildsmith and Oduroh had decent games. Not sure why anyone would think Wildsmith was the worst performer myself, but hey-ho, opinions and all that. Oduroh had that one moment where he fell over, but other than that didn’t do much wrong. His smaller stature doesn’t seem to be that much of a limitation, so far at least.

Sometimes we’re quite slow in transition. Perhaps it was the weather but against a team like Stevenage I’d have thought quick breaks would cause them most problems. Most of the time though we overplayed getting out from the back and struggled to penetrate their massed ranks when we’d given them time to get back into position.

Rustiness/Sloppiness - very evident that we’re probably a couple of weeks behind other teams. Plenty of individual mistakes last night. These will be eradicated obviously but highlights the risk, with only one friendly left, that this may overhang into the season proper.

Fozzy - started again. Hard to believe he’d be this involved if a new contract wasn’t looking extremely likely. That said, I’ve liked the look of Roberts so far so hopefully we’ll have options there.

Don’t know if you’ve watched Rosenior’s interview but he highlighted several things you’ve said, and said we have organised another friendly too - which should be announced today. 

[StaffsRam]

6 minutes ago, Srg said:

Don’t know if you’ve watched Rosenior’s interview but he highlighted several things you’ve said, and said we have organised another friendly too - which should be announced today. 

That’s great, thanks, I haven’t seen his interview yet. 

[RoyMac5]

[Eddie]

19 hours ago, Boycie said:

It would be out of character for not to do so.

[Ravabeerbelly]

It’s only a friendly and it really is meaningless in the scheme of things, and I wouldn’t pay any attention to it in terms of preparation other than exactly that….it’s preparation. However it does emphasise what I’d said previously in that League 1/2 are almost a different game compared to the Championship.

Anyone technically gifted will find it very hard to be able to get a foot on the ball and show what they can do. It also shows how hard it would actually be for a player like Tommo to boss this level. It just doesn’t happen like that.

League two is a horrible horrible league full of Stevenages and Steve Evans’s!! League 1 is similar but with a little more quality and a little more class in the dug outs ??

[Van der MoodHoover]

49 minutes ago, Ravabeerbelly said:

Anyone technically gifted will find it very hard to be able to get a foot on the ball and show what they can do. It also shows how hard it would actually be for a player like Tommo to boss this level. It just doesn’t happen like that.

He won't be bossing much if he controls the ball 20 yards out of play like he did down our left in the second half.... ?

[DavesaRam]

22 hours ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

Sibbo looked like he was getting more and more frustrated as nothing worked. Then he clattered that lad on half way.... ?

Same s*#t, different manager. EVERYBODY knows his best position is the Number 10 role, so what did we do? Stuck him out on the wing to get him all frustrated, which then means that when he does get a chance to "do his stuff" his head is packed full of "frustrate" and nothing comes off for him, and the fouls start to flow. Watch LR bin him off saying we didn't see your best. 

Everybody knows this is what happens when Sibbo is started out on the wing, or left on the bench. Just about everyone knows that he needs a run at Number 10, and only then  decide whether he is one for the team or the bin. The big question is: does Liam Rosenior know it?

[DavesaRam]

20 hours ago, Rev said:

It was my silver wedding anniversary today, so I didn't think I'd get to watch it. 

However, the missus was insistent I not miss out, so I watched pretty much the whole game. 

Eventually the favour will have to be returned, and I'm not sure it will possibly be worth it.

Buy her a ticket for a home game! That should do it! 

[Van der MoodHoover]

19 minutes ago, DavesaRam said:

Same s*#t, different manager. EVERYBODY knows his best position is the Number 10 role, so what did we do? Stuck him out on the wing to get him all frustrated, which then means that when he does get a chance to "do his stuff" his head is packed full of "frustrate" and nothing comes off for him, and the fouls start to flow. Watch LR bin him off saying we didn't see your best. 

Everybody knows this is what happens when Sibbo is started out on the wing, or left on the bench. Just about everyone knows that he needs a run at Number 10, and only then  decide whether he is one for the team or the bin. The big question is: does Liam Rosenior know it?

I thought he over-dribbled in the 10 position. 

Is he better perhaps as an 8, running from a bit deeper..... 

[Rev]

41 minutes ago, DavesaRam said:

Buy her a ticket for a home game! That should do it! 

That would free me from the sentence, admittedly.  

She's a Spurs fan, the only time I've took her to PP saw us beat them with the help of Taribo West on his mission from God! 

 

[Magicman]

1 hour ago, DavesaRam said:

Same s*#t, different manager. EVERYBODY knows his best position is the Number 10 role, so what did we do? Stuck him out on the wing to get him all frustrated, which then means that when he does get a chance to "do his stuff" his head is packed full of "frustrate" and nothing comes off for him, and the fouls start to flow. Watch LR bin him off saying we didn't see your best. 

Everybody knows this is what happens when Sibbo is started out on the wing, or left on the bench. Just about everyone knows that he needs a run at Number 10, and only then  decide whether he is one for the team or the bin. The big question is: does Liam Rosenior know it?

He ain't a no 10 not able to control the ball nor has 360 vision and gets rilled by opponents too easily . He is best out left side playing whatever the team needs. otherwise, sell him.

[Loughborough Ram]

1 hour ago, DavesaRam said:

Same s*#t, different manager. EVERYBODY knows his best position is the Number 10 role, so what did we do? Stuck him out on the wing to get him all frustrated, which then means that when he does get a chance to "do his stuff" his head is packed full of "frustrate" and nothing comes off for him, and the fouls start to flow. Watch LR bin him off saying we didn't see your best. 

Everybody knows this is what happens when Sibbo is started out on the wing, or left on the bench. Just about everyone knows that he needs a run at Number 10, and only then  decide whether he is one for the team or the bin. The big question is: does Liam Rosenior know it?

OK, I'm going to say it, i dont rate Sibley. 

In my opinion he has far too many deficiencies to ever balance up the things he does well.

It's difficult to know what his best position is because he isn't particularly great at any of them but in my opinion substitute is possibly where he could contribute the most to the cause.

He isn't good enough to play as a 10 for me, he isn't quick enough either physically or mentally, and he lacks the discipline needed to contribute defensively when the team doesn't have the ball. He gives away stupid free kicks more often than he beats a man and he generally makes the team look disjointed when he plays, wherever that happens to be.

We all want him to develop into a star, but in my opinion he lacks the ability and the attitude for that to ever happen.

Please make me eat my words Louis

[Premier ram]

13 hours ago, Loughborough Ram said:

OK, I'm going to say it, i dont rate Sibley. 

In my opinion he has far too many deficiencies to ever balance up the things he does well.

It's difficult to know what his best position is because he isn't particularly great at any of them but in my opinion substitute is possibly where he could contribute the most to the cause.

He isn't good enough to play as a 10 for me, he isn't quick enough either physically or mentally, and he lacks the discipline needed to contribute defensively when the team doesn't have the ball. He gives away stupid free kicks more often than he beats a man and he generally makes the team look disjointed when he plays, wherever that happens to be.

We all want him to develop into a star, but in my opinion he lacks the ability and the attitude for that to ever happen.

Please make me eat my words Louis

yeah make him eat his words Louie

[Wolfie20]

13 hours ago, Loughborough Ram said:

OK, I'm going to say it, i dont rate Sibley. 

In my opinion he has far too many deficiencies to ever balance up the things he does well.

It's difficult to know what his best position is because he isn't particularly great at any of them but in my opinion substitute is possibly where he could contribute the most to the cause.

He isn't good enough to play as a 10 for me, he isn't quick enough either physically or mentally, and he lacks the discipline needed to contribute defensively when the team doesn't have the ball. He gives away stupid free kicks more often than he beats a man and he generally makes the team look disjointed when he plays, wherever that happens to be.

We all want him to develop into a star, but in my opinion he lacks the ability and the attitude for that to ever happen.

Please make me eat my words Louis

But you feel he probably won't. 

[MadAmster]

Disappointing result and performance. Some players, according to Liam, not following instructions and that he wants more speed and urgency going forward and less of going backwards all the time. Many fans will be pleased to hear that.

Hopefully, this result and the reasons for it will creep into the brains of the handful of idiots winding up other fans with their nonsensical claims of us "walking the league". The way Stevenage played and executed very well, is how a lot of L1 sides play. In your face defending. No time on the ball. Physical. It's a playing style we've mainly struggled against in the 61 years since I first watched the Rams. The team need to get that into their heads round that and prepare for a long, hard physical season against opponents, most of whom utilise a direct style of play. We can do well this season but we will have to adapt to L1 physicality very quickly. 

[duncanjwitham]

13 hours ago, Loughborough Ram said:

OK, I'm going to say it, i dont rate Sibley. 

In my opinion he has far too many deficiencies to ever balance up the things he does well.

It's difficult to know what his best position is because he isn't particularly great at any of them but in my opinion substitute is possibly where he could contribute the most to the cause.

He isn't good enough to play as a 10 for me, he isn't quick enough either physically or mentally, and he lacks the discipline needed to contribute defensively when the team doesn't have the ball. He gives away stupid free kicks more often than he beats a man and he generally makes the team look disjointed when he plays, wherever that happens to be.

We all want him to develop into a star, but in my opinion he lacks the ability and the attitude for that to ever happen.

Please make me eat my words Louis

That's kind of my thinking too, although I think it's more of a style-of-play thing than raw ability.  His strengths are very much dribbling and finishing, he's not a passer or particularly creative.  The way we set up, we want the number 10 to be the focal point of the team, linking the play, feeding the front 3 and so on.  With Morrison there, you could play into his feet, run off him and get the ball back and keep it moving.  With Sibley there, you play the ball into his feet and he's going to turn and dribble with it, and lose it as often as not, so the play keeps breaking down.

You can see why Rowett keeps being linked with him though - he could use him exactly in the same way he used Vydra here.  Sit deep, a back 4+2 holders staying compact and just let 4 dribbly forwards break when they get the ball back.