Defensively sound - Offensively Lacking

[nose]

we scored loads last season and nearly went down.
we have stopped conceding and are in the top few
i know what I prefer

BUT
our forwards or rather the the three behind the lone striker are all too elaborate and we must get the ball in the box quicker and get not have so many touches on the ball from the likes of cairney and aluko.....  i do think that will be coached into them.

we are so close to being brilliant, but the last three games were distressing and we simply threw points away with the over-elaboration. To be fair I have not seen the wigan game yet so if my analysis was based on the previous two.

[toshes mate]

I'd blame the strikers(and we had three out there today) more if I felt they were missing chance after chance..... But it's the supply that's the issue atm.

i sympathise with this view and was thinking it myself versus burton

but then you've got to ask yourself whether martin is moving enough

if a cross comes in and martin is nowhere near it, does that mean it's a bad cross from the winger or should martin have read the game and made the effort to put himself in the right spot?

cairney is playing wonderballs to the wingers all game long, slicing open the opposition defence and giving the wide players the ball in dangerous positions. maybe if martin had the same pace as kebano and sessegnon, then cairney would be putting through balls in for him all day as well

But the crosses are not coming in. Cairny was poor on Saturday again.
Also Woodrow and Smith (who got one chance) were not given much and we had changed to the oh so wanted 442 prior to that as well.
So I dont see it as Martin not on the end, but its getting the ball there for any of them.

Can't comment on the last game because I wasn't there but Versus burton there were crosses. They were barely recognisable as crosses because no one was close to connecting with them, but we were repeatedly getting the ball into their penalty area. During the game it looked like poor service but then you watch the highlights back and wonder if it's because Martin wasn't finding space, making runs or anticipating the balls in. First thing on the highlights is also a Cairney through ball to one of the wide players and you wonder whether that could have been Martin he played in if he had pace.

Martin missed an absolute sitter of a chance getting his header wrong on one of the few occasions we broke quickly against Wigan and delivered a brilliant cross from the right wing (from Jozabed if I remember correctly).   Other than that I thought Martin spent too long trying to get free kicks when he may have done better getting up and drfting away from defenders or drawing them out of position.    I thought we were far too easy to dominate by a Wigan team who squeezed space out of the midfield game but also managed a fair few chances of their own by simple direct football mostly playing on the lack of pace from Odoi when caught out on the break.    We really do need to have long ball options as well as playing through the midfield because even if moves break down  they make teams wary of variations.

I wont disagree hes looking like a player trying to find form or for something to happen as the actual play to him isnt going well.
It was a bad header and not sure what he was trying to do.
But he is a good player i have no doubt about that having seen him over last 3 seasons. It will come.

I agree he is a good player, at best easily comparable to McCormack in ability.  My main concern has to be his state of mind to be busy trying to win frees when he knows the Championship (and the referees) so well.  He needs a goal badly, anything to get him believing he can and will perform well for us througout the rest of the season.  I thought Siggurdson slotted in so well on his debut and worked really hard to impress. 

[hovewhite]

defensively were the opposite of the last few seasons and on Saturday in front of us the first half chance which fell to martin  was an awful attempt and in general not that impressed with him ,but think he can only get better(I hope) also Saturday thought we missed aluko but in general I believe slav is doing the job and remain patient as we all must I believe.

[Skatzoffc]

Martin will improve I have no doubt, but only with service from midfield.

Joka is still working the players out imo.
I have faith in him.
I just hope we work the quicker ball forward soon so we don't lose too much ground this season as I really do believe we have a chance with this team, (and possibly with a striker boost in January), of a chance of top Six.

Still expectant tho and massively more enjoying this season than the last two.

Coyw!