Match Thread Coventry City - Sunderland Match Thread - Saturday 15th Mar (44 Viewers)

[fatso]

3-5-2
Bidwell and Wright out
JDS and EMC to start.
Maybe Allen in for Eccles.
Simms and Bassette/BTA upfront.

Players need a rocket up their arse after the piss poor Derby performance

 

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[Sky Blue Goblin]

3-5-2
Bidwell and Wright out
JDS and EMC to start.
Maybe Allen in for Eccles.
Simms and Bassette/BTA upfront.

Players need a rocket up their arse after the piss poor Derby performance

Where would EMC play in the 3-5-2?

 

[fatso]

Where would EMC play in the 3-5-2?

I'd give him a chance as a A/M in between Torp and Grimes, he's stronger than Sakamoto, and someone who could carry the ball and link with the front 2 would be useful.
If not EMC then Allen, but I think Allen is a bit too lightweight.

 

[Sky Blue Goblin]

I'd give him a chance as a A/M in between Torp and Grimes, he's stronger than Sakamoto, and someone who could carry the ball and link with the front 2 would be useful.
If not EMC then Allen, but I think Allen is a bit too lightweight.

Fair enough so more of a 5-2-1-2 shape.

 

[fatso]

Fair enough so more of a 5-2-1-2 shape.

Yea, with EMC (and 1 of the strikers) dropping deeper when we are out of possession.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Sales don’t look great nowhere near as good as last Saturday

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

I'd give him a chance as a A/M in between Torp and Grimes, he's stronger than Sakamoto, and someone who could carry the ball and link with the front 2 would be useful.
If not EMC then Allen, but I think Allen is a bit too lightweight.

So we’ll play a team in 4th place without our top 3 assisters? We rely on crosses in the box for chance creation and Torp/Allen don’t really give us this. Without Rudoni, 5-3-2 isn’t tenable.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

Sales don’t look great nowhere near as good as last Saturday

Early doors

 

[Sky Blue Goblin]

Sales don’t look great nowhere near as good as last Saturday

Is this a category A game?

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Is this a category A game?

Yes

 

[fatso]

So we’ll play a team in 4th place without our top 3 assisters? We rely on crosses in the box for chance creation and Torp/Allen don’t really give us this. Without Rudoni, 5-3-2 isn’t tenable.

We conceded 2 goals per game recently playing 4 at the back against poor teams like Oxford, Stoke and Derby.
We also regularly conceded 2 goals per game earlier in the season playing a flat back 4.

If we play the same way against better teams we will get found out.

We played a flat 4 last night without Rudoni and produced the worst display since FL arrived, and that was against a bottom 3 side with huge injury problems.

To win games you need to stop leaking poor goals first of all

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

We conceded 2 goals per game recently playing 4 at the back against poor teams like Oxford, Stoke and Derby.
We also regularly conceded 2 goals per game earlier in the season playing a flat back 4.

If we play the same way against better teams we will get found out.

We played a flat 4 last night without Rudoni and produced the worst display since FL arrived, and that was against a bottom 3 side with huge injury problems.

To win games you need to stop leaking poor goals first of all

Different players on the pitch and a different manager, you can’t put too much on form earlier in the season. Derby had 3 shots on target against us over 2 games and scored 4 goals, statistically it’s an anomaly and we’re just unlucky.

Looking at the goals conceded, 3 were set pieces so the first place to look internally on the training pitch. Something Lampard alluded too. There’s also 2 (maybe 3) goals that arguably shouldn’t have stood so perhaps we’ll get a dodgy decision in our favour.

We rode our luck at times in the run playing 5-3-2, specifically Blackburn, Wednesday away and QPR at home so this idea that 5-3-2 will magically fix everything is just wishful thinking. As things stands, it’s a one off loss and Lampard knows he doesn’t need to chuck the baby out with the bath water.

If we get battered against Sunderland, then perhaps there’s credence to the idea we should go back to 5-3-2 when Rudoni is fit for Sheff U.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Different players on the pitch and a different manager, you can’t put too much on form earlier in the season. Derby had 3 shots on target against us over 2 games and scored 4 goals, statistically its not a big

Looking at the goals conceded, 3 were set pieces so the first place to look internally on the training pitch. Something Lampard alluded too. There’s also 2 (maybe 3) goals that arguably shouldn’t have stood so perhaps we’ll get a dodgy decision in our favour.

We rode our luck at times in the run playing 5-3-2, specifically Blackburn, Wednesday away and QPR at home so this idea that 5-3-2 will magically fix everything is just wishful thinking. As things stands, it’s a one off loss and Lampard knows he doesn’t need to chuck the baby out with the bath water.

If we get battered against Sunderland, then perhaps there’s credence to the idea we should go back to 5-3-2 when Rudoni is fit for Sheff U.

The more telling thing was that we started off trying to play football, then allowed ourselves to get sucked in to playing their game of hoof and foul. Nobody out there on the pitch had the ability to wrestle back the initiative.

 

[Sky Blue Goblin]

Yes

Imagine that would impact ticket sales then as I think Stoke was a category B which also had some extra attention from the media for some reason.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

The more telling thing was that we started off trying to play football, then allowed ourselves to get sucked in to playing their game of hoof and foul. Nobody out there on the pitch had the ability to wrestle back the initiative.

Agreed and we tried to be too clever last night. The amount of times we ‘cleared it’ to their players was unbelievable and whenever we had good chances to get at them, we either dithered on the ball or made a mistake.

I’ve got two examples that summarises this.

First half - the ball was squared to Eccles and probably a decent chance to meet the ball for a shot, he just stands there and the ball is intercepted.

Second half - potential break on, Torp aims for a pass to give MVE a lot space to attack and he hits it behind him and it goes out for a throw in.

Honourable mentions:
- every under hit passes to wingers/WBs on the overlap
- every failed 1-2 at throw ins
- Haji’s first half shocker pass to Bidwell that went out for a throw

 

[mmttww]

The more telling thing was that we started off trying to play football, then allowed ourselves to get sucked in to playing their game of hoof and foul. Nobody out there on the pitch had the ability to wrestle back the initiative.

That's where I felt Grimes fell short. We needed him to take the ball from the CBs and move it on from there, take some of their players out the game, not be sitting with all XI of their players in front of him.

 

[CV22SBA]

Sales don’t look great nowhere near as good as last Saturday

I think/hope there will be a big push on Friday once everyone has got over last night. Block 4 has been opened now and that was closed for Stoke. The Mahou Lounge is actually already sold out for this one which is a first.

 

[Captain Dart]

Not feeling hopeful.

 

[AOM]

Sales don’t look great nowhere near as good as last Saturday

Seeing that it's 3pm for once, I'm guessing Sunderland will bring quite a lot down. Not sure if they're sold out already.
I imagine attendance will be another 30,000 or thereabouts

 

[CV22SBA]

Seeing that it's 3pm for once, I'm guessing Sunderland will bring quite a lot down. Not sure if they're sold out already.
I imagine attendance will be another 30,000 or thereabouts

Yeah they sold out last week.

 

[AOM]

Yeah they sold out last week.

Impressive following to be fair

 

[pusbccfc]

Sales don’t look great nowhere near as good as last Saturday

They've already opened the extra seating in Block 4 and at the top of the North Stand.

 

[Covcraig@bury]

3-1 spanking . Not confident after last nights lack of effort 🫤

 

[Shannerz]

We beat Preston.

There may have to be payback.

Why does a part of me think that this is true? I am rational in all other aspects of life.

 

[Otis]

Thing is, with Sunderland, they are 7 points behind 2nd place and very unlikely to make that difference up in the remaining games.

They are also 15 points clear of 7th, so their playoff place is secured.

Might well explain why they have gone off the boil a little of late.

 

[shmmeee]

Thing is, with Sunderland, they are 7 points behind 2nd place and very unlikely to make that difference up in the remaining games.

They are also 15 points clear of 7th, so their playoff place is secured.

Might well explain why they have gone off the boil a little of late.

Boro were like that in our PO season, it was hard to get them up for the knockout games again afterwards. 3/4th can be a bit of a curse like that if you haven’t got much to play for for months.

 

[covcity4life]

Take a draw!

 

[blunted]

We conceded 2 goals per game recently playing 4 at the back against poor teams like Oxford, Stoke and Derby.
We also regularly conceded 2 goals per game earlier in the season playing a flat back 4.

If we play the same way against better teams we will get found out.

We played a flat 4 last night without Rudoni and produced the worst display since FL arrived, and that was against a bottom 3 side with huge injury problems.

To win games you need to stop leaking poor goals first of all

Thought Portsmouth was worse. Derby 2 games, 3 shots on target 4 goals.

 

[GIMOC]

Take a draw now

Means we will go into the break top 6, and a fully fit squad returning for the last 8

Not that it makes much difference in the grand scheme of things but If Bristol win and we draw, we drop out the top 6

 

[Gynnsthetonic]

1985 last time Sunderland beat us at home. I was there too.

 

[Sick Boy]

2-1 win.

 

[Rodders1]

Not hopeful at all. Frank needs to motivate these players to put a shift in - weird to say after the incredible form. But feel like we have a soft placid nature at the mo.

 

[StrettoBoy]

I fancy us to bounce back from the Derby game and win by one goal. I can’t see us keeping a clean sheet, so I’m going 2-1.

 

[torchomatic]

Not hopeful at all. Frank needs to motivate these players to put a shift in - weird to say after the incredible form. But feel like we have a soft placid nature at the mo.

Lampard shouldn't need to motivate them. A full house, top team and the chance to consolidate our position in the playoffs should be motivation enough.

 

[Lamps]

This should be a good game that could go either way. They're not in the form they were earlier in the season. They also won't put 11 players behind the ball like Derby did. For once I would say a good performance is as important as the result.