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Can Someone Switch On the Lights???

Krafty

Well-Known Member
May 26, 2004
4,768
2,099
While the club lauds proudly their efforts to save energy, some of our players seem intent on doing the same, switching off at crucial stages of key games and undoing a lot of their good work.

The North London Derby was another example where a lack of concentration resulted in a goal, or three. The Manchester Utd game and the Chelsea game, as well as Stoke’s winner and Bolton’s second goal, demonstrate this is not an exception to the rule, this is an endemic problem that will continue to hold us back if we do not address it.

Harry wants us to be an attacking side, and that’s great. Against the majority of teams we should be too strong and the dynamic nature of our forward line up will be too much. However, against the top teams we cannot rely on simply outscoring them. We went with a 4-5-1 against the team from Woolwich but the players are individually unable to focus for a full forty-five minutes, never mind ninety. We have our moments, but we are not yet ruthless enough at the front nor focused enough at the back to deserve to win the big games – and history suggests this is a decade old problem.

Sloppy in possession, stunted in creativity and at sea in defence, the team still lacks the nous to grind out results against the best. Maybe Harry should consider adding a few defensive coaches from the old boy network to get the back line working properly. Graham Roberts may lack finesse, but cracking a few skulls together might help the players defend a throw in properly, or avoid taking two kick offs within a minute of each other.

The defence has gone from being rock solid at the back end of last season to becoming more porous than a colander. The full backs are getting dragged wide far too easily, creating too much space between themselves and the centre backs; the centre backs themselves are not providing enough cover for each other; the midfield is doing a terrible job at providing a shield; and to wrap it all up no one is communicating their problems to the rest of the team.

The one defender who does excel at their reading of the game has sadly been missing and hopefully Woodgate’s return to fitness will help the defence, but it is disappointing that so many other highly paid professionals are struggling to do the basics.

They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going – I can count the number of mentally tough players we have on one hand. It is easy to look good when things are on the up and up and players like Jenas and Huddlestone are too happy to accept that. Perhaps it is that winning mentality that we lack because every time we concede a goal against a good team the players seem to give up hope. Heads go down and it’s a case of damage limitation. When there is a comeback I always get the feeling that it comes from outside influences – the crowd, a new manager, a new regime – it is never from the players themselves.

The disappointment of recent weeks could just be getting to me but unless there is a change in the intelligence and thinking of our players, we will continue to struggle to get results against the big clubs, especially away from home, and struggle to break into that top 4.
 

JoeT

Well-Known Member
Jun 7, 2005
3,813
935
Hi 'Krafty'; just read your article....and I hope it didn't come about simply as a reaction to Saturday's loss. Believe me my friend, I had that same 'here we go again' sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach at the 45 minute mark last Saturday, and even now I am still disappointed (a.k.a. 'crushed') over that performance.
However, I still look back to the way the team were playing a short while ago...when we had Modric, Defoe and Lennon healthy, and it is becoming more and more obvious (to me, anyway) that those guys are just so important to our team. And I'm telling myself that we had so many of our guns absent last Saturday that the game just wasn't significant as to what the team can do. I'm looking forward to their return and better times.
 
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