Match Report and MOM v Sheff Utd

Pretty fair assessment I think. I am no expert,but 433 with Ibe in instead of Mepham to start looked a better bet as the front 3 looked very isolated for most of the game. Also expected EH to change things at half-time but amazed at lack of subs until it was too late for them to change anything, but I've thought that ever since I have jumped on the bandwagon. Cook probably MoM for me or Billings, otherwise Ake, Smith, Lerma, Ramsdale all good, Rico, Mepham ok, front 3 poor, Fraser particularly,although Wilson was so anonymous it was easy to forget he was playing. Kind of expected a draw but still disappointing.
 
It’s always easy to talk about formations but whether we play 3-4-3 or 4-4-2 we still have the same fundamental problem. The inability to move the ball between the lines.

Sometimes we can’t move the ball from defence to midfield due to errors playing out from the back. More worryingly it’s the inability to move the ball from midfield to attack and the associated lack of creativity.

Now I know people will ask how can there be a lack of creativity when we score the most outside the top 6. It’s a fair question but we score most of our goals in very specific circumstances. It’s either from Wee Man’s dead ball delivery (like today) or the individual brilliance of our front 3 or 4.

What we rarely do is control a game in midfield and open teams up through incisive play. When you are relying on individual brilliance from certain players rather than having control of a game, you will always struggle if they have a stinker.

We may well revert to 4-4-2 at Villa. It may even help us being away. One thing we won’t be doing is opening Villa up with Lerma and Billing. What I hope they can do is provide a platform for Harry Wilson to drift in off the wing and create.

Somehow we do need to find a midfield controller if we want to improve. We will still score lots of goals this season and produce some brilliant counter attacks. But it’s vital we can find a way to unlock sides who wise up to our counters.
 
I think we all agree Eddie should have freshened things up after our goal. It was hardly deserved (the goal) and nothing actually had changed before it but suddenly and for a brief moment they were rocking.

Yet we sat deep, changed nothing and just huffed and puffed whilst Eddie thought he could wing an undeserved victory. There was zero creativity from both teams, yet we had a player who had ripped the championship apart on the bench...

The over training thing is nonsense by the way....it was Wilder getting a decent away point, so tactical.
 
Aside from scoring, Mepham also made a goal saving last ditch tackle second half. Effectively worth 2 goals today. Although systematically there are challenges for him fitting in, individually I was pleased with him.

Ramsdale 6

Mepham 7
Cook 6
Ake 6

Smith 5
Billing 7
Lerma 7
Rico 4

Fraser 6
Wilson 5
King 4


One of King's worst games wearing the shirt. Never looked interested in a challenge?

Immensely disappointed for Rico, that was exactly the system and position I thought he could grow and work in. Yet he looked lost and clueless, no change to last season as yet. Smith not much better tbh.

Billing and Lerma worked, add a bit of creativity around them and we'll have something effective.

As I said in another thread I'm worried as to why we looked tired and second to every ball second half. We should be fresh and eager.
 
Good report Neil and I agree with most of the player ratings. I don't like to criticize eh but why did he leave it soooo late to make subs!

It was arguably working until then. For all their possession they weren't creating anything. Rico switches off on a free kick, lucky deflection and it's suddenly 88 minutes and we're no longer winning.

I'd have brought on someone to change it up front but in Eddie's defence he nearly pulled it off.
 
It’s always easy to talk about formations but whether we play 3-4-3 or 4-4-2 we still have the same fundamental problem. The inability to move the ball between the lines.

Sometimes we can’t move the ball from defence to midfield due to errors playing out from the back. More worryingly it’s the inability to move the ball from midfield to attack and the associated lack of creativity.

Now I know people will ask how can there be a lack of creativity when we score the most outside the top 6. It’s a fair question but we score most of our goals in very specific circumstances. It’s either from Wee Man’s dead ball delivery (like today) or the individual brilliance of our front 3 or 4.

What we rarely do is control a game in midfield and open teams up through incisive play. When you are relying on individual brilliance from certain players rather than having control of a game, you will always struggle if they have a stinker.

We may well revert to 4-4-2 at Villa. It may even help us being away. One thing we won’t be doing is opening Villa up with Lerma and Billing. What I hope they can do is provide a platform for Harry Wilson to drift in off the wing and create.

Somehow we do need to find a midfield controller if we want to improve. We will still score lots of goals this season and produce some brilliant counter attacks. But it’s vital we can find a way to unlock sides who wise up to our counters.
The problem is finding a creative midfielder through isn't it?.....there's not to many outside the top 6 .....we would have to be very lucky to find one in our price range tbf....we've always had a pretty static midfield and as you say our front men as well as our full backs/wing backs have to play well for us to win games no matter what formation we play.....they didn't play well today..but there's no point in us all moaning about what we haven't got.
 
Sheff Utd are apparently famous for their different styles of play, including 'overlapping centre-backs', so can only assume that we played three at the back with 2 wing backs to counter that potential threat.
 
Aside from scoring, Mepham also made a goal saving last ditch tackle second half. Effectively worth 2 goals today. Although systematically there are challenges for him fitting in, individually I was pleased with him.

Ramsdale 6

Mepham 7
Cook 6
Ake 6

Smith 5
Billing 7
Lerma 7
Rico 4

Fraser 6
Wilson 5
King 4


One of King's worst games wearing the shirt. Never looked interested in a challenge?

Immensely disappointed for Rico, that was exactly the system and position I thought he could grow and work in. Yet he looked lost and clueless, no change to last season as yet. Smith not much better tbh.

Billing and Lerma worked, add a bit of creativity around them and we'll have something effective.

As I said in another thread I'm worried as to why we looked tired and second to every ball second half. We should be fresh and eager.

Completely agree that Billing and Lerma worked. One of the few things that actually did.
 
Why are people blaming rico for their goal? He didn’t switch off. He was protecting the post for rammers. Twice he shouted at Wilson to come over and he didn’t. If rico went with the run he would have left goal uncovered.

Thought rico did well defensively but didn’t do much attacking wise.

Wilson king and Fraser poor today. Don’t know why Eddie didn’t hook at least two of them. But blame rico!

Ps players poor bit so was the crowd. Too quiet.
 
Why are people blaming rico for their goal? He didn’t switch off. He was protecting the post for rammers. Twice he shouted at Wilson to come over and he didn’t. If rico went with the run he would have left goal uncovered.
We let in a similar goal last season from a short set piece on the left. That time Ibe got the blame being the nearest player to where the ball was played. Of course the logic is nonsense - the person at fault is whoever should have tracked the run. Now that could still have been Rico but will need to watch back first.
 
So in Gosling's absence Rico is the new whipping boy. Excellent!

Neither he NOR Smith attacked down the flanks but somehow Rico gets 5 and Smith 7. In fact Smith went backwards so much it was like watching classic Surman. It was infuriating and Smith should have been the first of ours to be hoicked off.

I'm guessing Smith and Rico were operating under orders from EH because otherwise their lack of forward play was just weird.

But the failure today lands firmly at Eddie's door.

He should have made changes at half time (although we'd have
feinted from shock if he did) but to effectively make no substitutions (Solanke's was just time wasting) is beyond me.

I'm can usually get over bad results and get on with life quite well but, right now, I'm really fucking angry.
 

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