Midfield Goals Tally

[C C Csiders]

Now, firstly I think that both Kev Maher and Carl Pettefer have had outstanding seasons, and we would not have finished as high in the table as 4th without their considerable contributions.

Now, the but! Between them they have played 88 league games between them this season, and have contributed just 1 goal. Frankly, you should be expecting a minimum contribution over the course of a season of 3 goals per midfield player - possible more from the wide men (and Gower contributed 6 I think from his wide berth). McCormack contributed more in one game than the two of them over the entire season.

Maybe, if Carl and Kev could have contributed an extra five goals, this could have made the difference between 4th and 3rd - maybe even 1st.

Anyway, they have two (hopefully three) more games to hit the back of the net.

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

You catn critises non-goalscorers for not scoring goals.

However you can blame Wayne for not scoring a hatrick, or even one on saturday, which would have taken us up.

I think everyone would agree that niether Maher or Petts are put in the team to score goals. If any midfielder has been a little dissapointing with his goal tally, it is, by his own recognition, Mark Bentley (however im not blaming him, i think he has had a fantastic season)

 

[stickyboy]

i think he has a point - we rely to much on freddie to score and our midfield simply dont get enough goals to take the pressure of the strikers

 

[Southampton Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Shrimper2thecore @ May 09 2005,20:24)]I think everyone would agree that niether Maher or Petts are put in the team to score goals.  

Agreed, but Petts should still be able to put the ball in the back of the net when golden opportunities come his way...!

To stretch C C CSiders' point a little further, just one goal from Petts on Saturday would have made all the difference between 4th and 3rd!!

Not that I'm blaming him for us being in the play offs, though. He has played a major part in us doing so well in the first place.

 

[Oh for another Ron Pountney!]

Especially at home! Our home form cost us promotion.Only 13 wins and 31 goals. Our midfield palyers need to get into the box more often.We failed to score in 7 home games and only got 1 in another 6. 13 games and we only scored 6 goals. Away from home 34 goals was the most in a season for over 40 years.
Some how our midfield players need to get forward quicker. Bents got 5 goals all at home, Gower 4 from 6 at home and Kev 1. Freddy got 10 Gray 4 Duds 2 Adam 3 and one each for Spinner and Eagle.

I think the fact that we only let in 14 at home -only twice let in fewer in our history shows we are too negative at home. somehow we have to beat packed defences.

 

[Oh for another Ron Pountney!]

Oh and don't forget the full backs. Last scorer - McSweeney in September 2003. The odd goal from them might have helped. But then Che has never scored a goal in his career, nor has Lewis Hunt and Juppy got his two goals in 94/95. Petts has only scored one goal in 91 league games. Kev has only got 1 in each of the last two seasons. Gower and Bents need to be getting 10 each in a full season the way we play.

 

[fbm]

Quote[/b] (Oh for another Ron Pountney! @ May 09 2005,23:27)]Especially at home! Our home form cost us promotion.Only 13 wins and 31 goals. Our midfield palyers need to get into the box more often.We failed to score in 7 home games and only got 1 in another 6. 13 games and we only scored 6 goals. Away from home 34 goals was the most in a season for over 40 years.
Some how our midfield players need to get forward quicker. Bents got 5 goals all at home, Gower 4 from 6 at home and Kev 1. Freddy got 10 Gray 4 Duds 2 Adam 3 and one each for Spinner and Eagle.

I think the fact that we only let in 14 at home  -only twice let in fewer in our history shows we are too negative at home. somehow we have to beat packed defences.

I don't think it's us being negative - I just don't think we possess the pace and width to get behind teams when they come to the Hall to defend.

All our strength is through the middle and when teams play with 9 behind the ball we can't seem to find a way through.

We have no plan 'B'. We need decent delivery from 3 or 4 people from set pieces to mix it up... but Maher seems to take them all. We're very predictable and some teams can't cope with what we have, so we win. But when teams suss us out, we struggle. If our style doesn't work then we are incapable of changing it. We need to be more versatile.

Personally I think there is only room for one non-goalscoring midfielder in any team. We have 2 and at the beginning of the season we had 3 with Lewis Hunt as well... is it any wonder we started slowly?

 

[Oh for another Ron Pountney!]

I have to say fbm ....I always agree with your opinions and your match summaries. In a way its a bloody miracle we have got to fourth with the players we have. A couple more stats ..14 goals conceded at home only ever let in fewer twice in our history 90/91 and 66/67 and since we have played in navy blue we have failed to score at home in 23 out on 69 games. How do we change it though? and it has to be changed next season. Guttridge for Maher ? a speedy flank player for Gower and a left footed speedy defender for Wilson. I dont think any of those players are natural athletes nor is Juppy. Our midfield and fullbacks rarely get forward because they lack the pace to get back. Teams that attack us when they are at home get caught onthe break. Unfortunatley Oxford, Orient and Yeovil had it sussed and kept 8 behind the ball. Maybe weshould go for penalties in the play offs.

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

Also why did Tilson not throw Barrett and/or Prior up front for the final (truncated) minutes on Saturday. We had nothing to lose and if Chelsea can do it with Huth then I'm sure we can. We were so rigid it was painful to watch.

 

[fbm]

For my money we need:

a) a specialist left back
b) a proper wide player with some pace
c) to not put absolutely everything through Maher. Yes, he's a good player, but he doesn't have enough variation in his play. We need to mix it up a touch.

Next season will be interesting... assuming Jay Smith gets offered the same sort of deal again (and if he wasn't going to be, why would he still be here?), then we will have Maher, Bentley, Smith and Guttridge vying for 2 central midfield places. Bentey can play wide, but I don't think any of the others can.

A specialist defensive left back would enable us to keep Nicolau and his cultured left foot for another season and see if we could turn him into a proper wide midfielder.

Spinner and Eagle are another year older... I haven't seen Blewitt at all but maybe he will be retained as an "up and coming" centre back who could fill in if necessary and learn from the experience of the other two.

I don't think Juppy will be offered a new deal... that leaves Hunt and Wilson as right backs and I'm happy with that. Wilson's best position is right back and he's never played there for us. Bristol Rovers fans really rated him at that position.

Up front, to be honest, I don't think you could get 3 much better strikers than the three we have at this level. If league 2 strikers were any more prolific and consistent then they wouldn't be playing in league two for very long. Not much wrong IMHO. A 4th quality striker is going to make someone unhappy and they'll be off. What we need, which is the point of this thread, is more goals from midfield. Bentley, Smith, Guttridge and Gower give you that. Maher and Pettefer don't.

So, that doesn't really leave any room for Corbett or Kightly. the former has apparently been missing for weeks, and it would appear that Kights hasn't lived up to his promise of last season otherwise he would have figured somewhere.

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

Quote[/b] (fbm @ May 10 2005,08:04)]Wilson's best position is right back and he's never played there for us.  Bristol Rovers fans really rated him at that position.

I was talking to some Norwich fans last season and they reckoned that if Adam Drury was not so good then Wilson would be in their side.....at left back. He sure is some player!

 

[blueheaven]

Is being a "specialist" full-back the important thing ? Lewis is not a specialist right back. Che played for Norwich and Bristol Rovers in both full back positions. Jamie Stuart was a specialist full back - is that the sort of player we want ?

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

Quote[/b] (blueheaven @ May 10 2005,08:26)]Is being a "specialist" full-back the important thing ? Lewis is not a specialist right back. Che played for Norwich and Bristol Rovers in both full back positions. Jamie Stuart was a specialist full back - is that the sort of player we want ?

Yes but not a very good one, we need a good specialist left back. I am sure there are loads in the Premier$hite and championship youth and reserve sides who would jump at the chance of regular 1st team football. Another Chris Powell maybe?

 

[blueheaven]

Hawkwell Blue - I have watched Drury a number of times at Norwich this season both live and on the television and I would much rather have Che in my team than Drury - at least Che has courage and can defend, which at the end of the day, is what a full back is supposed to do.

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

Quote[/b] (blueheaven @ May 10 2005,08:32)]Hawkwell Blue - I have watched Drury a number of times at Norwich this season both live and on the television and I would much rather have Che in my team than Drury - at least Che has courage and can defend, which at the end of the day, is what a full back is supposed to do.

Not sure what your point is I was criticising neither player merely saying that I'm not sure whether Che is a specialist left or right back.

 

[Stats]

Left back cover is needed as nicolau aint up to scratch

I think we need a target man as well purely because if our passing game aint going well and were struggling to break down sides, like we have numerous times this season we need a plan B which we never seem to have

Gray and eastwood always seem to play 40yds apart and whenever we get any width down the flanks theres never anyone in the box

I hate to say this but we need a forward like leo fortune-west now snigger if you will but in recent seasons the man has played in 3 promotion winning sides, 2 of them title winners and i dont remember those sides playing unattractive football.

He unlike both freddy and wayne never gets dragged out onto the wings, holds the ball up well is a threat from set pieces and always gets 15 goals a season.

 

[fbm]

Quote[/b] (statski77 @ May 10 2005,09:00)]He unlike both freddy and wayne never gets dragged out onto the wings, holds the ball up well is a threat from set pieces and always gets 15 goals a season.

In fairness, they only get dragged wide because we don't have any wide players! If we did, they would hold a more central position.

 

[shrimperman]

lets look at this in perspective. we were 2 points off automatic promotion and should really have made it if it wasnt for some end of season jitters. 2 points doesnt mean we need to change 5 or six players, we need 1/2 quality players and a little more depth. a quality attacking right winger would be my first vote. i saw a bloke called 'bradey' in the conference playoffs, i think he played for stevenage but cant be sure. his quality of crosses were second to none and he got them in early as well as late, whilst watching i could just see him in a southend shirt. secondly i think we need a another quality striker, rumour has it freddy is going to reading, wayne gray is good when on form but dire when not. lawrie is a good player and would be in my starting eleven as he connects the midfield with the strikers but he isnt a natural goalscorer. tes is presumably gone, i was thinking maybe if freddy goes to reading we could get forster in exchange. reading appear to be letting him go but his wages could cause a problem

 

[Shrimper James]

Quote[/b] (shrimperman @ May 10 2005,09:41)]lets look at this in perspective. we were 2 points off automatic promotion and should really have made it if it wasnt for some end of season jitters. 2 points doesnt mean we need to change 5 or six players, we need 1/2 quality players and a little more depth. a quality attacking right winger would be my first vote. i saw a bloke called 'bradey' in the conference playoffs, i think he played for stevenage but cant be sure. his quality of crosses were second to none and he got them in early as well as late, whilst watching i could just see him in a southend shirt. secondly i think we need a another quality striker, rumour has it freddy is going to reading, wayne gray is good when on form but dire when not. lawrie is a good player and would be in my starting eleven as he connects the midfield with the strikers but he isnt a natural goalscorer. tes is presumably gone, i was thinking maybe if freddy goes to reading we could get forster in exchange. reading appear to be letting him go but his wages could cause a problem

Agreed. Far too much panicing going on.

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

Normally you would expect your midfielders to get a few more goals, but then normally you wouldn't expect your centre half to get double figures. I'm not concerned who gets the goals as long as we score them. One of the reasons we scored so few goals is because for a large part of the season one goal was enough to win us the game. Had we needed to score more than one goal, we would have.

The classic example of this was Kidderminster away. They had the temerity to score, so we just upped our tempo and scored two quick goals to put them in their place. One of the most revealing stats of the season was that the last time we led a game and didn't win, or the last time we drew level and didn't get at least a point was the start of December. That is an outstanding statistic and one worthy of champions.

The games which concern me, were the ones where we never really got going, games like the 0-0 v Notts County at home, Mansfield at home, or games like Oxford away when it took us far too long to get into the game. What I feel we need next season (apart from the likes of Grimienk and Hunt fit again and obviously a left-back) is alternatives to Gower and Gray, so that when they are off their game we can bring on players from the bench who can change a game.

If we get in alternatives to those two and keep the rest of the squad, we'll be successful next season. If not, I fear we will become a tad predictable.