Game Management

[WBA123]

What has monumentally killed us this season is dropping 18 points from winning positions.

Winning or drawing a game of football is often down to good game management and the players have shown time and time again this season a real lack of game management skills.

Things like;
- Not taking balls into the corner when we are winning or drawing late on into a game (Burke away at West Ham, McClean at home to Newcastle and away to Spurs)
- Not defending a basic corner or sloppy defending when we're 1-0 or 2-0 up and letting the other team get back into the game (Watford, Stoke & Newcastle at home).
- Not going down injured and taking some time out of the game when we are winning
- Not cynically fouling a player 40 yards from goal and taking a yellow (Southampton away)
- Not going down when there's been contact in the box (Burke on Saturday, Jrod at Arsenal away). Which is not cheating by the way if you've been touched...

All this is just off the top of my head, I don't go to every match home and away so there are probably others as well.

Don't get me wrong, Southampton deserved to win on Saturday, but they also managed the game and ran down the clock well as the game wore on.

The players need to start learning how to hold onto a lead by running a clock down, or cynically taking someone out and getting a yellow, or going down if they're fouled in the box... our survival depends on it.

[holmleighchris]

I'd imagine Burke didn't go down because he felt he could score on Saturday. I applaud him for that.
Going down because you've been touched: what an awful incitement of the game. A foul is when you bring someone down, well it was. This new idea that it's a foul if you are touched is one of the things ruining the game nowadays. Problem is players, managers, pundits and, saddest of all, match officials have all bought into it, along with many fans. Look at the contact in other sports, i.e. ice hockey & rugby. It doesn't happen in those sports, it's a darn pity it does in ours.
Big Jeff, The Tank & Cyrille must be spinning in their graves.

[WBA123]

Look at the soft penalty Liverpool got against us a couple of weeks ago, which was given by VAR! They won that through Salah throwing himself to the floor theatrically.

Jrod got pole-axed in the box away at Arsenal and got up to carry on and we didn't win a penalty. If Burke carried on on Saturday to try and score it was a poor decision, because we stood a better chance of scoring from a resulting penalty than him staying on his feet.

I agree soft penalties are not great to see, but when other sides take an advantage from it we need to do that as well.

I can't criticise the players effort on Saturday, I just think we make poor decisions sometimes.

[Johnny on the spot 1]

Look at the soft penalty Liverpool got against us a couple of weeks ago, which was given by VAR! They won that through Salah throwing himself to the floor theatrically.

Jrod got pole-axed in the box away at Arsenal and got up to carry on and we didn't win a penalty. If Burke carried on on Saturday to try and score it was a poor decision, because we stood a better chance of scoring from a resulting penalty than him staying on his feet.

I agree soft penalties are not great to see, but when other sides take an advantage from it we need to do that as well.

I can't criticise the players effort on Saturday, I just think we make poor decisions sometimes.

McManaman used to do it for us & pulis gave him a bo llocking for it , & yes another load of s hit he was a total waste of money .