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.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
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.
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.
Any thoughts on Rico's positioning? This one always perplexes me.
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.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.
Agree- it’s what put on this great journey back in the -17 season ....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