Hong Kong Blue
Guest
At the moment we are really struggling to create any chances.
Our main source of creativity is Freddy ghosting past defenders. The trouble is opponents have cottoned onto the fact that he is the dangerman are are just crowding him out. Freddy is having to beat three men to even get in a speculative shot from 25 yards. So what alternatives have we got?
Gray's pace and power is another source of goals, but with teams wary of Freddy, they are keeping men back and Gray just hasn't had the space to exploit his physical attributes.
As soon as the initial counterattack is cleared or slowed down, with Eastwood marked out of the game we then lack ideas of how to break a team down. In the end the ball gets passed sideways along the midfield or back into defence, before it will eventually get passed to Gower as his ability to beat a man is then our only source of creativity. However by the time it reaches Gower its slow ball and there are too many men back blocking his route into the box, so his only option is to beat his man and put in a cross which the central defenders up against Gray and Eastwood are going to lap up.
What we lack is an option to change a game. When things aren't going our way there is nobody we can bring off our bench to add another dimension to our attack. Our options on the bench are limited as Dudfield can only really replace Eastwood (who we don't want to take off), we've no replacement for Gray or Gower. I think we could really do with a striker with a physical presence as an alternative to Gray. Annoyingly we have such a striker who would link up well with Freddy, but we've let him go out on loan. We also need a winger as an alternative to Gower.
Unfortunately we're not going to sign a winger and its unlikely that we will recall Bramble so what can we do?
I think recalling Bentley (and to a lesser extent McCormack) is key on three fronts. Firstly, Bentley will drive the team forward and won't just pass the ball and responsibility along the line. Secondly, as important as his on the ball running, is his off the ball running. The rest of our team tend to be fairly static, Bentley's runs create lots of space for Gray and Eastwood to exploit. Thirdly, Bentley's ball winning exploits and pressing means we will win the ball higher up the pitch and opponents will have less time to regroup. In the last couple of games we've hardly won a tackle in the opponent's half. If we unleash Bentley, McCormack and Pettefer to bite at the Grimsby midfield's ankles we will improve our chances of being able to counterattack. Those three can combine to win the ball and play it early so that Gower, Gray and Eastwood have the space to punish Grimsby.
Our main source of creativity is Freddy ghosting past defenders. The trouble is opponents have cottoned onto the fact that he is the dangerman are are just crowding him out. Freddy is having to beat three men to even get in a speculative shot from 25 yards. So what alternatives have we got?
Gray's pace and power is another source of goals, but with teams wary of Freddy, they are keeping men back and Gray just hasn't had the space to exploit his physical attributes.
As soon as the initial counterattack is cleared or slowed down, with Eastwood marked out of the game we then lack ideas of how to break a team down. In the end the ball gets passed sideways along the midfield or back into defence, before it will eventually get passed to Gower as his ability to beat a man is then our only source of creativity. However by the time it reaches Gower its slow ball and there are too many men back blocking his route into the box, so his only option is to beat his man and put in a cross which the central defenders up against Gray and Eastwood are going to lap up.
What we lack is an option to change a game. When things aren't going our way there is nobody we can bring off our bench to add another dimension to our attack. Our options on the bench are limited as Dudfield can only really replace Eastwood (who we don't want to take off), we've no replacement for Gray or Gower. I think we could really do with a striker with a physical presence as an alternative to Gray. Annoyingly we have such a striker who would link up well with Freddy, but we've let him go out on loan. We also need a winger as an alternative to Gower.
Unfortunately we're not going to sign a winger and its unlikely that we will recall Bramble so what can we do?
I think recalling Bentley (and to a lesser extent McCormack) is key on three fronts. Firstly, Bentley will drive the team forward and won't just pass the ball and responsibility along the line. Secondly, as important as his on the ball running, is his off the ball running. The rest of our team tend to be fairly static, Bentley's runs create lots of space for Gray and Eastwood to exploit. Thirdly, Bentley's ball winning exploits and pressing means we will win the ball higher up the pitch and opponents will have less time to regroup. In the last couple of games we've hardly won a tackle in the opponent's half. If we unleash Bentley, McCormack and Pettefer to bite at the Grimsby midfield's ankles we will improve our chances of being able to counterattack. Those three can combine to win the ball and play it early so that Gower, Gray and Eastwood have the space to punish Grimsby.
