Fulham v Barnsley match thoughts

[Barnsley Chop]

Glad I watched the England v South Africa rugby match !

[Young_Nudger]

This is practically the same team that got us to the playoffs last season, so what's happened?
Last season players were talked about as "high expectations of this lad", well he did nearly score today but thankfully Collins saved the "back pass", so what's happened?
The team seem to lack any sense of confidence, they don't seem to have the same stamina or any idea of what their job is. Sibbick was getting constantly over run with little help coming from Frieser. The midfield seemed not to be able to move the ball forward and only seemed to pass it back, any forward passes were misplaced or to the opposition. At one point we took a throw in and threw it straight out for a goal kick with no Barnsley player anywhere near it.
Hopefully the new boss Asbaghi can bring some resemblance of last seasons team back and restore a little pride.
I still think we're already relegated.

Agree with that.
You ask ……… This is practically the same team that got us to the playoffs last season, so what's happened?

Well IMO - it’s this.

At the beginning of this season (after the Morris injury) I wondered why the attributes of the Dike position (Target Striker) hadn’t been properly filled.
And then Khaled went and let the cat out of the bag by saying - the directors have imposed a playing style on the head coach.
The style of play from last season has more or less been abandoned.
Consequently the players are now looking bewildered at what their role is - and this is plainly evident.
Time after time for example - you see one of our players pick the ball up in midfield or near the opposition penalty area - and the other players just stand there looking at him.

And we now have a shambles of a defence?
Last season when the opposition had the ball the 3 strikers moved as a unit and Sibbick, Helik, Mads moved up and stood near the halfway line to squeeze the play.
That’s all gone.

Last season WAS NOT a one off - a team doesn’t win matches game after game after game for it to be just based on luck.
I still believe we have very good players - and a stronger squad this season than last.
That is except for one pivotal role - that most of the tactics going forward from last season was based on - target striker.

We won last season because the players fully understand what they had to do.
This season they don’t.
And that is a direct result of decisions made in the boardroom.
Directors wanted a transition in style - to move away from the direct approach to a more tippy tappy possession style of football.
That decision will probably get the club relegated.

The grand old duke of Conway - he had 11 or more good men - he marched them up to the top of the hill - and then he marched them down again.

[Romared]

Was it really that bad then, I gave up at half time and went shopping!!.
We're not relegated because of this result and performance, and I expected that today against an obvious favourite for promotion.
These next few games though could be a bigger indication as to whether the players will keep trying to keep us up, or whether they just can't even be bothered.

shopping ???? As in Markus !!!

[Jules88]

For most of this season I've thought that we had good players here more than good enough for this level .

I blamed Schopp and Conway for our poor show so far this season and once we got a HC in then we'd be alright .

I was wrong , I wasn't wrong about Schopp or Conway but I was wrong about this group of players .

They are absolutely shocking and are easily the worst group of players in the championship .

That Hull game showed me what we had here when they took us apart at will , it was embarrassing .

If we get 30 points I'll be amazed .

I didn’t post yesterday as I was so mad that we looked like a group of players ( I won’t go so far as say a team) who play on a Sunday that have just met.
You’ve posted exactly how I felt.I’ll say 25.

[animallittle3]

This new HC has to somehow figure out how to make this group of players difficult to play against .

Difficult to play against would be extremely tight defensively because we aren't going to score too many goals .

It's a case of nicking one nils in my opinion .

My view is he has to completely ditched the 3-4-3 formation , in fact he has to ditch the three at the back and go with a flat back four .

Two holding midfielders and go with five across the middle of the park .

Morning and afternoon on that training ground is needed , working on this formation and getting the players in to better physical condition .

Special attention given to set pieces and corners which may well be our route to goals as I don't envisage too many scored in open play .

Simply put we have to get ugly with attrition because in my opinion the talent to play open and expansive football just isn't there .

My team .

----------------- Collins --------------

J Williams ----- Helik --- Andersen --- Vita

--------------- Palmer ----- Gomes ----------

Brittain ----------- Benson -------------- Styles

------------------------ Iseka -------------------

That system should be able to stop teams getting in behind us so easily and we build from that position by keeping ourselves in games .

Looking at my line up its hardly convincing is it ?

The two full backs are questionable but I don't have too much faith in Sibbick or Ben Williams either .

I'd suggest two full backs in January with decent defensive attributes are a must .

We really are in the shyte in my opinion and this system and team is possibly the best I can come up with that even offers us a remote possibility of survival .

[Shadrack the Red]

This new HC has to somehow figure out how to make this group of players difficult to play against .

Difficult to play against would be extremely tight defensively because we aren't going to score too many goals .

It's a case of nicking one nils in my opinion .

My view is he has to completely ditched the 3-4-3 formation , in fact he has to ditch the three at the back and go with a flat back four .

Two holding midfielders and go with five across the middle of the park .

Morning and afternoon on that training ground is needed , working on this formation and getting the players in to better physical condition .

Special attention given to set pieces and corners which may well be our route to goals as I don't envisage too many scored in open play .

Simply put we have to get ugly with attrition because in my opinion the talent to play open and expansive football just isn't there .

My team .

----------------- Collins --------------

J Williams ----- Helik --- Andersen --- Vita

--------------- Palmer ----- Gomes ----------

Brittain ----------- Benson -------------- Styles

------------------------ Iseka -------------------

That system should be able to stop teams getting in behind us so easily and we build from that position by keeping ourselves in games .

Looking at my line up its hardly convincing is it ?

The two full backs are questionable but I don't have too much faith in Sibbick or Ben Williams either .

I'd suggest two full backs in January with decent defensive attributes are a must .

We really are in the shyte in my opinion and this system and team is possibly the best I can come up with that even offers us a remote possibility of survival .

I quite like your formation & it would be interesting to see it against one of the middle of the road sides who we need to be picking points up off, the full back conundrum is a key issue & I would be tempted to try Moon at right back & Kitchen at left back under this system , we are all managers arn"t we but it will be interesting to see our Head Coaches approach , we will see.

[SBRed48]

I admire your attempts at trying but the saying, "tha carnt mekka silk purse arta a sow's ear" comes to mind.

I blame the arseoyle Conway. The January window should prove interesting. Conway (arseoyle) might raise enough to have enough in the club's account to tek art to pay another instalment to Cryne whist his mouthpiece Ahmad will repeat the old "every penny raised will go back in the transfer budget"

[animallittle3]

I quite like your formation & it would be interesting to see it against one of the middle of the road sides who we need to be picking points up off, the full back conundrum is a key issue & I would be tempted to try Moon at right back & Kitchen at left back under this system , we are all managers arn"t we but it will be interesting to see our Head Coaches approach , we will see.

What's happened is that the back three have been massively exposed this season .

Exposed because of not enough pressing in front of them .

I've always accepted the point that we can't press as effectively as last season because we are back to three subs but attempting to play a more possession based game and abandoning the press is altogether something else mind .

With two proper full backs and Brittain and Styles in front of them then we give ourselves the opportunity to double up in the wide areas , it's the opposition getting in behind far too easily that have contributed to our defensive demise in my opinion .

Doubling up should by definition lower the quality of balls coming in and allow Helik and Andersen to do what they do best and defend utilising their physicality .

Brittain and Styles can get back to doing what they do best and bomb forward knowing their asses are covered by the full backs .

If Woodrow can get back to something like the form he's capable of then I'd have in that position just behind Iseka that I've given to Benson .

Still in games and becoming stretched as it goes in to the final twenty minutes then the subs can be introduced as the HC sees the game .

My biggest concern with my system is we've nobody up top to hold the ball up but Iseka has to play because he's our biggest goal threat .

We could play two up top but I'm far from convinced having just four in midfield works for us .

We could go 3-5-2 but those three back lads will be back to getting exposed again with wing backs .

It's pretty much damage limitation if I'm honest rather than any real belief we are going to survive .

Making a Wycombe type fist of it if you will .

[Acido]

By the sounds of it we had a go for about 20 minutes, and then it all fell apart yet again.
We are a Lg One team now in all but the name, and its going to be a long miserable remainder of the season if they don't pick themselves up from this. Losing is one thing but not caring and feeling sorry for themselves as well, that is just appallingly unacceptable.

[Young_Nudger]

I admire your attempts at trying but the saying, "tha carnt mekka silk purse arta a sow's ear" comes to mind.

I blame the arseoyle Conway. The January window should prove interesting. Conway (arseoyle) might raise enough to have enough in the club's account to tek art to pay another instalment to Cryne whist his mouthpiece Ahmad will repeat the old "every penny raised will go back in the transfer budget"

If yer started using language that was acceptable - and I can’t understand why Admin allow such language - then your posts would be more readable.
Because generally you have got something interesting to say.