Onfield leadership

L

langham

First Team
Big problem in first 45 was absence of leadership anywhere on the pitch (partial exception Moore). Our lot appeared to panic - reflected in sloppy passing and repeated turnovers. The contrast with our earlier outfit is striking - when we had Elphick and Francis we had leaders capable of thinking on the pitch and rallying the team.

Of course the lineup was all wrong and a gift to a fast-moving Arsenal team - but the problem is glaring. During the second 45, a change in formation was key but also Cook showed how to lead. He must surely be a regular pick; meanwhile we urgently need to find others who can play this role. Worth consideration as we recruit in the last few days of the transfer window.
 
Tbf it looked like it would be a cricket score after ten minutes. They did nothing positive in the first half but they were able to stem the negatives.
 
MB1980 said:
Think we had same issues, or at least questions under Howe in the PL. Elphick was swiftly discarded in the PL and people were saying Francis didn;t appear to be a leader (body language, not shouting etc).
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Yeah Franno got all the same accusations when we lost yet the record with him in the side told a different story. I think the types of captains that fans prefer don't necessarily make the best captains.
 
Valid points about Francis but he invariably showed energy and generally kept his head. Could have done with some of that yesterday.
 
SlowDownDerek said:
Yeah Franno got all the same accusations when we lost yet the record with him in the side told a different story. I think the types of captains that fans prefer don't necessarily make the best captains.
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I think its from another era, where captains tended to be hard/all action cm's or tough cb's.

I assume Kelly has something about him to have been given the role at such a young age last season.
 
langham said:
Valid points about Francis but he invariably showed energy and generally kept his head. Could have done with some of that yesterday.
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But they did though. The finished that disaster of a half only 2-0 down. Southampton have shown what losing your head looks like when you get comprehensively outplayed. Even Howe's side showed naivety against big sides and got battered.
 
MB1980 said:
I think its from another era, where captains tended to be hard/all action cm's or tough cb's.

I assume Kelly has something about him to have been given the role at such a young age last season.
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He must have. To partially contradict my other points though it's not great that he has times where his passing completely goes out the window.
 
It is an issue but not our biggest imo. Our biggest issue is our lack of attacking threat, we’ve spend the entire window worrying about defensive reinforcements but the reality is that we are desperately short of attacking quality. One injury to Dom and we are completely f****d from an attacking perspective, it’s all well and good having Lowe as back up but Parker clearly doesn’t trust him enough to use him. Our attacking midfielders and wingers are either not up to scratch or can’t be relied upon for whatever reason: Stan may as well hang up his boots, who’s to say what level Brooks will return to, Anthony had a good season in the championship but is still very young and in his second season of regular senior football, Christie is a good footballer but has horrific end product and Dembele isn’t trusted to do anything other than sit on the bench. It is too early to judge Tav at this point but 5 goals and 5 assists in the championship doesn’t overwhelm you with confidence. We lack both quality and depth in attack and need at least two more quality additions. At the end of the day you can have as many leaders as you want but if you can’t trouble the opposition goal then you will always struggle. In theee games we haven’t remotely looked like scoring from open play yet.
 
I'm sure we won't go down. . but we are up there on merit from last season...so we might as well have a stab at top half to justify that effort.
This is what the players must think and aspire to...shed the fear.. enjoy the challenge.
Leadership will come through in certain individuals if the right ethics and aspirations are in place .
 
Recruitment in the last few days of the window will be critical for our season. Parker said as much on Solent after the game, adding that several players will leave. We need to get a move on - defenders and forwards needed urgently.... and the pool of potential recruits will be reducing by the day. We need to spend some money, or regret it later. And we've no loans so far - it's time to move on loan options.

Can we get "oven-ready" recruits? Senesi's performance yesterday suggests we need players who can slot in more readily. (BTW - Mepham did a good job, at last realising that a decisive clearance is far safer than fiddly play in the box.)
 
I'm bumping this thread up following this afternoon's games at Leeds and Newcastle, with two home teams battling throughout, showing the grit we lacked yesterday.

Suggestion - let's bid again for Matt Ritchie. He's got a couple of seasons in him as a LB/LWB or left midfield. He's gutsy and determined and leads on and off the pitch - and by all accounts would like a move back home. Would Eddie really stop the move? One or two like Ritchie could change the chemistry.
 
langham said:
Big problem in first 45 was absence of leadership anywhere on the pitch (partial exception Moore). Our lot appeared to panic - reflected in sloppy passing and repeated turnovers. The contrast with our earlier outfit is striking - when we had Elphick and Francis we had leaders capable of thinking on the pitch and rallying the team.

Of course the lineup was all wrong and a gift to a fast-moving Arsenal team - but the problem is glaring. During the second 45, a change in formation was key but also Cook showed how to lead. He must surely be a regular pick; meanwhile we urgently need to find others who can play this role. Worth consideration as we recruit in the last few days of the transfer window.
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I'm surprised Lewis isn't Deputy Captain to be fair. No disrespect to Lerma, but Lewis is the man. Maybe it was Scott's way of trying to entice Jeff into extending? Or giving Jeff some responsibility to help settle his inclination to duvet in and get yellows and reds. 3 matches and so far 1 goal and no cards for Jeff, so something is working. Still think Cook is a more logical captain.
 
langham said:
I'm bumping this thread up following this afternoon's games at Leeds and Newcastle, with two home teams battling throughout, showing the grit we lacked yesterday.

Suggestion - let's bid again for Matt Ritchie. He's got a couple of seasons in him as a LB/LWB or left midfield. He's gutsy and determined and leads on and off the pitch - and by all accounts would like a move back home. Would Eddie really stop the move? One or two like Ritchie could change the chemistry.
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Too expensive I think. He would demand high wages and how often would he play for us? It's time for our squad of players to step up to motivate on the pitch. The best leaders are often the most reluctant to start leading because they tend to have been quieter listeners and observers.
 
Sleepy Cherry said:
Too expensive I think. He would demand high wages and how often would he play for us? It's time for our squad of players to step up to motivate on the pitch. The best leaders are often the most reluctant to start leading because they tend to have been quieter listeners and observers.
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On wages - unless it busts the club's wage structure we should try to negotiate with MR. We managed Nat Phillips last season - and he must be on a wedge at LFC. Would there a fee? ... maybe not at this stage of Ritchie's career. Let's find out ...
 
I have a feeling that this last game could be important to us; similar to how Saints got their act together after being smashed by Leicester.

Of course, the score wasn't the same, but it was a wake up call nonetheless.

I just wish we didn't have Anfield next. It would've been interesting to see how Parker and the players come out against regular Prem opposition.
 
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