Lack of goal threat from open play | Page 2 | Vital Football

Lack of goal threat from open play

I don't see how you can put all the blame on recruitment.
Nadesan player of the year at Crawley, here zilch.
Lapslie highly rated by Nigel Clough, here not much.
Hawkins also rated by Clough, here he looks slow and ineffective.
Nichols a good player with Crawley, gets here and struggles.
It's does not seem recruitment's at fault it looks like something is wrong here.
 
The Roone said:
I don't see how you can put all the blame on recruitment.
Nadesan player of the year at Crawley, here zilch.
Lapslie highly rated by Nigel Clough, here not much.
Hawkins also rated by Clough, here he looks slow and ineffective.
Nichols a good player with Crawley, gets here and struggles.
It's does not seem recruitment's at fault it looks like something is wrong here.
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You could also blame lack of creativity from midfield.
But the fact remains none of our attacking signings are prolific goalscorers player of the year or not.
 
Second half yesterday there were lots of shots blocked but we're not just talking about 2nd half yesterday, it's a pattern isn't it
 
The Roone said:
I don't see how you can put all the blame on recruitment.
Nadesan player of the year at Crawley, here zilch.
Lapslie highly rated by Nigel Clough, here not much.
Hawkins also rated by Clough, here he looks slow and ineffective.
Nichols a good player with Crawley, gets here and struggles.
It's does not seem recruitment's at fault it looks like something is wrong here.
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So where were Crawley placed in the League Two Table when we signed Nichols and Nads?

I am not sure where Mansfield were placed in the League Two when we signed the Hawk and Lapslie, but they finished eighth.

Where are we in the League Two table now?

Those were the only 4 that were regularly getting games at their old clubs, until we signed J Williams and Hutton from League Two mid table Swindon. Basically, the money invested in players so far is sufficient to get us where we are now.

Coaching and improving players or making the team better than the sum of its parts seems to be the key, and that does not yet seem to be showing.
 
A quick, unscientific, review of the BBC stats for League 2 matches on Saturday, shows that the Gills had more shots (26) than any other team apart from Stockport, who won 1-0.

That suggests we’re creating opportunities but not taking them, or shooting from long distance. Our creative players might be providing good passes but they’re not being finished. An assist is only an assist if we score!

Would be interesting to compare number of shots throughout season.
 
Certainly I see our players want to take an extra touch before releasing a goal bound effort. In that split second the chance is usually gone.
The best forwards have the confidence to try and hit the ball first time before a defender has chance to block or a keeper has time to settle.
Increased possibility too, of a keeper parrying or fumbling a shot and a second chance for anyone with the foresight and speed to follow up.
There, solved it!!
 
Vambogills said:
Certainly I see our players want to take an extra touch before releasing a goal bound effort. In that split second the chance is usually gone.
The best forwards have the confidence to try and hit the ball first time before a defender has chance to block or a keeper has time to settle.
Increased possibility too, of a keeper parrying or fumbling a shot and a second chance for anyone with the foresight and speed to follow up.
There, solved it!!
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Err, I think your post and the previous one from londongills are a bit contradictory.

26 shots registered on Saturday and one goal maybe suggests we ARE shooting from unrealistic ranges or positions
 
GillsBluenose said:
Personally, I think one of the issues is that we do not have enough players that are willing to carry the ball.

SC initially seemed to want to play a passing game and I particularly remember the Tranmere away game where it looked like our players were happy to let the ball do the work with short passes, often sideways, and Tranmere players looked happy to watch us do that, knowing that was not going to cut them open.

We need a mixture where players break from that pattern and travel with the ball, as well as deliver crosses and forward/long passes. At least Mahoney and Hutton are certainly capable of doing that but are as inconsistent as the rest.

Although we have clearly not seen enough of him, I really think Hurtado's approach would also have given us something different, and more goals, but due to his "style" his team mates may struggle to anticipate when he intends to deliver the ball to them.
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"We need a mixture where players break from that pattern and travel with the ball,"

Possession is important - along with accurate passing.

But too many times a player has space to move forwards - and doesn't.
Instead, he foots his foot on the ball (Ogie like !) - and looks around for someone to pass to.

By which time the defence has adjusted....
...so sideways - and backwards - and sideways - and so on.

How we love it when the oppo forwards back off and Ogie makes a run....
....but that is so rare. (not sure Ogie did that once versus Tranmere)

"travelling with the ball" changes the dynamic and opens possibilities as team-mates come into view.

The first half was ponderous, allowing the defence time to reset.

Whereas in the second half there were more quicker releases into a dangerous area, causing panic in the defence.

Is that the players or instructions ?
 
SE1_Gills said:
Two of them helped get us out of the shite last season.
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True, SE1. We all were and are, no doubt, very happy about it. Everyone concerned did a great job and we`ll be forever thankful. Recruitment for the job in hand was good, especially given the timings of the "windows" and our poor league standing as an obstacle to "attracting" new players. But, moving on, it`s fair to ponder that staying up and going up are two different journeys.

I think what irks some is our apparent failure to address our stated promotion ambition with a commensurate upgrade where it arguably counts the most - up front. The proof of the pudding is clear in this regard.

There`s little doubt that we`ve been trying to address the void, our owners have said as much, our coaches have said as much. Perhaps, alongside injuries, we`ve just had a long string of bad luck. I guess we`ll find out at the end of the season when the Gallinson`s will have the benefit of a steep learning curve behind them.
 
My penny worth and I think it's a combo of things:

Not enough pace in the team to get up the pitch quick enough - this has been an issue for a while, so I guess recruitment does need to take the brunt of that one.

Not enough desire in the team - other teams in this league, even lower than us, have exceptional work rate, and will be on the opposition from minute 1 even from the lads up front - as good as Hawkins is at other things, he doesn't do this, and neither do the midfield. It means we don't cause mistakes in the opposition, we don't contest 50/50's and win possession back much - we just look sluggish, we also don't drive at teams when we are in possession and stretch them. Hard to know who to apportion blame to here - the players clearly need to find it in themselves more, but it could be an element of us being set up like it, or them simply not having the raw attributes to do it.

Part of me thinks the above is born out of signing a reasonable amount of older lads in our hour of need last season, and them being happy in league 2 earning well.

No confidence - even the lads who have a lot of what is needed in their lockers already, take an extra touch etc, when shooting or attempting to be creative.

Lack of anyone in the BMS - this only goes so far though, under Clemence (home and away) we haven't scored in 17 first halves, not every game is played facing the BMS first half.

I think a squad overhaul is needed personally, my gut feel is Clemence is doing and trying to coach the right things, but many don't care enough or don't have the raw attributes, I would focus more on an up and coming squad hungry for success and trying to forge a career, rather than signing lads who have already had one (a few good older experienced heads aside, like Ehmer or Morris etc).

It is a huge testament to our defensive players that we are 7th.
 
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The shortage of goals from open play is the worst I've known in half a century of supporting the Gills. Definitely a pace issue - not just in individual players, but also how ponderous we are in shifting the ball. For example - don't pass it between the back 5 several times if you're then going to lump it anyway. By then, the opponents are completely set. It's a total waste of time. You might as well go long straight away.

We're just too easy to defend against - especially as we don't run at teams. The lack of penalties awarded to us reflects that too.

This is firmly at the door of our recruiting team, who've completely failed to sort this. If I was Brad I'd be asking questions. I just hope Clemence is brave enough to demand it's addressed properly in the summer.
 
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markinkent said:
I'm guessing stewarding/segregation of the away fans facilities is the issue. Would the income cover the costs especially as crowds may fall away along with hopes of promotion.

Something they should look into especially if we have hopes of better crowds next season.
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You're right, Joe Compe has confirmed exactly that.
 
EagerExile said:
The shortage of goals from open play is the worst I've known in half a century of supporting the Gills. Definitely a pace issue - not just in individuals players, but also how ponderous we are in shifting the ball. For example - don't pass it between the back 5 several times if you're then going to lump it anyway. By then, the opponents are completely set. It's a total waste of time. You might as well go long straight away.

We're just too easy to defend against - especially as we don't run at teams. The lack of penalties awarded to us reflects that too.

This is firmly at the door of our recruiting team, who've completely failed to sort this. If I was Brad I'd be asking questions. I just hope Clemence is brave enough to demand it's addressed properly in the summer.
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All defenders will tell you that they hate players running at them.
They are usually content if they can play with their backs to their own goal.
If you can turn them, they are often in trouble.
With a pacy runner, the defender has an immediate decision to make.
Try the tackle?
Good if they win the ball or do enough to unsettle the forward ?
Commit and possibly let the forward go by.
I was hoping that Clarke would be the guy to come on as an impact sub and run with the ball
(Johnny Hodge)
So far, he hasn’t.
The last player we had who did it was Jordan Graham.
 
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