saint_stevo Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 What's changed since then when we were so good? I don't understand..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 It's hard to say really. One thing I don't think we're doing is supporting the lone striker as well as earlier on in the season. Too often McGoldrick ends up very isolated with little or no support when going forward. We've missed Holmes whipping balls into the box and we've looked unbalanced with a left-footed player playing on the right too. I do think we need to really work on creating more chances though. I know Saga is returning and from the sounds of things, he is going to be considered for selection. However, it's all well and good having him play, but if we don't supply him with the goalscoring opportunities then there's not alot he can do. Here's hoping for a dramatic upturn in fortunes both on and off the pitch anyway, otherwise I fear the worst for us this season . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 7 January, 2009 Author Share Posted 7 January, 2009 It's hard to say really. One thing I don't think we're doing is supporting the lone striker as well as earlier on in the season. Too often McGoldrick ends up very isolated with little or no support when going forward. We've missed Holmes whipping balls into the box and we've looked unbalanced with a left-footed player playing on the right too. I do think we need to really work on creating more chances though. I know Saga is returning and from the sounds of things, he is going to be considered for selection. However, it's all well and good having him play, but if we don't supply him with the goalscoring opportunities then there's not alot he can do. Here's hoping for a dramatic upturn in fortunes both on and off the pitch anyway, otherwise I fear the worst for us this season . . . I remember being sat in the Northam glowing at how well we played against Birmingham, been a while since i have had that feeling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L1Minus10 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Starts and ends with the wingers for me. They offer nothing in an attacking sense or a defending sense. When we attack they invariably come inside and the play gets funnelled into the middle where we get bullied out of it or **** about with it and when we defend they don't cover the full back. If they stayed wide when we have the ball and track back when we lost it.... it's not ****ing rocket science is it!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Even the first Birmingham game we were pretty good IMO. I think it is a combination of the wingers and other teams figuring how to play against us which has knocked our confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaMarlin Posted 8 January, 2009 Share Posted 8 January, 2009 Other teams have worked out pretty quickly how to play us, and what we are about. How many teams at SMS this season have lined up with two solid banks of four, and two up front? They let us play our nice passing football in front of them, knowing that we lack the wit and guile to play through them, the pace to get behind them, or the physical presence to batter down the door. They suck us in, and when they get the ball, play it quickly up front to where two pacy strikers are likely to get on the end of anything played over the top as Saints invariably hold a high back-line. It ain't rocket science to work out how to play in this division. So why can't we do it? Or to phrase the question differently, why do we have to be different from everybody else with a formula that doesn't work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 8 January, 2009 Share Posted 8 January, 2009 - In the Birmingham game, Wayne Thomas started and played very well. However, he got injured and Killer, already pretty fragile, hobbled off after the Blackpool game. Lancashire subsequently started against QPR and got sent off. The positon and player have beens soft-spots ever since. Rotating Perry went out of the window. - Holmes injury in the QPR game was costly. We have no natural width/pace (with dyer gone, smith injured), converting strikers/midfielders to those positions (robertson, lallana, BWP). Ths has been especially costly since so much of our game, when it works, depends upon the likes of Schneiderlin quickly switching play from one side to the other. It hasnt helped that schneiderlin has been in and out but he's unlikely to make as much difference without width. -Gilllett was absolutely fantastic in those two games. He offered steel/running not offered by any other midfielder (surman, schneiderlin). He shortly suffered an injury and subsequent poor form. Wotton has been unable to fill in. -Mindful they had not won for ages, we were absolutely fantastic against Derby. But in hindsight that we only managed one goal that day should have been a warning sign. Perhaps, JP understood this early on and that's why Peckhart was signed the day of the Birmingham game. A huge gamble that's failed especially as stern john was shortly dispatched to bristol. Or perhaps the fans havent helped. Still remember how SMS got on DMG and others back in the Blackpool game - if you remember that was IMMEDIATELY after the comprehensive Birmingham and Derby victories. There has never been much margin for error at SMS. Or perhaps the fans were right and we've always been ****. Derby and Birmingham were just an aberration in what has been a very bad dream. But no relievedly waking up from this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inoffthepost Posted 8 January, 2009 Share Posted 8 January, 2009 In my opinion it's simply down to a loss of belief. If you suffer a series of setbacks / losses it's a natural human reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Ron fan Posted 8 January, 2009 Share Posted 8 January, 2009 In my opinion it's simply down to a loss of belief. If you suffer a series of setbacks / losses it's a natural human reaction. There was a gross over-reaction after the Derby game. Never has so much been made of beating a team 1-0 that hasn't won for a year! A fit Thomas would have made a huge difference to the central defence, but based on what was happening early in the season to Stern, Dyer, Euell and Rudi, he would probably have hardly been picked if fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
del boy Posted 8 January, 2009 Share Posted 8 January, 2009 In my opinion it's simply down to a loss of belief. If you suffer a series of setbacks / losses it's a natural human reaction. Spot on, so much of sport is in the head - confidence. A couple of injuries and a loss of confidence has made all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 8 January, 2009 Share Posted 8 January, 2009 Starts and ends with the wingers for me. They offer nothing in an attacking sense or a defending sense. When we attack they invariably come inside and the play gets funnelled into the middle where we get bullied out of it or **** about with it and when we defend they don't cover the full back. If they stayed wide when we have the ball and track back when we lost it.... it's not ****ing rocket science is it!!!!! Indeed. And the amazing thing is that Jan admitted a month or so ago that our lack of pace on the wing was the reason why the 4-3-3 system hadn't been working for months....but still persisted with it....is it me or does something not quite add up here...?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasgow_Saint Posted 8 January, 2009 Share Posted 8 January, 2009 Competition for places wont have helped - squad is now waffer thin. McG has nobody breathing down his neck since John went to Bristol and the other players have found that they are still in the team despite 4 or 5 consecutive bad games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 8 January, 2009 Share Posted 8 January, 2009 Indeed. And the amazing thing is that Jan admitted a month or so ago that our lack of pace on the wing was the reason why the 4-3-3 system hadn't been working for months....but still persisted with it....is it me or does something not quite add up here...?! If that's true, that's truly depressing. Remember creating a thread way back in October 'For such a young team, do we lack genuine pace?' trying to point out the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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