tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329889984642264422.post8225517885596583741..comments2023-09-03T16:22:22.284+01:00Comments on Addick's Championship Diary: Simply not good enoughWyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329889984642264422.post-57523077794689454982012-10-22T10:47:13.787+01:002012-10-22T10:47:13.787+01:00We all see the game differently and I am not forgi...We all see the game differently and I am not forgiving of Razak, but thought he was Ok in the first half, pushing forward from a position that he is not used to, he is after all supposed to be a defensive midfielder. My view is that CP was right to take off Hollands, should have dropped Razak back pushed Stephens forward so his ability to find a pass would actually affect the game and bring Hulse or BWP. Then if razak was as abysmal as others sya and he did not improve then give him 10 minutes in a familair position. We have too many square pegs in round holes, Solly on the left, Wilso playing right back, which is not his 1st choice position, Razak playing forward of midfield, Stephens playing deep.<br />Looking at the next 8 games I can see only one game where we can get points from (Posh). Fortunately, CP knows more than me and football has a tendency to confound expectations, as Bloomfield Road proved. CP will be judged on performances and if my expectations are fulfilled I wonder how secure he would be. Hilltothevalleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16669100386224558056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329889984642264422.post-26232558307661003522012-10-22T01:08:43.674+01:002012-10-22T01:08:43.674+01:00I'm amazed by how forgiving people seem to hav...I'm amazed by how forgiving people seem to have been about Razak's performance. Positionally complete inept, lost possession far too easily, and worst of all showed no effort or desire in closing down anybody in possession.<br /><br />I do see the temptation to drop BWP, but I feel he pays a price for the inability of our midfield to create chances for him. Stephens has been relatively impressive this season, but he is in essence a deep lying playmaker, and there appears to be nobody able to partner him capable of bombing on through the middle and creating openings for our strikers.<br /><br />It is slightly clutching at straws to expect Pritchard to perform this role, but Hollands has not done enough, I don't think Jackson has the necessary nimbleness of mind or foot to do it, and Razak looks to me entirely disinterested. <br /><br />We have to do better with possession, last years lower-quality of opposition, and the presence of Yann, allowed us to get away with the weakness of our passing ability. Now the midfield needs to do better, because we simply gave the ball away too cheaply and too often to Barnsley, and you could see the confidence drain from the players.<br /><br />Even with Wiggins injured, our best dribblers, and often our most dynamic and creative players lie in the full-back positions. Fuller injured is a massive blow. I don't envy Chris Powell's position, because we need to find a way of mounting effective attacks through the midfield, at least to mix it up a bit. I think he could do worse than to persist with a 4-4-1-1 but the link between attack and defence has to show more than Razak, and Green and Kerkar have to be drilled in being more adaptable in this system, because Green just seemed to give up on playing wide, and came inside to get balls far too deep to do anything with, and Kerkar seems to do the opposite and insist on having chalk on his boots at all times. Having someone winning the ball earlier and higher up the pitch (or at least pressuring the opposition - as Pritchard can) might at very least alleviate the problem of our team ending up camped behind the ball, having been out-passed by the opposition.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329889984642264422.post-19807521247542581952012-10-21T19:33:47.063+01:002012-10-21T19:33:47.063+01:00This is just a guess, but I doubt whether the play...This is just a guess, but I doubt whether the players are being unsettled by speculation in the background.Wyn Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329889984642264422.post-51699745355919749612012-10-21T14:15:55.697+01:002012-10-21T14:15:55.697+01:00Wyn, Trying to stay postive, Barnsley have just ta...Wyn, Trying to stay postive, Barnsley have just taken Birmingham apart and are a tidy side (if somewhat on the niggly side - not picked up by ref), and once again we were denied by some good goalkeeping, the curling free kick of Razak's was a peach.<br />Not sure i'd have taken Razak off, just Hollands, as later it the game it cost us going down to 10 men, another game decided by a single goal, shows just how tight this season will be and how close run thing it will be. <br />Are the unsettled goings on in the background filtering through to the players, our midfield seemed lacking in confidence.<br />Jacknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329889984642264422.post-38400198225094452622012-10-21T08:34:44.253+01:002012-10-21T08:34:44.253+01:00I sit in the NW quad. My view is straight along th...I sit in the NW quad. My view is straight along the goaline.<br />The ball didn't cross the line. In fact the nearest it got was still a foot outside.<br />The penalty? I wasn't sure, the guy came through the back of Solly but may have played the ball ??<br />We lost because we were crap. Our mid-field contains too many nearly men. Radical surgery is required.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com