Are either not ready or not good enough at this level. It's too early to tell which for most so early in the season. It's a harsh reality, but one we've got to contend with. There is a caveat to that: they may be good enough if introduced individually into a team of seasoned Championship players, but thrown together as group with no experience out on the field to guide them is so unfair for all of them. Having said that, to defend with such a high line against a team blessed with pace throughout, so a simple ball dropped between the halfway line and our keeper gives them a one on one ever single time it's played is just suicide. There is no way we could win that game with those tactics, no matter who we had in the side.
To persist with the high press in the second half was nonsense. Surely Stendel could see we were just being picked off? The players are struggling at this level for sure, but I think DS is too...
I think history surely tells us that good teams are built from the back. I've tried to think of a team from the last fifty years which wasn't and I can't. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, just that I can't think of one and will stand to be corrected. Our priority must be to be difficult to beat . We go onto the pitch with 1 point to hold on to, that should be our focus and hope against hope that someone up top can nick a goal from somewhere whilst not compromising defensive responsibilities. If that means watching negative football which bores the pants off us all, well so be it. Let defenders concentrate on defending and not risk getting caught upfield, out of position on the break.
In a way I think Stendel is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. It may be worth him changing tactics and packing out the defence in the hope we nick a goal to hang onto but IMO we are not capable of keeping clean sheets. If he goes down this route and we concede an early goal then the plan has gone to sh*t. Our attacking set pieces are abysmal (we may as well not bother) and bar the odd few chances from open we don't look like scoring. Basically at present, we are crap at both ends of the pitch which is giving Stendel very little to work with
Agreed. We need to adapt, particularly when we have the lead in matches. I personally think most of the team is good enough. We showed that in the first 20 minutes, however we can't keep playing like that for 90 minutes & have to be more savvy about winning points the hard way, as teams like Charlton do. Can't play pretty football all the time. Yesterday was a great game for the neutral, but a kick in the teeth for a Barnsley fan.
Think you are right, I don't think it is the players, more the system we are trying to play (look how high Charlton are riding, I don't think they have better players per se). However, it is a bit of a dilemma because in order to progress to the next level (a la Brentford) I personally want to see us persevere with the current system. We could go back to a 'low press' sit back approach, but that will result in years of lower half survival (possibly) & eventually back to L1. I'm probably in a minority, but I like the 'high press' it makes for exciting football. I'm happy to take the consequences. For 25 mins yesterday we played them of the park, they couldn't get out of their half. had Chaplin scored that 'open goal' chance just prior to them scoring I think we would have finished comfortable winners.
If Chaplin had just kicked it out of play it would have been a bonus because Mowatt's shocking attempt at a corner teed them up for the counter attack that lead to the equaliser. We didn't regroup properly whilst Thomas was down injured either.
It doesn't help when one fullback refuses to try and get back in position when we lose the ball and the other doesn't know what his position should be to start with we'd have done better if Murphy and Eaden and stayed on the pitch and Cavere and Williamson had gone into the stands to watch.
