Get Fosu on one side and Mavididi on the other and I'm sure we'll start to play more of the game in the opposition half. Both have a good touch, power and pace. Fosu has been a big miss during the bad spell.
Get Fosu on one side and Mavididi on the other and I'm sure we'll start to play more of the game in the opposition half. Both have a good touch, power and pace. Fosu has been a big miss during the bad spell.
This is all fixtures, so Fosu may not have played in all of them:
Up to and including MK Dons at home (Fosu's last game for us)
W:13; D 4; L5; Win % 59
Since Fosu has been out of the side:
W:3; D 3; L: 6; Win % 25
Not saying that is all down to Fosu's absence, but him getting injured does seem to coincide with when our form started to change. We have missed his ability carry the ball out of defence, keeping possession and starting counter attacks, as well as his goals.
Kashi isn't the problem, it's the lack of movement ahead of him and Aribo/JFC. Say what you like about KAG at least he makes some runs off the ball, and it's no conicidence that we suddenly started getting behind their lines after he came on.
Yes, KAG's movement when playing as striker is good. In the away match against Oldham, >when Magennis was on international duty, he did this very well and made a big contribution to our producing 25 minutes of the best football I've seen from Charlton. Unfortunately there is also quite a bit in the 'say what you like' category, notably his finishing and use of the ball.
I like Kashi. It's worth watching him after he has passed the ball; he almost always makes himself available to receive it again.
Agree with this. We were in dreamland for 25 mins, and no Mag. That means something.
Get Fosu on one side and Mavididi on the other and I'm sure we'll start to play more of the game in the opposition half. Both have a good touch, power and pace. Fosu has been a big miss during the bad spell.
This is all fixtures, so Fosu may not have played in all of them:
Up to and including MK Dons at home (Fosu's last game for us)
W:13; D 4; L5; Win % 59
Since Fosu has been out of the side:
W:3; D 3; L: 6; Win % 25
Not saying that is all down to Fosu's absence, but him getting injured does seem to coincide with when our form started to change. We have missed his ability carry the ball out of defence, keeping possession and starting counter attacks, as well as his goals.
It's a great point. Him and Bauer both have been huge misses. And even though they technically weren't out that long, it's felt like lightyears because the games come so thick and fast this time of year.
Speaking of which, I talked in my post above about how we're missing JFC and Clarke and an in form Reeves (which we haven't really seen) because all are comfortable picking the ball up in tight spaces. The same is true of Fosu. I think we lose a lot when Holmes plays in the 10 role because it's not natural to him. I know it's designed to give him more freedom, but I also think it tends to coincide with him drifting out of the game. On Saturday he and Mav were looking to interchange a lot, which was part of what was a good opening 20 minutes as it gave both a bit of freedom and while he's not a natural 10, Mav like Fosu can pick the ball up deep in tight spaces and make something out of nothing.
What I believe is meant to be happening is Kashi comes back to dictate the play from a deep lying position. This allows our two full backs to push forward and our wide midfielders to tuck in and support the number 10 and number 9. It should look something like this:
X —— X ———— X —— X X ———— X ———— X —X —— X —— X— X
But what instead is happening is that Kashi is dropping so far back to collect the ball because we don’t have much movement going forward, we are 15 yards further back than we should be and we are also very cautious as to being exposed in the wide areas. This means that we look massively outnumbered in midfield as it seems as though the centre midfielder is the only one we have. This actually means we find it difficult to dominate and dictate the play meaning we have a lot of sideways passes and backwards play before we hit long to Magennis in hope of getting the second ball to the three behind him. From there we burst into life a little bit and look more dangerous. Ultimately, it’s not working too well at the moment, but when it does work, it allows us to be expansive and overload in attacking areas.
Please can you explain this to Karl, either at Sparrows Lane or in the car park prior to Tuesday's Checkatrade extravaganza.
I agree with the OP & find what Kashi is told to do infuriating. It adds less than zilch & makes our build up ridiculously slow and predictable. One defensive midfielder is adequate, whether it's Kashi or JFC.
As someone who has already got their coaching badges and also doing sports science at university, I would love to sit down with Karl and pick his brains, ask him questions and go through different tactical systems, philosophies and strategies.
As much as people may think KR is, ‘tactically inept’, believe me, he isn’t. Having listened to him plenty of times and had proper conversations with people who work at the club with him on a daily basis, they all have been full of praise. Some people may not like what I am saying because yes at the moment we do look better when we go two up top, when Kashi is pushed further forward to get involved and help out the other centre midfielder, but you also have got to remember how well we played at the start of the season in the system and players we had and used. We have had to adapt and change for many reasons, but ultimately KR is the right man for the job at present and if we were able to bring in Gleeson and Carruthers, which KR really wanted/wants, you would see us pick up again.
I agree he is not tactically inept and I think a lot of the criticisms he gets is just because he doesn't play 4-4-2.
My criticism of him and how the team has played is not so much tactical but phases of play. I do think many here have made the point that we are able to keep possession at the back and with our fullbacks but that's kind of it. What we've desperately lacked in recent weeks is that kind of movement from the front four that helps to break teams down. Now, definitely worth noting that JFC and Clarke are both very good at getting the ball in tight spaces and/or moving to create space for other players. Reeves is also good at this on his day. And this is particularly hard to do at our level because 1) teams are prepared to sit very deep then swarm, something Gills and Blackburn did, 2) the technical level of the players, and 3) any time someone gets a little space or momentum they get kicked and sometimes it's a foul and sometimes it's not but you don't see bookings for persistent fouling like you do elsewhere. Think Fosu versus Bury.
But improving on this sort of stalemate in possession often comes from really detail oriented work on the training ground with a lot of stop/start drills where you work on what are essentially attacking set plays, practicing the movement and passing required to break teams down. I have not seen kind of next level thinking yet, and it's the kind of thing that, as I understand it, is very very rare in England (and common on the continent).
The other thing is we press far, far less than we did earlier in the year. There's a great line in one of the Jonathan Wilson articles I posted above that essentially amounts to "you press to play, you don't play to press." And that high pressing game allowed us to peg teams back and created a fair few opportunities on its own. Think Fosu against Oxford for example. But it also can scare teams into dropping deeper, which can help us create that little bit of extra territorial advantage that we're struggling with right now.
I completely agree with everything that you have said, especially how we have changed how we approach and manage the game in terms of pressing, it isn't as intense as the beginning of the season, but I do believe that there are tactical and physical reasons behind that. A high press that was successful for us at the beginning of the season involves extreme amount of ground to be covered, KR spoke loads about that during pre season. However, with the amount of injuries we have had recently, we have had to rely on either the same players each game or players who aren't 100% or anywhere near as fit as they were at the beginning. Tactically we have had to change that as well because what teams in this league have found out is that we leave huge spaces in the full back areas and centrally when the other centre midfielder (typically been JFC) has pressed, it has left Kashi exposed and the two centre backs. From here, teams hit us down the sides and hurt us. This is something I know from again speaking to people at the club that KR is very cautious about and from watching us closely in this area, however the problem has still happened before, normally when we are in a winning position (1-0) going for another goal.
In the sense of the stop-start drills of working on patterns of play and phases within the game, breaking the game down into smaller chunks and managing the game that way - I can't speak for KR or anyone on this as I don't know but what I do know is that they've worked tirelessly on this system, it isn't paying off at the moment for a variety of reasons, but I am confident it will pick up. KR also does a ton of sessions in training with a smaller dimension of pitch, working in tight spaces and working on the phases in sections of the pitch, it is however hard to replicate in a match when the opposition don't allow us to always play how we want to and have different styles and approaches to how the team would be working on it offensively and defensively in training. You could argue that as one of the bigger teams in the league, we need to be enforcing our style and dominance on the games, and I do agree, I think KR also realises we could and should be doing better right now, but things don't always work as simple and well as we had hoped and planned, no matter how well it has been worked on.
Get Fosu on one side and Mavididi on the other and I'm sure we'll start to play more of the game in the opposition half. Both have a good touch, power and pace. Fosu has been a big miss during the bad spell.
This is all fixtures, so Fosu may not have played in all of them:
Up to and including MK Dons at home (Fosu's last game for us)
W:13; D 4; L5; Win % 59
Since Fosu has been out of the side:
W:3; D 3; L: 6; Win % 25
Not saying that is all down to Fosu's absence, but him getting injured does seem to coincide with when our form started to change. We have missed his ability carry the ball out of defence, keeping possession and starting counter attacks, as well as his goals.
To add to that had Marshall been the player we hoped for we wouldn't have missed Fosu so much. Still early days for him and the same can be said for Reeves.
Get Fosu on one side and Mavididi on the other and I'm sure we'll start to play more of the game in the opposition half. Both have a good touch, power and pace. Fosu has been a big miss during the bad spell.
This is all fixtures, so Fosu may not have played in all of them:
Up to and including MK Dons at home (Fosu's last game for us)
W:13; D 4; L5; Win % 59
Since Fosu has been out of the side:
W:3; D 3; L: 6; Win % 25
Not saying that is all down to Fosu's absence, but him getting injured does seem to coincide with when our form started to change. We have missed his ability carry the ball out of defence, keeping possession and starting counter attacks, as well as his goals.
To add to that had Marshall been the player we hoped for we wouldn't have missed Fosu so much. Still early days for him and the same can be said for Reeves.
Fosu was brought in as backup to Marshall, I know which one I would rather play
Ok, back on topic after today. I'm not Kashis greatest fan but today it showed that it is the Kashi role and not the player that has been the problem for a while.
Today he let the CBs play the ball across the back and didn't drop too deep 'interfering'
This kept our shape in midfield, this must have been Robinson initially and fair play for giving him different instructions.
His tackling was brilliant today, his passing first half was shocking still but second half seemed more relaxed.
An improved player/performance in my eyes today and I think its because he was not covering so much grass wasting energy doing things the keeper and CBs should be doing.
Hope he continues in this form as could be pivotal.
Yeah I noticed he seemed to be playing a bit further up the pitch which I think helped with his performance a bit. I would still much prefer him to be more box to box like he was when he started with us.
In my mind I remember being impressed with him initially mainly because of the quality of his tackling, and that he'd sit quite far back breaking up attacks.
In my mind I remember being impressed with him initially mainly because of the quality of his tackling, and that he'd sit quite far back breaking up attacks.
Under Luzon....no. He was up and down the pitch. Not as good but a similar role to Scott Parker. One minute heading out of his own box, next minute getting on the ball further up the pitch.
In my mind I remember being impressed with him initially mainly because of the quality of his tackling, and that he'd sit quite far back breaking up attacks.
Under Luzon....no. He was up and down the pitch. Not as good but a similar role to Scott Parker. One minute heading out of his own box, next minute getting on the ball further up the pitch.
Ah, that's fair. I'm obviously mistaken!
For some reason, he really stood out for me as a good tackler with a keen eye for breaking up attacks.
It's clear that he's well suited to moving up the pitch though, and it sounds like he's had a good afternoon!
In my mind I remember being impressed with him initially mainly because of the quality of his tackling, and that he'd sit quite far back breaking up attacks.
Under Luzon....no. He was up and down the pitch. Not as good but a similar role to Scott Parker. One minute heading out of his own box, next minute getting on the ball further up the pitch.
Ah, that's fair. I'm obviously mistaken!
For some reason, he really stood out for me as a good tackler with a keen eye for breaking up attacks.
It's clear that he's well suited to moving up the pitch though, and it sounds like he's had a good afternoon!
He's not going to hit many killer passes but he'll keep things going higher up the pitch. Plus he reads it well and where better than to win loose balls than in the oppo half?
I said in the "will we miss Ricky" thread, that we could compensate for his loss by better utilising Kashi further up the pitch. We saw that after Fosu came on yesterday. Rather than Kashi constantly playing square balls to the fullbacks, he was instead feeding balls to Fosu and Marshall in the oppositions half who in turn could do some damage by attacking the box and bringing Mavididi into play. Kashi and Holmes are very different players, but by playing in this way with Kashi further forward, we may actually be more effective than we were by relying so much on Holmes.
Ok, back on topic after today. I'm not Kashis greatest fan but today it showed that it is the Kashi role and not the player that has been the problem for a while.
Today he let the CBs play the ball across the back and didn't drop too deep 'interfering'
This kept our shape in midfield, this must have been Robinson initially and fair play for giving him different instructions.
His tackling was brilliant today, his passing first half was shocking still but second half seemed more relaxed.
An improved player/performance in my eyes today and I think its because he was not covering so much grass wasting energy doing things the keeper and CBs should be doing.
Hope he continues in this form as could be pivotal.
Exactly, why KR has had him running back to collect the ball from the keeper and to then knock it side wards to a defender is one of life's footballing mysteries.
We have had so many different pairings at the centre of defence this year,and some form of protection has been needed.Kashi is an excellent reader of the game,and time and time again,wins tackles,and makes vital interceptions.I would love to see how good he is if he played a more advanced role,but for now he is doing a great job.
We have had so many different pairings at the centre of defence this year,and some form of protection has been needed.Kashi is an excellent reader of the game,and time and time again,wins tackles,and makes vital interceptions.I would love to see how good he is if he played a more advanced role,but for now he is doing a great job.
Comments
Up to and including MK Dons at home (Fosu's last game for us)
W:13; D 4; L5; Win % 59
Since Fosu has been out of the side:
W:3; D 3; L: 6; Win % 25
Not saying that is all down to Fosu's absence, but him getting injured does seem to coincide with when our form started to change. We have missed his ability carry the ball out of defence, keeping possession and starting counter attacks, as well as his goals.
Speaking of which, I talked in my post above about how we're missing JFC and Clarke and an in form Reeves (which we haven't really seen) because all are comfortable picking the ball up in tight spaces. The same is true of Fosu. I think we lose a lot when Holmes plays in the 10 role because it's not natural to him. I know it's designed to give him more freedom, but I also think it tends to coincide with him drifting out of the game. On Saturday he and Mav were looking to interchange a lot, which was part of what was a good opening 20 minutes as it gave both a bit of freedom and while he's not a natural 10, Mav like Fosu can pick the ball up deep in tight spaces and make something out of nothing.
In the sense of the stop-start drills of working on patterns of play and phases within the game, breaking the game down into smaller chunks and managing the game that way - I can't speak for KR or anyone on this as I don't know but what I do know is that they've worked tirelessly on this system, it isn't paying off at the moment for a variety of reasons, but I am confident it will pick up. KR also does a ton of sessions in training with a smaller dimension of pitch, working in tight spaces and working on the phases in sections of the pitch, it is however hard to replicate in a match when the opposition don't allow us to always play how we want to and have different styles and approaches to how the team would be working on it offensively and defensively in training. You could argue that as one of the bigger teams in the league, we need to be enforcing our style and dominance on the games, and I do agree, I think KR also realises we could and should be doing better right now, but things don't always work as simple and well as we had hoped and planned, no matter how well it has been worked on.
I'm not Kashis greatest fan but today it showed that it is the Kashi role and not the player that has been the problem for a while.
Today he let the CBs play the ball across the back and didn't drop too deep 'interfering'
This kept our shape in midfield, this must have been Robinson initially and fair play for giving him different instructions.
His tackling was brilliant today, his passing first half was shocking still but second half seemed more relaxed.
An improved player/performance in my eyes today and I think its because he was not covering so much grass wasting energy doing things the keeper and CBs should be doing.
Hope he continues in this form as could be pivotal.
Clearly he enjoyed the advanced role more and when he first joined us, he looked a great player in a 442.
In my mind I remember being impressed with him initially mainly because of the quality of his tackling, and that he'd sit quite far back breaking up attacks.
For some reason, he really stood out for me as a good tackler with a keen eye for breaking up attacks.
It's clear that he's well suited to moving up the pitch though, and it sounds like he's had a good afternoon!