John Eustace - our head coach

[Lytham Rover]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

We don't play hoofball under Eustace. 

Eustace has made the defence tighten and more of an unit now then this season. Its effective. 

Also it is overplayed that all Norwich had to do was just played in behind McFadzean. It happened a couple of times cos we pressed much higher up yesterday 

 

The king is dead, long live the king.

[Exiled_Rover]

2 hours ago, tomphil said:

We warned the keeper situation would cost us and it did no doubts about it and there is a whole host of people to blame for that.

Ironically Leo is probably the last one.

I don't think Pears is playing any better than Wahlstedt. The return of Gallagher and the addition of McFazdean means we're actually winning headers at set pieces again. We were losing every aerial duel in the box for months before that, which was why we were shipping goals. 

[Mattyblue]

Can’t agree. If Pears had not got injured my view is the December onwards collapse would not have been as severe. Defences operate on confidence and ours fell to pieces from Sheff Wed onwards and a major part of that was the bloke behind them’s game ending up in tatters, due to his hesitancy, inability to, you know, catch the ball and all manner of howlers.

And I say that as someone who thinks Pears is bang average at best, but that fella was another level.

Edited February 25 by Mattyblue

[NeilInBristol]

6 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

I don't think Pears is playing any better than Wahlstedt. The return of Gallagher and the addition of McFazdean means we're actually winning headers at set pieces again. We were losing every aerial duel in the box for months before that, which was why we were shipping goals. 

In the championship

Pears 16 games  26 goals conceded

Wahlstead 19 games 29 goals conceded

according to

https://footystats.org/players/england/aynsley-pears

 

Edited February 25 by NeilInBristol
Typo

[simongarnerisgod]

i only base my opinion on what i see on the pitch,pears is an average goalkeeper but  superior to wahlstadt,who is a complete basket case on a par with walton

i think it was brian clough who said "nobody can lose you a game quicker than the goalkeeper,always buy the best you can afford"

[arbitro]

5 minutes ago, NeilInBristol said:

In the championship

Pears 16 games  26 goals conceded

Wahlstead 19 games 29 goals conceded

according to

https://footystats.org/players/england/aynsley-pears

 

24 of the goals conceded by Wahlstedt were from December 2nd which is the period being referred to.

[NeilInBristol]

1 minute ago, simongarnerisgod said:

i only base my opinion on what i see on the pitch,pears is an average goalkeeper but  superior to wahlstadt,who is a complete basket case on a par with walton

i think it was brian clough who said "nobody can lose you a game quicker than the goalkeeper,always buy the best you can afford"

Interestingly in transfermrkt Leo is valued at over 2m pears valued at 900k

Both have similar stats on transfermarkt too

Neither as good as TK.

Wonder what JE thinks and if he would have his own ideas to replace these two this summer 

[Exiled_Rover]

Just now, arbitro said:

24 of the goals conceded by Wahlstedt were from December 2nd which is the period being referred to.

When we were losing every aerial duel in the box - we only had Hyam and Carter / S. Wharton who could win a header on the pitch. 

He's a better shot stopper and better positionally than Pears. Pears was in another post code for that Norwich free kick yesterday, and he literally kicked one into his own net against PNE - but nobody seems to bother criticising him for that. 

[NeilInBristol]

1 minute ago, Exiled_Rover said:

When we were losing every aerial duel in the box - we only had Hyam and Carter / S. Wharton who could win a header on the pitch. 

He's a better shot stopper and better positionally than Pears. Pears was in another post code for that Norwich free kick yesterday, and he literally kicked one into his own net against PNE - but nobody seems to bother criticising him for that. 

yep.

the replays for the free kick are horrible watching.

will JE comment on him/Leo? wonder if the media will ask about the GK situation in the near future, JE appeared to avoid the question on the free kick yesterday.

 

 

 

 

[simongarnerisgod]

2 minutes ago, NeilInBristol said:

Interestingly in transfermrkt Leo is valued at over 2m pears valued at 900k

Both have similar stats on transfermarkt too

Neither as good as TK.

Wonder what JE thinks and if he would have his own ideas to replace these two this summer 

id`e be dipping into the miniscule transfer fund to buy the rotherham keeper johanson,he looks very solid,he`s to good for league one and rotherham will want him off the wage bill,thats is rotherham do go down,which is very likely

[CambridgeRover]

I saw Wahlstedt  single handedly turn a 1-0 win at home to Watford to a 1-2 loss. It was incredible to see.

Wahlsedt is horrendous, so much worse than Pears that it is frankly laughable to suggest he is better than Pears at anything

He really was that bad. I personally believe he cost us at least 9 points on his own.

[Tony Rover]

We’ve had some good keepers over the years but it’s sad to see the downgrade. Would have Pears over Leo, still can’t believe how much we paid for him. Still boils my piss thinking how cheaply we sold Raya and Kaminski for. If you trust your keeper then that confidence will spread across the team. From December last year we could see that wasn’t there unfortunately.

[arbitro]

1 minute ago, Exiled_Rover said:

When we were losing every aerial duel in the box - we only had Hyam and Carter / S. Wharton who could win a header on the pitch. 

He's a better shot stopper and better positionally than Pears. Pears was in another post code for that Norwich free kick yesterday, and he literally kicked one into his own net against PNE - but nobody seems to bother criticising him for that. 

He was criticised for the Preston goal and to crticise Pears for the goal yesterday is doing a massive disservice to a terrifically well placed free kick. I don't believe Wahlstedt has any aspect of his play that is better than Pears. They both have weaknesses but for me Pears inspires much more confidence amongst the players and supporters.

[NeilInBristol]

Just now, CambridgeRover said:

I saw Wahlstedt  single handedly turn a 1-0 win at home to Watford to a 1-2 loss. It was incredible to see.

Wahlsedt is horrendous, so much worse than Pears that it is frankly laughable to suggest he is better than Pears at anything

He really was that bad. I personally believe he cost us at least 9 points on his own.

many would agree

Since McFadz has been in the side  (and Gally returning) we seem to be winning more headers, would he do any better with a better defence?

would be interested to see if JE picks him for newcastle 

 

 

[simongarnerisgod]

7 minutes ago, CambridgeRover said:

I saw Wahlstedt  single handedly turn a 1-0 win at home to Watford to a 1-2 loss. It was incredible to see.

Wahlsedt is horrendous, so much worse than Pears that it is frankly laughable to suggest he is better than Pears at anything

He really was that bad. I personally believe he cost us at least 9 points on his own.

we need to cut our losses and offload him,he is`nt going to improve to the level where  he`s reliable,if we get half back on what we spent on him it would be a good deal

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, arbitro said:

I'm honestly not sure what 'hoofball' is. One fundamental difference is that we are putting more crosses in from wide positions and creating chances from them. Pears is kicking it more and defenders aren't taking chances but this 'hoofball' term is derogatory as we are also playing some decent stuff. It's a lazy description and often when a manager gets tagged with it if tends to stick. One of the best footballing teams in Norwich only had 8% more possession than us and only 16 more passes in our half than us in theirs. The had quite a few more passes than us in their own half but to me letting them have the ball there was part of the game plan.

We also had 60% possession at Cardiff, at Preston we only had 36% and 47% at Birmingham. I personally don't think that typifies 'hoofball'.

Pears and the centre backs don't pass around at the back but clear the lines and kick more cos we don't want to take much risk at the back and we set up more pragmatic now whilst playing some decent stuff. 

Set Plays are put into the box and yesterday we show we can score goals from them. 

We didn't do play hoofball as the poster said but we sometimes play balls down the sides of the centre back which turns their defenders and then pushes them back creating spaces for our attacking players. 

52 minutes ago, Lytham Rover said:

The king is dead, long live the king.

I was massive fan of JDT but to be honest, it had reach the end cos he didn't want to be here anymore, Its seems like the players lost confidence in him and maybe him in them. 

I do think he would have taken us to PL if he had been backed in the summer and I was disappointed he wasn't. 

I wish him well in the future. 

[Blow-in]

59 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

 

i think it was brian clough who said "nobody can lose you a game quicker than the goalkeeper,always buy the best you can afford"

That's the problem, we did 😞 

[roversfan99]

4 hours ago, arbitro said:

I'm honestly not sure what 'hoofball' is. One fundamental difference is that we are putting more crosses in from wide positions and creating chances from them. Pears is kicking it more and defenders aren't taking chances but this 'hoofball' term is derogatory as we are also playing some decent stuff. It's a lazy description and often when a manager gets tagged with it if tends to stick. One of the best footballing teams in Norwich only had 8% more possession than us and only 16 more passes in our half than us in theirs. The had quite a few more passes than us in their own half but to me letting them have the ball there was part of the game plan.

We also had 60% possession at Cardiff, at Preston we only had 36% and 47% at Birmingham. I personally don't think that typifies 'hoofball'.

The problem is with the term is as you say it is seen as derogatory but thats more of a symptom of modern day data driven football where everyone is obsessed with playing it out from the back.

It is a subjective term, I only used it as it had already been used, I would probably say direct. Goal kicks lumped forward, the centre backs looking long quickly, usually in the air. IMO and I hope it is a temporary thing, we are too direct at the moment and too one dimensional, there were a few times yesterday where (often McFadzean) a defender would lump it forward nowhere near any of our attackers and just give possession back which caused a few groans. Its not easy on the eye and not overly effective although at a very early stage.

I hope once Eustace has more time, the football becomes less predictable when we attack as we havent created many chances across his 4 games and the ball doesnt need to bypass midfield as much as it does. We only have Gallagher with any physicality and height in attack and even then, he isnt a target man and is probably more suited like Szmodics and Dolan on the counter attack running in behind with the ball quickly going through the midfield rather than over it.

[bigbrandjohn]

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Pears and the centre backs don't pass around at the back but clear the lines and kick more cos we don't want to take much risk at the back and we set up more pragmatic now whilst playing some decent stuff. 

Set Plays are put into the box and yesterday we show we can score goals from them. 

We didn't do play hoofball as the poster said but we sometimes play balls down the sides of the centre back which turns their defenders and then pushes them back creating spaces for our attacking players. 

I was massive fan of JDT but to be honest, it had reach the end cos he didn't want to be here anymore, Its seems like the players lost confidence in him and maybe him in them. 

I do think he would have taken us to PL if he had been backed in the summer and I was disappointed he wasn't. 

I wish him well in the future. 

And Harvey Elliott lifts the Carabao cup.

The kids beat the money men. Building a team of youngsters that can win is a good strategy.

But you need a big Mac or Van Dijyk at the back to give confidence. 

Eustace has to get the best out of our youngsters by building the confidence again and getting the senior players hungry again. 

I think he can do it once we are out of the brown stuff. 

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

The problem is with the term is as you say it is seen as derogatory but thats more of a symptom of modern day data driven football where everyone is obsessed with playing it out from the back.

It is a subjective term, I only used it as it had already been used, I would probably say direct. Goal kicks lumped forward, the centre backs looking long quickly, usually in the air. IMO and I hope it is a temporary thing, we are too direct at the moment and too one dimensional, there were a few times yesterday where (often McFadzean) a defender would lump it forward nowhere near any of our attackers and just give possession back which caused a few groans. Its not easy on the eye and not overly effective although at a very early stage.

I hope once Eustace has more time, the football becomes less predictable when we attack as we havent created many chances across his 4 games and the ball doesnt need to bypass midfield as much as it does. We only have Gallagher with any physicality and height in attack and even then, he isnt a target man and is probably more suited like Szmodics and Dolan on the counter attack running in behind with the ball quickly going through the midfield rather than over it.

I think it's too simplistic to say it's predictable as yesterday we played several different ways particularly in the second half. We went long, tried to play through them and also tried to get in behind. For me that is far from predictable and factor in the first half hour at Preston and probably the last half hour at Cardiff when we were on top by playing a diverse game. I accept that for periods at Preston, Birmingham and Cardiff we were predictable but we defended in the really well for most parts. It's early yet and any new manager needs time to weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of the squad so I am prepared to be patient as I believe we all should be. Three goals conceded in his first three games is an important fact particularly after pretty much everyone said we need to tighten up defensively after conceding an average of nigh on two goals per game.

[roversfan99]

10 minutes ago, arbitro said:

I think it's too simplistic to say it's predictable as yesterday we played several different ways particularly in the second half. We went long, tried to play through them and also tried to get in behind. For me that is far from predictable and factor in the first half hour at Preston and probably the last half hour at Cardiff when we were on top by playing a diverse game. I accept that for periods at Preston, Birmingham and Cardiff we were predictable but we defended in the really well for most parts. It's early yet and any new manager needs time to weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of the squad so I am prepared to be patient as I believe we all should be. Three goals conceded in his first three games is an important fact particularly after pretty much everyone said we need to tighten up defensively after conceding an average of nigh on two goals per game.

I totally take your point and acknowledged it myself about it being early days so I dont doubt that. But I do think in all of the games that we have carried minimal threat and created very few chances per game. 

There is a lot of direct football up either to Gallagher or directly out to the wings where as you say we look to cross more than we used to. We only really have Gallagher as a threat from that route and indeed 2 of the 3 main chances Gallagher had were good headers saved from crosses. I didnt see much getting in behind apart from the Gallagher chance when he had a one on one saved by Gunn. In general though, we keep looking to get the ball from back to front far too quickly and ultimately we usually just concede possession and it is a frustrating watch.

The set pieces have so far only got us the Hyam goal yesterday amidst 3 goals in 4 games but I do forsee that being an area where we now could offer more of a threat as time goes on.

On the flip side we dont look as insecure although as the home team I did see a red flag yesterday as I mentioned of the potential to easily get behind our slow defence and especially McFadzean in the middle.

 

[Exiled_Rover]

2 hours ago, bigbrandjohn said:

And Harvey Elliott lifts the Carabao cup.

The kids beat the money men. Building a team of youngsters that can win is a good strategy.

But you need a big Mac or Van Dijyk at the back to give confidence. 

Eustace has to get the best out of our youngsters by building the confidence again and getting the senior players hungry again. 

I think he can do it once we are out of the brown stuff. 

The money men beat the money men. 

[bigbrandjohn]

55 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

The money men beat the money men. 

I am not so sure you could call the Liverpool subs money men.

As a football fan it gave me enormous pleasure to see very inexperienced players lifting that trophy. Very much down to an extraordinary manager. As someone said, not many managers love their players. Klopp loves his players. 

I may be wrong but I am getting the feeling that Eustace has a deeper bond with the players than JDT did. He seemed more aloof and was more concerned about his own career path. 

What I do know is that money can’t buy a thriving and positive culture in a football club or any organization.

[M_B]

7 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

When we were losing every aerial duel in the box - we only had Hyam and Carter / S. Wharton who could win a header on the pitch. 

He's a better shot stopper and better positionally than Pears. Pears was in another post code for that Norwich free kick yesterday, and he literally kicked one into his own net against PNE - but nobody seems to bother criticising him for that. 

The calls for Wahlstedt to play on here were deafening up until he got in the team. 

I haven't read one comment suggesting he should come back in. 

[NeilInBristol]

7 minutes ago, M_B said:

The calls for Wahlstedt to play on here were deafening up until he got in the team. 

I haven't read one comment suggesting he should come back in. 

He shouldn't be near the team but wonder what JE thinks of him