Only the third game I’ve seen this season, but it was the first time that I’ve seen a Keates team not set up properly. Given how ■■■■ our full backs are, they have to have the protection of wide men in front of them against any half way decent team. Once he finally realised this about 5 minutes before half time, the games stabilised but we should have been 4 down against a good Burton team who I reckon looked playoff contenders. However, Clough set Burton up exactly as normal and it was frankly ■■■■■ to be surprised on how they came at us from the start. Not good management today but it emphasizes to me how lacking in experience Keates is. However, I reckon we’d have been 10 points off under Whitless. UTS
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Osbourne gave away a pen and was weak for the first and Dobson gives the ball away for the third but let’s pile on the defence. Again.
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People can’t just keep blaming the defence all the time , everyone was below par yesterday and we looked very poor against a team that took full advantage of us sitting to deep and not putting any challenges in anywhere on the pitch
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I agree - the problem was the defending, which is a collective team responsibility.
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The problem is we ve for some reason gone for a great start to the season playing 442, where everyone knew what was expected - defensively and offensively. To a bit of a shambles with players having no idea what they are doing - and do not have the ability to do it even if they did.
What is Keates doing?
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It’s looking like Deano has been trying plan “B” and “C” without the need to, because plan “A” was working ok?
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Exactly we set our stall out 442 and everyone knew what they were doing and it showed.
Keates had only himself to blame for what has happened; please no more accomodation of Ronan and lets get back to basics.
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Worked last week
But against a much poorer team?
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And why change after such a good start to the season?
Are they? Burton are bottom half as well.
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We started to lose games no?
He changed to accomadate different players. Players that made a difference. Like Ronan.
A great difference!
Well yeah it is? I mean without Ronan in the team imagine how bad we would have been with just Osbourne and Dobson in midfield yesterday?
We are trying to find a way to fit in Ronan, as last season we tried to fit in Oztumer.
Ronan doesn’t fit in to 442 unless you sacrifice Dobson or make Dobson do the anchor role. Alternatively you have to sacrifice a striker like we did at Barnsley and play 451.
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Roberts - 7
Wilson - 2
Leahy - 5
Martin - 6
Guthrie - 5
Dobson - 6
Osbourne - 4
Ronan - 5
Morris - 5
Ferrier - 4
Cook -7
Subs:
Ismail & Ginnelly - N/A
Devlin - 7
What a ■■■■■ game. Completely outfought and outclassed in the first half, it was actually embarrasing. It was like watching a bunch of fans vs legends for the second time in a week.
Osbourne should never be making tackles like he did to give the penalty away, and is off the pace. Get him out for a bit.
Ferrier - what a sack of ■■■■ he was yesterday. From minute 1 he looked as though he had his mind on anything but playing for Walsall. Made one decent run all game.
Kane Wilson - sorry mate, but you’re just a back-up and you should never have been put in place ahead of Devlin. I was actually shocked he started again yesterday, but that performance should see him back on the bench if he’s lucky.
I feel sorry for Cook tbh. He is actually putting a shift in for us but is having too much asked of him by the rest of our squad. He wins headers, and then people moan he isn’t there to convert. He deserved MOTM yesterday (alongside Devlin tbh), because he kept going and got his goal and never gave up. Most of them never started.
Also, a certain minority of our fans seem to think that Walsall FC is actually George Dobson FC. Get in the bin! George Dobson is a League One player and isn’t good enough to go higher right at this moment in time. Yes, he’s decent but he is definitely not a one-man team. Recent performances have been lacking, especially Luton where he looked like a child against their midfield.
Finally, people need to re-evaluate things. Lots of people are moaning about Keates and saying we should be doing better because of the decent start we had. Facts are that we have one of the lowest paid squads in the league, and we are a lightyear away from where we were with Whitney. Keates is still dealing with his mismanagement, and next summer will be the one we can truly judge things on.
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No one is saying we should be doing better after the start - I am questioning why we ve abandoned the way of playing responsible for that good start?
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Because after the Barnsley game we won one in four playing 4-4-2 including getting panned at home to Doncaster. A Barnsley game we did well to get a point from with 5 in midfield.
Granted we were panned yesterday too and the shape might change again but if he hadn’t made changes people would be crying about that instead.
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I wouldnt be moaning. I’m moaning now because it makes no sense abandoning what has served us well. And even less sense working everything a kid from Wolves. Crazy.
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It’s about finding that system that we can depend on 442 and we can get overrun in the centre mid .433 and we get exploited down the sides . I think we need to go 352 with 2 more defensive wing backs Devlin and Leahy away and at home Zeli ,Ginnelly ,Morris , Ferrier at home .Cookie and flash up top . A word on Cookie been critical of him but have seen a big improvement last 2 games UTS
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