The title says it all really of where our problems mainly lie. This is a shocking statistic and no matter how you look at it, it doesn't make pleasant reading; its more than 2 seasons worth of away games!!!!! (QPR away was the last one if anyone was wondering).
So basically we're going into away games (and a lot of home games too I may add) knowing in the back of our minds that 9 times out of 10 we're going to concede and make the task of winning a football match doubly difficult for ourselves. It hurts me to say this but its the only way Coyle knows how to win. Could he scrape a typical Big Sam 1 niller. Could he 'eck as like!
Where does the problem lie though?
Is it our defenders?
Zat Knight letting the ball through his legs, getting out-paced by their 40 year old pensioner striker ...
Sam Ricketts letting a player beat him on the touchline, not once, not twice, but thrice.
Is it the midfield? As they say you defend from the front so do they not work hard enough or what? Is that why the defence is constantly under pressure and conceding goals?
Is it Owen Coyle? He's the manager. He puts the team out the way he wants and the shape he wants.
I don't want to make this a Coyle article because frankly there are too many of them. This is not a "Coyle Out" article or even lets give him till the end of the month. I'm just trying to look at it at a different angle.
Now my attention turns to the back-room staff. Who exactly are they? You tell me please, as I haven't the foggiest!
There is this guy called Sandy Stewart, but I've no idea who or what he is. Do we have a defensive coach? If so, he should have been sent packing after the Stoke game. I don't know any of the other back-room staff but they get off lightly compared to Coyle, which is a bit unfair. I would love to see what they get up to in training on a daily basis, because whatever it is, on the defensive side of things its not working!
Look what Arsenal have done. Brought in a specialist defensive coach in Steve Bould and kept 3 clean sheets in 3 games.
Coincidence?
Shouldn't Coyle have done this months if not a year or so ago?
I feel its too little too late and the bad habits that happen every Saturday afternoon are becoming ever more frequent in our game.
I welcome a good debate and lets try to keep the "Coyle Out" and similar stuff to the other articles.
Cheers guys
1 Clean Sheet in 47 Away Games
posted on 3/9/12
Whilst were at it, we can also hire a midfield coach to teach them how to pass a ball and strikers coach to teach N'gog how to score.
In fact, we wouldn't even need Owen Coyle then at all!!
posted on 3/9/12
LeighWanderer, It has to be a combination of everything and that includes our strikers who are missing chance after chance.
I would start with the defence. a good manager always builds from the back. I think we all knew the re-signing Knight was a big mistake.
posted on 3/9/12
Apparently, the problem is that we don't concede ' normal goals '. Owen's very fond of telling us that the goals we concede are all 'soft ' ones ...the only exception to that is when we concede the occassional ' wonder goal '.
If we could just get back to conceding ' normal ' goals, then surely, all our troubles would be over ...
posted on 3/9/12
This is why he has to go, it's not neccecarily the results (I'd be pretty miffed but not calling for heads to roll) it's the complete lack of action taken to correct the shortcomings that the team has had for what seems like forever (18 months).
posted on 3/9/12
I think we need to resort to the kids against Watford.
Get Riley and Alonso in. Put Mills alongside Ream for a change. Zat has been ok, but I think he might be the root problem with our defence not playing as a unit together.
Put Wylde on the left and CYL on the right with Spearing (holding) Andrews (holding) and Eagles behind Sordell.
This is easy!!!!! Its just so frustrating that OC can't try anything radical! Its taken 18 months to properly play a 4-5-1 with the correct personnel in the correct positions!
posted on 3/9/12
Defensive coach!.
I have been singing this song for the last year or so,I was compared with Pol Pot when I first mentioned it.
The structure of the coaching staff is obviously poor,the scouting system well it appears to be non existant really.
The club like I mentioned last October is heading towards anoher Coventry,this is pathetic now.
posted on 3/9/12
I've yet to see Wylde kick a ball ...not even on the bench at Hull. Also Eaves ...never seen him. Riley I saw that one game last season. Sordell a few sub appearances.
Now either these guys are not good enough or not being used properly. Either way this is another thing to lay at OC's feet.
Sordell scored goals in this division .... a few months with us and he can't get of the bench...there must be somat wrong somewhere.
posted on 3/9/12
you can juggle your defenders about as much as you like this coaching setup will continue to have us conceding goals. ive already picked up on the arsenal situation with steve bould coming in for pat rice and hey presto 3 clean sheets in 3 games.if coyle is to stay as manager his 2 coaches must be sacked and replaced by competant experienced coaches who can teach our players how to defend as a team.gartside must make this move himself and if coyle refuses then give him the boot too.can look at individual mistakes like bogdan,knight,ream,mills have been making but the truth is we are not a coordinated team and this is down to the coaching staff.
posted on 3/9/12
Too often the finger is pointed at individuals in defence. While individual mistakes happen its very dangerous to point the finger when you have played a part.
Defending is done as a unit yet for a while they look like strangers. Defending as a unit is down to coaching. We have lost the ability to defend set pieces or corners.
We are massively prone to pace. We can't change personnel but you have to teach players how to combat pace.
posted on 3/9/12
That statistic is frightening.
I dearly miss Big Sam and his enthusiasm over clean sheets and being hard to beat.. Even the corner flag with minutes to go tactics.. We were just somehow 'better organised'....
Can't say we've substituted it for Brazilian Samba Style either...