Its nothing new. Last season we needed 4 goals at home to get 3 points.
I think we have enough defensive cover in midfield. Nicky Bailey is an exceptional footballer defensively. Maybe he is having to push too far forward, but most goals aren't coming from a lack of central midfield cover.
Our problems are as follows:
1. Lack of a commanding centre-half. Ever since Sodje broke his leg at Bournemouth in March 2006 this has been a problem. Clarke and Barrett is not the solution. We might get away with it occasionally, but they've been hurting us big time. Again its no surprise to see someone like Richie Barker cause us problems.
2. Lack of someone taking command at the back. We've missed the exceptional Spencer Prior more than most have realised. Prior was fantastic in organising the defence. Barrett went where Prior told him to. Clarke and Barrett might be good at leading by example, but they can't command a back line. The situation is exacerbated by having a mute goalkeeper who can't command his 6 yard box, let alone a defence.
3. Lack of height in the rest of the team. Even if we get a tall centre-half in and an organiser, we're still vulnerable at set pieces when we've one player over 6 foot and a garden gnome in goal. Last season we tried to replace Benno with JCR, a ridiculous move which unsurprisingly left us struggling at set pieces. Its great to have players who want to pass the ball on the deck, but you've got to have players who can cope with it physically. We're too small. Hopefully Harrold and Collis will be back soon, as he'll help, but even with them back in we need more height in the team.
4. Add in the fact that the likes of Peter Clarke, Hammell and as much as it pains me to say, Barrett are defensively dodgy. Its all well and good being good on the ball, but you've got to defend first and foremost.
I apologise for repeating the same things week after week for nearly two seasons, but the same problems remain and it deeply worries me that Tilly can't see it.
No surely not YB, I can't believe my eyes, have you been at that Yorkshire Tea again? You actually sounded like you were almost criticising our manager there? :)
Believe it or not, I actually agree with a lot of what you say, first time for everything hey, apart from the bit about Collis. I agree that Collis is a much taller keeper, so in theory should give us more protection from set pieces, and be able to command his area a lot better. The problem is, he doesn't do that.
He has a height advantage on Darryl, but he simply doesn't use it to any great effect. He doesn't command his box anywhere near as well as Darryl does, and that's saying something, and he is nowhere near as vocal as Darry, and I don't believe the defence are as confident with him behind him as they are Darryl.
Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Collis, he is your average League One/Two goalkeeper, but he is not, IMO, in the class of Flahavan, and I think people are too quick to suggest he is the answer purely because he has a height advantage.
As for the rest of the defensive issues, I don't believe that a purely personnel change will solve our problems. Yes, we are missing a commanding centre half, but there are more aspects to our defending than balls in the air - I don't know how many of their goals came from that route tonight, but it sounded to me like it was just as big a problem defending balls being played in on the deck!
I have said for a long time that Hammell, as much as I like him for his set pieces, and his forward runs, is a poor defender, and often gets caught out of position, or even out done by genuine pace. I don't think his anticipation is what it should be for a Championship/League One left back, and I believe he offers less than Che did in terms of pure defending - In addition, Che was better in the air.
The debate about Barrett and Clarke rages on, and much like yourself, it concerns me that T and B don't seem to be able to seperate these two. Clarke is a better defender in his own right, Barrett is a far more whole hearted player who will run through brick wals for you, both admirable qualities, but together, they make a cocktail for disaster. If it was me, I would personally opt for Clarke, as I think he is a much better defender, and then look to either try someone else, or bring in another commanding centre half before the end of January.
Finally, I suppose the one major concern I have above all of that, is what do they practise during the week when it comes to defending? Whatever it is, it simply isn't effective, and surely T and B must have noticed this by now? Last season our defence was sieve like, and there doesn't seem to have been anythng done to rectify that. I don't hold that we only conceded goals because we were in the Championship - a bad defence is a bad defence no matter what level you play at, and sooner or later, you will get found out. There seems to be an inherent lack of organisation and discipline and that can only come from what is practised during the week on the training ground, and it is high time T and B got a grip on this and did something to resolve it.
