oafc1955 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I'm pretty sure Kevin Blackwell would have swopped 7 or 8 of his players for ours before last nights game. Croft and Derbyshire are Championship players and Wabara and Baxter also wouldn't look out of place in a higher division Why is it that this team is in the lower half of the league and we constantly struggle to put three wins together. I like Dickov and he has many admirable qualities, however, apart from the first couple of months we have failed to perform consistently well for any period throughout the whole of his tenure at this club. We play well when we are allowed to do so ( which is not very often ) but when we are not allowed any time on the ball ( as was the case last night ) we seem totally devoid of ideas and struggle to change our style of play. This has been the pattern for over 2 years and no matter who wears the shirts the end result is nearly always the same. Baxter said this week that he loves it here and that everything at the club is top drawer.......Wabara, Derbyshire, and Croft have said similar things in recent weeks and it is a glowing testament to Dickov's ability that he can firstly entice and then manage to keep such talented players at the club. Why is it then that ( even though we have probably the best bunch of players we have had for many years ) we still fail to perform in the vast majority of our games. Do we have the right mix, does Dickov have the tactical awareness, and more importantly, would a more experienced manager be able to get this team winning on a regular basis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killens_physio Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I'm pretty sure Kevin Blackwell would have swopped 7 or 8 of his players for ours before last nights game. Croft and Derbyshire are Championship players and Wabara and Baxter also wouldn't look out of place in a higher division Why is it that this team is in the lower half of the league and we constantly struggle to put three wins together. I like Dickov and he has many admirable qualities, however, apart from the first couple of months we have failed to perform consistently well for any period throughout the whole of his tenure at this club. We play well when we are allowed to do so ( which is not very often ) but when we are not allowed any time on the ball ( as was the case last night ) we seem totally devoid of ideas and struggle to change our style of play. This has been the pattern for over 2 years and no matter who wears the shirts the end result is nearly always the same. Baxter said this week that he loves it here and that everything at the club is top drawer.......Wabara, Derbyshire, and Croft have said similar things in recent weeks and it is a glowing testament to Dickov's ability that he can firstly entice and then manage to keep such talented players at the club. Why is it then that ( even though we have probably the best bunch of players we have had for many years ) we still fail to perform in the vast majority of our games. Do we have the right mix, does Dickov have the tactical awareness, and more importantly, would a more experienced manager be able to get this team winning on a regular basis? Last night was a classic example of other teams doing their homework on us. Stop us playing at a high tempo by pressing high up the pitch and cut off any supply to both Baxter and Derbyshire. By pressing us, as we have seen on countless occasions this season, we are prone to making mistakes and when teams do this to us we dont seem to have an answer and start playing it long. Derbyshire is a willing runner but on so many occasions yesterday he was chasing lost causes as the pass/hoof was often overhit/overhoofed. There is no denying that when we get the ball down and start to pass and move we are far more effective. All to often we resort to the same tactics as our opponents who have come with the intention of stopping us playing. We were on fire under Shez when we were allowed to play, as we were under Dickov, but once teams suss us out then we become so predictable and start with hitting and hoping again. I lost count of the amount of times we tried that long ball in the hope that Simmo would win the header, but bar the odd one he didnt win a thing. Its the same old thing though, how much can the manager change once those players cross the white line? All you can give them is instructions and ask them to carry them out. If its not working then its the managers job to change this. There is rarely an excuse for not wanting it as much as your opponents and last night was the case. Bury came with a gameplan and for them it worked. We should have the players to deal with this as we do have some class players for this level, but if you arent up for it you can have all the talent in the world, but you will get turned over. As someone said in an earlier thread, Baxter looked pleased to come off and clearly didnt fancy it yesterday. At this level good players will get kicked but we have enough quality in the side to counteract that. Sadly Dickov's tactics if we are losing with 20 mins to go is throw Matt Smith on (who i actually think improved us yesterday as he was winning things in the air) and hope for the best. It was a poor performance against a poor side........but how many more times do we need to say it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIKI1234 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Last night was a classic example of other teams doing their homework on us. Do we do our homework though? This is where i think Dickov is severly lacking! This along with our plan B, taking off a defender and putting Matt Smith on. Its pretty much the same change every time we are losing no matter who the oppsoition. We make the same sub for every situation. If only you could put money on the next sub and time, you could make a fortune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killens_physio Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Do we do our homework though? This is where i think Dickov is severly lacking! This along with our plan B, taking off a defender and putting Matt Smith on. Its pretty much the same change every time we are losing no matter who the oppsoition. We make the same sub for every situation. If only you could put money on the next sub and time, you could make a fortune Im sure we do do our homework, but I just dont think Dickov knows necessarily how to put that into action. It may be inexperience or it may be naivity who knows. Sometimes I just feel as if we turn up with one plan which is to play them off the park and if it doesnt work he is hoping for something to happen. To be fair to PD, you cant legislate for incidents last the og last night, nor crap backpasses or defensive mistakes like we saw against Walsall, but what he can dictate is the tempo and the tactics, especially at home. Its not a new problem for Latics though is it? How many times over the years have we seen us take good teams apart only to then serve up total dross like last night against the poorer teams in the league. If we are doing our homework and sending scouts and what have you to watch the opposition then two questions need to be asked. Are these scouts tactically aware enough to spot weaknesses in our opponents and if not then why are they employed to do that job??!!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 It may be inexperience At what point does a manager in is third season become experienced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlossopLatic Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I don't think this is a good team certainly not one to get us promotion. Their are a few good individuals but as a squad collectively its not particularly strong certainly not good enough to be getting anywhere near the top 6. If the top sides play poorly or if 1 or 2 of their best players underperfom then they still have it in them to dig out a win because their bench is often strong, and if you have a strong bench then you usually have an effective plan B. We said this type of think under Moore, Sheridan, and Penney (though in the latters case I don't think their was even a plan A) So I'm sticking with my prediction at start of the season and have been through some good performances which we will be a lower half team. I ultimately think that somewhat sadly Paul Dickov will pay for it with his job then the next guy will come in and we will have the same problel and the cycle will continue until we find a way to fund not just a few good individuals but a good squad. Which is why my big hope for this season is that the stand and its add ons get the go ahead and we start building it next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hands on Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I don't subscribe to the idea that we lose to better tactics. Did we really give the passing game a chance? It doesn't have to be high tempo, we just have to keep the ball. The long ball has to be used but not so often. The job of our manager is not simply to keep the players happy. Players will be happy if their team is winning. Derbyshire was clearly unhappy about our failure to use his potential. An injured Baxter was left on the pitch and once again, because of the long ball, we improved when Smith came on. I'm unhappy because we are back in the relegation battle rather than six points higher up the table which with these players is where we should be. The most obvious ability in our coaching staff is how to stop our players playing to their potential. Our "goals against" is not bad at 17 in 15 games but "goals for" 16 in 15 is dire particularly when you take into account that Baxter and Derbyshire have 9 of these. 6 from the rest of the team, one own goal, is not good enough. January to the end of the season is going to a very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP1960 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 The manager has never resolved a major problem with his teams - the lack of movement, Bury showed how it's done last night. Latics players often stand like statues waiting for the ball, resembling a row of traffic cones. Throw ins are a disgrace, always taken short with players looking bemused, can no one on the team throw the ball more than 2 yards ? Until the movement issue is resolved I am afraid more displays like last night will follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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