Imbalanced Pools

Gabriel · **Joined:** Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:46 pm **Posts:** 12

Hi Poolies,

Written up some thoughts on your start to the season - http://www.TheFootbalLab.co.uk/2016/imbalanced-pools/

Based on the goals conceded, it looks to me like Hignett's preference for attacking players has led to a lack of protection, particularly in wide areas. Would be interested to get your views.

Cheers and good luck for the season.

poolietim · **Posted:** Wed Sep 07, 2016 8:12 am

Can't argue with any of that.

It smacks of FIFA 16 management in the real world and at the moment is painful to watch us concede so easily as we do.

Teams don't have to do anything special at present to score against us, it's just depressingly easy.

ElvisC · **Joined:** Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:55 am **Posts:** 4504

Good Stuff Gabriel.

tREE_wiTH_hAMStER · **Joined:** Sat May 19, 2007 11:00 am **Posts:** 20758

Not read it but is this the jist of it?

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born toulouse · **Posted:** Wed Sep 07, 2016 9:27 am

He explains how a weak midfield exposes and unsettles a defence really well, it's a good read. But if you wanted a very brief version that isn't far from it.

JohnnyMars · **Joined:** Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:24 am **Posts:** 2478

Bang on the money for me Gabriel. Hignett said last season he was sick of seeing us dominate games but not take our chances. So, he has made a concerted effort this season to bolster our attacking options but at the expense of our ability to defend.

Individuals have been picked out on here and in the crowd (Harrison and Richards being the latest) but the buck stops with Hignett I'm afraid. Top pf my list would be a midfield general in the mould of a Boland, Widdrington, Murray, Tinkler, Emerson - we have always found one in the past, I don't see why we can't find one now.

Aberdeen Pools · **Posted:** Wed Sep 07, 2016 12:12 pm

JohnnyMars wrote:

Top pf my list would be a midfield general in the mould of a Boland, Widdrington, Murray, Tinkler, Emerson - we have always found one in the past, I don't see why we can't find one now.

Probably because he didn't look. Woods, Featherstone and Hawkins were probably cheap enough options and what got him through from February until May.

Regardless, we are stuck with what we have now until January which is a worry and somehow he has to figure out a way of balancing the side and winning games. He maybe should start with Laurent and see what he can do with a run of games.

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Gabriel · **Joined:** Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:46 pm **Posts:** 12

tREE_wiTH_hAMStER wrote:

Not read it but is this the jist of it?

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Pretty much - you've saved me 600-odd words there!

born toulouse · **Posted:** Wed Sep 07, 2016 12:26 pm

For away matches at least surely the first step has to be putting numbers into midfield and making sure that everyone knows that protecting the defence is a key concern. Even good defenders look shite when the midfield leave the opposition with spare men, space and easy passes available. The summer is over and we can't magic up a strong midfield enforcer but it should still possible to make sure that everybody knows what jobs need doing and pick the players that will be best at doing them.

Having said that, if building successful football teams was that easy I'd be a manager.

misterb2001 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 07, 2016 12:35 pm

It's bang on. Luckily Hignett has at least acknowledged that he may need to change his philosophy slightly which is a start at least

JohnnyMars · **Joined:** Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:24 am **Posts:** 2478

Aberdeen Pools wrote:

JohnnyMars wrote:

Top pf my list would be a midfield general in the mould of a Boland, Widdrington, Murray, Tinkler, Emerson - we have always found one in the past, I don't see why we can't find one now.

Probably because he didn't look. Woods, Featherstone and Hawkins were probably cheap enough options and what got him through from February until May.

Regardless, we are stuck with what we have now until January which is a worry and somehow he has to figure out a way of balancing the side and winning games. He maybe should start with Laurent and see what he can do with a run of games.

I think you are dead right - forget about a glut of right-backs we now have a forward mountain! Woods and Featherstone don't have the legs, Laurent and Hawkins are works in progress - we don't have a decent midfielder on the books.

Malcolm Dawes Knew My Father · **Joined:** Wed May 11, 2011 4:25 pm **Posts:** 4198

Gabriel wrote:

Hi Poolies,

Written up some thoughts on your start to the season - http://www.TheFootbalLab.co.uk/2016/imbalanced-pools/

Based on the goals conceded, it looks to me like Hignett's preference for attacking players has led to a lack of protection, particularly in wide areas. Would be interested to get your views.

Cheers and good luck for the season.

Interesting comments about Magnay's limitations as a defender. I'd like to see Donnelly given a run in the team at right back and Magnay moved into midfield to give some cover to the back four.

See Duckworth got a start at right back for Fleetwood last Saturday - now 3rd in League One!

Gabriel · **Joined:** Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:46 pm **Posts:** 12

Malcolm Dawes Knew My Father wrote:

Gabriel wrote:

Hi Poolies,

Written up some thoughts on your start to the season - http://www.TheFootbalLab.co.uk/2016/imbalanced-pools/

Based on the goals conceded, it looks to me like Hignett's preference for attacking players has led to a lack of protection, particularly in wide areas. Would be interested to get your views.

Cheers and good luck for the season.

Interesting comments about Magnay's limitations as a defender. I'd like to see Donnelly given a run in the team at right back and Magnay moved into midfield to give some cover to the back four.

See Duckworth got a start at right back for Fleetwood last Saturday - now 3rd in League One!

Highlighted the right-back area as a potential problem in July - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59597&p=768380&hilit=thefootballab#p768380 - a few on here took the mick! *coughs* Hamster.

TheMonk · **Joined:** Fri Mar 04, 2016 11:25 pm **Posts:** 40

JohnnyMars wrote:

Aberdeen Pools wrote:

JohnnyMars wrote:

Top pf my list would be a midfield general in the mould of a Boland, Widdrington, Murray, Tinkler, Emerson - we have always found one in the past, I don't see why we can't find one now.

Probably because he didn't look. Woods, Featherstone and Hawkins were probably cheap enough options and what got him through from February until May.

Regardless, we are stuck with what we have now until January which is a worry and somehow he has to figure out a way of balancing the side and winning games. He maybe should start with Laurent and see what he can do with a run of games.

I think you are dead right - forget about a glut of right-backs we now have a forward mountain! Woods and Featherstone don't have the legs, Laurent and Hawkins are works in progress - we don't have a decent midfielder on the books.

I keeping reading that our midfield is poor, but we do actually have decent midfielders. The problem is Hignett wants and has played a 2 in the middle, which is difficult at the best of times, but 2 in Featherstone and Woods that don't have legs (as in can't run and get around the pitch).

Hawkins a work in progress? He is 23 and must of had over 50 appearances, he featured in virtually every game last season when Hignett came in and we sang his praises. Laurent I believe has had 4 or 5 appearances, he did really well, in an awful team performance at Stevenage and looked decent against Sunderland, he surely deserves more football. I think Hignett missed the trick and should have played him more last season when we were safe instead of persisting in Gray.

For me work in progress or not you start with a 3 of Featherstone, Hawkins and Laurent, the 2 younger lads give you energy, can tackle and in Laurent's case can go past a player stretching the oppositions midfield.

We are weak in the middle as we don't have the players for a 2 and if we play a 3 which we did on Saturday, Deverdics should not be there as he offers very little.

tREE_wiTH_hAMStER · **Joined:** Sat May 19, 2007 11:00 am **Posts:** 20758

Gabriel wrote:

Malcolm Dawes Knew My Father wrote:

Gabriel wrote:

Hi Poolies,

Written up some thoughts on your start to the season - http://www.TheFootbalLab.co.uk/2016/imbalanced-pools/

Based on the goals conceded, it looks to me like Hignett's preference for attacking players has led to a lack of protection, particularly in wide areas. Would be interested to get your views.

Cheers and good luck for the season.

Interesting comments about Magnay's limitations as a defender. I'd like to see Donnelly given a run in the team at right back and Magnay moved into midfield to give some cover to the back four.

See Duckworth got a start at right back for Fleetwood last Saturday - now 3rd in League One!

Highlighted the right-back area as a potential problem in July - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59597&p=768380&hilit=thefootballab#p768380 - a few on here took the mick! *coughs* Hamster.

Right back is probably least of our problems.

JohnnyMars · **Joined:** Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:24 am **Posts:** 2478

I agree with you on Laurent, I'd have him feature more regularly but he could do with someone decent alongside him to bring him on, if he is thrown in at the moment and left exposed he will go backwards. I think some of the criticism of Deverdics is a bit premature, he seemed to be able to pass the ball well enough in the brief cameo I saw him. You're probably right, we need to look at the way we are set up...

PJPoolie · **Joined:** Wed Mar 06, 2013 6:28 pm **Posts:** 15342

Welcome back chip, how do you know we didn't make out best efforts to sign Jackson? He's signed for a Championship club so maybe he was setting his sights higher than League Two, or the fee could have been beyond us. I'd be very surprised if he wasn't our number one centre back target at the end of last season. You also didn't mention Donelly who is predominantly a centre back captains his country's under 21's not to mention has a full cap and who looked very good when he came on against Newport.

Midfield is an issue as well, during that run we played with a 3/5 man midfield, we've looked wide open playing a 4-4-2 so far this season. The centre backs are getting very little protection in front of them at times.

MutleyRules · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2016 1:49 pm

Chip Fireball wrote:

Man Alive !!

Any decent manager will tell you, the first thing they do when taking over a club that's struggling is to sort out the defence. You need a solid, SETTLED, back four, capable of keeping clean sheets. Your two centre halves are the spine of your team, absolutely 100 per cent your first priority.

Currently at centre half we have :

Toto- raw, has potential, but very much a gamble
Bates- injury prone, seemingly cant play more than 6 games without " getting injured "
Jones- injury prone and not good enough
Harrison- don't even get me started

To go into a season with those 4 players in the centre back position in itself warrants losing your job. How the fucking fuck did anyone think they would be good enough ?

You have all seen with your own eyes the difference having quality back there makes. Baldwin. Burgess. Mirfin. Jackson.

Adam Jackson as I said ad nauseum last season was the best defender at the club. By a country mile. He should have been Number One priority in the close season. If he couldn't be signed ( and I understand the player himself had no issues with coming back ) then FFS go and get someone similar. Someone like him or Burgess, capable of going straight in and playing 40 games.

The full backs are just about satisfactory. Carroll blows hot and cold and you can see why he is playing at this level. Magnay is limited. His two goals at Crewe probably disguised the fact he got butchered defensively. The opening half an hour was the worst display of full back defending since 'Beetroot Faced Badge Kisser' got nailed to a cross at Huddersfield.

Like I say, you would probably get away with them as full backs if you have two centre halves who can play the game alongside them.

We kept four clean sheets in a row last March. The back four was Magnay Caroll Bates Jackson in every game.

Indeed we only started leaking them again when Bates " got injured " and couldn't play.

As it stands you will be able to count the number of clean sheets this season on your fingers. Of one hand. 17 games since the last one.

Finally in relation to the midfield, and central midfield in particular. During that run where we conceded something like 4 goals in 8 games, Featherstone and Hawkins started most, if not all of them.

I think Luke James probably did as well !

Whaey Mr.Chip!!!! clappp

Yubep · **Joined:** Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:35 pm **Posts:** 25266

He's back!

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PoolieTom · **Joined:** Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:30 am **Posts:** 779

Peterborough chairman confirmed on Twitter (Sorry Colonel) last night that he paid a million for James and Baldwin - would've been nice to see that cash spent on Jackson

PJPoolie · **Joined:** Wed Mar 06, 2013 6:28 pm **Posts:** 15342

Yes because that money has been sitting in the bank for two and half years even when we changed owners.

It's that simple.....

Yubep · **Joined:** Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:35 pm **Posts:** 25266

PoolieTom wrote:

Peterborough chairman confirmed on Twitter (Sorry Colonel) last night that he paid a million for James and Baldwin - would've been nice to see that cash spent on Jackson

We should have spent the joe allon money on Jackson

Gibson out

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The Colonel · **Joined:** Mon Aug 21, 2006 8:49 am **Posts:** 4891

Fucking hell chip has returned.

Thank the lord baby jesus for that.

Takes the heat off me :razz:

.

tREE_wiTH_hAMStER · **Joined:** Sat May 19, 2007 11:00 am **Posts:** 20758

The Colonel wrote:

Fucking hell chip has returned.

Thank the lord baby jesus for that.

Takes the heat off me :razz:

.

Is it him though or is it someone creating other usernames? :laugh:

The Colonel · **Joined:** Mon Aug 21, 2006 8:49 am **Posts:** 4891

Nah. People wouldnt stoop that low.

Chesssington · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2014 6:36 pm **Posts:** 900

Good to hear from you chip.

I assume you have had other priorities, any art gallery conquests you'd like to share

dmjeffs · **Joined:** Thu Oct 21, 2010 10:24 pm **Posts:** 12

Sensible summary . Let's hope Craig and his coaching staff take note

PoolieTom · **Joined:** Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:30 am **Posts:** 779

PJPoolie wrote:

Yes because that money has been sitting in the bank for two and half years even when we changed owners.

It's that simple.....

That was my point Peej, keep up.

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