Defence versus Attack?

[ncfcog]

I mean I like a really good defence, and I love a really good attack, but which one is best?

Only one way to find out . . .

Have recreated the best attack/defence table but based on goals scored/conceded per game rather than total number of goals which can be deceiving depending on the number of games played.

17923

If the pic is a bit small you can view it here https://www.nottscountystats.com/form-2020-21 just scroll to bottom of the page.

[Davy500]

If given a choice i prefer attack
The best teams usually have both , a good defense, combined with a good attack

[Kelton]

I mean I like a really good defence, and I love a really good attack, but which one is best?

Only one way to find out . . .

Have recreated the best attack/defence table but based on goals scored/conceded per game rather than total number of goals which can be deceiving depending on the number of games played.

17923

If the pic is a bit small you can view it here https://www.nottscountystats.com/form-2020-21 just scroll to bottom of the page.

Our owners are stats astute guys and this info wont be lost on them. I have been banging on about this for ages. Everytime we give a poor goal away or a defender messes up we are all over them. Our defence are not our problem in fact they are the best part of our team this season. These stats confirm that. They will make mistakes like Lacey v Aldershot Turner v Halifax Brindley last night. But overall they are doing a great job we just need to score more goals up the other end

[Elite_Pie]

Our defence are not our problem in fact they are the best part of our team this season. These stats confirm that.

Maybe they do, but is that because our tactics are based more on not conceding than they are on scoring?

[laddo]

Maybe both.

If course it's not easy to get the right balance and perform well in both at the same time.

[Elite_Pie]

If course it's not easy to get the right balance and perform well in both at the same time.

It's not easy, but it's something good managers tend to do.

[laddo]

Yeah they do, it's a shame proportionally there aren't too many about especially true at NL/L2 levels.

[Notts78]

It's not easy, but it's something good managers tend to do.

I don’t agree.
Liverpool arguably the best team in England with a manager I really like (though he bores me with his rant over the number of substitutes) are not defensively brilliant. Conceding 7 at Villa proved that. What they do though is try and attack from all angles, pressing teams high up the pitch which can and has exposed them to the counter.
Then there is Pep who is very much a purist. It hasn’t been lost on the statisticians that they have scored significantly less than the last few seasons BUT are not conceding as often, yet they are a little off the pace in the title race.

I will now mention Solskjaer at Utd. The fans I know are moaning about the standard of football. The team selection. The tactics. Sound familiar? Yet they are as high as they have been in the last few years.

These are all good managers. Steve Bruce at Newcastle. Wilder at Sheff Utd. Dyche at Burnley. Then the obvious Smith at Villa. All good managers IMO but all have in the past or are currently at risk of losing there jobs. All these managers play with different styles.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Our owners are stats astute guys and this info wont be lost on them. I have been banging on about this for ages. Everytime we give a poor goal away or a defender messes up we are all over them. Our defence are not our problem in fact they are the best part of our team this season. These stats confirm that. They will make mistakes like Lacey v Aldershot Turner v Halifax Brindley last night. But overall they are doing a great job we just need to score more goals up the other end

I agree our defence on the whole is solid and yes individual errors happen as these are tier 5 players. It is basically a title winning defence and is only marginally bettered by Boreham Wood. It was a similar scenario last season with the defence.

The attack table is based on goals and for that reason we are on a par with a mid table side. We are not clinical enough at the moment in front of goal. I'd image the club have stats available that show how many chances we are creating. Likewise the same with goals to shots ratios.

For example if a team scores once every three shots then they don't need to have as many chances as a team that scores once every six shots. Against Hartlepool I'd imagine our shot to goal ratio would be high because second half we had lots of chances. Against Halifax where Sam scored early on the shots to goal ratio would be low especially if it's the right game I'm thinking of where we didn't test the keeper much afterwards.

Getting key players like Roberts and Thomas fit and firing and the likes of Sam and Knowles hitting goal scoring form can improve our chances of a higher goal return.

Although Knowles must surely have a decent goals per minute ratio as it stands so maybe part of the solution is to play him alongside Wootton in the role Thomas played last season? But then you sacrifice a midfield player and it changes the system? Likewise he's kind of doing the job Dennis did last season to some degree, coming on to change a game.

[queenslandpie]

The defence really isnt an issue but it becomes an issue when the attack is poor and ours is poor. It's poor for a number of reasons.

Injuries
lack of goals from sources last season ( Enzio, Dennis,Thomas roberts)
A change in formation due to injuries and an apparent fear to blood Knowles more.
An uninspiring goal return from Rodrigues and Sam so far who are still settling into the side and have had a stop start to deal with as well.

Get Roberts and Thomas back in the team and have more confidence with Knowles and I think our issues can be solved pretty quickly. In addition hopefully a clear run and start to see a better return from Rodrigues and Sam.

There are plenty of goals in this team I am quite sure of it. I still think we will be in the top 3 or 4 for goals per game by the end of the season but I dont think there is any chance of catching Torquay already.

[WarsopPie]

The defence really isnt an issue but it becomes an issue when the attack is poor and ours is poor. It's poor for a number of reasons.

Injuries
lack of goals from sources last season ( Enzio, Dennis,Thomas roberts)
A change in formation due to injuries and an apparent fear to blood Knowles more.
An uninspiring goal return from Rodrigues and Sam so far who are still settling into the side and have had a stop start to deal with as well.

Get Roberts and Thomas back in the team and have more confidence with Knowles and I think our issues can be solved pretty quickly. In addition hopefully a clear run and start to see a better return from Rodrigues and Sam.

There are plenty of goals in this team I am quite sure of it. I still think we will be in the top 3 or 4 for goals per game by the end of the season but I dont think there is any chance of catching Torquay already.

Sam is a liability and should never of been signed, Rodríguez is a number 10 who plays behind the front player so technically isn’t a striker so won’t give 20+ goals a season he’s the link man between midfield and attack.
We need a striker to play alongside wootton simple they cost money if they want out of this league they’ll pay the money those kind of strikers command.

[magpie_mania]

I don’t agree.
Liverpool arguably the best team in England with a manager I really like (though he bores me with his rant over the number of substitutes) are not defensively brilliant. Conceding 7 at Villa proved that. What they do though is try and attack from all angles, pressing teams high up the pitch which can and has exposed them to the counter.
Then there is Pep who is very much a purist. It hasn’t been lost on the statisticians that they have scored significantly less than the last few seasons BUT are not conceding as often, yet they are a little off the pace in the title race.

I will now mention Solskjaer at Utd. The fans I know are moaning about the standard of football. The team selection. The tactics. Sound familiar? Yet they are as high as they have been in the last few years.

These are all good managers. Steve Bruce at Newcastle. Wilder at Sheff Utd. Dyche at Burnley. Then the obvious Smith at Villa. All good managers IMO but all have in the past or are currently at risk of losing there jobs. All these managers play with different styles.

Not defensively brilliant?

Conceded less than any team last season.

The 7 - 0 was a freak result. Apart from that game, they have conceded 13 in 14 games, only bettered by 1 goal by Man City. They are also missing arguably the best central defender in the league.

[queenslandpie]

Sam is a liability and should never of been signed, Rodríguez is a number 10 who plays behind the front player so technically isn’t a striker so won’t give 20+ goals a season he’s the link man between midfield and attack.
We need a striker to play alongside wootton simple they cost money if they want out of this league they’ll pay the money those kind of strikers command.

Rodrigues was scoring goals for fun last season before the Rona. And yes he's a number 10 but we could expect 15-20 goals a season at this level. Jorge Grant scored over 20 for us in the league 2 season under Nolan mostly before Christmas as well and he wasn't technically a striker either.