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- Thread starter Trev_GFC
- Start date
I don't understand this. I don't mean your post, I mean the underlying content.
Just tell defenders to never concede and drill strikers to score?
They don't need the same message.
Personally I think trying to hold on to 1-0s is silly. I'd rather be an attacking team winning 5-2, knowing we can always score, than being 1-0 up and worrying every time the other side get a corner late on.
GillsBluenose
Vital Football Hero
I would normally agree but, in our case, there has not been a need to worry, because so far generally we have not been conceding after taking a 1-0 lead, Morecambe excepted.
Yes, by all means keep probing for the second goal, but we also need to keep our shape and structure. Essentially, you do need a clean sheet mentality, like when we only conceded 20 in 46 games to get out of this division under Pulis.
NH mentions it during this interview:
Gillingham manager looking to get the right balance
Gillingham manager Neil Harris is still working on getting the balance right at both ends of the pitch.
nibbles
Vital Football Hero
NH has repeatedly said that we score goals as a team, concede as a team and keep clean sheets as a team.
Letting the defenders defend and the attackers attack is a simplistic ideology not shared by many if any successful managers - perhaps in years gone by but not now. Attackers that aren’t willing to carry out their defensive duties don’t get picked.
I’d prefer to win 5-2 than 1-0 too but I’d also prefer to win 1-0 than draw 1-1 or lose a game we’ve gone ahead in. Having said that, I do believe we have seen a slight shift already in attacking/defensive mindset the results of which we’ll see play out.
ARFUR CONNELL
Vital Reserves Team
Thank goodness N.H. reads these pages.
Trying to score 5 goals every week is more silly id say. We would get regularly beaten in high scoring matches as teams pick us off Hess leant that way a bit for Two years in this league and we never even made the play offs.
Keeping a clean sheet is much more achievable. Boring to be sure but much more effective in getting results. Plus as nibbles says we are also showing signs of more attacking ambition. Need to keep the balance though.
Trev_GFC
Vital 1st Team Regular
Mansfield Town have published their most recent accounts. It still amazes me that they have 6,000 season ticket holders, but it seems they’re technically insolvent and relying on loans from their owners.
LancsGordoRoad
Vital Champions League
Broadly agree, nibbles - especially the defending-as-a-team remark. Though, when clubs sign centre-forwards with a view to them actually bagging most of the goals, the cost is (usually) higher for a reason.
Hopefully, we`ll sharpen up our spearhead, IMO we`ve still a gap to fill.
We need midfield players who understand that they are allowed to pass the ball forward, as well as back. Against Morecombe a midfielder either Shaun Williams or Scott Malone both received the ball inside the centre circle. Nadeson both times started a run towards goal and twice said midfielder passed it towards the back four. Harris was doing his nut on the touchline.
Surely they don't have that many season-ticket holders. Last season was the first time since 1978 their average attendance has reached 6,000.
Below I have pasted the results for the last 3 weeks of matches. 9 out of 72 teams kept clean sheets. This is 12.5%.
In other words, the probability of conceding at least one goal is 87.5%.
So playing for a 1-0 win is not a smart idea.
nibbles
Vital Football Hero
I’m really not a fan of your logic.
You seem to be suggesting that the chance of us keeping a clean sheet is one in eight (12.5%) based on the clean sheet percentages of all teams in the division.
In the league we have kept clean sheets in 5 out of 9 games (55.6%). I’d strongly suggest that is more indicative of our chances of keeping a clean sheet than the division-wide average.
In 1995/96 did the inability of other teams to keep clean sheets mean we also weren’t able to? No.
Besides which, I wouldn’t say we are setting out with a game plan to win every game 1-0. We have the clean sheet mentality and first goal mentality which is a good recipe for winning a fair proportion of games 1-0 but feel it’s only a matter of time before we open up a two goal lead at some point.
jokerman
Vital Football Hero
I’m not sure of this but by lumping all games with scores, does not that suggest that a 1 nil win to the Gills contributes to case for them not setting up to keep a clean sheet which, if so, it’s daft.
Your sample size is 9. That's too small.
In every match even the weakest of sides will get opportunities. So whether we keep a clean sheet isn't down to how good our defence is. It's whether the other side takes their opportunities. In other words, to some extent it's out of our control.
The statistics suggest overall most teams concede every game.
So to think we can win games without conceding is not smart.
EDIT:
Let me clarify something. I do believe at the end of the season the team with the best defence will have the fewest foals conceded. However, this is not the same as saying they won't concede a goal every/other match.
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OneSirKeefy
Vital Football Hero
Say what??
Keeping a clean sheet isn’t down to a good defence?
Can someone help me please. What am I missing?
We won’t lose any tho. I think it’s a great mindset to have.
I get your overall point, we need to score more. But not conceding (or at least trying for that) I’d say is the basis of most FL teams. Especially those, like us, that aren’t scoring heaps.
Much better than going into a game thinking “who cares if we concede”. Only the most attacking or very best sides in history have had the mindset that “we’ll just score more than them”. We’ve had one ultra attacking side under my namesake and another under Hess. Unfortunately neither got us promoted.
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GillsBluenose
Vital Football Hero
Don't know why we bothered to sign Masterson from QPR and Malone from Millwall.
We might as well have signed a couple of non league defenders, knowing the opposition will "get opportunities" anyway
We might as well have signed a couple of non league defenders, knowing the opposition will "get opportunities" anyway
nibbles
Vital Football Hero
So how do you explain Leyton Orient keeping 24 clean sheets last season? Nothing is completely in any team’s control (there are two teams going at it in each match) but some team’s WILL keep more clean sheets than others just as others WILL score more - by your logic everyone will end up scoring and conceding roughly the same.
Your sample is irrelevant though. Based on your logic there’s a 17% chance that if the wife and I have another baby it will be Chinese.
Whisky Gill
Vital Youth Team
It's hard to stop conceding foals when you're having a mare though. We just need a stable defence.
nibbles
Vital Football Hero
No coincidence most of our clean sheets have come with Max Neighmer in the team.
jogills
Vital Football Hero
I'm not sure about the statistics but my .memory and experience does tell me one thing. It's a long time since a team succeeded with the philosophy of we'll score more than you. A leaky defence demands lots of goals up top and they cost fees and salaries.
Sir Keith came closest to success with a buccaneering approach. That:s once in every 50 years and it was a nearly moment, it was a great moment mind.
Sir Keith came closest to success with a buccaneering approach. That:s once in every 50 years and it was a nearly moment, it was a great moment mind.
