| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 18:10 - Aug 2 with 5917 views | isitme |
The first half was a total non event. We played much better in the second half and had a enough chances to win. Dieseruvwe is a real handful and linked play well. Their number 3 foulded him consistently. Pritchard looks tidy at wing back and Amantchi is an absolute unit. I am not sure how his late strike stayed out. We certainly have more options and much more physicality up top.
Whatmuff did not really have anything to do but looked steady. The only real blemish was their goal which was the result of a bad pass into midfield. |  | | |  |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:26 - Aug 2 with 4786 views | mikehunt |
Non-event the first half may have been but we were a whisker away from scoring three goals.
Tobi sent two beautiful pinpoint crosses which Mani and A N Other got their heads to, which their keeper did well to save and Barlow blazed high and wide from one of the rebounds - which he really should have scored from.
Then some great pressing of their keeper from Mani resulted in him blocking his attempted clearance. The ball stalled in between them and, in the bit of a scramble that ensued, had Mani gone down, he may have won a penalty.
There was excellent defending from us and from what I saw of Amantchi, he looks an exciting prospect. [Post edited 2 Aug 19:27]
|  |
| The worm of time turns not for the cuckoo of circumstance. |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:31 - Aug 2 with 4738 views | 442Dale |
Forgot about the second headed chance in the first half- it was Pritchard who is such a clever player. Amazed Oldham didn’t do more to keep hold of him.
It’s obviously a complete guess (and maybe a bit of an exaggeration!)but there’s a good chance we’ve created more heading opportunities from crosses into the box during the friendlies so far than we did over the whole of last season. It’s obvious we’ve added an option into how we attack.
Put me in the ‘need to try Pettit +1’ in midfield to progress further camp. |  |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:33 - Aug 2 with 4734 views | TVOS1907 |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:26 - Aug 2 by mikehunt |
Non-event the first half may have been but we were a whisker away from scoring three goals.
Tobi sent two beautiful pinpoint crosses which Mani and A N Other got their heads to, which their keeper did well to save and Barlow blazed high and wide from one of the rebounds - which he really should have scored from.
Then some great pressing of their keeper from Mani resulted in him blocking his attempted clearance. The ball stalled in between them and, in the bit of a scramble that ensued, had Mani gone down, he may have won a penalty.
There was excellent defending from us and from what I saw of Amantchi, he looks an exciting prospect. [Post edited 2 Aug 19:27]
|
Good post. It was Pritchard who had the other header. |  |
| If you don't know why your posts keep getting downvoted, there's no hope for you. |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:37 - Aug 2 with 4723 views | mikehunt |
You are not far off the truth there 442. I think it is more down to actually having somebody to get on to the end of the crosses. We watched so many of Tobi's balls into the box go to waste last season. | |
| The worm of time turns not for the cuckoo of circumstance. |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:39 - Aug 2 with 4704 views | 442Dale |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:37 - Aug 2 by mikehunt |
You are not far off the truth there 442. I think it is more down to actually having somebody to get on to the end of the crosses. We watched so many of Tobi's balls into the box go to waste last season. |
We had two to get on the end of them late on! I thought it was the 90s again!!! | |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:52 - Aug 2 with 4643 views | TalkingSutty |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:31 - Aug 2 by 442Dale |
Forgot about the second headed chance in the first half- it was Pritchard who is such a clever player. Amazed Oldham didn’t do more to keep hold of him.
It’s obviously a complete guess (and maybe a bit of an exaggeration!)but there’s a good chance we’ve created more heading opportunities from crosses into the box during the friendlies so far than we did over the whole of last season. It’s obvious we’ve added an option into how we attack.
Put me in the ‘need to try Pettit +1’ in midfield to progress further camp. |
Agree with all of that, i also thought Gilmore had a excellent game today. I've always been a big fan of East but he takes the easy option too much and looks to play backwards or safe, playing under instruction probably. Momentum is lost in order to retain posession and thats not playing to Ryan East's strengths, hes much better than that. |  | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:57 - Aug 2 with 4605 views | dingdangblue |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:31 - Aug 2 by 442Dale |
Forgot about the second headed chance in the first half- it was Pritchard who is such a clever player. Amazed Oldham didn’t do more to keep hold of him.
It’s obviously a complete guess (and maybe a bit of an exaggeration!)but there’s a good chance we’ve created more heading opportunities from crosses into the box during the friendlies so far than we did over the whole of last season. It’s obvious we’ve added an option into how we attack.
Put me in the ‘need to try Pettit +1’ in midfield to progress further camp. |
Yes we need to see a lot more of Pettit - even if its just to keep Ray Winstone happy! |  |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:57 - Aug 2 with 4600 views | 442Dale |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:52 - Aug 2 by TalkingSutty |
Agree with all of that, i also thought Gilmore had a excellent game today. I've always been a big fan of East but he takes the easy option too much and looks to play backwards or safe, playing under instruction probably. Momentum is lost in order to retain posession and thats not playing to Ryan East's strengths, hes much better than that. |
East is better when playing further up the pitch. It’s not that he’s playing to any instructions but when he’s playing on the right of a midfield two his natural body position is to shift it onto his left foot, which immediately sends him sideways.
He wants to drive on, but from where he plays and being so left footed it will often mean moving towards the centre of the pitch and where there are more bodies, requiring a pass. | |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 20:14 - Aug 2 with 4525 views | 49thseason |
From back to front we looked excellent this afternoon, the new keeper has all the attributes, he's two footed, quick and athletic, and he is continually shouting at his defenders... EEL looks fitter, a stone lighter and moved the ball quicker, Pritchard has added a bit of bite and gets into good positions, Mani is an excellent target and his hold-up play takes the pressure off our defenders and allows us to get up the pitch more directly... I thought Rodney was quiet in the first half and better in the second, but Amantchi was impressive for his cameo appearance.. I dont think many centre halves will relish 90 minutes up against Mani and Amantchi, Rodney and Henderson, and it will be interesting to see how we line up next week.
With two players for every position, there will be pressure to perform which will sharpen things up a bit,. This team can go toe to toe with the whole division with no fear, and if we can avoid dropping points to the bottom of the table sides and pick up more against those in and around the other promotion places this could be our best season for years....the mantra of continuous improvement is becoming manifest....on and off the pitch....... |  | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 20:36 - Aug 2 with 4425 views | TalkingSutty |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 20:14 - Aug 2 by 49thseason |
From back to front we looked excellent this afternoon, the new keeper has all the attributes, he's two footed, quick and athletic, and he is continually shouting at his defenders... EEL looks fitter, a stone lighter and moved the ball quicker, Pritchard has added a bit of bite and gets into good positions, Mani is an excellent target and his hold-up play takes the pressure off our defenders and allows us to get up the pitch more directly... I thought Rodney was quiet in the first half and better in the second, but Amantchi was impressive for his cameo appearance.. I dont think many centre halves will relish 90 minutes up against Mani and Amantchi, Rodney and Henderson, and it will be interesting to see how we line up next week.
With two players for every position, there will be pressure to perform which will sharpen things up a bit,. This team can go toe to toe with the whole division with no fear, and if we can avoid dropping points to the bottom of the table sides and pick up more against those in and around the other promotion places this could be our best season for years....the mantra of continuous improvement is becoming manifest....on and off the pitch....... |
Excellent post. | | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 06:10 - Aug 3 with 3909 views | TalkingSutty |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 19:57 - Aug 2 by 442Dale |
East is better when playing further up the pitch. It’s not that he’s playing to any instructions but when he’s playing on the right of a midfield two his natural body position is to shift it onto his left foot, which immediately sends him sideways.
He wants to drive on, but from where he plays and being so left footed it will often mean moving towards the centre of the pitch and where there are more bodies, requiring a pass. |
McNulty has some good options in the squad and a forward line that should cause any team in this league major problems. When players are in the penalty box we need to ensure the crosses go in, no need to turn down the opportunity to then over play in the corner and recycle it back to the central defenders on the halfway line. It gives the opposition defenders and goalkeeper time to reset. We saw plenty of crosses going in yesterday and created great opportunities as a result.
I thought the Man United youngsters were also good to watch yesterday, their first touch, control and movement was exellent. They lacked in the physicality department though which you'd expect but they had some very talented footballers on show. I think that was the perfect warm up for next Saturdays opener. The only disappointment was that Petit wasn't given a run out. I couldnt work out the thinking behind Henderson and Petit coming on to the pitch as 90th minute subs in a pre-season friendly. Maybe Hendo was in relation to him being a ex colleague of Joe. [Post edited 3 Aug 6:58]
| | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 10:19 - Aug 5 with 2692 views | Daley_Lama |
Comparison team v that which started v Southend
8 the same
Different keeper (forced)
Pritchard for Taryn (choice)
Mani for Bird (forced)
House Lama has two views on prospects this year.
Junior - we have recruited a squad that has depth, strength, options to seriously challenge for the title. Cherry picked quality players from other clubs
Senior - we have not recruited impactful players to raise our points from last season by 25ish needed to contend.
Youthful optimism v Geriatric pessimism in action. 😀 |  |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 12:02 - Aug 5 with 2509 views | TalkingSutty |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 10:19 - Aug 5 by Daley_Lama |
Comparison team v that which started v Southend
8 the same
Different keeper (forced)
Pritchard for Taryn (choice)
Mani for Bird (forced)
House Lama has two views on prospects this year.
Junior - we have recruited a squad that has depth, strength, options to seriously challenge for the title. Cherry picked quality players from other clubs
Senior - we have not recruited impactful players to raise our points from last season by 25ish needed to contend.
Youthful optimism v Geriatric pessimism in action. 😀 |
There is merit to both sides of that debate. It sounds simplistic but not being more ruthless against the poorest teams in the league and not taking our share of points against the more fancied teams was our downfall last season. A change in the attitude and approach to each game seems to be a key ingredient that needs adding starting this Saturday and that has to come from McNulty and his two coaches.
Being subserviant to clubs that he perceives as having more clout and budget showed him in a poor light last season and we all had to suffer the indignity of watching him choose damage limitation over competing against Barnet and York at home, it was sad to see and not what this club is about. I've never seen a Dale manager decide to do that so blatantly in nearly 50 years of watching them. He'd talked himself and the players out of those games before a ball had been kicked, constantly talking up the opposition.Remember this is non league level and not the EFL1.
So a different mindset is definitely required and certainly no more throwing in the towel with over 20 minutes of the game still remaining. When we take the lead in games lets redouble the effort to score again and again. Lets start the season as we mean to go on and fear nobody, see if we can average at least two goals every game. Both our new coaches embraced the 'No fear' mantra, i'm hoping they can instill it into the playing squad but more importantly the manager. His fear of losing games stopped us from winning games too many times last season and it needs to stop. [Post edited 5 Aug 12:24]
| | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 12:34 - Aug 5 with 2418 views | ChaffRAFC |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 10:19 - Aug 5 by Daley_Lama |
Comparison team v that which started v Southend
8 the same
Different keeper (forced)
Pritchard for Taryn (choice)
Mani for Bird (forced)
House Lama has two views on prospects this year.
Junior - we have recruited a squad that has depth, strength, options to seriously challenge for the title. Cherry picked quality players from other clubs
Senior - we have not recruited impactful players to raise our points from last season by 25ish needed to contend.
Youthful optimism v Geriatric pessimism in action. 😀 |
This is similar to where I stand on it I think.
I think, on paper obviously, we've had a really good summer in terms of recruitment. We've got depth now which we've not necessarily had previously. I think replacing Bird and Mitchell with Dieseruvwe and Amantchi, two really physical strikers, is as good as we could have done, I think Casey Pettit looks a good signing and Joe Pritchard looks a really good signing which also offers a lot of versatility. I have worries over the goalkeeper situation and I think we're still a centre back light but overall it looks like a good summer of recruitment.
That being said, I don't see us bettering our finish last season sufficiently enough to take that next step and get out of this league. Part of this is the manager as well and it's McNulty's traits that we need to see the biggest difference in.
His use of substitutions is questionable at best. You see other managers make substitutions that win games, Mellon last season for example, Ferguson is a great example as he was able to use Solskjaer to win games. I never see it with McNulty. I see negative and predictable substitutions which usually have the opposite impact to what we want. I also think one of our issues last season was the centre of midfield as it's become increasingly obvious to me that Gilmour and East don't compliment each other. When East was out at the back end of last season and young Corey Edwards came in, we looked miles better. I had hoped we would address this situation and I thought we had by bringing in Casey Pettit who immediately looks a completely different type of midfielder but it very much looks like we'll still have a midfield of Gilmour and East going off the last friendly match.
I also think a McNulty with options could backfire and he might overthink things too much. I don't know if stats back this up or anything but we seemed to churn our results when our backs were against the wall with injuries and we were forced into team selections. I may well be being harsh there but that's how it seemed to me.
I don't think we'll finish lower than last season, but I don't think we're going up either and I'd be a lot more confident with a more ruthless manager who had experience of winning promotion. |  |
| If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 12:45 - Aug 5 with 2372 views | 49thseason |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 12:02 - Aug 5 by TalkingSutty |
There is merit to both sides of that debate. It sounds simplistic but not being more ruthless against the poorest teams in the league and not taking our share of points against the more fancied teams was our downfall last season. A change in the attitude and approach to each game seems to be a key ingredient that needs adding starting this Saturday and that has to come from McNulty and his two coaches.
Being subserviant to clubs that he perceives as having more clout and budget showed him in a poor light last season and we all had to suffer the indignity of watching him choose damage limitation over competing against Barnet and York at home, it was sad to see and not what this club is about. I've never seen a Dale manager decide to do that so blatantly in nearly 50 years of watching them. He'd talked himself and the players out of those games before a ball had been kicked, constantly talking up the opposition.Remember this is non league level and not the EFL1.
So a different mindset is definitely required and certainly no more throwing in the towel with over 20 minutes of the game still remaining. When we take the lead in games lets redouble the effort to score again and again. Lets start the season as we mean to go on and fear nobody, see if we can average at least two goals every game. Both our new coaches embraced the 'No fear' mantra, i'm hoping they can instill it into the playing squad but more importantly the manager. His fear of losing games stopped us from winning games too many times last season and it needs to stop. [Post edited 5 Aug 12:24]
|
Agreed, the need is to score twice as a minimum.. We dropped loads of points last season because we either didnt score or only managed one goal where two would have seen us pick up points.
I have alluded to the idea of continuous improvement many times and it seems we have found some better players than the ones we had last season so it is reasonable to assume more goals and more points. The question mark being the tactics that will be employed. Does McNulty have an attacking mindset is the $64,000 question, is winning prioritised over not getting beaten? We shall see soon enough, although the arrival of new forwards hints that he understands the requirement.
We need to attack for the sake of project 5000 too, people want to see us score goals, the more the better. Its time to get on the front foot and take the game to our opponents | | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 12:53 - Aug 5 with 2348 views | TalkingSutty |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 12:34 - Aug 5 by ChaffRAFC |
This is similar to where I stand on it I think.
I think, on paper obviously, we've had a really good summer in terms of recruitment. We've got depth now which we've not necessarily had previously. I think replacing Bird and Mitchell with Dieseruvwe and Amantchi, two really physical strikers, is as good as we could have done, I think Casey Pettit looks a good signing and Joe Pritchard looks a really good signing which also offers a lot of versatility. I have worries over the goalkeeper situation and I think we're still a centre back light but overall it looks like a good summer of recruitment.
That being said, I don't see us bettering our finish last season sufficiently enough to take that next step and get out of this league. Part of this is the manager as well and it's McNulty's traits that we need to see the biggest difference in.
His use of substitutions is questionable at best. You see other managers make substitutions that win games, Mellon last season for example, Ferguson is a great example as he was able to use Solskjaer to win games. I never see it with McNulty. I see negative and predictable substitutions which usually have the opposite impact to what we want. I also think one of our issues last season was the centre of midfield as it's become increasingly obvious to me that Gilmour and East don't compliment each other. When East was out at the back end of last season and young Corey Edwards came in, we looked miles better. I had hoped we would address this situation and I thought we had by bringing in Casey Pettit who immediately looks a completely different type of midfielder but it very much looks like we'll still have a midfield of Gilmour and East going off the last friendly match.
I also think a McNulty with options could backfire and he might overthink things too much. I don't know if stats back this up or anything but we seemed to churn our results when our backs were against the wall with injuries and we were forced into team selections. I may well be being harsh there but that's how it seemed to me.
I don't think we'll finish lower than last season, but I don't think we're going up either and I'd be a lot more confident with a more ruthless manager who had experience of winning promotion. |
Your last point is a great one. Mellons experience and know how when it came to the play offs was the deciding factor for Oldham. McNulty did a interview on Radio Manchester days prior to the Southend game and he more or less said that we weren't ready to go up. The completely wrong message anybody associated with the club wants to hear and food and drink for your opponents. You could never imagine Mellon saying that even if he thought it. Latics were poor for most of the season but he got them playing when it counted.
McNulty is no longer a rooky manager he needs to stop looking for excuses to fail and start to be a bit more bullish, he's got a fantastic squad of players at his disposal. There will be expectency this season and with that comes pressure, let's see how he handles it. Taking the leash off his players and giving them a licence to attack and express themselves is the best way i think. If he does that and he moves away from his regimented approach a bit then i think we can win promotion, even win the league if we start off strongly.
Last season he showed our opponents too much respect, most of them were there for the taking but he had us faffing about too much instead of putting the game to bed. It should be different now with the physical prowess we have in our forward line. His substitutions will be key to results this seaaon i think and he'll have Done and Taylor to advise him. No respecting the point. [Post edited 5 Aug 13:24]
| | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 14:03 - Aug 5 with 2141 views | samueloneils |
I watched the Stockport-Bolton game on Sky at the weekend. Two teams probable to fight for promotion this season. Funny to see Morley and Camps, Dodgson and O`Keefe and Alfie commentating.
What struck me most was the totally different game to what Jim seems to prefer.
There was much quicker buildup from defence through midfield, not speed of the players but quicker passing and forward moving. There was no passing around the penalty area or keepers with their foot on the ball. The keepers cleared their lines quickly and the whole defences were happy to use the long ball. Not pretty, but effective. There was much more movement in midfield and wide. I would prefer our players to use these tactics than try to emulate the Man City possession football which at our level is dangerous if the opposition play a high press.
I was surprised at this being offered by teams two leagues ahead of us, but it reinforced my view that we must adopt a quicker more direct pattern this season if we are going to stand a chance of promotion. |  | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 14:25 - Aug 5 with 2088 views | D_Alien |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 14:03 - Aug 5 by samueloneils |
I watched the Stockport-Bolton game on Sky at the weekend. Two teams probable to fight for promotion this season. Funny to see Morley and Camps, Dodgson and O`Keefe and Alfie commentating.
What struck me most was the totally different game to what Jim seems to prefer.
There was much quicker buildup from defence through midfield, not speed of the players but quicker passing and forward moving. There was no passing around the penalty area or keepers with their foot on the ball. The keepers cleared their lines quickly and the whole defences were happy to use the long ball. Not pretty, but effective. There was much more movement in midfield and wide. I would prefer our players to use these tactics than try to emulate the Man City possession football which at our level is dangerous if the opposition play a high press.
I was surprised at this being offered by teams two leagues ahead of us, but it reinforced my view that we must adopt a quicker more direct pattern this season if we are going to stand a chance of promotion. |
Surprised? Why? It's been pretty well signposted how the old possession-type game has become yesterday's thinking. Liverpool (champions) haven't used it since before the Klopp days and they recruited Slot with the intention of continuing to evolve away from it. Many others are following suit with their own variations
Unless we see a similar ability to evolve, McNulty will very quickly become yesterday's man (which isn't to say he'll be let go since he makes the noises the owners want to hear) but if his coaching remit doesn't include the ability to think for himself it's gonna be another frustrating season
Recruitment of forwards who can get on the end of chances and hold the ball up front is promising... on paper. Those chances need to be made before defences are settled, it's actually no more complicated than that [Post edited 5 Aug 14:31]
|  |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 18:59 - Aug 5 with 1708 views | 442Dale |
There’s undoubtedly an issue with finding a way to ensure we get results in the really important games. Similarly the inability to truly compete against those who finished above us in the table had to be addressed as we fell well short last season in those matches.
Tactically McNulty has to improve with game management, something that has been hinted at in interviews and at the forum last week. A lot of what Chaff says is bang on the money, the point about substitutions would be the manager’s no.1 area requiring improvement. I also share concerns about how he will manage all the options now available.
He’s already shown an ability to adapt how we play though. Any claim to the contrary is incorrect as we’ve seen with our own eyes how much better we were at going direct when Bird arrived. Mitchell’s own deficiencies only served to exacerbate this. Proof that you can only play with the players you have. The signing of Dieseruvwe, how he’s used as a focal point and the obvious examples in pre season of how we’re now putting different crosses into the box, reinforce this evolution in how we approach games. The highlights of the Man U game have proof of that - 4 clear chances from headers.
On style of play across the game, it is changing as was to be expected, but there’s more of a hybrid approach that’s starting to come to the fore now (yes, what we saw when we were flying towards the end of the season and for the majority of the Southend game). Liverpool? Changes from the Klopp approach under Slot last season included towards a style we’ve seen at Dale:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/crmnv0g81gdo
“…asking their goalkeeper or central defenders to hold on to the ball and wait for their opponents to close them down before releasing a pass.”
“There is a great deal of patience required on the part of the centre-backs too…”
“the numbers show that Liverpool are looking to circulate the ball more in their own defensive third.”
They won the league at a canter but there are also signs they’ll evolve further with how they look to go forward quicker.
More attacking and goals needed for “Project 5000”? Of course we’d all want to improve again this season, but let’s not ignore the facts with comments that aren’t prepared to acknowledge the progress already made:
We finished 4th.
Three 4-0 home wins last season (and all since January), equalling the club record set in 1936/37.
The first 5-1 home win in 20 years. Fans saw goals, some really good victories and performances.
And yet in the biggest game of the season it was the poor substitutions and the insistence we did still try and push on that left gaps all over for Southend to exploit! How ironic that actually trying to defend that lead by sitting in on the edge of the box might have actually worked better. 100% on McNulty that.
43 points at Spotland. Only three times have we gained more in the last two decades. More required next season? Yes. Accepting we won’t win every game and playing poorly on occasion? You’d hope most would be able to. It’s football, there are two teams.
And there were vital games we won by one goal, showing battling qualities against teams around us. The points accumulated against Halifax, Altrincham and Gateshead all included displays like this. Finding different ways to win.
Opinion is fine, we all have different ones. But let’s not ignore what has actually occurred too. There’s enough valid criticism in this post and others which manages to at least acknowledge what we all witnessed attending games last season. Situations that it’s on the manager to address. Similarly, there was plenty of evidence of the positive progression made which fans will have seen too. It’s on the manager to continue that, something he should be under no illusions about. | |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 22:46 - Aug 5 with 1400 views | TalkingSutty |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 18:59 - Aug 5 by 442Dale |
There’s undoubtedly an issue with finding a way to ensure we get results in the really important games. Similarly the inability to truly compete against those who finished above us in the table had to be addressed as we fell well short last season in those matches.
Tactically McNulty has to improve with game management, something that has been hinted at in interviews and at the forum last week. A lot of what Chaff says is bang on the money, the point about substitutions would be the manager’s no.1 area requiring improvement. I also share concerns about how he will manage all the options now available.
He’s already shown an ability to adapt how we play though. Any claim to the contrary is incorrect as we’ve seen with our own eyes how much better we were at going direct when Bird arrived. Mitchell’s own deficiencies only served to exacerbate this. Proof that you can only play with the players you have. The signing of Dieseruvwe, how he’s used as a focal point and the obvious examples in pre season of how we’re now putting different crosses into the box, reinforce this evolution in how we approach games. The highlights of the Man U game have proof of that - 4 clear chances from headers.
On style of play across the game, it is changing as was to be expected, but there’s more of a hybrid approach that’s starting to come to the fore now (yes, what we saw when we were flying towards the end of the season and for the majority of the Southend game). Liverpool? Changes from the Klopp approach under Slot last season included towards a style we’ve seen at Dale:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/crmnv0g81gdo
“…asking their goalkeeper or central defenders to hold on to the ball and wait for their opponents to close them down before releasing a pass.”
“There is a great deal of patience required on the part of the centre-backs too…”
“the numbers show that Liverpool are looking to circulate the ball more in their own defensive third.”
They won the league at a canter but there are also signs they’ll evolve further with how they look to go forward quicker.
More attacking and goals needed for “Project 5000”? Of course we’d all want to improve again this season, but let’s not ignore the facts with comments that aren’t prepared to acknowledge the progress already made:
We finished 4th.
Three 4-0 home wins last season (and all since January), equalling the club record set in 1936/37.
The first 5-1 home win in 20 years. Fans saw goals, some really good victories and performances.
And yet in the biggest game of the season it was the poor substitutions and the insistence we did still try and push on that left gaps all over for Southend to exploit! How ironic that actually trying to defend that lead by sitting in on the edge of the box might have actually worked better. 100% on McNulty that.
43 points at Spotland. Only three times have we gained more in the last two decades. More required next season? Yes. Accepting we won’t win every game and playing poorly on occasion? You’d hope most would be able to. It’s football, there are two teams.
And there were vital games we won by one goal, showing battling qualities against teams around us. The points accumulated against Halifax, Altrincham and Gateshead all included displays like this. Finding different ways to win.
Opinion is fine, we all have different ones. But let’s not ignore what has actually occurred too. There’s enough valid criticism in this post and others which manages to at least acknowledge what we all witnessed attending games last season. Situations that it’s on the manager to address. Similarly, there was plenty of evidence of the positive progression made which fans will have seen too. It’s on the manager to continue that, something he should be under no illusions about. |
All very true. He now has more clout at his disposal so we should see improvement. He can't have it both ways. It was also the inability to beat the poorest teams in the league that was our undoing last year, something to do with the 'low block' apparently😀. It's as though it's a new tactic that poor teams have dreamed up to stay in the game, put everybody behind the ball and defend for your lifes. We've seen teams do that since football was invented and good teams find ways to combat it. We were guilty of trying to hold on to leads last season against very poor teams, especially away from home. We kept them in the game and gave them hope, then we gave daft goals away by messing around in our own penalty area or losing the ball on the halfway line when under no pressure whatsoever, goalkeepers over playing or going walkabout. All self inflicted wounds and its needs to stop now. We need to be relentless in our performance from the first minute to the last because when we try to manage the game we arent very good at it and we lose momentum. I hope that's a lesson McNulty has learned. [Post edited 5 Aug 22:50]
| | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 08:23 - Aug 6 with 1023 views | isitme |
The telling thing against Southend was that Allarakhia was against a pacey opponent, was tired and needed replacing. Jim did not fancy Buyabu and brought on Hogan. The issue was that this meant that Beckwith moved out to left wing back and Hogan was playing left side of the three. Both arguably out of position. Southend scored not long after. Bird then came off and Mitchell came on and then we had no out ball when we were facing increasing amounts of pressure.
On paper there is not a big drop off between starting players and subs and in many cases there will be horses for courses selections and we will have direct replacements that hopefully Jim can trust. | | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 09:14 - Aug 6 with 927 views | EllDale |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 08:23 - Aug 6 by isitme |
The telling thing against Southend was that Allarakhia was against a pacey opponent, was tired and needed replacing. Jim did not fancy Buyabu and brought on Hogan. The issue was that this meant that Beckwith moved out to left wing back and Hogan was playing left side of the three. Both arguably out of position. Southend scored not long after. Bird then came off and Mitchell came on and then we had no out ball when we were facing increasing amounts of pressure.
On paper there is not a big drop off between starting players and subs and in many cases there will be horses for courses selections and we will have direct replacements that hopefully Jim can trust. |
My take at time was that Allarakhia wasn’t able to cope defensively with a marauding right wing back - someone who had been a standout performer for Southend all season so perhaps predictable if Jim had done his homework.
The same thing happened in the home game against Oldham when Caprice was given the freedom of that flank.
Another factor was the inability of a rookie goalkeeper to deal competently with balls into the box from the left hand side. | | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 09:28 - Aug 6 with 883 views | tony_roch975 |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 09:14 - Aug 6 by EllDale |
My take at time was that Allarakhia wasn’t able to cope defensively with a marauding right wing back - someone who had been a standout performer for Southend all season so perhaps predictable if Jim had done his homework.
The same thing happened in the home game against Oldham when Caprice was given the freedom of that flank.
Another factor was the inability of a rookie goalkeeper to deal competently with balls into the box from the left hand side. |
It could also be that Allarakhia is a better attacker than defender - so far Pritchard looks a better fit in the role | |
| |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 09:45 - Aug 6 with 837 views | isitme |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 09:14 - Aug 6 by EllDale |
My take at time was that Allarakhia wasn’t able to cope defensively with a marauding right wing back - someone who had been a standout performer for Southend all season so perhaps predictable if Jim had done his homework.
The same thing happened in the home game against Oldham when Caprice was given the freedom of that flank.
Another factor was the inability of a rookie goalkeeper to deal competently with balls into the box from the left hand side. |
If you did an analysis of the goals we conceeded last season I suspect a large number were due to a failure to close down a cross. Spennymour was an obvious example. Hopefully this was another part of the self scouting Jim alluded to at the Fans' Forum and in his interview with Chris Fitzgerald. [Post edited 6 Aug 12:14]
| | | |
| Friendly versus Man Utd U21 on 10:31 - Aug 6 with 749 views | KnavesmireBob |
Loads of intelligent knowledgeable analysis on here the last couple of days. When I read a thread like this it always solidifies why I continue to love this club from afar, we've a fanbase to be proud of.
Another good piece on the BBC site the other day in line with the LFC one 442 posted - a new Pep in town at Man City and a likely continued evolution towards a slightly different approach which will no doubt keep trickling down the pyramid :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cm2ker2n476o
I suspect we'll spend the majority of the next 9 months revisiting much of the content of this thread as the matches tick by. Glass always half full though in August the week before we get underway! | | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
