I’m not exactly one of the most positive posters on here, but I don’t think there is any need to panic just yet.
It’s very rare you get any team that goes through the whole season without a drop off in form. We are still picking up points and difficult to beat. I know we got stuffed today but I am talking about our league form.
Adomah up front annoys the hell out of me, I don’t think it works. I’m not sure when Josh Gordon is back, but I bet he is very much in Sadler’s thinking, moving forwards.
We have some tough games coming up but I don’t think we have to fear anyone. We are still a good side and will start firing again I’m sure.
When Adoma plays up top, I think it’s to be more of a 10 rather than to go directly alongside whoever he’s partnered with. He’s seen more as someone who can give us an extra body in midfield and provide some creativity from deeper positions.
I didn’t go today but personally thought Tuesdays game was crying out for him to come on in that role and give us something different. Like many of us,
I’d prefer to play others in there but I do see the logic behind it
Tbf they did a job on us and we contributed to it, we gave them a 2 goal lead and then you have to start taking chances and leave yourself exposed to try and get back into the game, that’s why the score line flattered them.
If blues had their shooting boots on then it could have easily been a comfortable victory for them.
We looked leggy once again particularly down the flanks, maybe a change in set up is needed and revert to a flat back 4 with a midfield 4 and 2 up top, Adomah can play on one wing and maybe Allen the other, teams won’t be expecting this.
Either way it’s never nice to lose but at least it’s the cup and not the league
I agree with everything you say about attacking options.
If you play with wing backs you need to buy a few seconds in transition. In other words you need a hold up player at the tip of your attacking arrow to enable team mates to catch up with the ball.
A fit Jamma with a supporting Lowe do it well. But take either out we look as sharp as marble going forward. Adomah isn’t the answer. He might be the answer to a different question (who covers for a knackered Barrett?) but not as like for like with Jamma.
On the wing-backs both look jaded. Sadler is in one of those “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” positions. This is where good fitness and conditioning staff help in terms of recovery and prep.
We know that Weir and Dave/Adomah aren’t as good as the first two choices when the first two choices are at their best. But might they be right now?
Tricky. But at least we do have a couple of seemingly viable options.
Yeah, think we need to have a good think in the January window.
We have been brilliant this season, so tough to criticise anything really - but if you look at our attacking output recently… it’s tailing off a little.
Just to clarify, my concern is not so much over recent performances (we are still doing really well)… it’s more so, a concern for the next few weeks. In one month today, we have 7 league games:
Notts County Home and away
Doncaster, Vale and Harrogate away
Barrow and Newport at home.
That’s a fairly congested and tough set of fixtures on paper. We only have one 7 day recovery period in December too…
Jellis out for a few weeks seemingly… Stirk, Gordon and Barrett looking quite jaded… think we (Sadler) needs to show our credentials for promotion in the next month. If we can come through this period (and to be fair we have responded to any setback this season positively) - and into the January window where we can strengthen from a position of strength… I would be very confident of going up.
That said… 7 games is a decent chunk of the season, and it could go the other way too… however, this group has shown all season that whenever I (and I’m sure many others) think “here we go again” - they surprise us and do the business.
Agree - especially about adomah - can’t they see he isn’t suited to the striker role? Play him out wider or deeper where he can put his excellent crosses in or through balls: Lowe had two men on him all! The time.
A bad day at the office- but with such a young side and games coming thick and fast we’re going to get them sometimes: am sure we’ll bounce back
It was more the shock of agreeing with sephiroth that got me!
Yea, would say on a parwith the Blues, they showed the gap between the divisions.
Yesterday reminded me a lot of the Southampton game last year, but basically as others have said we gave them a 2 goal start and were then chasing the game, exposing ourselves.
Also agree if we’d got a goal back in the first 15 of the 2nd half, when we had that period of dominance, then it might have turned things for us. But as I say think the gap was just too much as per Southampton.
Not worried about it affecting the league though, apart from Jellis and Comely getting injured.
I do find it a bit odd that people have gone from thinking that we have amazing strength in depth and effectively a second eleven that could compete in this division, to suddenly our back up players being terrible and we’re going to need a rake of signings in January.
As I say though largely agree with you , we’ll see what happens Tuesday, I’m expecting a home win.
It’s more that it’s fairly easy to work us out, if you have the personnel.
We like to play quickly and direct, pushing the ball out wide, or hitting long out of defence into a channel, the midfield shuttle, but don’t really create or carry, you’ll notice whoever is LCM or RCM will generally push wide and underlap the WB.
So if you let us have the ball we tend to play it around the back, if you then stick two on the full backs like Crewe did, one to stop the run, one to cut the passing lanes, it then gets sent back again to the defence, who have little choice but to try and play it around the back for a bit hoping for an opening, or punt it long. If a team is well drilled and fit enough to then press whilst we have possession, and keep a big lad on Jamma, we’re all but nullified.
A possession team like County will suit us far more on Tuesday.
Jamma did ok when he came on
Liam Gordon tried to make things happen down the left
Williams was excellent as usual.
Lakin had a decent game and I’ve been unsure of him so far but I thought he was unlucky to go off yesterday.
Other than that below par from everyone else.
