06-03-2016, 16:19
442 & We Blow It Again
My fear all week has been that CC would play 442 with FF out to accommodate McGeady in his preferred position of left winger and while I didn't mind the starting eleven, he should have gone with the 4321 formation which we used in most of our winning performances.
It was obvious after five minutes that we were struggling in CM where Bannan & Lee were being outnumbered yet we continued to play the same way for the first half. We weren't helped by Nuhiu being stood offside so often and poor delivery, most noticeably from McGeady & Hunt. Several players looked below par (Bannan, Pudil, Hunt, Lee, Nuhiu) although the formation contributed significantly to this.
Rotherham could have been three up in the first half, missing two clear chances and taking one. The goal should have been prevented but Hunt's positioning was poor & he was unable to react when the cross was deflected.
We were unlucky when we had a good goal disallowed. McGeady's shot was deflected in by Turner. It looked a good goal to me at the time and video evidence showed that Turner was onside by about a foot but the linesman was fooled by Turner moving forward & the defender moving out after the ball was played. The referee & linesman went through the correct procedure to arrive at the decision. Unfortunately the referee was let down by the linesman's poor judgement.
Joao replaced McGeady at half time and we switched to 4321 and everything changed. Suddenly, we were dominating CM with Wallace playing a more free role and Joao & Hooper tucking in behind Nuhiu. Wallace hit the bar after being put in by Joao and Hooper had a goal disallowed after following in Joao's long range shot. Video evidence this time showed him offside by a foot.
Lee missed a good chance & Hooper was thwarted by Camp as Rotherham held firm at the back.
We had two penalty claims. Hunt was brought down but it was just outside the box and Wallace appeared to be pulled back but it looked inconclusive from where I sat.
CC threw McGugan for Hunt at the death but to little effect. McGugan kept possession well but lacked the pace & intensity to threaten the goal.
Apart from Joao, there wasn't really any game changing options on the bench. We either need more game changers on the bench or, better still, start with our best formation.
Westwood - 6
Hunt - 5
Lees - 6
Turner - 6
Pudil - 5
Wallace - 7
Lee - 5
Bannan - 6
McGeady - 5
Hooper - 7
Nuhiu - 4
....................................
Joao - 8
McGugan - 5
Stat Attack:
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Touches: 92 - Bannan, 73 - Lees, 71 - Pudil, 65 - Wallace, 64 - Turner, 48 - Westwood, Lee, 44 - Nuhiu, 38 - Hunt, 34 - Hooper, 31 - Joao, 26 - McGugan, 23 - McGeady
Tackles: 3 - Bannan, 2 - Hunt, Lees, Turner, Pudil, 1 - Wallace, Joao
Interceptions: 6 - Lees, 3 - Hunt, Turner, Pudil, Bannan, 2 - McGugan
Clearances: 5 - Lees, 4 - Turner, 2 - Pudil, Lee, Nuhiu,
Attempts: 4 - Joao, 2 - Wallace, McGugan, 1 - Hunt, Lee, McGugan, Nuhiu, Hooper
Attempts On Target: 2 - Joao, 1 - Wallace, Hooper
Key Passes: 3 - Wallace, Joao, 2 - Hooper, Lee,
Dribbles: 3 - Joao, 2 - Bannan, 1 - McGeady, Hooper
Dispossessed: 2 - Joao, 1 - Wallace, Lee, McGeady, Nuhiu, Hooper
Bad Control: 3 - Nuhiu, Hooper, 2 - Joao, 1 - Hunt, Pudil, Wallace, Lee, Bannan, McGeady
Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 16 - Wallace (3), 8 - McGeady (1), 5 - Hunt (0), 2 - Bannan (0), 1 - Lee (0)
Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):
McGugan - 91% (22)
Hooper - 89% (28)
Pudil - 85% (61)
Lee - 83% (42)
Joao - 79% (14)
Turner - 78% (55)
Wallace - 77% (43)
Bannan - 76% (79)
Lees - 75% (57)
McGeady - 70% (10)
Nuhiu - 59% (32)
Hunt - 58% (24)
Westwood - 36% (33)
In my view it is unacceptable for outfield players at this level to get pass completion rates below 70%. Unfortunately Nuhiu & Hunt fall below this level just about every week and if we want promotion, we cannot afford to give the ball away so cheaply so often.
Credit to CC for the half time change but he has to accept responsibility for the defeat for starting 442 and giving away the initiative. He has done this in several defeats (MK, Charlton, Shrewsbury) & several draws as well and it makes it difficult to win in the second half.
We were unlucky to have a goal wrongly disallowed but the referee allowed the game to flow & performed well although he was let down by one of his Assistants. I said at the beginning of this thread that he allowed tough challenges, which is what Rotherham did while we were much softer. The referee was consistent throughout the match.
We need seven wins from eleven matches now to get a Playoff spot so we have to go for the win in every match. We cannot afford to play 442 again. Not sure we can start with McGeady again either. He is some way off the levels we need at the moment although he might be a useful option to bring on from the bench. We might benefit on Tuesday because Brighton need a win as well so if we play 4321 & keep it tight for an hour, a win is possible. It will also help if Hutchinson is back.
My fear all week has been that CC would play 442 with FF out to accommodate McGeady in his preferred position of left winger and while I didn't mind the starting eleven, he should have gone with the 4321 formation which we used in most of our winning performances.
It was obvious after five minutes that we were struggling in CM where Bannan & Lee were being outnumbered yet we continued to play the same way for the first half. We weren't helped by Nuhiu being stood offside so often and poor delivery, most noticeably from McGeady & Hunt. Several players looked below par (Bannan, Pudil, Hunt, Lee, Nuhiu) although the formation contributed significantly to this.
Rotherham could have been three up in the first half, missing two clear chances and taking one. The goal should have been prevented but Hunt's positioning was poor & he was unable to react when the cross was deflected.
We were unlucky when we had a good goal disallowed. McGeady's shot was deflected in by Turner. It looked a good goal to me at the time and video evidence showed that Turner was onside by about a foot but the linesman was fooled by Turner moving forward & the defender moving out after the ball was played. The referee & linesman went through the correct procedure to arrive at the decision. Unfortunately the referee was let down by the linesman's poor judgement.
Joao replaced McGeady at half time and we switched to 4321 and everything changed. Suddenly, we were dominating CM with Wallace playing a more free role and Joao & Hooper tucking in behind Nuhiu. Wallace hit the bar after being put in by Joao and Hooper had a goal disallowed after following in Joao's long range shot. Video evidence this time showed him offside by a foot.
Lee missed a good chance & Hooper was thwarted by Camp as Rotherham held firm at the back.
We had two penalty claims. Hunt was brought down but it was just outside the box and Wallace appeared to be pulled back but it looked inconclusive from where I sat.
CC threw McGugan for Hunt at the death but to little effect. McGugan kept possession well but lacked the pace & intensity to threaten the goal.
Apart from Joao, there wasn't really any game changing options on the bench. We either need more game changers on the bench or, better still, start with our best formation.
Westwood - 6
Hunt - 5
Lees - 6
Turner - 6
Pudil - 5
Wallace - 7
Lee - 5
Bannan - 6
McGeady - 5
Hooper - 7
Nuhiu - 4
....................................
Joao - 8
McGugan - 5
Stat Attack:
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Touches: 92 - Bannan, 73 - Lees, 71 - Pudil, 65 - Wallace, 64 - Turner, 48 - Westwood, Lee, 44 - Nuhiu, 38 - Hunt, 34 - Hooper, 31 - Joao, 26 - McGugan, 23 - McGeady
Tackles: 3 - Bannan, 2 - Hunt, Lees, Turner, Pudil, 1 - Wallace, Joao
Interceptions: 6 - Lees, 3 - Hunt, Turner, Pudil, Bannan, 2 - McGugan
Clearances: 5 - Lees, 4 - Turner, 2 - Pudil, Lee, Nuhiu,
Attempts: 4 - Joao, 2 - Wallace, McGugan, 1 - Hunt, Lee, McGugan, Nuhiu, Hooper
Attempts On Target: 2 - Joao, 1 - Wallace, Hooper
Key Passes: 3 - Wallace, Joao, 2 - Hooper, Lee,
Dribbles: 3 - Joao, 2 - Bannan, 1 - McGeady, Hooper
Dispossessed: 2 - Joao, 1 - Wallace, Lee, McGeady, Nuhiu, Hooper
Bad Control: 3 - Nuhiu, Hooper, 2 - Joao, 1 - Hunt, Pudil, Wallace, Lee, Bannan, McGeady
Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 16 - Wallace (3), 8 - McGeady (1), 5 - Hunt (0), 2 - Bannan (0), 1 - Lee (0)
Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):
McGugan - 91% (22)
Hooper - 89% (28)
Pudil - 85% (61)
Lee - 83% (42)
Joao - 79% (14)
Turner - 78% (55)
Wallace - 77% (43)
Bannan - 76% (79)
Lees - 75% (57)
McGeady - 70% (10)
Nuhiu - 59% (32)
Hunt - 58% (24)
Westwood - 36% (33)
In my view it is unacceptable for outfield players at this level to get pass completion rates below 70%. Unfortunately Nuhiu & Hunt fall below this level just about every week and if we want promotion, we cannot afford to give the ball away so cheaply so often.
Credit to CC for the half time change but he has to accept responsibility for the defeat for starting 442 and giving away the initiative. He has done this in several defeats (MK, Charlton, Shrewsbury) & several draws as well and it makes it difficult to win in the second half.
We were unlucky to have a goal wrongly disallowed but the referee allowed the game to flow & performed well although he was let down by one of his Assistants. I said at the beginning of this thread that he allowed tough challenges, which is what Rotherham did while we were much softer. The referee was consistent throughout the match.
We need seven wins from eleven matches now to get a Playoff spot so we have to go for the win in every match. We cannot afford to play 442 again. Not sure we can start with McGeady again either. He is some way off the levels we need at the moment although he might be a useful option to bring on from the bench. We might benefit on Tuesday because Brighton need a win as well so if we play 4321 & keep it tight for an hour, a win is possible. It will also help if Hutchinson is back.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
