hilly81, on 28 October 2014 - 10:07 PM, said:
The biggest tactical error PC has made is breaking the Morsy Ryan partnership.
Fully agree with this. This is the only game I'll see before I go back to Stockholm.
Before I left for Sweden, Sammy and Jimmy were the catalysts for everything we did well. Defensively, one pressed whilst the other added balance and support to the back four. They broke up play and were the easy outlet for 2-touch football to switch play and counter. Jimmy allowed Sammy to join in, and covered Tendayi and Jonesy as they overlapped upfield. In attack, they were always there to do the same, providing the extra man and retaining possession.
My coaching pals who watched the games with me kept repeating 3 words: rhythm, tempo and fluency.
Watching Gobern in there was hugely disappointing. He seemed unfit or injured (Calvin Plummer's Socks - another strange gait or playing whilst crocked?), and looked more than a yard off the pace. He didn't do what Jimmy does when alongside Sammy (although I don't know if he's playing to orders) and it's hugely noticeable...and disruptive to the team. I thought I was watching Carlton Palmer's 21st century clone. Win the ball, ponder on it, pass it to get rid of it more than to penetrate (although he did ping a few nice cross-field balls) - but served to slow the play down to allow Swindon to form the square that Bonnyman refers to in his OP.
I was sat near the dug-out and kept hearing the gaffer mention 2 touches/play quick, etc. but it happened much less than before. Those 3 words were what we only saw some of the time...that's not most of the time, or nearly all the time as I saw at the start of the season. So, if it's a case of 'come back to what you know' then Jimmy and Sammy should be reinstated in front of the back 4. Then it's a shoot-out between DJ, Jay O, and Ollie for filling the hole behind Doyle.
With Boli on the bench you still have the wide cover for either wing (he's got nice feet from what I saw tonight). I'd rather see Gobern learn (very quickly!) what's required of him in that role by watching Jimmy and Sammy in tandem before coming on from the bench. The problem is, what's the terms of his loan - does he
have play in every game from the start? Much like we might ask of Armand...
Having read the other threads about crosses and not attacking them, I wonder if that's why Clucas and Gardner switch wings? If we're not flooding the box for the cross (Realistically only Doyle there, with the other winger at the far post and the player in the hole arriving late), is that why we want them to come inside and work the one-touch play in and around the box? If the fullbacks are overlapping, we should be able to at least one in the box or the edge, as Gobern plus 2 defenders will be keeping it 3 on 2 at the back. It gives flexibility in the attack, but the players have to be switched on all the time to react.
Still, a great game to watch. Credit to Swindon, though - there are worse ways to play away from home and get a result.