Failure to sign striker cost us


You don’t hump it long to beat a press. You play through it. The press is to force people to panic and hump it which is ultimately what happened for much of the game.

Wr tried to.play through it and we couldnt . Lots of possession in front of them.
You sometimes need an option to play it behind. They had it we did not.
 
Not having a striker cost us…..a 6th placed finish and playoff semi final that any of us would have snapped up striker or not at the start of the season.

We’ve done amazing. Remember that.
 
Think it's funny because if we have Batth and Ballard playing those two play off matches we go through.

Not sure we would have. Obviously it helps massively at the back, but we've still been weak there through the season given the lack of height through the squad as they cannot pick up everyone. It's been a weak point whenever Stewart has been out. Even with Batth and Ballard we condece from set pieces and give chances - it's a squad issue really.

We'd still also have had the lack of an outlet upfront last night against a side resolute at home and a lack of an alternative way of playing for five months.
 
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People on here absolutely blagged it about over spending on Will Grigg, yet wanted us to sign anyone in January? Make your minds up ffs

I am sick to death about hearing about Grigg.
So an incompetent recruitment team signed a duff player means that our recruitment team who have generally signed good players would have done the same.
 
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Wr tried to.play through it and we couldnt . Lots of possession in front of them.
You sometimes need an option to play it behind. They had it we did not.

Aye we couldn’t do it because we were panicking in possession. Rabbits in the headlights last night.

Nobody wanted to put a foot on it and calm it down. Heads went.

No big deal in isolation though. Been a good season overall.
 
Yeah the idiot who said we had a good chance of promotion but not having a striker would cost us.
Remind me how that turned out.;)
Sunderland might have employed you in the recruitment set up under Donald or Short mind.

It's a suggestion to spend £5m on JCH is every bit as ridiculous as spunking 3m on Grigg or £5m on Danny Graham and would have proved every bit as unsuccessful.
 
Not sure we would have. Obviously it helps massively at the back, but we've still been weak there through the season given the lack of height through the squad as they cannot pick up everyone. It's been a weak point whenever Stewart has been out. Even with Batth and Ballard we condece from set pieces and give chances - it's a squad issue really.

We'd still also have had the lack of an outlet upfront last night against a side resolute at home and a lack of an alternative way of playing for five months.
Spot on without the outlet and against a team who pressed really high the ball kept coming back.
Also people keep going on about the two goals from corners which were bad whilst forgetting we could have conceded another 2 or 3 whilst forgetting we created virtually nothing ourselves.
Not having an outlet means our play is predictable as we have no option but to try and play through teams.
It worked against many teams because we have very talented players but against a well organised drilled team we needed another option.
Stoke did the exact same thing to us pressed high waited for the mistake and then played direct and I think we might have had Ballad and Batth then.
Sunderland might have employed you in the recruitment set up under Donald or Short mind.

It's a suggestion to spend £5m on JCH is every bit as ridiculous as spunking 3m on Grigg or £5m on Danny Graham and would have proved every bit as unsuccessful.
Did we buy a striker?
Did we get promoted?
The answer to that is no as I predicted on January 31st
 
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Lets get this straight. Our owners are billionaires, richer than some premier league owners. We have been getting gates which far exceed most clubs in our division.
We have invested modest amounts so far but paying 5 million for a striker will fuck us up financially and stop us buying players in the summer.
Really?
Yes. They aren't going to be sugar daddies pumping tend of millions in. If that's what you want, the Saudis are up the road.
 
Aye we couldn’t do it because we were panicking in possession. Rabbits in the headlights last night.

Nobody wanted to put a foot on it and calm it down. Heads went.

No big deal in isolation though. Been a good season overall.

It went because of the situation firstly, but also being denied a lack of space. They pressed us high up killing of most moves and keeping us penned in deep, but if that press failed their defenders we're generally already dug in deep and extremely well organised, with the rest getting back into positon extremely quickly.They often let us have the middle third of the pitch knowing how we attack, their physicality and organisation not allowing us the space to create the sort of moves we need to operate in.

Also having key wide players isolated further down the pitch just played into their plans. We need to add a forward and some physicality as a matter of urgency in the summer, as its unlikely we'll have someone capable of digging us out with moments of quality, as Amad has, so often this season.
 
It's really hard to sustain that point of view based on the evidence though. We were the fourth highest scorers in the whole league. We also beat the high press just four days earlier with the same players. So it can't be that pivotal.

I think it's entirely possible and not contradictory to say that it was a dumb move not to get in any other strikers from the vantage point of late Jan (it was), AND also to say that, through exceptional adaptation from coach and players, that that didn't end up really mattering all that much given the goal return. In that area Mowbray massively covered Speakman's arse.

The main factor staring us in the face was a decimated defence and a general lack of height. Not sure why it needs to be any more complicated than that.
 
Spot on without the outlet and against a team who pressed really high the ball kept coming back.
Also people keep going on about the two goals from corners which were bad whilst forgetting we could have conceded another 2 or 3 whilst forgetting we created virtually nothing ourselves.
Not having an outlet means our play is predictable as we have no option but to try and play through teams.
It worked against many teams because we have very talented players but against a well organised drilled team we needed another option.
Stoke did the exact same thing to us pressed high waited for the mistake and then played direct and I think we might have had Ballad and Batth then.

Did we buy a striker?
Did we get promoted?
The answer to that is no as I predicted on January 31st

Chill out mystic meg
 
Spot on without the outlet and against a team who pressed really high the ball kept coming back.
Also people keep going on about the two goals from corners which were bad whilst forgetting we could have conceded another 2 or 3 whilst forgetting we created virtually nothing ourselves.
Not having an outlet means our play is predictable as we have no option but to try and play through teams.
It worked against many teams because we have very talented players but against a well organised drilled team we needed another option.
Stoke did the exact same thing to us pressed high waited for the mistake and then played direct and I think we might have had Ballad and Batth then.

Did we buy a striker?
Did we get promoted?
The answer to that is no as I predicted on January 31st
Regular Nostradamus aren’t you?
 
I like these what if debates, cos no one can ever categorically be right, if we’d signed a big cf, if Stewart hadn’t been injured, if evans, Ballard, baath etc hadn’t been injured, if Everton hadn’t been cu nts, all valid arguments that can never be proved but good debate. Like my dad always says opinions are like arseholes we’ve all got one.
 
It went because of the situation firstly, but also being denied a lack of space. They pressed us high up killing of most moves and keeping us penned in deep, but if that press failed their defenders we're generally already dug in deep and extremely well organised, with the rest getting back into positon extremely quickly.They often let us have the middle third of the pitch knowing how we attack, their physicality and organisation not allowing us the space to create the sort of moves we need to operate in.

Also having key wide players isolated further down the pitch just played into their plans. We need to add a forward and some physicality as a matter of urgency in the summer, as its unlikely we'll have someone capable of digging us out with moments of quality, as Amad has, so often this season.

First half was littered with individual mistakes and bad decisions both under pressure and with no pressure. We looked absolutely rattled after the goal went in and every time they went forward we looked like folding. The second goal had been coming for most of the half.

Only really Hume came out of the first half with much credit.
 

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