Rotherham verdict

bpl234 said:
they missed an open goal . They missed a one on one which their sub should have done better. Their move for that chance was a proper passing move .
Begovic also had to make a world class save .

I understand we have to battle and that is great but not all game . When we have the ball is when we should be all to pass crisply with plenty of movement . We don’t have that.
We are far to easy to stop
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Agreed. It was ironic that they opened us up when they actually tried to play some football. Yes, we are too easy to stop and there are plenty of flaws but... I'm just cutting Woodgate some slack when his preparation time is next to nothing and he knows he's just doing a holding job. For whatever reason we're a far cry from what we can be but - I think - he's tried to start from the back and midfield and get some sort of platform that his successor can build from, perhaps hoping that we can do something off the cuff in a blatantly misfiring front three.

That's more or less what happened yesterday and, indeed, with the two goals at Burnley. There is clear progress with that platform and yes we were lucky at times but getting that attacking rhythm going is going to take some time with a necessarily rotating squad and our best players underperforming.

Seven points, three clean sheets and a good cup win is a very decent return from where we were and the ridiculous situation he found himself in. He gets a big thank you from me, I'm not sure we could have asked for more.
 
kirsikka said:
Point one is about filling space rather than winning the first ball. Extra bodies in the box make it harder to get a shot through the crowd if the initial contact drops the ball in or near the area.

The stats team at the club will have done their research to calculate the extra goals blocked by having more men in the box being higher than the goals scored from breakaways when you leave men up for corners and free kicks.
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Thanks for the response, In the Numbers Game, Sally and Anderson discuss that the number of short corners Barcelona took was all based on the percentages. On average, they should be right, assuming that the stats are generalisable, can be extrapolated, that the sample size is large enough and the analyst competent. Much as I like stats and am largely influenced by them, I would love to see us do it once or twice a game to possibly cause chaos. Imagine how Rotherham would have reacted if we left Danjuma and Stan on the halfway line.

Any thoughts on Rico's positioning? This one always perplexes me.
 
fritter said:
Problems abound. Brooks, Billing and Surridge rarely challenge in the air.

The players should consider themselves fortunate that the stadium is empty. They’d be getting heaps.
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I don't know why so many people give Surridge such criticism. He won the most aerial challenges last night and Billing was 3rd: https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1...-Championship-2020-2021-Bournemouth-Rotherham

Give Surridge a break, he's young, has a lot of potential and needs games to improve.
 
Sam Surridge is a penalty box poacher. He seems to have that "right place, right time" instinct that players of that type need, but he will only look his best if he is facing the goal with the ball in front of him and is able to use the ability he has to pounce on loose balls in the six yard box and put them in the net. Time will tell if that evaluation is correct.
He didn't get any service or opportunities like that last night, and it is pathetic and unfair to criticise him for not being a sort of Steve Fletcher-lite comfortable at receiving all sorts of balls with his back to the goal on the edge of the penalty box with heavier and taller defenders whacking him from behind all the time.
As JW pointed out he worked really hard for the team in a role that doesn't suit his attributes but still made a valuable contribution to the goal that won us the two extra points.
Hopefully, when used properly in a way that maximises his attributes, we will see him score plenty of goals.
 
LewSwimmin said:
Sam Surridge is a penalty box poacher. He seems to have that "right place, right time" instinct that players of that type need, but he will only look his best if he is facing the goal with the ball in front of him and is able to use the ability he has to pounce on loose balls in the six yard box and put them in the net. Time will tell if that evaluation is correct.
He didn't get any service or opportunities like that last night, and it is pathetic and unfair to criticise him for not being a sort of Steve Fletcher-lite comfortable at receiving all sorts of balls with his back to the goal on the edge of the penalty box with heavier and taller defenders whacking him from behind all the time.
As JW pointed out he worked really hard for the team in a role that doesn't suit his attributes but still made a valuable contribution to the goal that won us the two extra points.
Hopefully, when used properly in a way that maximises his attributes, we will see him score plenty of goals.
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If you recall, Eddie's reason for not picking Surridge was always that he thought that he was not yet good enough "technically". So I think Eddie was expecting him to add more aspects to his play, maybe be more versatile in how he receives and uses the ball etc. That is a nice ambition to have for the lad but in the meantime there are certain things he does very well and which in certain circumstances can be a positive for the team. I think facing goal, with something to run onto, he can be a very decent striker TODAY and not just at some point in the future. If we stop expecting him to play like Josh King used to and just play to his strengths a bit more, he could easily be good enough for this league.
For as long as Solanke is injured we need to make sure we give Surridge things he can deal with and not expect miracles from him. I'm not sure how a manager would go about doing that but as you say, I think we could get more out of him if we played to his strengths a bit more.
 
His pass to Smith after his run down the wing was good enough, and it led to our goal. I'd prefer to see him in a more central position coming into the box where he seems to worry defenders. He's doing alright, just give him game time.
 
GaryRB said:
My lad and I were discussing during the game.
During our best years, we all celebrated how we were a better collective than the bigger clubs who had the best players, but couldn't get them working together as well as we did.
It certainly feels like a role reversal this season
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Agree- it’s what put on this great journey back in the -17 season ....
Unfortunately the role reversal started last season , if not before .
 
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