| Consistency - or the lack of it 08:31 - Jan 3 with 3173 views | dmm |
This morning I'm a bit perplexed. We were the better side last night but I expected a tonking. But perhaps that's the underlining issue; we lack consistency.
This has been the story for a few seasons, and not just having a good game followed by a bad one. We have extended good periods followed by extended bad ones. In the end, that concludes with mid table finishes.
Fundamentally this is the consequence of the lack of squad depth. When the manager must find replacements due to players' injuries or loss of form, there's not a lot there. Our good periods therefore can only last for so long and climbing out of a dip proves difficult.
Last night was a great fillip but, for me, this consistency issue is the key one that not only Critchley faces, but also the management. How do we build a squad capable of sustaining form throughout the whole season? |  | | |  |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 08:57 - Jan 3 with 2465 views | kernowhoop |
Fair points, but we have at least three players who, if fit, would probably have been in the starting line-up last night - Laird, Balogun and Johansen. Without them, we came within a few seconds of beating the team that is second in the league.
Earlier this season, when we were winning games and near the top of the table, it looked as though we had a decent squad. Check out what fans were saying here then.
Football is in the head as much as in the legs and feet. It was the heads that were messed with when it looked as though Mick Beale was soon to depart. But, we may finally have overcome that. The fact that the team started last night looking a bag of nerves, but almost finished the match with three points was encouraging. |  | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:09 - Jan 3 with 2398 views | stevec |
It’s the lack of goalscorers that’s the whole problem.
We were great last night, but just couldn’t finish the game off with a second goal.
Defence is pretty sound really, certainly for a decent championship club. Centre midfield is good, but that’s a tough job and we expect Tim and Field to run non stop for 90 minutes which is too big an ask, that is an area where shortage of numbers is an issue.
Once again a long range effort got us ahead. It’s the poaching in the area that is a constant problem, it’s not anywhere near up to standard. |  | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:16 - Jan 3 with 2387 views | E17hoop |
Different formation - we played our best formation for the players available last night. Chair and Willock were rotating in the 10 role, Field and Tim were solid as a pair in front of the back 4, Roberts was on the front foot supporting Lyndon.
Biggest change was responsibility - it felt like no-one took responsibility for Thursday's farce. In a formation we've played more this year, players took responsibility for their performances. |  |
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| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:23 - Jan 3 with 2336 views | ParkRoyalR |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:09 - Jan 3 by stevec |
It’s the lack of goalscorers that’s the whole problem.
We were great last night, but just couldn’t finish the game off with a second goal.
Defence is pretty sound really, certainly for a decent championship club. Centre midfield is good, but that’s a tough job and we expect Tim and Field to run non stop for 90 minutes which is too big an ask, that is an area where shortage of numbers is an issue.
Once again a long range effort got us ahead. It’s the poaching in the area that is a constant problem, it’s not anywhere near up to standard. |
It's also too big an ask to play Dykes on his own against 2 and sometimes 3 Centre Halves with no support within 20 yards.
Last night this, our preferred system, worked well as Dykes did exactly as asked of him, tying up the Centre Halves and creating space for the 3 no 10's.
Unfortunately the real Achilles in our attacking play, Chair taking too many touches was evident again and both he and Willock had very good goal-scoring chances they didn't take.
We hav'nt got a 2nd striker so this is the system we will have to play until we get one. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:36 - Jan 3 with 2286 views | davman |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:23 - Jan 3 by ParkRoyalR |
It's also too big an ask to play Dykes on his own against 2 and sometimes 3 Centre Halves with no support within 20 yards.
Last night this, our preferred system, worked well as Dykes did exactly as asked of him, tying up the Centre Halves and creating space for the 3 no 10's.
Unfortunately the real Achilles in our attacking play, Chair taking too many touches was evident again and both he and Willock had very good goal-scoring chances they didn't take.
We hav'nt got a 2nd striker so this is the system we will have to play until we get one. |
Argh: Chair "taking too many touches". Argh. He was, and usually is, the one that sets the tempo and gets us playing positively with or without the ball. So what if he "hogs" the ball even a little; whoever he passed it to would have probably lost it anyway.
Always fit, always available, generally brilliant, positive source of energy, a great guy.
Way, way above ANY criticism last night - not always, but last night yes.
... and on the OP, I read once that the reason that there were so many more Cup "shocks" than there used to be was that so many players now get good coaching at a young age and that, on their day, there is not too much to choose between National League players and top flight ones. The key difference is their consistency - if you did it every week, you'd be at that level. Also, our lot do seem massively different when low on confidence and incapable of breaking down teams who are content to sit back. Right now, they look like a team that HAS to score first... |  |
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| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:41 - Jan 3 with 2253 views | stevec |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:23 - Jan 3 by ParkRoyalR |
It's also too big an ask to play Dykes on his own against 2 and sometimes 3 Centre Halves with no support within 20 yards.
Last night this, our preferred system, worked well as Dykes did exactly as asked of him, tying up the Centre Halves and creating space for the 3 no 10's.
Unfortunately the real Achilles in our attacking play, Chair taking too many touches was evident again and both he and Willock had very good goal-scoring chances they didn't take.
We hav'nt got a 2nd striker so this is the system we will have to play until we get one. |
Agree. Wasn’t having a pop at Dykes specifically, the whole attack is poor the moment we get in the box. Finishing is letting the whole side down and I suspect the reason why heads drop when we go behind. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:41 - Jan 3 with 2271 views | PinnerPaul |
He mentioned the C word in his post match. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:44 - Jan 3 with 2253 views | PinnerPaul |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:09 - Jan 3 by stevec |
It’s the lack of goalscorers that’s the whole problem.
We were great last night, but just couldn’t finish the game off with a second goal.
Defence is pretty sound really, certainly for a decent championship club. Centre midfield is good, but that’s a tough job and we expect Tim and Field to run non stop for 90 minutes which is too big an ask, that is an area where shortage of numbers is an issue.
Once again a long range effort got us ahead. It’s the poaching in the area that is a constant problem, it’s not anywhere near up to standard. |
Yes I think you have a point. They had 3 one on ones with Seny - we rarely seem to get in those positions.
We were much much better at getting early ball into Dykes and Roberts and Chair/Willock linked up better, but your underlying point is correct, for the areas and times where we had good possession last night, we didn't really get enough efforts on goal. | | | |
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| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:47 - Jan 3 with 2234 views | PinnerPaul |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:36 - Jan 3 by davman |
Argh: Chair "taking too many touches". Argh. He was, and usually is, the one that sets the tempo and gets us playing positively with or without the ball. So what if he "hogs" the ball even a little; whoever he passed it to would have probably lost it anyway.
Always fit, always available, generally brilliant, positive source of energy, a great guy.
Way, way above ANY criticism last night - not always, but last night yes.
... and on the OP, I read once that the reason that there were so many more Cup "shocks" than there used to be was that so many players now get good coaching at a young age and that, on their day, there is not too much to choose between National League players and top flight ones. The key difference is their consistency - if you did it every week, you'd be at that level. Also, our lot do seem massively different when low on confidence and incapable of breaking down teams who are content to sit back. Right now, they look like a team that HAS to score first... |
Not having a big argument about last night, but I do think he could/should have done a few things better.
His decision making isn't great at times, but agree, pointless going too negative after a decent showing. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:50 - Jan 3 with 2226 views | bosh67 |
Consistency is always much easier when you have the potential to outscore the opponent. |  |
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| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:59 - Jan 3 with 2180 views | ParkRoyalR |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:44 - Jan 3 by PinnerPaul |
Yes I think you have a point. They had 3 one on ones with Seny - we rarely seem to get in those positions.
We were much much better at getting early ball into Dykes and Roberts and Chair/Willock linked up better, but your underlying point is correct, for the areas and times where we had good possession last night, we didn't really get enough efforts on goal. |
Arguably this is because we have no midfield 'runner's and our 10's play in front of the defence rather than anticipating Dykes's flick-on's or playing give and go's
But last night seemed to be a seismic shift in moving the ball quicker, taking on early shots etc so hopefully Critchley can get then running off and past Dykes and opening teams up. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:03 - Jan 3 with 2174 views | terryb |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:36 - Jan 3 by davman |
Argh: Chair "taking too many touches". Argh. He was, and usually is, the one that sets the tempo and gets us playing positively with or without the ball. So what if he "hogs" the ball even a little; whoever he passed it to would have probably lost it anyway.
Always fit, always available, generally brilliant, positive source of energy, a great guy.
Way, way above ANY criticism last night - not always, but last night yes.
... and on the OP, I read once that the reason that there were so many more Cup "shocks" than there used to be was that so many players now get good coaching at a young age and that, on their day, there is not too much to choose between National League players and top flight ones. The key difference is their consistency - if you did it every week, you'd be at that level. Also, our lot do seem massively different when low on confidence and incapable of breaking down teams who are content to sit back. Right now, they look like a team that HAS to score first... |
Fot most of the match last night Chair was very good, but he can't be excused criticism near the end of the match when he cut back & tried to shoot instead of passing the ball to an unmarked Amos.
If Amos had then missed he would have been blamed. As it is Chair can be blamed for not scoring or passing!
Illias sometimes is the subject of unwarranted comments by some people, but it won't help you stating that he shouldn't pass because the other player would lose the ball anyway! Does it really make a difference who gices the ball away? | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:08 - Jan 3 with 2150 views | DieByYourSide |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:03 - Jan 3 by terryb |
Fot most of the match last night Chair was very good, but he can't be excused criticism near the end of the match when he cut back & tried to shoot instead of passing the ball to an unmarked Amos.
If Amos had then missed he would have been blamed. As it is Chair can be blamed for not scoring or passing!
Illias sometimes is the subject of unwarranted comments by some people, but it won't help you stating that he shouldn't pass because the other player would lose the ball anyway! Does it really make a difference who gices the ball away? |
It was Roberts wasn't it?
In the 2nd half at 1-0, Chair coming down the left, Roberts unmarked just inside the box.
Criminal bit of decision making compounded by their equaliser. [Post edited 3 Jan 2023 10:09]
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| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:17 - Jan 3 with 2091 views | ParkRoyalR |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:08 - Jan 3 by DieByYourSide |
It was Roberts wasn't it?
In the 2nd half at 1-0, Chair coming down the left, Roberts unmarked just inside the box.
Criminal bit of decision making compounded by their equaliser. [Post edited 3 Jan 2023 10:09]
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Unfortunately this is because Chair plays with his head down and just doesn't see these passes,
Willock plays with his head-up and more often sees these passes, hence his far superior product,
Fine margins, Chair see the pass, simple finish, 2 nil and game-over. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:44 - Jan 3 with 2027 views | kernowhoop |
I think that, when Sheffield United were promoted to the PL, under Chris Wilder, one of the features of their play was defenders running well forward with the ball. Rob Dickie can do that, but it would be nice to see more of it. Do they work on that in training, I wonder? | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:56 - Jan 3 with 1988 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:17 - Jan 3 by ParkRoyalR |
Unfortunately this is because Chair plays with his head down and just doesn't see these passes,
Willock plays with his head-up and more often sees these passes, hence his far superior product,
Fine margins, Chair see the pass, simple finish, 2 nil and game-over. |
And yet no one in the league has created more chances than... Ilias Chair!
I agree last night on maybe 3 occasions he took the wrong option (extra touch, shot when he should have passed), and he has to improve on that. But the idea he plays with his head down is not borne out by any sort of scrutiny I'm afraid. |  |
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| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:56 - Jan 3 with 1985 views | dmm |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:44 - Jan 3 by kernowhoop |
I think that, when Sheffield United were promoted to the PL, under Chris Wilder, one of the features of their play was defenders running well forward with the ball. Rob Dickie can do that, but it would be nice to see more of it. Do they work on that in training, I wonder? |
That was SU's overlapping CBs, which was quite a thing. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 11:07 - Jan 3 with 1934 views | dmm |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:59 - Jan 3 by ParkRoyalR |
Arguably this is because we have no midfield 'runner's and our 10's play in front of the defence rather than anticipating Dykes's flick-on's or playing give and go's
But last night seemed to be a seismic shift in moving the ball quicker, taking on early shots etc so hopefully Critchley can get then running off and past Dykes and opening teams up. |
Interestingly, Chair's average position was ahead of Dykes and Willocks about the same as Dykes according to Whoscored's Positional report/Player positions chart: https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1648497/MatchReport/England-Championship-2022-
Chair and Willock however, are usually in advanced wide positions and I agree with you that we lack midfield players getting into the box to support Dykes. I'd like to see Amos finally get fit and play because that's something he can do. Ireogbunam can also do it but Critchley seems to want him in a deeper lying role. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 12:02 - Jan 3 with 1823 views | ParkRoyalR |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 10:56 - Jan 3 by Antti_Heinola |
And yet no one in the league has created more chances than... Ilias Chair!
I agree last night on maybe 3 occasions he took the wrong option (extra touch, shot when he should have passed), and he has to improve on that. But the idea he plays with his head down is not borne out by any sort of scrutiny I'm afraid. |
Anti, I get you are a huge Chair fan, as I am of his work-rate and ability, but even you acknowledge at 3 key moments last night he took the wrong option, and the question is why?
I have watched him for a long-time now and the only reason imho he does consistently not see these options and takes too many touches at key moments is that compared to the Willocks and Eze's who play with their heads-up, when Chair receives the ball, his instinct is to control it and take his first and often second touches with his head-down.
I'm fairly sceptical of stats as I know its a different sport but watching the Darts over Christmas and you see one player dominate another and win fairly easily but the stats are very even.
And imo its the same with football, its those 3 key moments which are the difference between a 2-0 win and a 1-1 draw, and despite Chair's stats being inflated by Willock taking on some fairly routine passes and scoring worldies, we've had no multi-million pound offers for a player who is ostensibly leading the Assists Charts in the Championship.
Great lad, but like Dykes, we are still trying to unlock potential and realise his full value (and fee) which we know should be £5m++ when you look at the rest of his game. | | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 12:30 - Jan 3 with 1784 views | BrianMcCarthy |
There have been many instances when Chair has clearly spotted a team-mate in what some might consider a better position, and chose to shoot himself. We've chatted about it on here before.
It's not simply a case of "head down" with Chair, sometimes he is either greedy or calculating that his shot has a higher chance of helping the team. Only he knows which. |  |
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| Consistency - or the lack of it on 12:57 - Jan 3 with 1733 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 12:02 - Jan 3 by ParkRoyalR |
Anti, I get you are a huge Chair fan, as I am of his work-rate and ability, but even you acknowledge at 3 key moments last night he took the wrong option, and the question is why?
I have watched him for a long-time now and the only reason imho he does consistently not see these options and takes too many touches at key moments is that compared to the Willocks and Eze's who play with their heads-up, when Chair receives the ball, his instinct is to control it and take his first and often second touches with his head-down.
I'm fairly sceptical of stats as I know its a different sport but watching the Darts over Christmas and you see one player dominate another and win fairly easily but the stats are very even.
And imo its the same with football, its those 3 key moments which are the difference between a 2-0 win and a 1-1 draw, and despite Chair's stats being inflated by Willock taking on some fairly routine passes and scoring worldies, we've had no multi-million pound offers for a player who is ostensibly leading the Assists Charts in the Championship.
Great lad, but like Dykes, we are still trying to unlock potential and realise his full value (and fee) which we know should be £5m++ when you look at the rest of his game. |
yeah agree with much of that, but what i took issue with was 'he doesn't see these passes' - clearly he does, as no one else in the league creates more opportunities than him - no need to be sceptical of that statistic - it's in direct opposition to your statement - different ends of the spectrum.
Does he see the passes *enough* or does he always see the right pass, or make the right decision? no. Certainly he has aspects of his game to work on but by all accounts he wants to learn and is very humble - I'm sure he'll continue to improve. So all I'm really taking issue with was your phrasing, otherwise, we're in agreement, broadly! | |
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| Consistency - or the lack of it on 13:11 - Jan 3 with 1712 views | ManinBlack |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 09:09 - Jan 3 by stevec |
It’s the lack of goalscorers that’s the whole problem.
We were great last night, but just couldn’t finish the game off with a second goal.
Defence is pretty sound really, certainly for a decent championship club. Centre midfield is good, but that’s a tough job and we expect Tim and Field to run non stop for 90 minutes which is too big an ask, that is an area where shortage of numbers is an issue.
Once again a long range effort got us ahead. It’s the poaching in the area that is a constant problem, it’s not anywhere near up to standard. |
Have to agree not having goalscorers is holding us back. For all the improvements last night I still only counted two efforts on target which is not good enough for a home team. Even Celtic only had two on target against Rangers but they both went in but they didn't win either. At the end of the day our old frailties of not scoring enough, sitting back and conceding in stoppage time prevented a morale boosting win. |  | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 15:34 - Jan 3 with 1559 views | nix |
One thing that's interesting is we have another player with six assists this season: Stefan Johansen. His assists have come from 20 chances created whereas Ilias come from 61 chances created. I can't draw an obvious conclusion from this but it does make you wonder whether Stefan creates more clear cut chances. Alternatively it might mean that when he plays it spreads the creativity so they can make better chances, and it's just that when Stef has played, Illy has also played. |  | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 15:39 - Jan 3 with 1554 views | Nushnool |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 12:30 - Jan 3 by BrianMcCarthy |
There have been many instances when Chair has clearly spotted a team-mate in what some might consider a better position, and chose to shoot himself. We've chatted about it on here before.
It's not simply a case of "head down" with Chair, sometimes he is either greedy or calculating that his shot has a higher chance of helping the team. Only he knows which. |
For what it’s worth, I thought Chair was very good last night.
But doesn’t this come down to the same old point? If he was making the right decision every time, or just more often, he’d be playing at a higher level. He has flaws which should be worked on, but he does so much right that we should appreciate him for those things. |  | | |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 15:41 - Jan 3 with 1547 views | Northernr |
| Consistency - or the lack of it on 15:34 - Jan 3 by nix |
One thing that's interesting is we have another player with six assists this season: Stefan Johansen. His assists have come from 20 chances created whereas Ilias come from 61 chances created. I can't draw an obvious conclusion from this but it does make you wonder whether Stefan creates more clear cut chances. Alternatively it might mean that when he plays it spreads the creativity so they can make better chances, and it's just that when Stef has played, Illy has also played. |
Johansen can take an adequate corner, which very much makes him the man with three hairs in the land of the bald at QPR. |  | | |
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