You’re right of course, but this ultimately increases the chances of errors. There is no excuse for what the defenders did (or didn’t) do on Saturday, but the more balls they face the more often they will make a mistake. Bit like the OG FS scored last season, that was an easy ball for Bachmann to claim, but he didn’t. If a Bachmann claims a few more balls, especially easy ones like that the defence wouldn’t be under so much pressure and make as many errors.
It's probably why Foster was preferred last year even though everyone knew he was past it and didn't give a **** anymore!
I can agree with that. I guess Kabs and Cathcart thought that Bachmann must come for ball. Unfortunately, this was followed by "oh ****" as they remembered.
Spot on. Cathcart or Kabasele should have dealt with the cross. The ball is outside the 6 yard box when he heads it so maybe not for the keeper
or even if he just yells at his defence to get it out it would help. Total lack of communication...and balls !
Kabasele was set to go to and put his head on it but left it at the last second. I had the perfect view of it but it seemed as though he got a shout but that could have been the Rotherham player trying his luck. For me Bachmann should be telling him to get it away or putting his name on it - but I suspect he said nothing and remained glued to his line until it was time for him to find someone else to blame.
While empty stadiums was generally a pile of crap, it was interesting to hear the players, Bachmann is usually very vocal in shouting 'AWAY!' to his defenders, I wonder if he did the same here or whether he just assumed Kabasele would automatically do it?
Might be sleep deprivation but seems like you’re saying Kaba should’ve got rid but had a shout, but then say you think Bachmann didn’t say anything? Apologies if I’ve misunderstood
I think when WTE did this against Leicester, there was an article in the Athletic suggesting defenders usually have their own code words for things so that if an opposition player shouts “leave it” they don’t fall for it. Realistically this must happen in pretty much every game probably multiple times a game up and down the leagues, yet you don’t see tons of goals like WTE let in last season or that shambles we saw on the weekend. Basically what I’m saying is, for professionally coached footballers an opposition player shouting leave it should never be an excuse, or something they ever fall for.
So our defence is slightly worse than average for the first 15mins then much better than average for the rest of the game. On the other hand our attack is below average for the whole game. We need our attack to improve much more than our defence?
Yup! Actually we start the second half better than I first thought, but the gap between xG for and against isn't as big as it is later on in the second half. Yup - in attack we've amassed 7.75 xG so far (league average is 8.45) with 9 goals scored (league average is 8.88), in defence we've conceded 7.40 xG (league average is 8.45) and conceded 7 goals. So we're creating less chances than the league average, but are more clinical in putting them away so far. Defensive numbers aren't terrible and are what you'd expect to see from a team in the top 6, but our 0.97 xG created per 90 mins is a concern - only 7 teams have registered a worse tally this season (although it's a small sample size!), if this number were to continue throughout the season and we compare this to last seasons Championship statistics it would've given us the 6th worst tally in the league only ahead of Hull (19th), Reading (21st), Peterborough (22nd), Derby (23rd) and Barnsley (24th). So our chances created (xG) are pretty much relegation form and we're only being kept afloat by our superior finishing (+ the good defensive numbers).
For me, Bachmann should be making a shout on that - either 'away' or 'keepers' (or Charlies, which I believe is the name Watford use when they want the ball left). If Bachmann doesn't make any shout at all then it leaves an opportunity for the Rotherham player to make a shout and cause confusion. Either way it is an absolute shitshow. Bachmann doesn't instil confidence and given how glued he is to his line Kabasele should be heading everything away regardless.
Missed the chance to replace the deadwood like Sarr & Pedro in the window. We can't keep relying on the excellence of Gaspar, Kabs, Sierralta, WTE and Cathcart to be constantly baling us out.
It's more the midfield not being able to create the chances for Sarr + JP that's the issue. We've scored more than our xG so far which would indicate when we do create shots our forwards can be trusted to put them away. It's backed up the actual goals for/against table as well - only 4 teams have conceded less than us, but we rank 14th in the league for goals scored.
Yes I was there on Saturday and had the dubious privilege of witnessing WTE's Leicester mistake first hand too with Maddison taking advantage rather further out from goal (IIRC). I thought Kaba was just moving to head it and just stopped without getting off the ground and turned round thinking Bachmann had called for it and only then realised he'd been conned. That said Bachmann should have called for it - I initially assumed he had - and claimed it/punched it away as Wood headed it when he was on the 6 yard box. It was lobbed up so much as a cross even Bachmann was still favourite to punch it or to get a minor clattering for an easy foul. I certainly blamed DB at that moment but even if there was Yorkshire skullduggery afoot that was still a weak as p*** moment for our 2 boys...again.
Overall I think the midfield have done a pretty good job of protecting the back 4 for the most part this season, especially after the shambles of West Brom when Choudhury came in. I dare say our defence would look a lot more shaky without Choudhury and Kayembe!
I noticed that as well and thought that was odd, maybe they haven't quite finished updating the data from yesterday and it's added a partial amount of last nights game or something bizarre like that.
You'd surely expect the amount xG created across the league to match the xG conceded though, regardless of the number of games played? As surely for every xG number created the xG conceded would be the same value?
I think part of the problem with this though is that when you concede early on as we have done a few times, that it encourages the opposition to shut up shop defensively to protect their lead, which in turn reduces our potential xG throughout the rest of the match as it's often more difficult to score against a team defending a lead. If we took the lead early against an average opponent, we should get more opportunities to score again with our pace on the counter. Also, in general most teams we've played (except for QPR) have seemed pretty happy to try and hold out for at best a draw against us, having considered us to be among the promotion favourites. This means that there are fewer spaces on the pitch to exploit in attack. Games between mid-table sides where both will feasibly be going all out for a win will likely have a higher xG at both ends of the pitch.
No, but they don't seem to be trying to. Willis and Reids are right; and for that matter loads of us have been saying 'cut down on the slow sideways and backwards passing at the back'. One of several things that angers me is the inept attempts to build out from the back that so often end in a defender chickening-out and passing back to the keeper so he can blast it away upfield. He could have done that first time, or, even better, one of the defenders should take it upon themselves to do it.
Not knocking what you are saying as I agree with most of it, but that's the point of the "sideways and backwards passing". You are trying to move them about and create more space between the lines. Especially where a team sits in a low block with the midfield ontop of the defence. The bit we don't get right is the speed at which we pass. But I'm happy to move the ball around and try to get space between their defence and mid and then the keeper goes long. The old boy who sits behind me with his f-u-ckwit Son, drives me potty, last year it was Kiko, defending the 18 yard box and giving up the flank, that was his "thing" as if the manager hadnt given him that instruction. And this year it's his insistence that everyone should "just get it forward." He's about 70 and I always think shame you never moved on with the game. If I was as ignorant, I'd keep schtum instead of shouting out and thinking everyone around is impressed by your knowledge.
Yes, that's the theory. But in practice the moves should be carried out much faster. If you are slow the oppo defence simply moves successfully into their new positions. Plus, if the oppo attack presses your defence, then that defence needs to be skillful enough to cope and I'm not convinced our defenders are.
I'll need time....Maybe 7 and a half million years. * * It's a long time since I read the book - is that the right answer?
That's how long it took to come up with the answer I think! I love those books. Still brilliant. I think Marvin was probably a Watford fan. Might still be on this forum as one of us going by the tone on here if we lose.
This is a good point, and up until now, we haven't had someone up top who can hold the ball up and bring others into play, but now with Davis, we have that other string to our bow
9x 6 is the question. Arthur Dent discovered this in pre-historic Islington. Of course 9x6=42 in base 13, which tells is that the universe is just weird. That may explain why our centre backs are crap in the first 26 minutes. Clocks are based in duodecimal and sexagesimal counting systems, which confuses them. Once we get to 20 minutes in base 13 Sierralta, Cathcart, Kabs and WTE can then convert to the vegisimal (base 20) counting system traditionally used in S. America, the Celtic British Isles and West/Central Africa. They then realise that they should be stopping the opposition from scoring because they have given up concentrating on number systems. Simple really.
