Defensive Record

[all]

We have the worst defensive record in the division by some considerable margin and SD talked after Leyton Orient game about defensive mistakes yet again.
We have had a number of loan players in this season but apart from a goalkeeper we have not brought in any back for players. I struggle to understand that.
There seems to be some talk of Tootle going in the window and we release Robertson. Is that a bit previous.

[Fifty_Year_Fan]

It was not too previous to release Robertson, he simply wasnt good enough. He could not always prevent crosses and we used to concede many goals this way. Toots has done a lot better and we tend not to concede as many from crosses from our left.

SD wont let Toots go in January if he feels we need him.

Our main weakness at this time are balls played over Mark Ellis' head (usually on our right), the forward runs on to it, shoots (usually) with his left foot) and scores.

The first goal we conceded last Saturday is a perfect example, Shewsbury also scored their equaliser this way, I have seen countless other similar goals conceded at Gresty Road.

SD says it is individual mistakes but whose?
Is it Mark Ellis who is slow turning, is it Harry Davies who is not covering Ellis sufficiently, is it the midfield who are not tracking the runner, or is it bad goalkeeping, or a combunation?

SD neeeds to sort it out quickly as other teams will be trying to take advantage of our weakness. Surely

[all]

I agree with you FYF Robertson was not up to the required level, but he can hardly be blamed for most of this years defensive disasters. He was one of SDs signings I think.
I dont believe that the club would stand in Toots way if a decent move was to be made for him...after all that is the Crewe Way.
Finally if SD thought we had enough quality in defense surely the figures and results show him to be a poor judge.
I hope that things do improve because like fyf I have been watching the Alex for over 50 years and have well over a thousand games to my credit

[scottie4960]

[quote="Fifty_Year_Fan"]It was not too previous to release Robertson, he simply wasnt good enough. He could not always prevent crosses and we used to concede many goals this way. Toots has done a lot better and we tend not to concede as many from crosses from our left.

SD wont let Toots go in January if he feels we need him.

Our main weakness at this time are balls played over Mark Ellis' head (usually on our right), the forward runs on to it, shoots (usually) with his left foot) and scores.

The first goal we conceded last Saturday is a perfect example, Shewsbury also scored their equaliser this way, I have seen countless other similar goals conceded at Gresty Road.

SD says it is individual mistakes but whose?
Is it Mark Ellis who is slow turning, is it Harry Davies who is not covering Ellis sufficiently, is it the midfield who are not tracking the runner, or is it bad goalkeeping, or a combunation?

SD neeeds to sort it out quickly as other teams will

[AlexLeicester]

We have had an appalling defensive record for many seasons now. There have been some talented defenders over the years, but I am tending to think that the coaching may be at fault (sacrilege - I've been negative about Dario!!).

Our defence seems to consist of four individuals who pass it sideways or boot it aimlessly up field; or wingbacks who desert their positions in search of a killer cross when a good forward pass would/should be better; and they rarely work together to help each other out when under pressure.
These are broad-brush statements, but we cannot always work on the principle of success simply by scoring more.

[Crewe313]

I think the main problem with the defense is the lack of mobility.

Ray, Guthrie, Duggie and Ellis have the turning circles of an elephant. In our league defenders make mistakes, if they didnt they would be playing in a higher league. Its how you react when the mistake is made and pace and mobility are a great back up. I think that was why Audel was brought in originally as he had that pace. Unfortunately footballing ability was not coupled with that.

Usually if a defender doesn't have that pace then they are usually excellent at reading the game, aka Terry. Unfortunately our defenders seem to be void of that ability as well.

I think the summer there may be a rethink and two or three defenders may be moved on. I think the defense will be built around Harry as he is unlikely to move on in the short-term and seems to be the only one capable at playing at this level.

Hopefully Ray and Guthrie will step up next year as they are young, however we do need someone with pace alongside harr

[AstonAlex]

Odd how our centre backs can't seem to do things consistently well. Ellis and Davis were a good solid partnership last season but Mark's form in the early part of this season seemed poor - why else start the season with Duggy or Ray in his place?

I think Harry is clearly our most consistent CB, without being great. He isn't the biggest but is the least likely to make a critical mistake and is the most nimble/quickest to turn; that is damning him with faint praise compared with Mark and Duggy though!

George has the potential to be a decent player, I think, if he buckles down to some hard work and stops playing like he thinks he's Rio Ferdinand; personally I have kittens when he's on the ball.

The remarks earlier in the thread of our CBs not being able to pass the ball was well made, but I would rather they knew how to get rid of the ball when under pressure than play it out. Central midfield have a role to play in making themselves available for the pass and this is the area w