“Defence is the best form of attack”

[gloryglory]

In no game have we conceded 4 or more goals.

And that's why you don't write valedictory posts until after the season. :razz:

In general, of course, I agree with your analysis. Was just browsing the season's stats and spotted something pretty striking - our second highest league scorer this season was Crouch with 8. Not impressive stuff, and joint third were Keane and Krancjar with 6 each. If that suggests over-reliance on Defoe, consider that he too has just 4 league goals in 2010 - the same number as Crouch, while Pav got 5.

You may feel like goals were shared out across the team, but actually only 3 other players hit as many as 3 league goals - Bale and Modric hitting that unremarkable milestone in today's dead rubber. To gloss it, Bale is our 6th highest league scorer despite not having scored a goal until 14 April.

The defence is everything to us. It is simply sensational. But we have it in us to score so many more goals.

 

[minesadouble]

I've been too busy negotiating the future of our country to post before now.

Seriously, the result on Sunday highlights the point about our defence. Whilst it might be harsh to blame Alnwick for the individual goals, the importance of Gomes was underlined. I think his amazing saves and command of his area have become a vital part of our back 5. Without him, after the first Burnley goal went in (which I suspect Gomes would have blocked), the usual certainty through the team from back to front seemed to evaporate (combined with thoughts of the beach or South Africa).