Match Thread, Preston N.E. v Forest, we must do better. | Page 8 | Vital Football

Match Thread, Preston N.E. v Forest, we must do better.

When you're battling relegation, fans always say you need a bit of luck, the ball going in off Grabban's backside, whatever. Just to get the monkey off your back and raise the spirits.

We had that in spades today - no shots on target beyond a double-touch penalty, they hit the bar twice and Samba makes a couple of good saves. We did make them look really poor in the first half but made virtually no chances from loads of good possession.

Picture on ifollow was abysmal.

Let's hope this is a real turning point.
 
Will.NFFC said:
I come down on him harder than others who can be equally as poor, but for me Cafu is a catalyst for whats wrong with us. He’s slow, he doesn’t move, he doesn’t shoot, let alone score, he goes down easily, he slows the play down.

I really think he’s a bigger problem than people think. We’re in dire need of Freeman coming back but sticking someone else in there in the interim, even if it’s an out of position Lolley. I know Lolley’s been poor but he’ll keep the tempo higher behind a Grabban and make us move the ball quicker.
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Who was on the end of Grabban's pass that led to the penalty?

IMO Cafu is hardly the catalyst, he holds the ball well, is quick, passes nicely and is fairly powerful. If the rest of the team moved quicker for him then he'd have more options.

He does overact whenever there is contact, but if that leads to a yellow card then the advantage is Forest's.
Play acting is ingrained in football, nowadays...sorry, but if the players didn't do the same the advantage is with the opponent.

What about Maguire, kicking Samba following a cross. He stays down pretending he's injured, but jumps to his feet when Sow gives him a little (verbal) dig.
 
Cafu is no world beater but he's certainly not the biggest of our problems right now. Him getting a run of games has actually coincided with our improved form.

I suspect he is currently being played out of position and we'd get more from him in a box-to-box role - i.e. Yates' role - with a natural number 10 in front of him, where he isn't expected to be one of our main creators.
 
ifollow had the Preston commentary, but the ex-player was Paul McKenna so maybe his time at Forest made him more impartial - he agreed that a couple of decisions went Preston's way unfairly in the first half.

But the anguish was extreme when they hit the bar twice and replays showed Grabban might have got a double touch on the penalty. They didn't seem too bothered by Preston players surrounding the ref to protest about every decision, though.
 
Anyway, I don't think there is any doubt that CH knows we need more in attack - he mentions it in pretty much every interview - so I expect we'll have some incomings in that area. Lord knows if the players we target will be any good given this regime's track record, but any new players can hardly make us worse in front of goal.

January also seems to be the first month all season which doesn't have a relentless Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday schedule. Hopefully the extra time on the training ground will lead to some improved performances.

Some winnable games coming up and a real chance to try and climb out of trouble.
 
AdebolaCornflakes said:
Cafu is no world beater but he's certainly not the biggest of our problems right now. Him getting a run of games has actually coincided with our improved form.

I suspect he is currently being played out of position and we'd get more from him in a box-to-box role - i.e. Yates' role - with a natural number 10 in front of him, where he isn't expected to be one of our main creators.
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Five starts from Big Samba returning 9 points from 15...he's critical to the team.
On top of that, two of his other starts (Coventry and Wycombe, admittedly two of the weaker sides in the league) led to wins.
So, 7 out of his 12 games brings 15 points, thats nearly 66% of Forest's league points when he starts a game.
To me, it seems like he's lost some timber, maybe the extra weight was hampering his fitness or making his injuries harder to overcome.

As you say, Cafu may be out of position. For Olympiacos he was more in the 8 or 6 role.
Hopefully, Freeman is back or someone else to play the 10, with Cafu moving back to his more natural position alongside Sow or Yates.
 
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Will.NFFC said:
Thank god for that.

We’re at the point where performances are irrelevant somewhat and we just need points, but my god we were dreadful again.

I’m relieved but it’s difficult to feel positive - there just isn’t anything to really cling to that makes me think we can repeat a game that see’s us win.

I honestly think the manager HAS to change the personnel. Even if it’s not conventional or if the players he brings in aren’t necessarily our best, because the same 11 every week is delivering absolutely nothing.
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"..because the same 11 every week is delivering absolutely nothing."

Nothing apart from a FIVE game unbeaten run and NINE points.
 
Pope John XXIII said:
Really not sure how Cafu really helps us.

We need someone to do that role, but I don't think he is the one.

I would like to see Ameobi out for a bit and replaced with someone who looks interested.

Performance is very disenchanting. You can't see how we are going to get out of this the way we are playing.

But the relegation battle at the moment is unusually poor. A team with our number of points at this stage should be in whole heaps of trouble but we actually have a little breathing space
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He has severe limitations but what he does do he does very well; he finds space, he passes the ball well and he holds the ball up and keeps possession.

The performances we are producing are a direct result of being where we are; people need to be careful what they wish for because attempting to play football out of the mess we are in will not end well.
 
BlackGold said:
Five starts from Big Samba returning 9 points from 15...he's critical to the team.
On top of that, two of his other starts (Coventry and Wycombe, admittedly two of the weaker sides in the league) led to wins.
So, 7 out of his 12 games brings 15 points, thats nearly 66% of Forest's league points when he starts a game.
To me, it seems like he's lost some timber, maybe the extra weight was hampering his fitness or making his injuries harder to overcome.

As you say, Cafu may be out of position. For Olympiacos he was more in the 8 or 6 role.
Hopefully, Freeman is back or someone else to play the 10, with Cafu moving back to his more natural position alongside Sow or Yates.
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I am not Sow's biggest fan; his tackling is criminal at times, but it is like night and day when he does not play; the physical presence provided by Sow and Yates has been the one constant all season - whatever changes Hughton makes I just cannot see him splitting those two up.

I would guess that Freeman will play in the position that Cafu is currently playing in, but that could be three to four weeks away; Hughton stated today that he will not commence training until next week or the week after.
 
mao tse tung said:
He has severe limitations but what he does do he does very well; he finds space, he passes the ball well and he holds the ball up and keeps possession.

The performances we are producing are a direct result of being where we are; people need to be careful what they wish for because attempting to play football out of the mess we are in will not end well.
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But we do need to find goals.

Honestly, we look worse at scoring than we did in any of our previous relegation battles, including the one where we didn't score in the whole of December.
 
Pope John XXIII said:
But we do need to find goals.

Honestly, we look worse at scoring than we did in any of our previous relegation battles, including the one where we didn't score in the whole of December.
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We need a lot more goals, and I have every faith that we will get them; the more the pressure lifts the better we will become, and the more free flowing the football will become.

Alleviating that pressure means picking up points and that will still be a serious battle; the other teams at the bottom are fighting for their lives and most of the other teams for a place in the play offs.

The goals conceded column does not look too bad but the goals scored is pitiful; maybe we will score more once we have another few signings - regardless of who we sign I just cannot see Hughton changing from a set up which is starting to pick up points.

Our start to the season was the thing which inflicted all of the damage; look at the current form table for the last 20 games and we are close to mid table obscurity
 
If we stay up it will be largely due to Worrall, Yates and Grabban. Today everyone was pretty solid, Samba especially will hopefully take some confidence from that.
 
Woanz said:
I stand corrected said the man in the orthopaedic shoes.


I’m sure I’ve seen VAR penalties retaken but that’s probably more because of the keeper coming off his line.
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Slipping when taking a pen is becoming more common. I can't remember it happening "in the old days" when pitches were mud baths at this time of year, I can remember times when they have had to measure out & re mark the penalty spot because no one could find the original in the mud, but can't remember players slipping when taking penalties like they do now. I can only imagine it must be something to do with modern footwear
 
I have slowed it down and blown it up in VLC and he definitely kicks his boot.

Anyway how did those Tims get on today?
 
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