v Blackpool (H) Match Thread

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, duncanjwitham said:

I think the problem isn't that they're duds, it's that they can't do the very specific jobs they were signed for.  If we were playing a "standard" flat back 4, they'd be fine.  But with the way we're setting up - spreading the back 3 wide across the pitch and having everyone else pushing up aggressively - the centre halves get very isolated from each other.  So they need to be mobile to cover the big gaps between them (which Bradley and Cashin aren't), and they need to be comfortable on the ball to get out of trouble when they're under pressure and there's no easy-out pass (which Nelson and Bradley aren't). The first issue is why we keep seeing us get carved open down the middle (the 1-on-1 that Wigan missed is a good example, I think).  The second issue is why we keep seeing the under-hit back-pass type of stuff.

I agree with you mostly but your comment about Nelson (echoed elsewhere on the forum) makes him sound like Curtis Davies’ level of distribution. No disrespect to Curtis D but Curtis N is clearly better with the ball, if not at the level of a Cashin.

[duncanjwitham]

3 minutes ago, jameso said:

I agree with you mostly but your comment about Nelson (echoed elsewhere on the forum) makes him sound like Curtis Davies’ level of distribution. No disrespect to Curtis D but Curtis N is clearly better with the ball, if not at the level of a Cashin.

The specific issue I'm talking about isn't distribution so much, as basic technical ability.  I've just re-watched his mistake against Sheffield United, and it's his first touch that kills him - he plays it very wide, and then he's scrambling to get to it before the on-rushing attacker and gets hurried into the pass.  I genuinely cannot tell if he did that deliberately (to give him a chance to bypass the attacker and play it down the line), or if it's just a really bad first touch.  But either way, if he just controls that first time, he's got various options to deal with it more easily (pass sideways to Cashin, ball down the line, back-pass under less pressure).

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, duncanjwitham said:

The specific issue I'm talking about isn't distribution so much, as basic technical ability.  I've just re-watched his mistake against Sheffield United, and it's his first touch that kills him - he plays it very wide, and then he's scrambling to get to it before the on-rushing attacker and gets hurried into the pass.  I genuinely cannot tell if he did that deliberately (to give him a chance to bypass the attacker and play it down the line), or if it's just a really bad first touch.  But either way, if he just controls that first time, he's got various options to deal with it more easily (pass sideways to Cashin, ball down the line, back-pass under less pressure).

Yes ok but I still think Nelson is nowhere near the bottom of the barrel even on technical ability, relative to central defenders generally and particularly those in our league. This doesn’t negate your point that he and the intended system may not be an ideal match.

[Sufferingfool]

Nelson looks ok to me, stray passes aside, both him and Cash were much better with Fozzy alongside them. It may have been that Blackpool had parked the bus by then so less pressure was being put on them though some of this was due to the extra energy Tommo, Ward, Waggy and Washington had in the second half.