Defending lead

[sage]

This is not a moan, just a thought.

Against Bristol we conceded a late equaliser from a crossed set piece.

Against Port Vale we nearly conceded again from a similar situation.

Are we over defending? Defending too deep? Is Bradley not dominating like we hoped? Or is it Wildsmith not being the best on crosses.

Is there a pattern emerging? Is it down to tactics or players?

[Anag Ram]

2 hours ago, sage said:

This is not a moan, just a thought.

Against Bristol we conceded a late equaliser from a crossed set piece.

Against Port Vale we nearly conceded again from a similar situation.

Are we over defending? Defending too deep? Is Bradley not dominating like we hoped? Or is it Wildsmith not being the best on crosses.

Is there a pattern emerging? Is it down to tactics or players?

In both cases we were doing just fine in defence then the introduction of Bradley (no offence to him) meant a reshuffle which was unnecessarily unsettling.

I’m not going to knock PW this week though because the introduction of TJJ was great 😊 

[Archied]

2 minutes ago, Anag Ram said:

In both cases we were doing just fine in defence then the introduction of Bradley (no offence to him) meant a reshuffle which was unnecessarily unsettling.

I’m not going to knock PW this week though because it’s Bradley’s turn in the barrel 

Fixed that for you

[sage]

25 minutes ago, Archied said:

Fixed that for you

No one put him in the barrel. It's just one of many options. 

You could try offering an opinion perhaps 

[Chester40]

It's impossible to know really. 

When any team is 1-0 down in a close game, they generally will get on top.. and as soon as they equalise the whole tempo of the game changes.

So, I understand the idea that Bradley's introduction is a bit negative mentally, it suggests we are just preparing to hang on.

But wouldn't that happen inevitably anyway as the clock winds down, so it makes sense to get our biggest, strongest, best header of the ball on the pitch?

Edited December 1, 2023 by Chester40

[Returning ram]

We "nearly" conceded 😳 Bradley was brought on to deal with crosses when we were under pressure. 
 

Nature of football is that when you go behind, you try to equalise, pushing more men forward whilst the team that's winning tends to me more cautious as time passes by.
 

As we didn't concede against Port Vale, I'd argue that was down to the introduction of Bradley.

[Comrade 86]

I was never really concerned against Vale. Before we scored I always felt we would and afterwards, I didn't think ever looked unduly troubled. I said a few weeks back that it looked like Warne had the defensive unit in good shape, so there were no excuses for us not pushing on and I kind of feel that's where we're at right now. Solid at the back and pushing on. 

[sage]

1 hour ago, Chester40 said:

It's impossible to know really. 

But wouldn't that happen inevitably anyway as the clock winds down, so it makes sense to get our biggest, strongest, best header of the ball on the pitch?

I would agree that there is sense in it, but I'm not convinced it's working.

There are at least 5 possibilities. Not why people want to select one of them as if I was the one that singled him out.

 

[valakari]

1 hour ago, Chester40 said:

It's impossible to know really. 

When any team is 1-0 down in a close game, they generally will get on top.. and as soon as they equalise the whole tempo of the game changes.

So, I understand the idea that Bradley's introduction is a bit negative mentally, it suggests we are just preparing to hang on.

But wouldn't that happen inevitably anyway as the clock winds down, so it makes sense to get our biggest, strongest, best header of the ball on the pitch?

From what i have seen, Bradley isnt the best header of tbe ball..he hardly ever gets a clean contact and normally seems to duck out of it..just watch him and you will see.

Cashin and Nelson are much better..and dont need him coming on.

[On the Ram Page]

Several times this season people have criticise Paul Warne that he is slow to react tactically. I would think the majority of sides would shore up the back and hold on to their lead towards the end of the game.

I think what confuses matters here is that fans have got into their minds that bringing Sonny Bradley on is a risky proposition, following his less than confident and competent start to the season. If things don’t go to plan he becomes the scapegoat (as well as Warne for bringing him on). In fairness the plan has mainly worked. In the Bristol game, I think Warne got his tactics right, due to the injuries suffered and also moving Nyambe over to left full back to counter the potential threat of Luke Thomas, who had just come on and had been a problem to us in the past.

When you are defending a lead at the end, you want as few pressure situations as possible. Conceding silly free kicks just outside the box is asking for trouble and we have been guilty of this recently (and in fairness for the last few seasons). I don’t think Wildsmith is commanding enough in these situations either and fapped at a few against Port Vale the other night.

in summary, I think we can be better at avoiding some of the pressure we have faced at times and we have also missed chances to score at the other end to relieve the pressure. Let’s not groan and moan when Sonny Bradley comes on - he must hear it and we need to keep him confident. We are only one injury away from him starting games and with his previous record, there is a good player in there even if we have not witnessed it too much so far.

 

[sage]

Just now, On the Ram Page said:

Several times this season people have criticise Paul Warne that he is slow to react tactically. I would think the majority of sides would shore up the back and hold on to their lead towards the end of the game.

I think what confuses matters here is that fans have got into their minds that bringing Sonny Bradley on is a risky proposition, following his less than confident and competent start to the season. If things don’t go to plan he becomes the scapegoat (as well as Warne for bringing him on). In fairness the plan has mainly worked. In the Bristol game, I think Warne got his tactics right, due to the injuries suffered and also moving Nyambe over to left full back to counter the potential threat of Luke Thomas, who had just come on and had been a problem to us in the past.

When you are defending a lead at the end, you want as few pressure situations as possible. Conceding silly free kicks just outside the box is asking for trouble and we have been guilty of this recently (and in fairness for the last few seasons). I don’t think Wildsmith is commanding enough in these situations either and fapped at a few against Port Vale the other night.

in summary, I think we can be better at avoiding some of the pressure we have faced at times and we have also missed chances to score at the other end to relieve the pressure. Let’s not groan and moan when Sonny Bradley comes on - he must hear it and we need to keep him confident. We are only one injury away from him starting games and with his previous record, there is a good player in there even if we have not witnessed it too much so far.

 

Again, 5 possibilities and you are singling out Bradley not me.

[On the Ram Page]

16 minutes ago, sage said:

Again, 5 possibilities and you are singling out Bradley not me.

Don’t quite understand your comment. I was just saying how I saw things - not singling anybody out as such. I just think as a collective - players and fans - we can all play a part.

[Ellafella]

1 hour ago, Returning ram said:

We "nearly" conceded 😳 Bradley was brought on to deal with crosses when we were under pressure. 
 

Nature of football is that when you go behind, you try to equalise, pushing more men forward whilst the team that's winning tends to me more cautious as time passes by.
 

As we didn't concede against Port Vale, I'd argue that was down to the introduction of Bradley.

This ^. Had Vale equalised after Sonny’s entrance, logically you could say the change was a factor. So, the reverse is also the case. Our problem is central midfield; Fornah was gassed out after a gargantuan shift so we need a midfield general to freshen and stem the tide in those scenarios. Problem is we don’t have one. 

[Returning ram]

29 minutes ago, sage said:

Again, 5 possibilities and you are singling out Bradley not me.

But he hasn't, he has given several reasons to counter your question, including answering the Bradley one.

From what I read, just a few as below.

conceding silly free kicks

wildsmith

not scoring.

[sage]

16 minutes ago, On the Ram Page said:

Don’t quite understand your comment. I was just saying how I saw things - not singling anybody out as such. I just think as a collective - players and fans - we can all play a part.

Sorry quoted wrong person. Slightly drunk

[BondJovi]

I have always felt that throwing on an extra defender sends out a negative mindset. You are telling the opposition we have settled for what we have. You invite them to send more players forward and instinctively you drop deeper, more likely to commit fouls closer to the box.

It always used to be the Nigel classic with Buxton. Personally I prefer not changing the back line unless you are forced to. That said there are times when it is the right move, depending on the flow of the match.

I don't believe sending on an extra defender should be the default position when winning 1-0 with 10 to go. Much prefer to see a more confident approach, especially if we have been the better team across the whole game.

[On the Ram Page]

40 minutes ago, sage said:

Sorry quoted wrong person. Slightly drunk

OK - that's quite acceptable!

[eddy779h34]

Nice point to raise before it costs us 

I think that bolstering midfield is more effective than the defence 

I never understand why crowding the defence with extra numbers works. I say stop the ball at source which is really midfield. keep the back four and crowd the middle of the pitch may work better ?

[Srg]

Two fold really, in my opinion. We invite a bit of pressure by bringing on Bradley and going more defensive, then Bradley isn't the dominating presence he should be either. At Port Vale, for example his first action was to completely run underneath a high ball without any attempt to jump and head it. Warne does have a tendency to take off the out ball which relieves the pressure. Sometimes we just need a pacey player to kick it over the top to which gives the other team something to think about on the counter.

[RadioactiveWaste]

If you're resigned to losing Cashin in January you'd better get used to the idea of Bradley playing more.

And if that's the case getting him some minutes makes sense.

He had a reasonable career before joining us, so recovering from his disaster start at the club might see him alright.

Also, if he's aready on, PW can't bring him on.